Denim Whale Project

Last January I had the idea to make a bunch of denim whales, some for gifts and some to sell. I had seen some cute ones on Pinterest. I pinned them a long time ago in hopes that I would commit to making some in the future. So, a year ago, last January, as I was saying, I started drafting patterns. I studied some pictures of humpback whales. They were my models for flipper and tail shapes.

I sewed a few, did some tweaking, and settled on a design. I made a big eBay order for all the materials that I would need. I purchased 3 yards of denim, 5 pounds of polyester filling, 5 pounds of plastic beads that are made for stuffed animals, 3 spools of thread (I ended up needing 4 spools), plastic mailers to ship my whales to customers, and a digital scale to weigh the stuffing, as well as calculate shipping costs.

I was able to cut all the whales from the fabric in March. I ended up with enough material for 12 whales. Actually getting them all sewn has been a long process! I finished sewing the last one in November. And, I just finished sewing the last pair of eyes on last week!

A tutorial of sorts:

The first step of sewing a whale is sewing the flippers, turning them right side out, and topstitching. Make sure to have the right side of the fabric facing out on the top of the flipper and the wrong side of the fabric facing out on the bottom of the flipper.

Then I sew the 4 pleats along both sides of the belly of the whale. Before I sew the center belly seam, I zigzag stitch the raw edges on both pieces in the area I plan on leaving open to be able to turn the whale right side out. Then I sew the belly seam stopping and backstitching on both sides of the hole. I leave a hole about 2 1/2" long in the belly right behind where the flippers go, but before the narrow part of the tail.

I proceed to the top of the whale. I sew the center top seam all the way from the tip of the nose to the end of the tail. I finish all the raw edges with a zigzag stitch, as I go along. I baste the flippers onto the top piece. With right sides together (keep in mind that the right side of the bottom of the whale is the wrong side of the fabric) assemble the top to the bottom, tucking the flippers inside, and pinning carefully all around. Then I stitch it and finish the edges.

Now the whale has to be turned right side out and the topstitching on the tail has to be done.

I stuff my whales with a combination of poly fill and plastic beads. 3 oz. of plastic beads go in the belly and the rest gets filled up with 4 oz. of polyester fiber.

To make the eyes for my whales I cut a small circle (about the circumference of a pencil eraser) out of white, tightly woven, cotton material. I hand stitch it on to the whale with little whip stitches around the edge. Then I make the pupil. I use black thread and do a padded satin stitch in the center of the white of the eye.

Feel free to make your own whales with the ideas I have laid out here or head over to my Etsy store, QuietStandards, to purchase one from me! :)

Doulingo: A Free Language Learning App

You may have heard of Doulingo. It is a free language learning app. I downloaded it a year ago and have been using it to learn Spanish. I have learned over 4,000 words. The app is very easy to use. It only takes a few minutes (like 5) each day to complete a lesson. A few minutes here and there can really add up, though. Over the course of a year I spent over 78 hours learning Spanish just a few minutes at a time. Doulingo makes learning  fun and interactive. Doulingo teaches by using sight and sound and speech. There are listening exercises, as well as reading and spelling exercises, and portions of lessons where you have to practice speaking. By using all these methods to teach Doulingo is more effective than just learning by reading a book.

I still have a long way to go before I will be able to speak Spanish fluently. I would like to reach that goal before I am 30. Why? I have heard that if you don't learn a foreign language before you are 30 you likely never will. I have also heard that learning a language is good for your mind. It engages parts of your brain that other activities don't.

If you are interested in learning a language I recommend checking out Doulingo. They teach all the major languages like German, French, and Spanish, as well as obscure and endangered languages like Hawaiian
Navajo, and Irish, plus everything in between!
Here is a link.

Click here

The Wonderful Pineapple Weed!

I just learned, this month, that Pineapple Weed is Wild Chamomile!
I have long loved the scent of Pineapple Weed. Years before I knew the plant even had a name I would pick a bud whenever I passed a patch in the driveway, give it a pinch and smell the sweet aroma. The fragrance is so fruity and tropical.

I have tried for a few years to grow Chamomile, only being successful this year. I noticed that my Chamomile plants looked uncannily like Pineapple Weed. So, I decided to do some reading about Pineapple Weed. One of the first things that I came across is, that Pineapple Weed is, in fact, Wild Chamomile. I was super excited, because I get excited over these kinds of things. :)
Now I have been going out and picking Pineapple Weed buds every few days to dry for tea. I really enjoy Chamomile tea. The flavor of Chamomile is unique to that herb. I brewed a cup of Pineapple Weed tea and was very happy to find that it tasted just like Chamomile tea. It is indeed Wild Chamomile. :)

Recipe For Beef Jerky

Story Time Before The Recipe:

I grew up in a family that did not celebrate Valentine's Day. It was considered a pagan Roman Catholic holy day. We never participated.

After I got married I assumed that Mr. In The Mid-west had that same view of Valentine's Day. I remember saying in a conversation one day, ".....we don't do Valentines." And he said, "We don't?" That was my first clue. 

For several years we didn't do anything special. But, the year before last Mr. In The Mid-west did something sweet, gave me chocolate, I think. And, last year he bought me chocolate and a gave me a hand written card. I didn't have anything for him and I felt bad about that. 😔

This year I was determined not to be caught empty handed. I decided to make him beef jerky. It would be a special treat for him, because he never buys any for himself. He just can't justify the cost per ounce. Packaged store bought beef jerky is super pricy!

I watched prices for various cuts of beef. In January Beef Bottom Round roast was $2.99 per pound at our local IGA. I bought a 2 1/2 pound roast for $7.48 to make jerky for Mr. In The Mid-west.

The recipe I used was from Allrecipes.com (I really like their site). It so happens that it was a Chef Jon recipe from FoodWishes.com! I really like Chef Jon's YouTube video recipes. I have shared one of his videos in a post I did several years ago about making hash browns. I am not sure if any of you remember but here is a link. Back to jerky....... I went over to YouTube and watched Chef Jon demonstrate how to make beef jerky.

Partially freeze the roast. Pull it out of the freezer before it is solid. You want your roast to be firm this will help you to able to cut very thin slices of meat. Cut the beef into 1/4 slices.

Wisk together the marinade ingredients and pour or sliced beef. Separate the slices to insure that all surfaces are exposed to marinade. Soak overnight.

Pat the excess liquid off of the slices of beef on some paper towels. Dry the meat on racks in a very low oven for 5-6 hours. Package and present!

Chef Jon's Beef Jerky

From foodwishes.com

2 pounds thinly sliced beef top round

3/4 cup Worcestershire sauce

3/4 cup soy sauce

2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

1 rounded tablespoon smoked paprika

1/4 teaspoon cayenne

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 generous tablespoon honey

- Marinate for 3 hours or more.

- Bake at 175 F. for 3-4 hours or until dry and leathery

My jerky took longer to dry completely, more like 5-6 hours. Also, I didn't have honey. I used some brown sugar and molasses instead.

I Have Been Sprouting!

I just finished sprouting my first batch of broccoli sprouts. They are delicious! They do not have an earthy, aka dirt, flavor that some sprouts have. They are not spicey either, like radish sprouts. They taste like very mild broccoli.

Broccoli sprouts are supposed to be very healthy for you. All sprouts are supposed to be healthy, but broccoli have particularly high levels of some cancer fighting substance. Here is a link to more detailed information from a qualified source.

I really liked the broccoli sprouts. I think I  will be ordering some more seeds to sprouts soon. I had fun growing something in the dead of winter. It will be a long time until I see vegetables growing in the garden. 

I have also heard that sprouts can help people that deal with seasonal depression. I am not sure of how, but someone who has the winter blues may benefit from including sprouts in their diet.

Obviously, I am not a Dr. and I encourage everyone to do their own research. :)

What do you know about sprouts? Have you ever grown any sprouts? Tell me about it in the comments! :)

Midsummer Forest Creatures

We went for a stroll through the woods yesterday. We found lots of little creatures.
I am raising BMW to be quite the naturalist. He is good at spotting little insects. He is not afraid to handle them either.

Yesterday, on our walk, we saw an Assassin Bug, Daddy Long Legs, Butterflies, a baby snake, a Cicada, a Cicada shell, a Cardinal, and a Wren. The nettles were high. I have never been bothered much by stinging nettle. BMW did get his first sting from a nettle. Thankfully there was a paved path so we could steer clear of the nettles.

Daddy Long Leg⬆

Cicada⬆

I was scared to pick up the snake, even though it was a tiny baby. I was so jumpy as I tried to grasp the little fella. He was a fast little sucker. Once I did manage to pick up the little snake I realized how cute he was. He was scared. He calmed down when I closed my hand and gave him a place to hide. He looked at us with his little round eyes and flicked his tiny tongue out, tasting the air.

Psalms 105:5 

Remember his marvellous works that he hath done; his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth;

Drying Herbs, Trying A New Method

Psalms 104:14

 He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man: that he may bring forth food out of the earth;

I cut several bunches of oregano from my oregano patch Saturday and a couple bunches of mint.

It the past I have dried herbs on screens in the sun. I decided to use a different method this time because I don't have the screens readily available, as in the past.

Hanging herbs and drying them without heat is supposed to preserve more of the flavor. I am going to give this hanging method a try and see how well it works.

Let me know if you have tried drying Herbs? What methods have you tried? Do you have any recommendations? Let me know in the comments section!

Cute Baby Dress Made Out Of A Pillow Case

I found this pretty pillow case at my favorite thrift store for 50¢. I also picked out a cute newborn dress pattern for 25¢.

I put snaps on the back for the closer. They are easier to install than sewing button holes with my sewing machine. The snaps are also easy to use.

I kept the detailed boarder of the pillow case and used it at the bottom edge of the skirt.

I did make a minor mistake. I caught a small amount of the sleeve when I sewed the seam conecting the sleeve to the bodice.

The tuck would only be noticed if I pointed it out. I chose to leave it there. Who knows, if I took it out and tried to redo it I may have caused a worse problem. I have done that to myself before.

I really like the detail of this casing on the sleeves. I think it is cute!

This dress is a gift to our neighbor, who just had a baby girl. I hope she likes it!

I had fun creating something pretty for a little girl. With only boys of my own, I don't get that chance all that often. :)