In the Apr/May issue of MaryJanesFarm, “Dancin’ in the Rain,” I led you here to my daily journal for a chance to win some special giveaways. Following, you’ll find the winners of all three giveaways. Thank you to all who participated by leaving comments, and stay tuned for more giveaways in each issue of MaryJanesFarm. If you’re not yet a subscriber to MaryJanesFarm, subscribe here for $19.95/year.
———
The winner of my “Kathleen Shoop, Dancin’ in the Rain” giveaway (for a free copy of all three books in Kathleen’s “Endless Love Series”) is Rhonda Bowdy, who left this comment in response to “Tell me what your favorite book was in 2015.”
“I constantly have a book with me. I love to read. I read so many books in 2015. Love to read Debbie Macomber. Just finished Danielle Steele’s A Good Woman. It was great.”
———
The winner of my “Patch Abilities, Dancin’ in the Rain” giveaway (for a free mini quilt pattern) is Sandra Winkles, who left this comment in response to “Tell me your favorite stitching pastime.”
“I am a quilter. Love your designs; they are happy and doable in a short period of time.”
———
The 10 winners of my “Dancin’ in the Rain, Soil Sisters” giveaway (for a free copy of Lisa Kivirist’s new book, Soil Sisters: a Toolkit for Women Farmers), each of whom responded to the comment “Tell me something you do that makes you a farmgirl.” are:
Michelle, who said: “I love living in rural Oklahoma! My hubby and I have done so for 25+ years … while raising cattle. While some were raised for beef, many are bred and born for show calves. I am a stay-at-home wife, mom, and Grams to one feisty 1-year-old grandson! (He loves to feed cows with his Pops.) Love everything that raising 100+ head of cattle brings to my life. I enjoy living the life of a “farmgirl” and everything it has to offer!”
Kellie Eggers, who said: “Most of the things I do that make me a farmgirl make many people think I’m crazy! Longing for ducklings for my young girls on Easter, I arranged for a good friend to take them after 2 days and she had a lovely property with a pond. We were in an apartment and actually let them in the bathtub briefly. I plant absolutely anywhere I can tuck anything. I have a yearning to sew all of my own clothes and just want everything to be handmade, which oddly not enough people can relate to.”
Catherine Harris, who said: “Thank you so much for the chance to win this extraordinary book, I am so excited and praying I win! My “farmgirl” life began early as a child, when my father got me a calf. What an experience I had with her raising her! The farm gave me a relationship with my father that I will hold close to my heart forever and ever! I now have 16 chickens; 7 of them are baby Marans. I love to blog about this amazing life I have on my piece of heaven, #harrisfarms. Two years ago, my life took a huge turn. I was diagnosed with MS. I went from “corporate climbing” back to my roots of “farmgirl.” I am thankful for this turn in my life because I see the world now! I am excited to hopefully add goats and a cow to our little adventure one day. Please feel free to visit my little blog and again thank you for this opportunity, I hope I win!”
Annette, who said: “I raised three kids to love the farm life. My dh died when they were teens. Because of the aftermath, I couldn’t give them much except some old buildings and the love of a farm life. Today, as young adults, all three have soil in their veins and are actively involved in various agricultural endeavors. I can’t even explain how happy I am to see my son rubbing the soil between his fingers; another son whose smile you can’t wipe off his face, all because he gets to run a combine; or my dd, who is learning so much about vegetables. I did it and I am proud of myself.”
Phyllis Mogensen Kochert, who said: “I am a born & bred farmgirl, e.g. my farm heritage goes back to Denmark on my dad’s side. I am the oldest of 8 kids who worked the family farm in southcentral Idaho. I still live in the same county with my husband (an Indiana farm kid), and we own 97 acres of lava rock interspersed with sand & loam. Mostly, I garden in raised beds due to lava bed beneath. It is so satisfying to eat a meal that is mostly homegrown, organically of course. Our load of compost from local dairies is coming soon. I love to plan my veggie garden on paper first, then use it for reference during the season. We also plant food & cover crops for wildlife (deer, pheasants, waterfowl, etc.), cooperating with Idaho Fish and Game and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Yay, farming!!”
Alicia Winkler, who said: “We farm on a small scale. I do my best to raise as much food as I can for my family. It brings me joy and my family is healthier! 🙂 I love learning to preserve new items every year. I am always learning!”
Terry Steinmetz, who said: “I was not raised on a farm, but my grandparents owned one and I lived only 3 miles from them. I loved to go to the farm and check everything out. My grandfather taught me to drive his tractor, ride the combine & hay wagon. He shared with me how the soybeans and wheat grew, what the farm needed to sustain itself. I also love the barn and especially the pigs. Chickens and I did not get along, especially my grandmother’s prize rooster. He attacked me many times before Grandma rescued me by wringing his neck when she caught him jumping on my neck! I even raised a couple of ducks. Farming to me also is about the picnics, family dinners, fresh veggies & fruits, and sitting in Grandma’s favorite apple tree—when I didn’t get caught! I learned many lessons on my grandparents’ farm for which I truly am glad. My hubby was raised on a couple farms, too. We have 40 acres and do a garden, apple orchards, rhubarb & asparagus. And then on the back of the place is where my glamper sits and I enjoy going to it each each day. Life is good! A farmgirl even if only in small ways and big dreams!”
Denise, who said: “I grew up on a farm. A chicken farm. My dad was great at what he did raising those chickens. We never had problems with people knowing there was a chicken around because he kept the coops clean and we had many happy, healthy hens for all those years. He is 90 now and lives with us. I glean much from him about taking care of our hens and about gardening. We always had a big garden and with free fertilizer right in the hen house. I enjoy learning all I can about gardening. I feel like I am getting part of my childhood back, as I was the baby of my family and I was born later in my parents’ life. I enjoy all the memories we are making now, as well as the ones from my childhood. I have always considered myself a farmgirl.”
Becka Gagne, who said: “I have been farming on a small scale for over 20 years and love the rituals of the seasons … The season of dreaming and imagining is coming to an end and the season of seeds is opening! Organize, sort, order and start! Trying to figure out a funding plan that will get my dream barn built over the next couple years …”
Laurie Scott, who said: “We live in a country suburban atmosphere. I enjoy getting my raised beds ready for planting my veggie garden. My 8-year-old granddaughter also enjoys helping Nana with planning and planting and watching the seeds grow in their different stages. I have been doing this for many years with my granddaughter. It’s a great learning experience for us. I also have fruit trees that bear us fruit. Love the idea that might near all our fruit and veggies are homegrown and pesticide free/organic. My children live close by and I share my harvesting with them. I live in Texas, so I can plant almost year-round and what I don’t share, I can.”
Congratulations, winners!!!
Welcome New Sisters! (click for current roster)
Merit Badge Awardees (click for latest awards)
My featured Merit Badge Awardee of the Week is … CJ Armstrong!!!
CJ Armstrong (ceejay48, #665) has received a certificate of achievement in Stitching & Crafting for earning an Expert Level UFO’s Merit Badge!
“For a variety of reasons, I just don’t have many UFOs left sitting around waiting to be finished. That generally isn’t my style anyway, but because of health challenges and other things I’ve been purging, recycling, and cleaning up my project room.
During the summer of 2011, my daughter and I had the privilege of going on the “Women of the Wild West” road trip which took us through Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho. We met many farmgirls along the way, enjoyed a lot of activities and adventures, and ended our journey with a stay at MaryJanesFarm B&B and a Farmgirl Tea Party.
I had made memory books for both of us to take along. We asked each farmgirl we met to write a short note in the books and we also made notes, etc. I had taken a lot of photographs, had some prints made, and have been carrying this project around in my project case while glamping or traveling, hoping to get time to work on it. I also had included scissors and adhesive products and other embellishments to finish the book.
This project required sorting, selecting, and cropping photos as well as mounting them in the book and making journal notes to correspond with the photos.
It has taken well over the required 30 hours to complete.
Photos of this project are included in the UFO thread in the Stitching and Crafting section: www.maryjanesfarm.org/snitz/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=71440
I’m so glad to have this project finished and be able to enjoy the book, looking back at the photos, reading the notes, and smiling at the fun and fond memories of this wonderful trip with my daughter.”
As one of the premier providers of environmental education in the Palouse area of eastern Washington and northern Idaho, The Palouse-Clearwater Environmental Institute (PCEI) that I founded way back in 1986 is always looking for new and creative ways to get people of all ages out and exploring the natural world.
That’s why this year, PCEI is offering STREAM Team—a week-long summer experience for girls entering their 7th-10th grade years that focuses on the STREAM fields: Science, Technology, Restoration, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics.
Coordinated and led by a team of female PCEI instructors, this program will feature outdoor application experiences with female community mentors who are professionals in the STREAM fields. They will share their journeys through STREAM—how they overcame the gender disparity in these fields, how their work helps the environment, and how we can do similar things with our lives.
When: Monday, June 27 to Friday, July 1, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Where: The PCEI Nature Center, 1040 Rodeo Drive, Moscow, Idaho (downtown pick-up and drop off available)
Cost: $50 (payment plans and scholarships are available; inquire at learning@pcei.org)
APPLICATIONS DUE APRIL 22, 2016
Find more information and application forms at http://www.pcei.org/stream-team.
Welcome New Sisters! (click for current roster)
Merit Badge Awardees (click for latest awards)
My featured Merit Badge Awardee of the Week is … Wendie George!!!
Wendie George (#6918) has received a certificate of achievement in Stitching & Crafting for earning a Beginner Level UFOs Merit Badge!
“This is a great badge to earn. It’s a real feel-gooder. It feels great to finish a project that has been nagging at you.
The first part was a bit intimidating. Organizing and putting all my UFOs each into their own container or bag was a bit of work. It has started the whole process of cleaning and reorganizing my entire craft room. This is also a good thing. I purchased a bunch of clear plastic totes and placed one project into a tote/box. I then made the list of any supplies still needed to finish it and put the list inside the box on top of the supplies. I had a bunch of chalkboard stickers, so I put one on the front of each box and labeled the box with the project inside. While cleaning, I also made a box labeled “donation” for projects I no longer had interest in doing.
The second part was to finish one of the UFOs. I chose to finish a baby quilt for a coworker that I started about a month ago. The quilt top was pieced together, but that’s as far as I had gotten.
I feel I have succeeded in bagging and tagging all my UFOs. I also made a quick list of them all so I could start to cross it off. I am not going to admit the total number of UFOs on the list. I will just steadily work at finishing them while not creating more. Today I mailed the box of donation items to my Aunt. She is heavily involved with the church and many other quilters and aspiring quilters. I will let her spread out the projects to others who are willing to complete them (most were never started).
I started to finish the quilt by sandwiching the top to the cotton batting with a teal minky backing. I chose a quick method of quilting the layers together, “stitch in the ditch.” I used my machine for this. I added the pieced binding onto the front by machine, and hand-quilted it to the back. The final step to complete the quilt was to embroider a tag for the back. I have a Viking machine that kindly embroiders the words for me. I then hand-sewed the tag onto the back. One UFO down, a “few” to go!”
Buy props used in MaryJane’s books and magazine!
5% of profits will benefit www.firstbook.org, a non-profit that provides new books to children from low-income families throughout the U.S. and Canada.
Here’s how:
MaryJane will post a photo and a description of a prop and its cost along with a few details as to its condition here: https://shop.maryjanesfarm.org/MaryJanesCurations. It’s a playful way to be the new owner of a little bit of farm herstory.
