With a brand-spankin’ New Year upon us, it’s the perfect time to explore new creative frontiers while honoring artistic traditions that have led us this far.
What do I have in mind, you wonder?
Well, you may remember how I told you about Zentangle, the addictive art of zany (yet so very Zen) doodling.
Image by Trinity Verlag in der Scorpio Verlag GmbH & Co.KG via Wikimedia Commons
(If this doesn’t ring a bell, hop over to this post.)
True to form, each time I swirl and squiggle lines on paper, I find myself fantasizing about fabric, which inspired me to poke around a bit into the idea of Zentangle quilting, and wouldn’t you know it?
It’s a real thing.
And it’s just as neat-o as I’d imagined.
Just look at Quilt Zentangle Style! on Pinterest (warning: you might start drooling).
Since I have a feeling you’re already itchin’ to start stitchin’, I gathered up this little list of goodies to get you going:
Book: Tangle Stitches: For Quilters and Fabric Artists by Jane Monk
You can buy it on Amazon, but you can’t “look inside” like you can on many other books. Here’s a video flip-through to preview the wonders within:
Share your results on the Farmgirl Connection to inspire the rest of us!
Welcome New Sisters! (click for current roster)
Merit Badge Awardees (click for latest awards)
My featured Merit Badge Awardee of the Week is … Emily Moore!!!
Emily Moore (E-Moore, #6770) has received a certificate of achievement in Each Other for earning a Beginner Level Little Squirts Merit Badge!
“On my first official day of Christmas break, I wanted to start it off right—to earn my first Sisterhood Merit Badge!
I started my day around the house armed with a can of WD-40. I sprayed all the hinges and doors that squeaked. I researched online how to winterize garden tools, and when it warmed up a little, I headed outside to grab all my garden tools from under the house. I scraped off all the dirt and rust with steel wool, put vegetable oil on all metal parts and linseed oil on wooden handles. We don’t own any bikes, so I headed to the barn, grabbed our grease gun, and got to work. I greased all the grease fittings on the bush hog, manure spreader, and hay rake.
This was the first time I had ever taken the time to winterize my garden tools and I am really happy with the results! I look forward to making this a yearly thing. My grandma gave us a pointed hoe for our wedding, and I would like to keep it in good condition for the rest of my life—now I know how to do it.”
WINNER SELECTED, 2/22/16
And our winner is … Brenda Wheeler (see winner’s post here).
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Who doesn’t love to hang laundry on the line? Crisp, white linens softly swaying in the breeze, capturing the smell of a summer’s day. Merely a daydream on a day like today: mid-winter, temperature gauge barely above freezing, a frozen clothesline covered in snow. Spring is still down the road a ways, but you’ll be ready to hang your cares out to dry if you’re the lucky winner of this beautiful cotton clothespin bag.
Give a big farmgirl welcome to Jeannie Jessup (The Clothespin Queen), another new Project F.A.R.M. (First-class American Rural Made) business member. From the heart of Texas, Jeannie stitches up unique, durable, and wonderfully utilitarian clothespin bags just like the one your grandmother used. To win this beautiful, bejeweled, rose-patterned bag, simply tell me your favorite old-fashioned laundry tip in the comments below. We’ll put your name in a hat and draw a lucky winner soon. Stay tuned!
See more of Jeannie’s clothespin bags on her Etsy site.
First-foot: [furst-foo t] Scot.
noun: the first person to cross the threshold of a house on New Year’s Day.
In Scotland, the first person to enter your house after midnight on New Year’s Eve is called a “first-foot” or “first-footer.” And if that person is tall, dark, and handsome …
well, lucky you … in more ways than one!
Tristan and Isolde with the Potion by John William Waterhouse via Wikimedia Commons
That tall, handsome, dark-haired man is thought to bring you good fortune for the year ahead. And even more good fortune if he knows to bring along a silver coin (good luck); bread (prosperity), salt (good eats), or whiskey (good cheer).
Who was your first-footer? I think my sure-footed tom cat, Jasper Tomkins, was my first-footer.
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.
