Stitches | August Sewing Report

 

In August I shortened a skirt for a lady from church. I have done sewing jobs for her in the past. You may remember.

I hemmed my husband's suit pants while we were driving to my brother's wedding. These were the pants that he needed to wear to the wedding. Doing things at he last minute. That's me.

I fixed these pants, also for my husband. He had burst the seat seam. I wasn't sure that I would take the time to sew it back together. Then I noticed how well the pants are made. Check out the binding on the inseam. That made me decide that these pants were worth the time.

Last of all, I stitched this rend in my favorite silk scarf to keep it from getting bigger and ruining the whole thing.

Nature This Month | August

 Which picture is your favorite? Mine is the Blond Woolly Bear caterpillar clinging to an Iron Weed stem. 

A beautiful monarch I saw at the end of July.

I had been looking for monarch caterpillar all summer and had only found these moth caterpillars:

My sons brought me these cute little frogs to take pictures of them.

I have been getting some nice sunrise pictures lately.

This large Praying Mantis was perched of our porch eve.

This blond Wooly Bear is my favorite picture in this batch. We were visiting at my parents home when I captured this photo.

I was all excited when I saw this beetle one morning, thinking that I had found a true Ladybug, but alas, it was a Corn Beetle after all.

I learned that Corn Beetles have this M shaped marking and true Ladybugs do not.

And finally, I found a Monarch caterpillar! There were two on this plant. They were so tiny, probably in their 2nd instar.

I set up a habitat inside so that we could watch them grow.

I was a little worried about them at one point when they looked a little droopy after a molt, but there was no need for concern they perked up just fine.

Not everything in nature is beautiful. I saw ants scavenging this dead worm on a sidewalk and decided to capture a picture. Death is part of life. The ants need the nourishment provided by the dead worm and we all benefit from scavengers cleaning up dead carcases in our environment.

This was an interesting flying insect. I never looked it up to see what kind of insect it was.

Another sunrise.

And another.

A beautiful Garden Spider! 

As I gathered milkweed to feed our caterpillars, I ended up bringing in two more caterpillars unexpectedly.

Two of our caterpillars have gone into their chrysalis stage. You can see the final molted skin hanging onto this chrysalis. The butterflies should be emerging any day now!

We saw this beautiful sunset last night on a drive home.

And that is a wrap! Come again next month to see I find on my adventures.

Music Recently | The Magnificent Calliope

 I have been enjoying this Calliope music recently. Calliope's are such a festive, jolly musical instrument. This music really puts a pep in my step. The gentleman who plays in this video is so talented. He has made several videos of his music. If you could use a little pep in your step, a little sizzle in your stride, a little gaiety in your gait have a listen to this music!

Book Review | The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict

 

Eleventh book for the year.

The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict by Trenton Lee Stewart. Copyright 2012. 470 pages.

Summary: Nine year old Nicholas Benedict, an orphan afflicted with an unfortunate nose and with narcolepsy, is sent to a new orphanage where he encounters vicious bullies, selfish adults, strange circumstances, and a mystery that could change his life forever.

 This was a lighthearted children's novel. I had been introduced to The Benedict Society books as a teen. Back then there were only two books in the series. I recently saw these books at our library and realized that there are more books now. I decided to start with the prequel as indicated by the 0.5 sticker that the library added.

I liked it. It is quite fanciful. Nicolas is a child genius and orphan. The story is upbeat. There is suspense and intrigue but it is overall a jovial feel good story.

Music Recently | Hurdy Gurdy

I have been obsessing over Hurdy Gurdy music lately. I recently was reading a book where the Hurdy Gurdy was mentioned. I had always thought that the Hurdy Gurdy was a Grinder Organ. You know, the kind worn on a strap by a street performer with a monkey companion. But, no, while a Grinder Organ and a Hurdy Gurdy both have a crank handle to turn, that is where the similarities end. 

I feel as though I have been living under a rock to just be learning accurately about a Hurdy Gurdy at 32 years old. They are fascinating! They sound like several instruments playing together all at once. Here you can hear for yourself:

Lymington Fair 

Swipping Maisie

Sussex Cotillion

Kesteven Processional 

Homage to Hearth

Angels We Have Heard On High

It sounds like a blend of Bag Pipes, Violin, and Reeds, with some kind of percussion. 

The way they work is by several strings riding up against the wheel that turns by the crank. The wheel is like a round violin bow. There is a box with keys that press against some strings to shorten them and make the different notes. There is also a string that can rattle when the crank is jolted quickly. And there are drone strings that constantly hum.

The Hurdy Gurdy was invented over a thousand years ago and was first used to help people sing in Church before the Organ was a thing.

 I am probably out numbered here. I assume you know more about it than I did. 

 It has been difficult for me to find much Hurdy Gurdy music that I really like. A lot of the Hurdy Gurdy music that I found on YouTube was too heavy for my taste or too middle eastern. That is not the way I want to say that, but I don't know the right words to describe what I talking about. I think by calling what I mean "middle eastern" you will imagine the right tones. It's a high wailing kind of sound that is not exactly minor but has dissonance of some kind. 

 The videos I have shared here are some of my favorite Hurdy Gurdy songs that I found by hours of combing through videos on YouTube. If you don't like these, try looking up other styles of Hurdy Gurdy music. They are pretty neat instruments!

July Sewing Report

Good news, I finished the pioneer doll!

I sewed and stuffed her arms and legs. Then I sewed the arms and body together, stuffed the body, and then attached the legs.

Before I made the arms I embroidered my newborn niece's  name on the back of the arm piece.

I sewed the yarn hair on her head and finished the look with braids. (I have a tutorial HERE.)

I had a dress ready and waiting for her that I had made back in December.

She turned out just right!

Nature This Month 06/28--07/27

My favorite picture is the pinecones with glistening sap drops. Which one is your favorite?

Cicada on Lilac.

Lightning Bugs mating.

Cicada Shell on Tomato plant.

Red Ear fish.

Spider on the tent floor.

Pinecone and glistening sap drops.

Spider.

Oyster Mushroom Gills.

Tree Frog.

Bald Faced Hornet nest.

Pearl Crescent butterfly.

Blue Swallowtail Butterfly.

Mullein Flower.

Zinnia and Crab Spider hiding under petal.