Apples and Pears

I got this beautiful pincushion in the post yesterday. It was made by Carli over at Simply Notable and I won it in their October giveaway. I love it! It's a lot larger than I thought it would be, though I'm not sure why I thought it would be small, and so is the perfect size to put next to my sewing machine to try and cure me of the habit of sticking my pins in my mouth when I'm sewing. Since I tend to stab myself, and I don't want to accidentally swallow a pin, I think that's a really bad habit to have. I also goes perfectly with my pink sewing machine and is now on display with my sewing machine in the living room.

Also, I've been playing around with photo editing software, in an attempt to make my pictures slightly better/ Originally the first picture looked like this:

Does the new one look better? And any hints or tips for making my picture look better? Also, any idea if I do choose to have rounded edges, how I can make the blogger frames rounded to match?

I do know about taking them outside or in sunlight, but I'm a bit restricted in that respect because it's dark when I get home most days. Even if it is still light, my garden is an overgrown mess the landlord hasn't mowed in months and doesn't get much sunlight (and none in the afternoon). And the living room gets no direct sunlight at all!

Thanks to everyone for the well wishes about my family. My Gran's surgery was successful so she's all OK now, though on crutches for 6 weeks, and the dog was well enough to pull her plaster cast off entirely yesterday, and now has to suffer the indignity of a cone collar.