What I love about summer is the absence of schedules. And long days outside doing whatever you want to do. Obviously, so do my kids. How about waking up in the morning and deciding to put on a Halloween monkey costume three sizes too small? Here’s my Mia in full bed head with dirty feet, playing for hours with her dolls and ponies …
Summer is in full swing!
The adorable, always humorous MBA Jane is my way of honoring our Sisterhood Merit Badge program, now with 5,929 dues-paying members who have earned an amazing number of merit badges so far—8,474 total! Take it away, MBA Jane!!! MJ
Wondering who I am? I’m Merit Badge Awardee Jane (MBA Jane for short). In my former life …
For this week’s Stitching and Crafting/Embroidery Expert Level Merit Badge, I took advantage of some down time (that’s what I call it’s-too-hot-to-go-outside-and-it’s-too-hot-to-turn-the-stove-on) and got out my collection of embroidery floss. What’s floss without needles naturally? so I got those out as well.
And of course, what are you going to do with a bunch of thread and needles and nothing to stitch them to, right? so I crawled into my linen cabinet.
Yes, literally.
It’s a really deep cabinet, girls.
And somewhat unorganized, I confess.
Ahem. Is there a badge for closet organization?
I admit to being something of a pillowcase hoarder, but today is the day where my irrational love of rectangular shaped cotton covers was finally going to pay off. By golly, I had a place to put these puppies now and it wasn’t the back of the closet with last year’s Halloween decorations, 12 rolls of wrapping paper, a set of curlers (for my hair … not the sport you see at the Olympics), and a case of toilet paper bought from one of those warehouse club places that will last me until approximately April of 2064.
Anyway, I seem to have gone off on a bunny trail there. My point was this: I had recently rearranged my living room to include a lovely window seat. (Talk about needing a badge for that one, am I right, girls? I’ll be covered in badges in no time.) Well, really, it’s an upcycled set of cabinets, turned on their side and placed strategically beneath my large picture window. But if you didn’t know better (pretend like you don’t know better), you’d say the architect was a genius.
Why, thanks. *blushes*
And as we all know, window seats are made for pillows. Or pillows are made for window seats. Or something. All I know is, I had an awesome place to sit and nibble cookies and people watch, and I needed some cushions to do so in comfort. My pillowcase collection was about to be put to good use!
Of course, it wasn’t as simple as all that. Just pulling a stack of fabric niceties out of your closet isn’t going to earn you a badge – sorry to disillusion you. No, this badge was all about embroidery, remember? (Why you keep getting me off track with all this talk about toilet paper and Olympic sports and architecture is beyond me. Try to focus!)
My plain, slightly boring pillowcases needed a makeover, and I had just the floss, needles, hoop, and nimble fingers to do it. Since I knew this windowseat would be excellent for reading novels, I used some of my favorite quotes to decorate my pillows. You can print out fonts and iron them on, or use stencils, or just free write them with a pencil.
Here are a few things my friendly pillows have to say as I snuggle in with them. Can you match the quotes with the novels?
I am so glad to live in a world where there are Octobers.
To live would be an awfully big adventure.
I wish I’d done everything on earth with you.
You have bewitched me, body and soul.
Let’s begin by taking a smallish nap or two.
I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.
Answers: Anne of Green Gables, Peter Pan, The Great Gatsby, Pride and Prejudice, Winnie the Pooh, Harry Potter.
I have one of those beautifully sturdy dining table and chairs from another era. One with multiple leaves that extend the reach of the table to seat 20+ people for holidays. But by beautiful, I’m referring to its quality. Not its appearance.
In fact, I’ve been saying since I got it that I couldn’t wait to paint it. Well, I’m finally about to be less talk and more action. Any day now I’ll be painting my dining table, leaves, and all the chairs.
I was so excited to come home to a pile of paint and wax samples on my front stoop. Of course, they actually came in a box via UPS, but they were waiting next to my trusty milk cooler and dirty red cowboy boots. The cooler is for the days when I’m not at the farm to pick up my milk in person. And, randomly, my boots are sitting out for a friend to stop by and borrow for a country singing gig (she has a stunning voice). The randomness of it all just makes me smile. And the notion that I’m finally going to tackle this paint project has me almost giddy.
I will, of course, keep you posted. 🙂
Welcome New Sisters! (click for current roster)
Merit Badge Awardees (click for latest awards)
My featured Merit Badge Awardee of the Week is … Courtney Robbins!!!
Courtney Robbins (#4840) has received a certificate of achievement in Stitching & Crafting for earning a Beginner & Intermediate Level Crochet Merit Badge!
“To earn my Beginner level badge for crochet, I thought I would try my hand at some MaryJane slippers! This pattern was a little complex for what I was used to, and the first time I tried to make them, I was camping, without help from my go-to crochet expert (Mum) and without electricity. I crocheted in the company of my soon-to-be sister-in-law while we were at camp, and as she knitted away, I crocheted away. After 10 hours of crocheting the soles and body for these slippers, I realized they were way too big! Huge, actually! I left camp feeling a little frustrated that I had spent all that time on these slippers that could fit my boyfriend!
I was determined to figure out this pattern, so every night after school for a few hours, I restarted them. Eventually, I figured out what I was doing wrong and managed to finish two even slippers! It took me another 10 hours to complete the darn things and a little extra time to pick out the perfect wooden buttons.
My MaryJane slippers are awesome! They are a perfect fit and really comfy and cozy on my feet. I used gray and yellow yarn, so they have a really beautiful contrast. The wooden buttons are a nice final touch and I am proud that I didn’t just give up on completing them! I truly learned a lot through my struggle. For this pattern, I had to learn how to follow an intermediate pattern, practice my ch, dc, and I had to learn how to dc2tog. I also had to learn and practice my patience!!
Here is a link to the website where I found the free pattern (for personal use only).
To earn my Intermediate Knitting Badge, I wanted to try something a little more challenging than a cowl on my circular needles! My boyfriend’s sister shared a really awesome knitting pattern with me that was for a cowl/shawl that was inspired by Katniss Everdeen from the new Hunger Games movie. I fell in love with the pattern and thought it would be a great challenge!
The pattern worked up in 3 sections. The first section was created like a sash/sling and I had to learn how to do a new stitch called the herringbone. This was challenging and I took it out and restarted several times!! After a few days of restarting, I finally figured it out and then had to switch the project over to circular needles for the second section. I had to practice my knitting in the round, and took on the new challenge of also picking up stitches, which I had also never done before. For the final section, I had to switch the project to smaller circular needles and finish it in the herringbone pattern.
For this project, I knitted in the company of my boyfriend, who was probably getting just as frustrated as I was listening to me grumble!
All of my frustration was worth it, though, and I stuck through it! My Katniss cowl came out awesome! It is so beautiful! I even spent extra time in my studio at school creating the perfect handmade ceramic buttons to give it its final touch. The cowl is super-neat and unique, and I have received so many compliments on it. This project made me so much more confident in my knitting, and I feel ready to take on a project like a sweater now … I just need to save up and buy some gorgeous yarn for it! I also am planning on making another one this fall to give to a close friend for Christmas.”
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.
