Mary Murray
describes herself as a goat charmer, chicken whisperer, bee maven, and farmers’ market baker renovating an 1864 farmhouse on an Ohio farm. With a degree in Design, Mary says small-town auctions and country road barn sales "always make my heart skip a beat thinking about what I could create or design out of what I’ve seen.”
Rooted in the countryside, she likes simple things and old ways … gardening, preserving the harvest, cooking, baking, and all things home. While you might find her selling baked goods from the farm’s milkhouse, teaching herself to play the fiddle, or sprucing up a vintage camper named Maizy, you will always find her in an apron!
Mary says, “I’m happiest with the simple country pleasures … an old farmhouse, too many animals, a crackling fire, books to read, and the sound of laughter … these make life just perfect.”
Column contents © Mary Murray. All rights reserved.
Farmgirl
is a condition
of the heart.
Alexandra Wilson
is a budding rural farmgirl living in Palmer, the agricultural seat of Alaska. Alex is a graduate student at Alaska Pacific University pursuing an M.S. in Outdoor and Environmental Education. She lives and works on the university’s 700 acre environmental education center, Spring Creek Farm. When Alex has time outside of school, she loves to rock climb, repurpose found objects, cross-country ski on the hay fields, travel, practice yoga, and cook with new-fangled ingredients.
Alex grew up near the Twin Cities and went to college in Madison, Wisconsin—both places where perfectly painted barns and rolling green farmland are just a short drive away. After college, she taught at a rural middle school in South Korea where she biked past verdant rice paddies and old women selling home-grown produce from sidewalk stoops. She was introduced to MaryJanesFarm after returning, and found in it what she’d been searching for—a group of incredible women living their lives in ways that benefit their families, their communities, and the greater environment. What an amazing group of farmgirls to be a part of!
Column contents © Alexandra Wilson. All rights reserved.
Libbie Zenger
Previous Rural Farmgirl,
June 2010 – Jan 2012
Libbie’s a small town farmgirl who lives in the high-desert Sevier Valley of Central Utah on a 140-year-old farm with her husband and two darling little farmboys—as well as 30 ewes; 60 new little lambs; a handful of rams; a lovely milk cow, Evelynn; an old horse, Doc; two dogs; a bunch o’ chickens; and two kitties.
René Groom
Previous Rural Farmgirl,
April 2009 – May 2010
René lives in Washington state’s wine country. She grew up in the dry-land wheat fields of E. Washington, where learning to drive the family truck and tractors, and “snipe hunting,” were rites of passage. She has dirt under her nails and in her veins. In true farmgirl fashion, there is no place on Earth she would rather be than on the farm.
Happy Greetings, Dori!
I like to sew also, so this post is especially enjoyable! I love, love, love the tour of your room and the project you did too. For me there is nothing so special than to have my own special space. Bravo! I now have an extra machine for my granddaughter too. Fun!
That extra edition magazine is one I’m looking forward to.
Thank you!
Joan
FG 6465
Love your idea and your sewing room. So neat and tidy. I know a cleared up room helps to make you more creative. I need to figure out how to be more organized with my sewing things. Would love a copy of this magazine. Thanks.
Cute post. Definitely can agree with finding new purpose for the things we own. I just love getting outta the box for purpose!
Jena
Dori, this post just amused me so much, as it’s exactly something I would do! I really do love your craft room! BTW, I’m sure that magazine copy has my name all over it! LOL!
I love DIY projects. Or better yet DIH projects! I know that Home Depot offered classes for children, but I didn’t know about the adult classes. They sound like so much fun. I will have to sign up for one sometime and drag my mom along. Your new shelf turned out way nice. Repurposing what you have is always the best. It’s one of my favorite things to do. Thank you for the magazine giveaway. I can’t wait to check it out.
I love to sew and do crafts. My craft room has my desk to computer, sewing machine, and wall to wall craft supplies, and projects. That was a very good idea of yours.I wish my craft room could look so neat.
Dori, I love what you’ve done with your (old/new) shelf unit. It looks fabulous.
I love dih ing. I’ve got a beautiful detailed did cabinet that a client was throwing out. We rescued it, painted it a beautiful white, and changed out the top on it from an ugly marble one to a beautiful high gloss hardwood timber one and it just looks amazing. I’ve done a desk/dresser that I found at a thrift store for $25, with brass handles which I polished right up and it looks so beautiful. I use it every day. I love repurposing things, making old things workable and beautiful again. The process is just as wonderful as enjoying the end result and knowing I’ve done it, is the best feeling. I’m always looking for inspiration too from others projects too. Well done. Love the wooden barrel too. I can just imagine that at your place.
Blessings to you
Denise
Australia
Good work, sister farmgirl!!! That looks amazing and encourages me to get to organizing and quilting!!
Your shelf turned out beautiful! I would love to win a copy of the magazine. 🙂
Dori
I’m an avid reader of your posts and I share them with my favorite friend. One of my vocations is Family Physician so you can imagine how pressed for time I am, but your posts inspire my thinking and provide a dreamy escape to the farm. If you’d like to come do a DIH project on our 32 acres in Idaho, you’d be ever so welcome.
We even have a gravel road…
Jennifer
I love your website and your projects, especially the quilted ones…
What a wonderful and sweet story! And the project you complete such a grand idea for me too with my art stuff. i do oil painting and now it needs a good cabinet that would hold all my needs. Been such a long time I have been painting but I need to get back to it. LOVE the concept “do it herself”. Just love it. To enjoy it more with the new magazine would be so “Love it”.
Would love to have a copy. But the shipping to my address is almost twice what you’re selling the magazine. I’ll take my chances on winning and if I don’t, I’ll buy the newstand copy.
I would love to win the Mary Jane DIY issue. Thanks for the chance.
I would love to win a copy! You storage makeover is beautiful!
I would love to receive one of the DIH books! It’s my style!!
I love to see old things”repurposed”, as they are usually better built and have character that is so lacking these days. Good work, now you have something you can be proud of for many reasons! Thanks for the heads up on the Home Depot projects, too.
I’m so glad you re-cycled your father-in-law’s work! What a great feeling! And I love D.I.Herself.
If I don’t win the new publication, I will definitely order it or track it down! Looks awesome!
I too love to DIY or the newest version for us gals, DIH. That fits me so much better. I’m always figuring out how to take an object and make it better or just reuse and recycle. Very creative and love the transformation of your rolling shelve.
Love that shelf. My idea of recycling to max.
Gives me some ideas to explore myself.
Thanks
Dori,
I just love your blogs and I love that you include so many pics. Thanks for always brightening my day.
Hi Dori – Your sewing room looks great. I know what you mean about repurposing – my precious husband was put to the test time and again to help me in my sewing room renovations. I would love to have a copy of the magazine. thanks for sharing your ideas.
Dori,
I just have been reading your facebook post about the rolling book case. I too love old pieces of furniture that I have been given from time to time. I also especially love your little mini quilts. They are perfect above your table. I look forward to doing some mini quilts also. I would love one of the new books. I have her other ones and each time a new one comes out I just sit and read…… Can’t help myself I am addicted to all Mary Janes books and magazines.
I love that you took something old and worn and breathed beauty and new life into it! Your sewing room is awesome. I’m sure you must enjoy it immensely now. How wonderful that you spend time sewing with your daughter and granddaughter, making wonderful memories for their storehouse of good times spent with you. I am redoing a place of my own and you have inspired me to DIH. Never heard that term before your blog.
Would love to win a copy of this special edition. Thanks for the opportunity!
I love the idea of rescuing something that is a family hand me down! I think of the awesome pieces my dad or my gramps or father in law had made, and the ways they could have been altered if need be.
Dori … I love how your shelf turned out! Isn’t it funny how you live with something for forever and then suddenly something happens and you find a better, prettier use for it? I love it! Carol
You reminded me of something I did a lo-ong time ago. We were given a Magnavox TV but the TV didn’t work and I hated to throw away a perfectly good but too deep mahogany cabinet. So I cut it almost in half (parallel to the front) so I had a back and a front. I set the back part (no doors) on top of the front half that has the doors. I put a couple of shelves in the top part and used brown shoe polish on the edges of the shelves and the cut parts for a perfect match of the colors. I also put one shelf in the bottom part. With a piece of plywood over the whole back it is sturdy and solid. My husband thought I was crazy when I suggested it but it has been a nice looking, useful, step-back cupboard for about 40 years!
I always enjoy reading your postings and have to say I much prefer DIH to DIY, so thanks for that idea! I think remaking old things to work in your life today is not only smart for the environment but often, as in this case, results in creating something much nicer than what’s available commercially now. Good for you and congratulations.
Yes, I would love to receive a copy, and hope it goes to the commenter who needs it most.
Thank you for the sweet story and inspiration! I’ll be checking out craft days at Home Depot, too. 🙂
Awesome! Your sewing room looks so nice and organized! I really love it!
So encouraging to see your project finished and I love the smaller quilts on the wall…all inspiring! And…winning the special edition would be as well! Thanks!
I commented but it doesn’t want to post…
There – it finally did!
I just loved reading this and seeing your gorgeous sewing room! Truly inspirational!!
I always shop stores to get ideas and then go home and see what I have to make it with. That way you get new ideas but use what you have.
I just bought an old farmhouse and it came with quite a few pieces of old furniture. Your project has given me ideas with some of the furniture I have, especially for my new craft room. Love the idea of using something old and creating something new from it. The only requirement is imagination and a desire to do the job.
Thanks for the ideas.
Dori, I love your new shelf. I too am a DIH and have been all my life. I can’t imagine not tackling a project I want done before I’m too old to enjoy it. It helps to have a handy husband too. Thanks for showing us your special “ME” place.
Grandpa Earl would be pleased!
I love what you did with your cabinet!!! It looks great!!! I’m glad you refurbished it after all your father in law put alot of hard work and love into making it!! You just made it better with your hard work and love!!!!! I’m always excited to get my Mary Jane magazines!!!! Love them!!!!!
That turned out so cute. I love up upcycling pieces that are meaningful to family. I’m very excited about the new DIY magazine it’ll be welcomed by the DIH here!
This is a fun idea! Thanks for sharing…We recently moved to our dream ranch in the Mission Valley of Montana….The kitchen is HUGE…We have an old dresser, long and narrow…that I see as an island in that kitchen! May take some time to get to..but now that irrigating season is over…there is more time! CG
Dori. I love your idea for keeping the wooden shelf. New paint will change the look of everything from days gone by. You just gave me an idea to make fabric wall hangings. Your wall looks so awesome. I love reading your posts . Keep up the great farm gal work . Your an inspiration to me
Tami
I loved reading your story. A dream come true! Most all of our DIH&H( his and her or her and his) projects are on our dining room table. Sometimes more than one sharing the space (Condo Living!) .
Your sewing room is inspiring me to look atound and see what furniture piece I can repurpose to help make my sewing area as organized as yours. Then maybe I’ll get with it and make it beautiful like you have with your quilted wall hangings!
I love what you did. It’s awesome. My sewing room could use that.
Dori, Your post really made me smile. I can just imagine you standing there with your hand on the cut off piece and telling your husband what you were looking for! I have also done similiar things. I have also gotten rid of something too soon and wished for it back ~ so glad you saw the possibilities before that happened. And you saved a family piece. It looks just perfect now with your little quilts above it. I wish I was as organized!
I would love a copy of the special edition of MJ’s Farm either by winning or I will have to purchase it myself ~ looks so interesting. Thanks for the opportunity and enjoy your room.
My mother was a seamstress. She had drawers full of fabric and notions. I have fond memories of playing with her button jar. I would love to win a copy of Mary Jane’s new DIY.
I sew & quilt a lot, but you just made my day. I really enjoy a good make over project, and anything else that gets me organized. Here’s hoping I win & good luck to everyone!
Your sewing room is an inspiration. You have some really good ideas and you are very “resourceful”… My sewing area is starting to look like “hoarders” ugh! So I would love to win the DIH MaryJanesFarm issue and get more great ideas. Thank You for your blogs…
I have so many dih projects and ideas. This magazine gives me the inspiration I need to complete some.
Love what you did with that piece of furniture. Thanks for the giveaway.
Marion