Mountain Musings

What I've been doing...

Ever since I finally completed my pillow shams, I've been working on whittling down my  pile of projects. The past couple of days have been spent converting an old sweater into a pillow. The sleeves were too short, there were holes in the collar, but I didn't want to throw it away. :)

So out came the scissors, and I cut off the seams, sleeves, and collar and TA-DA! A square of knit cloth perfect for a pillow! I sewed around the edges, leaving an opening on one side, turned it right side out, and slid in the pillow.

Next, I had to hand sew the opening closed. The last step was to sew around the square again, but in 2 1/2 inches to make a ruffle of sorts. That was it - all done! Now I have a nice little white pillow to decorate my bed. :)

Recently I've also either finished or almost finished a skirt, dress, and blanket. The pile of projects is slowly but surely shrinking!

Not only have I been sewing, but I've also been READING. My book pile has needed whittling down just as much as my projects! A whole huge stack has now been finished, with just a few more to go.

Doesn't it feel good to check things off your to-do list?

~Sarah

Pickin' and Grinnin'

Yes, that's right, I have expanded my musical instrument repertoire to include the banjo!

I received this five-string banjo as a surprise Christmas gift from Granny and have been pickin' away ever since. 

It was fairly easy to pick up the basic "feel" of the instrument, since I've been playing guitar now for several years. Of course, the way one approaches tunes is completely different on the banjo than on the guitar.

There seem to be two distinct styles of banjo-playing: Scruggs style and clawhammer style. Scruggs style is probably what most people think of when they think of the banjo and is named after its developer Earl Scruggs. It's used predominately in bluegrass music, and it is very fast. The player also uses finger picks on the index, middle, and thumb fingers to strike the strings.  Clawhammer banjo, on the other hand, does not use finger picks. The player uses the back of his fingernails to strike downward on the strings. This style tends to be more laid back than the Scruggs style and is used in old-time fiddle tunes rather than bluegrass.

I've gravitated toward the clawhammer style, mainly because I haven't bought finger picks yet, and I like the mellower sound of using my fingers instead of picks. I think right now, my playing is kind of a hybrid of both! I would like to gain exposure to both styles though and see what best suits me.

A little sound file to liven up your Saturday:  The Red-Haired Boy (720KB). This is a fiddle tune that came from Scotland and Ireland and is now also played by old-time musicians as well. It was one of the first tunes I tried picking out when I started playing the banjo. I recorded myself the other evening on banjo, then accompanied it with guitar. Enjoy!

~Jonathan