Kaleidoscope Outside

 

Power is still out, so instead of sewing, I'm fooling around with apps on my phone, like KaleidaCam using some pictures I took outside during a dry-ish spell.

DS says this looks a lace tablecloth.

It's the underside of a Turkey Tail shelf fungus.

Here's the right side, love those turkey stripes.

Another picture from right outside my front door.

Ah, it's a big banana slug on our woodpile. Guess it got tired of being in the wet redwoods.

The latest from PG&E was an unwelcome update, our power will no longer be restored tonight at 10, but instead Thursday night at 10pm. We will live in hope I guess. Our Powerwall got us through 2 whole days, but it wasn't getting recharged due to all the cloud cover. After half a day, I'm already tired of the generator noise. Tomorrow I can sew because we'll have it going, so there's that to look forward to.

Forever V-Day

💘💗💖💕💓Happy Valentine's Day! 💘💗💖💕💓

Sure it's a "Hallmark holiday" and all, but still, it's a sweet idea to have a day to communicate your love. This is an inadvertent heart-shaped KaleidaCam of my holiday table runner. (Now washed and put away until December). I don't have a Valentine's one, maybe I should put that on my table-runner to-do list?

I got a good start on the Valentine's card I'm making for my DH. I had a bit of a fail at first, but it turned out I just needed to change out the teeny tiny blade on the main cutting device. It's very easy to do, just like changing your rotary cutter, they wear out eventually.
 

Jade Kaleidoscopes

 

Time for some KaleidaCam photos.

I took these out in the bright midday sunlight so the pictures are extra clear. 

I think this is my favorite one. It looks a bit like an overhead view of a really closed up artichoke.

Red edges on the Jade plant, this happens when you grow Jade in bright sunlight. Doesn't get much brighter than out on our deck.

Laptop Kaleidoscope

I haven't used the app KaleidaCam in a while, and tried it out while sitting in front of my laptop this morning. Both the screen and the keyboard made it into this one.

I really like this one of just the keyboard, the regular hexagon shape versus the central slightly wonky hexagon is pretty cool. Almost worryingly edgy because of that shape tension. Especially along with the texture of the keys from the keyboard which look like mosaic tiles. The black bar of the spacebar makes another interesting almost interior border.

 I like the abstraction and regularity of this one, it's balanced.

Workspace KaleidaCam

There was some down time while I was on hold on the phone the other day while I sat at my worktable. 

So that meant it was time for KaleidaCam. Here are the views of my workspace and the kaleidoscopic pictures created by the app.

Wouldn't this be a whole lot of fun to try and piece?

The design wall and fabric piles.

I actually like the way the Lone Round Robin quilt looks when rearranged like this.

The edge of the Tula Pink box.

Yes, that's about right.

Leftover rainbow strips from AGF from the rainbow table runner.

I love the complexity of this one and the way the fabric designs change.

 This one would make a great ad copy photo for AGF as the end label features so prominently.

KaelidaCam

 

I'm having fun playing with a new iPhone app, KaleidaCam. It was recommended by someone I follow on Instagram, Kate Godfrey, (You can follow her at @gollyokate )   There's just something about kaleidoscopic images and the thrill of turning what you see with your naked eye into something so complicated. Endless fun.

These two are the first attempts I did with the app taken from a top-down view of my pincushion. The possibilities of this are endless and the app itself is very easy to use. I'm finding it much more relaxing that playing a game or reading twitter.

It really reminds me of a mantis shrimp.

I had a kaleidoscope program on my old laptop, Kaleidoscope Creator but it wasn't compatible with the Mac so I've missed being able to create kaleidoscope pictures. That was just editing an existing photo into a kaleidoscopic view of it, this new app can do that, but it's true creative power is in using it live.

Wooly Kaleidoscope

Hadn't used Kaleidoscope Kreator program in a while, hadn't installed it on my new laptop (well, new last year), so here's one using a picture of some felted wool balls I recently purchased.

Vacation Kaleidoscope

 Kaleidoscopic views of the Oregon Coast from our recent road trip...

From Leather to Kaleidoscopes

 Going a little crazy (or bored) recovering from hand surgery, so I made a couple of kaleidoscopes from a recent picture taken on my work table.  I'm happy to report that I can now wiggle the tip of my pinky finger, so far that has made the surgery worthwhile.

Can you tell what the source picture might be?

 Well it starts out with some leather.  Small leather samples from a recent trip to FabMo.  I snagged them because of all the great and varying textures.

All the shiva paintstik  colors got a try with each of the patterns, but the yellow light pearl didn't show on the white fabric of course.

  So here it is on black fabric.  And that's the source picture for the kaleidoscopes at the top of this post. Tada!

New Kaleidoscopes

Can you tell what these kaleidoscopes are made from?

If you guessed the newly completed quilt that I posted yesterday, "City of Creation" you're right!

I finally broke down and bought the upgrade to the new version of Kaleidoscope Creator 3. The old version just didn't work on this new computer with the Vista operating system. The new version is great, even easier to use. It is really nice to be able to make kaleidoscopes once again.

Not the Most Exciting Post Ever

I haven't been posting much lately because I'm working on a few projects that I'm not allowed to show you quite yet so I don't have any pictures to post. But soon.
That and I've been either out in the garden beating back the crazy-huge weeds or holed-up in a dark room having a migraine. Or going to the movies with my family. We've been on quite a movie going binge lately.
Also, I've been reading a lot more than usual for some reason.
None of these activities lend themselves to much picture-taking either.
So, life is getting lived, stuff is happening, but nothing is getting documented...
Hopefully that will change soon!

I'll Take Three Kaleidoscopes To Go

Time to go vote. But before I go perform my good citizen duty, a picture or two.

I realized I was really missing my kaleidoscopes.

Since switching to the new computer with Vista, the Kaleidoscope Kreator program doesn't work on it at all, and I'm too cheap to buy the new version which supposedly will. Well, not too cheap, just not wanting to spend the money on that particular unnecessary and frivolous item. After all it is still on a working computer, which is hooked up to the backup drive where all my photos live. I just have a few more steps involved to play with it.

So, it is nice when I do remember to go play with that particular tool. I really like this one, based on a photo of my quilt As Above, So Below

Red, I said

I'm not sure why, but here are some recent flowers and kaleidoscopes I've made out of their photos. Enjoy!

Mini-rose with a brilliant red rosehip. Did you know these are edible? Very sour, but filled with Vitamin C.

I know it isn't red but...
A nepeta (or catmint)flower. Related to catnip but doesn't have enough of the enticing oils to make my cats roll around on it. That and it is in a planter with a very thorny rose!

A brilliant primrose in red and yellow.

"The primroses were over." First line of a famous novel...