Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas any more

I haven't bought yarn in a while, since my knitting has been seriously curtailed by sore fingers this year.  But when Craftsy had my favorite $11.99 sock yarn on sale for $3.99, I had to act.  I love jewel and earth tones.

I also bought some thicker yarn to knit hats.  I claim the blue!

Some fabric was an amazing 1/3 of the original price.  So even though I don't have projects in mind quite yet (ahem), I stocked up.  

Sommer by Sarah Jane, a 40-piece 10" x 10" layer cake set.

 Half yard Dreamfield bundle set by Lily & Loom (contains 20 half-yard pieces).

Free Spirit by Amy Butler, 5" charm pack (forty squares).

Lily & Loom Strawberry Fizz layer cake (forty 10" squares).

I love all of these charming and cheerful prints, although Dreamfield is my favorite!  I could easily make a large quilt with 20 half-yard pieces of fabric, but you might be wondering about the rest. Why bother with 40 five-inch or even ten-inch squares?  Well, it's just like a meal.  I've heard that if you're trying to save money, don't make meat your main course.  Build your meal around a vegetable or other side and have a little bit of meat as "an accent."  It's the same with quilting.  I can easily match solid-color fabrics to any of these prints and use the printed fabric to bulk out the quilt.  The patterns can be the accent and the overall effect will be just perfect!

We have finally, blissfully had a break from the oppressive heat and humidity.  Mornings are in the 70s now (!!!), at least for a while, and so we decided to take a hike.

I was surprised to see so many webworms!  They're really damaging to trees and spread quickly.

The black dots in the nest?  Caterpillar frass, or excrement.

This little guy will overwinter in tree cracks or in the leaf litter and emerge (in moth form) in early summer.  

 This is a yellow-striped oak worm.

He's another tree pest who will overwinter and emerge as a really attractive moth in early summer!

See this foamy spot on the branch?  It's yet another pest - the spittle bug. As they feed on the tree sap, they secrete "spittle." The spittle purpose is twofold:  it provides humidity, which helps the spittle bug grow, and offers protective covering from predators.

Despite the dry conditions, we saw lots of mushrooms.

And these amazingly complex funnel webs!  They're tornado-like, I think.

{Look away if you're spider-averse!}

We have funnel web spiders in Indiana, but I've never seen such elaborate webs!  Here he waits for his next meal.

I even love to see the insect carcasses caught in old webbing.  There's something octopus-like about this one.

On the home front, I've confirmed that there's definitely a new beaver in town!

They have the sweetest faces and I love to see them at work!

We've also got a heron pair.  I've got one thing on my mind:  heron BABIES!

I'll keep an eye out...and try to be patient!

Have a great week!

Fabric Scraps and Brawny Chaps

Other areas of the country might be experiencing the first whiff of fall, but here in South Carolina, it was 95 degrees yesterday.  It's been hot, hot, hot, with little rain, so I just haven't felt like going outside much.  Instead, I focused on some indoor crafting.

My quilt strips have been cut...

...and I've started the process of sewing pieces that will become part of larger squares together.

I've heard that the cutting is the most tedious part, and that whipping the pieces together on the machine will take no time at all.  We'll see!

I did a quick dollhouse project, because I feel like the dollhouse has been absolutely languishing, unloved, in our game room.  I found some embroidery floss that matched the tiny recliner I made earlier this year...

I tied a knot at the end of the 3 strands and braided it tightly, with the knotted end held securely under my KitchenAid mixer.  Once braided, I coated a piece of fabric with glue and carefully wound the braided thread in concentric circles.

Once dried, I cut out the braid (the fabric below comes along; it gives it stability) and placed it in front of the chair.  Voila!  A five-minute rag rug.

Although I haven't been knitting much, I did finish a pair of blue striped socks for myself:

I've also been taking a hand embroidery class on Craftsy.  I was finally able to master french knots and move beyond a running stitch.  First I embroidered a little hedgehog for Todd using the back stitch and scatter stitch:

Then, some farm animals using chain stitch and french knots:

I added the rosemary to the pig square because I thought it looked a little plain.  That is the fern stitch, I believe!

Even though my sugar intake has been pretty minimal, I've been doing a lot of baking.  These pumpkin cupcakes might be my favorite ever, thanks to the addition of a handful of cinnamon chips to the batter and marshmallow fluff to the frosting...

I made Star Wars-themed sugar cookies for our Star Wars-loving nephew recently, but plain sugar cookies are so boring.  I ended up making cookie sandwiches by filling them with a simple vanilla buttercream and adding sprinkles around the edges.  They were SO tasty!

I also made my favorite cream cheese/coconut banana bread.  Didn't last long around here.

I don't just make sweets.  I made naan a week or so ago, which is my new favorite for homemade pizza.  The dough is made the same...the mix, the rise, and shaping into balls for a second rise.

But you cook them on the griddle at a very high temperature, just like homemade tortillas.

So good.

Not too much going on outside the house.  Todd (my brawny chap!) is slowly chopping up and stacking the massive amounts of wood that now litter our yard:

A newborn fawn (another one!) died behind our house last week...

 ...but most of the fawns around here are growing and thriving.

I'm mainly keeping an eye out for cooler temperatures.  Hopefully by October we'll at least be in the 70s!

Have a great week!