Wednesday, October 9, 2024

Common Buckeye Butterfly

 I have been trying all summer to get a picture of a Common Buckeye Butterfly. They are so skittish, though. Now matter how I tried to sneak up I could never get close enough for a good picture.

I few days ago my son when outside on a chilly morning and found this Common Buckeye Butterfly on the play set. He knew I would be so excited. He was able to handle it and bring it inside for me to see.

Isn't it beautiful!

Common Buckeye caterpillar's host plants include snapdragon and plantain.

Raising Butterflies website has some nice pictures of the eggs and caterpillars at different instars. They say that Common Buckeye Butterflies can be fun to raise. I will keep that in mind. Maybe I'll be able to find an egg to raise next year.


Tuesday, October 1, 2024

A New Wild Edible For Me!

This is called Autumn Olive. I learned this wild edible from a the website: North East Superfoods. Here is link to the Autumn Olive article on North East Superfoods .com. I recommend that you read their article. They have good pictures and explain how to distinguish Autumn Olive from the poisonous Honeysuckle (pictured below). Once you know what to look for it is hard to confuse the two. They are quite different.

Autumn Olive have one pit. (Like tiny plums.)
Honeysuckle have multiple seeds per berry.

Autumn Olive are speckled.
Honeysuckle have no speckles.

Autumn Olive have red flesh 
Honeysuckle have orange gel.

Those are the main ways to tell the berries apart besides all the differences in leafs.

We liked the flavor of the Autumn Olives. They were tart and mildly sweet. They had a good amount of flavor. They were not bland. If I had to compare it to another fruit I would say it reminded me of a plum, the part of the plum right next to the skin. You know how plum skin has the most flavor? It is like the ratio of skin to flesh on the Autumn Olive lends to it having a more pungent flavor.

If you get a chance, check out the link and hopefully you, too, can try and enjoy Autumn Olive!
 

Friday, September 27, 2024

Sewing September

 Skirt Alterations, Doll Dresses, and A Pattern for a Little Girl Dress

A lady from Church hired me to make alterations on this denim shirt. She wanted it to have less of a flare. It was hard for me to do because I think the more flare in a skirt the better the skirt. So I took a perfectly good skirt and made it inferior, in my opinion, of course.

After I had made new seams I added topstitching to make the new seams match the old ones.
The lady was happy with these alterations.

I couldn't finish the doll that I started working on in August because I don't have any poly-fil at hand. All my poly-fil is stored in another city. So until I get over there to dig out my poly-fil, I have turned to doll dresses as my handwork project. 
I finished this red one.
I can't help myself from sewing in a way that makes the stitches almost like a to-scale model of a real dress. I don't know if you can see these stitches on the sleeve, but this is what I talking about. Tiny stitches that are totally over kill and definitely not necessary in a practical way.

How do I market this? It doesn't make any sense for me to go into such detail for a dress intended to be a child's toy. On the other hand I hate toys who's purpose isn't to be played with, in other words collectable dolls. Toys should be played with. They should bring joy to children. It's just dumb for an adult to have a child's toy just to put in a case and stare at, in my view. I don't want to offend any doll collectors out there. I have an Aunt who collects dolls and I love her. She's a nice collector. She did always give me and my sisters one of her collectors edition dolls whenever we visited. But, she didn't mind that we opened the packaging and played with the dolls. And I can assure you that they weren't collectors items by the time that we were done with them. She was happy to sacrifice her dolls to bring joy to children.
Sorry about the tangent there. I was wanting to ask if anyone out there can tell me if there is a niche for this type of sewing that isn't a collectible?
I finished all the exposed raw edges with a blanket stitch.
I cut out two more doll dresses.......
And marked the seam allowances for easy hand sewing.
My daughter's birthday is coming up in December, which means that I had better get busy if I want to make a dress for her. Like really busy! 
I cut out the pattern.
This pattern only has two views: long sleeve 
And short sleeve.
I have several really cute fabric options so perhaps I can make more than one dress and try both views.
I can't wait to show you how much I can get done in October!

Tuesday, September 24, 2024

Pecans!

 

I was so surprised and delighted to find this pecan tree down our lane. It is not on our property but it is close to the road on an empty lot.


When I was a young girl my family would travel to Arkansas just about every October to visit my Great Uncle Tony. Down the street from his house stood a big old pecan tree in a Church yard. Uncle Tony knew the people who attended church there. He said they wouldn't mind if we collected the pecans. 


There were so many pecans on the ground. We'd fill a couple grocery sacks in a few minutes and bring them back north to enjoy for a couple weeks.

It was a special memory. Pecans were a rare treat.

I knew there was a variety of pecan that grows this far north but I had never seen one nor did I expect to. 

I could hardly believe my eyes when, as we drove by one day, I looked out at the nut clusters on this tree and thought, "Those look like pecans. Can it be?"

Yes, it can be! I walked over with the children and we picked up a few handfuls. We cracked them and enjoyed them. What a treat!

Friday, September 20, 2024

Flautas| Recipe

 

To make Flautas I cook up a batch of chicken quarters (usually by boiling) and then pick all the meat off the bones.

For the filling sometimes I use canned green chilies and sometimes I use fresh green chilies. Sometimes I saute the onions and sometimes I don't. So, just do whatever works for you.

To make the tortillas stay closed some people use toothpicks. I learned this trick of using a flour paste to glue the tortilla closed and I really like how it works.

Chicken Flauta Ingredients:

2-3 cups cooked, shredded chicken 

1/2 cup green chilies, diced

1/2 cup onions, diced

1 tsp. Chilli powder 

1/2 tsp. Cumin

Salt and pepper to taste 

Small flour or corn tortillas 

Mix together the chicken, chilies, onion, and spices.

Fill tortillas by adding a spoonful of filling and rolling the tortilla. Then secure the tortilla by a toothpick or flour paste.

This mixture will fill around 20+ Flautas.

Heat 1 inch of cooking oil in a skillet with high enough sides or a pan.

Fry the Flautas for 1-2 minutes per side.

Serve with garnishes like sour cream, salsa, chopped tomatoes, cilantro, or hot sauce.

Enjoy!

Wednesday, September 11, 2024

Two Authors That I Adore

These two authors wrote children's books, some picture books and some chapter books. They were both artist, too, and illustrated their own works. The authors are Robert Lawson and Lois Lenski.

They both have strong themes in their books of what gives Americans their greatness: qualities like being God revering, having grit, working hard, along with values like equality, freedom, and holding truth and integrity tightly.

Lois Lenski and Robert Lawson are both Newberry Medal winners. Lois Lenski won the Newberry Medal for Strawberry Girl in 1946. Two of her other books were Newberry honor selections.

Lois Lenski wrote and illustrated the Small series of picture books: 
Cowboy Small
The Little Auto
The Little Airplane
The Little Family
The Little Farm
The Little Fire Engine
The Little Sailboat
The Little Train
Papa Small
and Policeman Small.

I really like these Little books. They have a lot of information that young children are capable of learning and understanding about fields and occupations that young children usually find interesting. She tells it in cute stories that are adorable.

She embarked on writing a series of books about the childhoods of children growing up in different regions of the USA. She started with Bayou Suzette in 1943. In 1946 she won a Newberry Medal for Strawberry Girl. It is hard to find the books in this series. 
They include: 
Bayou Suzette
Strawberry Girl
Blue Ridge Billy
Judy's Journey
Boom Town Boy
Cotton In My Sack
Texas Tomboy
Prairie School
Mama Hattie's Girl
Corn Farm Boy
San Francisco Boy
Flood Friday
House Boat Girl
Coal Camp Girl
Shoo Fly Girl
To Be A Logger
and Deer Valley Girl


Lois Lenski also wrote several historical fictions including: 
Phoebe Fairchild: Her Story (Newberry Honor), 
A-Going to the Westward
Bound Girl of Cobble Hill
Ocean-Born Mary,  
Blue Berry Corners, 
Indian Captive: The Story of Mary Jemison (Newberry Honor), 
and Puritan Adventure.

Robert Lawson, born in 1892, became an illustrator before he became an author. He illustrated such classics as The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf, which is a favorite of mine.

His first book that he wrote was published in 1939: Ben and Me: An Astonishing Life of Benjamin Franklin By His Good Mouse Amos.

He wrote several historical fictions in the same vein as Ben and Me, with pets that tell the story of their significant historical figure pal. Most of these books have been hard for me to find at libraries. They include:

Ben and Me
I Discover Columbus 
Mr. Revere and I
Captain Kidd's Cat

Robert Lawson won the Caldecott Medal for his illustrations in They Were Strong and They Were Good in 1941, which he also wrote. He is the only author to win both the Caldecott Medal and the Newberry Medal. (Caldecott Medals are for illustrations and Newberry Medals are for writing.)

He won the Newberry Medal in 1945 for Rabbit Hill.

His other works include:

Just For Fun: A Collection of Stories and Verses 
Watchwords of Liberty 
Country Colic 
Mr. Wilmer
At That Time
Mr. Twigg's Mistake
Robbut: A Tale of Tails
Dick Whittington and His Cat
The Fabulous Flight
Smeller Martin 
McWhinney's Jaunt
Edward, Hoppy and Joe
The Tough Winter
The Great Wheel 


Having said all that, now I come to the catalyst for writing this blog post. I recently told my dear friend about these two authors that I adore. That following week she found these four books on the discard rack at her local library and she gave them to me!


Just look at these beautiful volumes!
Blue Berry Corners:


Coal Camp Girl:

Boomtown Boy:


Mr. Revere and I:
I am so delighted! Thank God for good friends!

And just so you can see the other Robert Lawson book that I have (my sister gave me this one):


Sources for my information on this post:







Saturday, September 7, 2024

Art

 

My mother-in-law bought me a sketch kit for my birthday this week. I was so excited to use it that I started as soon as I opened the package. I made these two drawings for a double baby shower today. I made the cards from these drawings. One of the families is expecting a boy. The other one is expecting a girl. And their due dates are a week apart, I believe. They are going to be close cousins!

I hope you all have a lovely weekend and get to enjoy fellowship with believers tomorrow. 

Hebrews 10:24+25
And let us consider one another 
to provoke unto love and to good works:

 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, 
as the manner of some is; 
but exhorting one another: and so much the more, 
as ye see the day approaching.


Saturday, August 31, 2024

Sewing Projects In August

 

I started a doll this month. I needed a hand sewing project to carry with me on the drive to church. I really enjoy making these dolls. I haven't gotten very far on this project yet. Check in September to see how far I get next month!

(If you want to make your own doll I do have my pattern available on Etsy.)


I have paused the doll sewing to make a pouch for my friend at church. She liked the sling bags that I have made for myself and my children. She didn't want a sling bag, though. She wanted a simple one-pocket pouch that buckled around her waist like a fanny pack. I drew up some pattern pieces and asked her if I had the shape and size right. She was happy with my design!

I went shopping in my stash for fabric, interfacing and a zipper. I found everything I needed except for the strap and buckle clip that I would need for the waist.

I looked at a few listings online for buckles and nylon straps. I kept thinking there has to be a strap around that I can salvage. I love to salvage as you have seen in many of my projects. 

I decided to pray that God would lay a strap in my path. Perhaps I could find one at the thrift store. I had another item that I needed so I decided to make a trip to the thrift store in town. What do you know! There was a fanny pack with a perfect strap for $1.99! I thanked God and got busy.

I used some iron on adhesive to make my own iron on interfacing/padding out of some heavy flannel.
I assembled the zipper with the fabric, interfacing, and lining. I did top stitching just like I did with the sling bags.
The band for the center of the bag came out to 11 1/2" measured while folded in half.
The first step I had taken was to fuse all the interfacing to the outer fabric. Once I sewed the lining to the panels, I trimmed everything to match the lining shape.
I created tabs for the waist belt and topstitched them. I put an extra piece of facing in the tabs for strength and stability but not the all-out heavy interfacing that I was using in the rest of the project.
Once the tabs were ready, I basted them to the back panel. This was confusing I had to do it twice before I got the straps oriented correctly.

I marked the stitching line on the panels, which turned out to be in a slightly different place than the seam allowance that I had figured on using would have landed. I guess that is because the padding/interfacing took up some room and caused a little easing and shifting to happen when I assembled the panel sandwiches.

I had to hand stitch the side panels to the middle band because of the difference in seam allowance. 

Now all I have left to do is bind the seams! You'll have to wait until September for the reveal!