August Sewing Report

 

You can see by the beads of sweat on my arm that this month ended hot and steamy in my sewing room. My sewing room is non-air-conditioned, but if you've been around for any length of time, you all know that I relish the hot, hot days. I'm not complaining at all!

It has been a funny month weather wise. We had a week of cool weather that reminded us all that fall is around the corner. Then we had a week of hot and humid weather that made us all think we had been transported to the Everglades.

Anyway, I will start at the beginning......

One of my boys ripped my downy comforter. I really like this coverlet so I wanted to repair it posthaste.

The patch is not much to look at, but it counts as the first sewing project in August.

The next sewing project was a repair on a Christopher & Banks dress that I really like. I had split the side seam on the right side of the skirt.

The fabric was in pretty bad shape at the split. The stitches and pulled through the weave of the fabric as the two sides were pulled apart, leaving the fabric frayed and damaged.

I used some iron on adhesive webbing to glue new fabric to the back side of the dress fabric. Then I restitched the seam and stitched the patch in place with some matching thread. 

The thread blends in really well. I am happy with how this turned out. Hopefully, the other side will not split. I am a little worried about it.

The next sewing project that I accomplished was to finish a skirt that has been in my UFO pile for 5 years. All I had left to do was make and attach belt loops and hem the skirt. I was able to do both tasks in one afternoon! I'm glad to be done.

To form belt loops I cut a 2 inch strip of denim. (1.) I folded it in half length wise and pressed it. (2.) I opened it back up and the folded each edge towards the center. (3.) Fold the strip back down the center, this time encasing the raw edges.

I stitched two rows of stitching on the top surface. 

Then I cut the band to proper belt loop lengths.

Last I stitched the belt loops on to the skirt.

I decided to start sewing a dress for myself. I set to cutting out the pattern. This is a See & Sew pattern for a shirt dress that I found at a thrift store in PA. At the time that I found this pattern I was wanting a shirt dress really badly. I consider this pattern a particular gift from the Lord. I had been looking at shirt dress patterns and pattern reviews online trying to pick out the perfect pattern. And then this pattern came into my path for only 25¢. It has only one size in the envelope. Thankfully, it is a size that will fit on me.

Another nice thing is that this pattern had never been used before. I cut the pattern pieces and cut my fabric pieces.

I have finished the collar. This is a type of collar that I have never sewn before now. It came together nicely. It was nice to try something new.

This was the first time sewing a sleeve like this that has a tab to button when the sleeves are rolled up. I do like sleeves like this, so it is a nice feature of this pattern.

I have one more week before homeschooling starts. This is my chance to get this dress finished. After school starts there will be much less sewing progress to report. 

I'll see you again in September and let you know how it goes.

Stuffed Baby Whales Toy Tutorial Part 2: The Eyes

To sew the eyes:

I cut the eyes from a piece of tightly woven, white cotton. I use the back of a pen for a template.

I place the eye on the whale and use a pin to keep it in place.

I thread a needle a tie a secure knot at the end. I poke the needle into the whale a short distance from the eye. I am careful to put the point of the needle between the weft and warp of the weave.

Pull the needle up through the edge of the eye. And pull the knot through to the inside of the whale.

Make a small stitch around the edge of the eye and through the whale fabric.

Pull the stitch down to a small loop.

Using the tip of my needle I lay the stitch just where I want it as I pull the thread tight. 

Keep stitching around the edge of the eye.

Go all the way around.

And then stitch all the way around for a second time.

To tie my thread off, I tie a knot in the the thread.

I tie another knot right on top of the first knot.

I poke the tip of my needle, trying to place it between the weave. I have my needle come up a short distance from the eye.

I pull the knot through the hole, and down into the whale.

Clip the thread off. 

Next, the pupil of the eye has to be added.

I use a double threaded needle. I tie a knot and pull the knot to the inside of the whale.

I make the pupil with a padded satin stitch. Meaning; I make stitches in one direction and then stitch over top of the first stitches in the opposite direction.

To tie the thread off; I tie a single knot in the thread then poke the tip of my needle down, trying to place it between the weave of the eye fabric and the whale fabric beneath.

I put the needle up some distance away from the eye. I pull the knot through the fabrics. I help the knot go through by pushing down with the tip of my needle while keeping tension on the thread by pulling tightly with my fingers.

Clip the thread.

Tada! Finished!

Stuffed Baby Whale Toy Tutorial Part 1: The Body

I start by cutting the pieces out. I usually have some scraps or remnants. 

I use denim from jeans a lot of the time. 

It is fun to make the belly of the whales out of a contrasting printed fabric.

If I am not using a print material for the belly I will use the denim wrong side out.

Here are all the pieces for the upper whale laid out:

Step 1. With right sides together pin the center to one of the sides. Then stitch and zigzag the seam.

Step 2. Line up the other side to the center piece, pin, stitch, and zigzag.

Lining up the tail can be a little tricky. Make sure you fold open the first seam (from step 1.) Line the tail pieces up and pin in place. Pin it on the outside of the first seam. You want to be sure your stitching incompasses the first seam at the end of the pointed center piece so as not to leave any of the raw edge exposed.

You can check to see if your seam is deep enough by turning the tail over the second row of stitching should be a little wider seam that the first seam's stitching.

Step 3. Take the flipper pieces and pin them right sides together, stitch and clip curves. Flip right side out.

Step 5. Pin the flippers to the right side of the belly piece, baste.

Step 6. Zigzag stitch the raw edges of the belly piece and the upper assembly where the mouth opening will be. This will keep the edges from unraveling during the maneuvering of flipping the whale right side out and stuffing with polyfill.

Step 7. With right sides together, pin the belly piece to the upper assembly lining up the centers and tails. Stitch leaving and opening at the mouth, clip corners and zigzag to finish the raw edges.

Step 8. Turn whale right side out. A wooden skewer comes in handy with the corners of the tail.

Step 9. Stuff the whale with polyester filling. The wooden skewer is handy for this, too.

Step 10. Pin the opening closed.

Step 11. Using a ladder stitch, stitch the opening closed.

The body of the whale is done. All that remains is to sew on the eyes. 

Next week: How to sew on whale eyes.

Friendship by Henry Beer (Poem)

 Friendship

There are friendships that I cherish

In my daily walk of life.

Friends with whom I meet and labor

In our earthly toil and strife.

Friends among the aged and youthful,

Friends that live from us apart;

Friends of higher rank and station

Find a place within my heart.

But I prize the friendship highest

Of the one whose heart is true;

Friends who live by truth and goodness

And who live in Him anew.

Friends who's hearts are up in heaven,

Though their feet traverse this sod,

Find a place of highest merit

In our fellowship with God.

There's a tie of noble kinship

In a soul who loves the Lord,

There's a friendship warm and lasting

If he heeds the Master's Word.

There is a mutual understanding

And a sympathy so kind

In the tie of Christian friendship,

As in earth sometimes we find.

When at last these ties are riven,

When we're called to go on high,

Oh, how sweet to meet in heaven,

Friends forever - you and I.

My Garden of Verse

By Henry Beer

Page 238

Tortilla Recipe!

 

I like having a tortilla recipe. It comes in handy sometimes. I don't always make my own tortillas. Most of the time I buy them at the grocery store. Occasionally, I am out of tortillas, and need tortillas for a meal. If I have flour, oil (or rendered fat), salt, and water, I can make homemade tortillas.

Tortilla Recipe 

1 3/4 cups flour 

1 tsp. salt

1/4 cup oil or shortening (I use fat from my jar in the fridge.)

1/2 cup warm water

In a mixing bowl combine flour and salt.

Rub in the shortening OR stir in the oil until distributed evenly.

Add the warm water, and stir to form a dough.

Knead 3-4 minutes.

Optional: Rest dough 4-24 hours in the refrigerator to make the dough easier to work with.

Divide dough into even portions: 10 portions for small tortillas, 8 portions for medium tortillas, or 6 portions for burrito size tortillas.

Form the portions into neat balls and flatten into discs. 

Use a rolling pin to roll the disc thin making tortillas.

Cook the tortillas on a hot ungreased skillet or griddle, turning the tortillas halfway through the cooking. It takes 30-60 seconds per side.

Keep the tortillas warm in a clean towel while you finish cooking the batch.

To store: allow the tortillas to cool, and put in an air tight container or bag, and place in the fridge. Rewarm in a skillet to use later.

Enjoy!

I am going to do the math for a double batch below. I need to make a double batch if I want enough tortillas for two meals. This math will help me in the future. :)

Amounts for a double batch:

3 1/2 cups Flour

1 tsp. salt

1/2 cup shortening or oil

1 cup of warm water

 

Books That I Have Read Over The Summer|2023

Books discussed: The Whipping Boy, Old Yeller, Savage Sam, The Count Of Monte Cristo, Ben Hur: A Tale Of The Christ, and Treasure Island.
WARNING: There will be spoilers in this post. 

The Whipping Boy 

Author: Sid Fleischman 

Form: real book from the library 

This is a chapter book for children. I have good memories of hearing this book when I was a child. We read several Sid Fleischman books while I was growing up. He writes rather lighthearted novels for children. 

The Whipping Boy is about two boys, Jemmy from the streets and The Prince Humphrey, and how they go from being enemies to becoming friends because they face hardships together and make sacrifices for one another. 

Jemmy is The Prince's whipping boy, meaning; he gets a whipping when the Prince deserves a whipping. This is a terribly unjust arrangement. While the rest of this story is a fabrication, whipping boys were really a thing in the past.

Jemmy and The Prince end up in the forest and get captured by notorious highway men, Cutwater and Hold Your Nose Billy. Billy has such a long name because he eats garlic bulbs as if they are apples, therefore, he stinks. :-)

The outlaws hold the boys hostage. There is a mix up, an escape, a few close calls, some allies, and a chase scene.

Through it all the boys learn some lessons about what it is like to walk in someone else's shoes, what friendship is about, and forgiving those who have done you wrong.

Old Yeller

Author: Fred Gibson

Form: real book form the library 

This is one of my favorite books from my childhood. The movie was even good, which can't be said for most of the movie versions of my favorite books. 

Growing up, I related a lot with the main character, Travis Coats. He is the oldest in his family (so am I) and he takes on a lot of responsibility when his father is gone on a cattle drive over the summer. He thinks he knows how his mother should be parenting his little brother, and boy, did I ever think I knew how to parent my siblings better than my mom. My perspective has changed a little. This time when I read Old Yeller I was able to see traces of Travis' immaturity. When I read it as a child I really looked up to Travis and thought he had very rational opinions about everything.

Old Yeller is a tear jerker. I couldn't make it through the last chapter without crying. That is not a spoiler, though, Travis spoils the book on the first page. He says, (I am going to paraphrase from memory) "The first day that yeller hound showed up I wanted to shoot him, but when the day came that I had to it was about the hardest thing I'd ever done." When I came to that line while reading with my boys I was surprised. How could he just come out and say that at the beginning of the book!?

This story is set in Texas just as cattle drives were becoming a thing. Indians, wild hogs, fighting bulls, bears, and hydrophobia were threats at this time to settlers like the Coats. 

Old Yeller is told from the perspective of 14 year old Travis. The story reels you in and gets you attached to all the characters; Travis, little Arliss, Old Yeller, Mama, Lisabeth, Burn Sanders, Papa, and Bud Sercey.

Gibson does a good job at giving the reader just enough of the right information to make you feel like you are there with them and you can smell the corn bread and feel the sun on your back. You understand their lives and feel the hope, despair, fear, grief, and joy that they feel. The Texas accent throughout is very consistent and doesn't feel contrived at all.

The story looks into what it is like to grow up. What it is like to take on an adult's share of responsibility. What it is like to make hard, grown up decisions. And what it is like to face real emotional and physical pain. The kind of pain that you are protected from as a child. The weight of this story hits right at the end. The last chapter contains the whole point. Travis has to go through a very hard experience. This experience leaves him numb and empty. He can't care about anything anymore. 

His father has a talk with him that helps Travis get to the other side of his grief. And in this conversation he states the take away. He says life is hard and, while you don't exactly want to forget the trauma, you, also don't want to forget that there is still good in life. The bad is not all there is and there is still good in living. You have to remember that. 

When I was reading this part out loud I had to keep apologizing for all the blubbering I was doing. That part gets me right in the feels!

I don't think my children got the point. I know I didn't when I was a child. To children this is a fun story about a boy and his dog with some funny parts, and some-edge-of-your-seat parts, a little sad part at the end but it doesn't last long, then Travis can enjoy his new horse and live happily ever after.

Savage Sam

Author: Fred Gibson

Form: real book from the library

Savage Sam is the sequel to Old Yeller. Many people don't know that there is a sequel, but there is. It is not the same kind of story as Old Yeller. Old Yeller is a coming of age novel. Savage Sam is an adventure novel. I think that Old Yeller is the better story, but after that ending I was just glad us readers didn't have to leave Travis and the whole gang there. 

In this story Travis, little Arliss, and Lisabeth get captured by raiding Indians. The whole book is about that experience and about how they get rescued. There is more violence in this book; torture, killing, and blood. It was right at the border of what I am comfortable reading out loud. I get it, it's the wild west. In real life Indians killed indiscriminately and settlers had no qualms about taking revenge. This story does touch on the question of the morality of the situation. Are the Indians justified for hating white settlers? Are the settlers justified for wanting every Indian dead? The solution for the group of men that set out to save the children is that saving the children is a worthy cause and killing Indians will be necessary, but not the goal. In the end Travis lets one of the Indians live that he has dead to rights. Travis doesn't even understand his own reasoning. Why did he let the Indian go? I think the author is trying to create a moment where you see that people don't always make sense and once you see the humanity in your enemy it is hard to hate them anymore.

This story has lots of descriptions of the scenery; the plants, the wildlife, the topography. If you took out the descriptions of their surroundings I think half of the book would be gone. There is not much else to talk about while they are captured. They are on the run, on the run, on the run. So Gibson takes the opportunity to educate the reader on what the Texas hill and plain country was like in the old days, by describing the scenery. I felt like I learned somethings about a place that I have never visited. They have to face threats from the harshness of their environment like javelina hogs, rattlesnakes, hailstorms, and flash floods.

The last half of the book has more dialogue and you get to read about the characters a lot more. Once you get to that part it feels a little more like the writing in Old Yeller. There is more humour and that great Texas accent comes out.

I think my next read a loud needs to be something on the sweet side. These two books have given us  enough adventure for a while.

The Count Of Monte Cristo

Author: Alexander Dumas

Form: audiobook on Librivox.com

It took me over two years to finish this audiobook. It is a really long book (117 chapters/54hours) and some parts really drag on. That is why it has taken me so long to finish it. I listened to a few chapters here and there, off and on. This summer I finally got to the last third of the book. The last third of the book gets really exciting and chapters just fly by.

The main character, Edmond Dantes, is a youth on the cusp of success and happiness in the beginning of the book. He is about to be promoted to a leadership role on the ship on which he has been employed and he is about to get married to the love of his life, Mercedes. All of this changes on the day of his wedding. He never gets to marry Mercedes. Unbeknownst to Edmond, he has enemies. 

Listening to this story I learned about the French revolution. It was very interesting and played a major role into the reasons that Edmond gets sent to a prison and forgotten there.

Long story short, Edmond escapes and comes to possess an unfathomable wealth of treasure. He hatches a plan to carry out the most epic and exacting revenge on those who did him wrong. He leaves his old identity and now calls himself The Count Of Monte Cristo. The Count is sure that he is the hand of God's judgement on Earth. He is totally justified and sees himself as being used to carry out justice. 

As the reader, you are left in the dark about what his plans of revenge are exactly. Each new development is intriguing and sometimes confusing. But the plot comes together almost perfectly. I say almost perfectly.

My favorite part of the book happens during the phase of the story where The Count is realizing that he is doing harm to some innocent individuals. In Chapter 89, Mercedes, now Madame de Morcerf, goes to The Count to plea for her son's life and calls The Count, Edmond. I didn't know that she knew that The Count was Edmond. The Count didn't know that she knew he was Edmond. It was a shock. I was so happy that she had figured it out. I was also glad that The Count, who had been proud of himself for his disguise, had been bested by the woman who was his first love. It's like her soul knew his no matter how he tried to hide it from her.

The Count's revenge touches more people's lives than only the one's who are guilty. He sees that he is not as wise as God and he can't carry out perfect justice. He patches the cracks as best as he can.

He revisits his past. He reflects. He makes peace. What is done is done. What is passed is passed. He is no longer referred to in the text as The Count but, instead, Dantes. His identity shifts again.

The last words of Edmond Dantes in the book are:

"Live, then, and be happy, beloved children of my heart, and never forget, that until the day God will deign to reveal the future to man, all human wisdom is contained in these two words, ‘Wait and Hope.” 

I still think about that, wait and hope. Wait for what? Wait for justice? Wait for love? Wait for healing? Wait for a happy ending? Is the point, don't take things into your own hands; wait? And hope. Is that important so that you won't become bitter while you wait?

Another line at the end that sums up the the goal of the story is:

"There is neither happiness nor misery in the world; there is only the comparison of one state with another, nothing more. He who has felt the deepest grief is best able to experience supreme happiness."

Is that so? Must you go through hard things to realize the height of happiness?

Ben Hur: A Tale Of The Christ

Author: Lew Wallace

Form: audiobook on Librivox.com

This is the second time that I have listened to Ben Hur. Ben Hur is divided into 8 books. The main theme is describing who Jesus is and what it must have been like for those who were waiting for a conquering Messiah. Thankfully, he makes the main character, Judah Ben Hur, realize that Jesus is the Messiah even though he was baffled at first by what seemed like Jesus' demise.

The first book is a little hard to get through. You have to get through lots, and lots, of descriptions. The way that Lew Wallace describes things doesn't really help me to feel like I have been transported to a different time and place, though, and it is certainly not for lack of details. His descriptions are very detailed. They give the feeling of a textbook, though. You can tell he did a lot of research and wanted to fit everything he had learned into the book, but it doesn't come off in a natural way.

One thing that drives me nuts is that he makes Jesus out to have feminine European features: the blue eyes, the delicate hands....... He even uses a phrase in the Bible to prop up this Europeanisation of Jesus when he describes Mary, saying something to the effect, "like the boy David who had, "ruddy cheeks," so was Mary fair skinned." I have heard this David's-ruddy-cheeks argument before by those who want to "prove" that Jews were white.

I, also, find Lew Wallace's characters a little unbelievable, in that the good guys are so good. They have no shortcomings. They are so morally consistent and loyal to their convictions that they are a little unrealistic.

Anyway, I could look past those short comings and enjoy the story. This is another story about someone, Judah Ben Hur, who has been unjustly accused and punished, then assumed dead, who manages to escape and plan a revenge plot.

I would say Judah's story line is very interesting. It keeps you engaged and rooting for his wellbeing and success. 

My favorite part of the book is when Jesus heals Judah's Mother and Sister of leprosy. That is a really bad spoiler. Sorry, if you haven't read Ben Hur. That scene makes me so happy and it gives me goosebumps. It is written in a way that did make me feel like I was there and got to see Jesus perform a miracle for someone that I really cared about who had no hope left in the word beside Jesus.

The whole crucifixion sequence is true to the Bible. Everything that Jesus says is from the Bible. Lew Wallace kept Jesus' words in King James English. I think that is a nice touch and serves to set what Jesus says apart from all the others. It keeps his words sounding sacred and not of this world.

There are a few characters that show the different perspectives that religious people may have had about Jesus at the time. Balthasar, a non-jew, sees all along that Jesus is King of a spiritual, transcendent kingdom. Balthasar is not looking for Jesus to conquer Rome. Judah Ben Hur and Simonides are looking for the Messiah to set up an earthly kingdom and rule the whole world. They have lived under Rome's domineering power for too long, and they can't wait to see Rome destroyed. They believe that The Nazarene is the Messiah. They gather weapons and train a militia to be ready for the time when Jesus of Nazareth will make his move and lay Rome waste. They will be ready to lend him their service. When Jesus is arrested they still hold out hope. Maybe He will call legions of angels. But as the crucifixion goes on they lose hope. Judah realizes before Simonides does, that Balthasar is right. Jesus is God and the son of God. He realizes that the political and religious leaders are not taking Jesus' life, but rather that Jesus is laying it down for him and for the world. And true to Lew Wallace's perfect characters, Simonides also comes to this faith in the true mission of the Messiah. 

The book ends shortly after the crucifixion with an epilogue of sorts showing a scene 5 years in the future. You see that Judah is involved in the early church and used his fortune to help the brethren survive persecution.

Treasure Island 

Author: Robert Lewis Stevenson

Form: audiobook on Librivox.com

I listened to this book because I was bored and didn't have a good idea of what I really wanted to listen to. It was a trash book. Not that the contents were trash but that I listened to it to burn time. I didn't pay very much attention to this book.

It is the original pirate tale. There is a peg leg, a parrot, riotous living (rum and more rum), a treasure map, a marooned sailor....... 

I felt like the point of this story was that many times in this life individuals don't get what they deserve. You can betray your mates, be a thief and a back stabber, and you may end up retired on a tropical island happily ever after in the case of Long John Silver. You may make foolhardy decisions that should lead to catastrophe but some how lead to saving all your friends' lives, in the case of young Jim Hawkins. 

It's like, justice is never served here on Earth. And that has been a frustration of mine ever since I was a little child. Psalm 73 was one I was very familiar with as a young person because it addressed the questions I had about why even bother trying to live right? Good people suffer often and bad people enjoy success often.

Psalms 73:16+17 "When I thought to know this, it was too painful for me; Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end."

You have to live for the hereafter. And you'll choose to do what is right not because you hope to live an easy life, but because God loves you and you love God.