Hello dear friends! When MaryJane shared with me that the upcoming magazine (April/May/June) will have a section on family recipes, I had just returned home from New Mexico where I spent 10 solid days helping my dear Momma turn her collection of recipes into a cookbook. My mother had started this project over 30 years ago… and due to all the normal busyness of life, that project got put in a drawer. It has been a dream of mine to help her get these recipes typed up and compiled into a book for the girls (and guys!) in the family. My mother is turning 89 soon and I just felt like there was no way I could let this project go another year without getting it done! I worked 8-10 hours a day, with Mom mostly by my side, where we re-typed, re-wrote, edited, and tried to make heads or tails of recipes that were missing pieces!
I love it! Dori, how did you determine the fabric to binder size? When my old boss was clearing out unused files, he let us take the large ring binders. I’ve used mine for recipes, but it’s big and black with state logos on it – so ugly! This would be the perfect solution.
I laid the open binder flat and measured that and added about an inch on each side all the way around. If I remember correctly I trimmed after I had quilted and confirmed the size. The measurements in my tutorial will be accurate for a 1.5″ wide 3 ring binder. Email me if you have any more questions or need help figuring it out if you binders are a different size! redfeedsack@gmail.com
I love your post! It was so sweet reading about your mother and her parents and how they and the ranch weathered the depression and other times. I would love to read more about them and their recipes, and your memories. Such a loving tribute. Your post started my Sunday so special, many thanks!
Your story of your Mother a You is so touching to my heart and so beautifully an perfectly written Special Moments for sure My Mother will be 90 March 13. The recipes are sure to be treasured just like the Mothers who prepared those wonderful recipes. Thanks so much, just Beautiful ❤️
Dori – This is adorable – I think I will attempt to make one for my small embroidery projects – I will see if I can obtain the clear vinyl inserts for the binder to hold my projects from my office supply store – also, I will probably need to incorporate a ribbon on the outside edge to allow me to tie it closed – Thanks so much for sharing – you are so talented!
I have a very good friend who has a husband going through cancer treatments. When he was diagnosed and I knew the hours upon hours she’d be spending at his treatments with him, I wanted to put together some sort of hand sewing project. The tricky part is that I didn’t want to give her something that required thinking, measuring, figuring… even reading an embroidery pattern seemed like it might require too much mental concentration.
Good Sunday morning….I wanted to write before I read your “site” here…I have been a subscriber of Mary Janes for many many years..and am so sad to hear the publication will be ending….was my FAVORITE magazine….I hope that you and the other girls that I get info from…like this one you sent…will continue…How can I make sure it does? or just “dont do anything”…. appreciate all your posts and info….Kris from the Ga mts
What an awesome idea and it’s so beautiful 😍. I’m going to try it. Thank you. I’m so glad for this blog because I sure do miss the magazine. Thanks for the awesome inspiration.
I used to hand embroider and cross stitch. Since I purchased my embroidery machine I digitized a lot of my patterns. However, it’s not the same. I’m back to doing hand embroidery and cross stitch.
I just love this! I made a pin cushion some years ago with fabric scraps, lace and buttons but couldn’t bring myself to use any of my Grandmother’s doilies, hankies or quilt pieces. Now that the years have gone by I feel inspired to create something with those pieces that I can pass on to my younger nieces and cousins. Using our grandma’s treasures will be extra special. Thank you Dori!
Dear Dori, Your post today couldn’t have come at a better time! Thank you. I’ve been looking over patterns and thinking about how measuring, cutting and perfecting would be hard to do right now. This is just perfect. Im usually silent in the comment department, but truly appreciate every one of your posts and all MJF sisters. You are amazing and inspiring women. Stay warm and safe on this stormy day!
What a beautiful thing to do for your friend! I love slow stitching and how sweet yours came out too. Maybe if I make a kit I will be more apt to grab it when on the go. I actually have a kit I’m working on that a farmsister gifted to me.
I absolutely love this post! My eyes ate up all your lovely pictures! I’m going to make a kit also, and I have an antique tin to keep it in. Thank you so much for the inspiration.
wonderful idea! I am sure this project brought as much peace to you as it did to your friend & this will be her positive out of the place she’s in with her husband.
gentle hugs, Char
What a lovely idea! I’ve spent many hours at a hospital bedside before. It’s very hard for both patient and companion. How wonderful it would have been to have something like this to occupy the hands and mind, as well as relieving the patient’s worry if they feel they are a burden.
Hi Dori,
I love your slow stitching project! I used to stay away from any kind of hand stitching, except binding my quilts, or slow stitching. Honestly, I thought I wouldn’t be any good at it. Then one year, I started a quilt project that required a LOT of applique. I found that I enjoyed the process and started looking for other hand stitching projects to work on. I got into EPP and from there I began making little wool and flannel projects. I have since started a number of original slow stitch projects including a stitch journal (still under construction). It’s amazing how satisfying it is to create these little projects. Thank you for sharing the gift for your friend and your insights into the joy of slow stitching.
Stacy S. Farmgirl Sister 7112
I thoroughly enjoyed your blog. I’ve been fascinated by slow stitching for some time now. I love the concept of using fabric scraps from the past as a way to preserve memories of special people and places. The kit is perfect for allowing your friend to take her time, letting go of perfection and precision, and simply relaxing and enjoying the creative process.
That kit looks awesome. I may try that but, with my grandsons 1st clothes. It may take
a little longer and be a litter bigger, You gave me something to look forward in doing
Wonderful gift. It is very hard going through what your friend is. I’ve been there twice. You’re tired and want to take your mind off all your problems. You have a very good and beautiful heart.
Hi Dori, I don’t sew, I mean I can put a patch on a pair of jeans or sew buttons back on, but I do needlepoint, kits mostly I like that the canvas is all printed and I do not have to do much thinking I usually do the one basic stitch. After reading and seeing your slow stitching I think I would like to do that, I am going to try it. I will be on the look out for some of the items you mentioned. Your kits look so pretty, thanks for sharing
I’m so thankful to be able to see this blog now that I can’t enjoy the magazine anymore. It was by far my favorite magazine and I had decided it would be the only one I would subscribe to when I got the sad letter that I won’t be able to enjoy it from now on.
Thank you for this beautiful slow stitching project for gifting or myself, which I intend to make soon. Love the needle holder and clothespins thread keepers. Farm Girl has been my favorite subscription…thank you for the lovely receipts/and projects. Thank you for your caring for others and their needs. Your friend will be forever grateful. God Bless
You and all who are suffering from cancer. Your give us such inspiration. Happy 2026❤️
Thank you for this beautiful idea! In one of the photos it shows a printed direction sheet and I’m wondering if this is something that is download-able or did you make this also? I have a friend that I’d like to make a kit for as she sits with her elderly mother quite often. She would benefit from some ‘instructions’. I am also heartbroken not to receive MaryJanes Farm as a publication. Without a doubt my very favorite magazine. It spoke to my soul. So glad to get these articles digitally but miss the feel of the magazine. I will adapt!!
That’s beautiful Dori! What a kind friend🩷 I’m a stitcher and started with pillow cases in my teens. You’ve reminded me how fun that was. I knit and crochet more now. But I’m your example and will do one of these kits for myself. Thank you!
Hello, friends! What a beautiful time of year it is. I’ve been thinking about so many things I’d love to share with you this week, and over and over my thoughts keep coming back to one favorite holiday recipe—so I decided that’s exactly what I’d share!
Yum! I love baked goods like this. Sweet, but not too sweet, and pretty too. I miss the house filled with the smell of the fresh baked bread I made regularly. I had a mill and would do the whole process, from grinding grain to slicing and bagging. The family is all grown now, and baking for themselves. I’m glad to pass the tradition down.
My daughter does that too… the entire process! It IS such a great thing when raising kids. I used to make bread all the time. And I’ve really gotten away from it.
Dori: This lpoks absolutely delicious!! I am going to try it for New Years as I am
traveling to Bismarck ND from northern MN to visit my son & his wife & grandkids.
I akways thought those almond braids were too difficult to make but your explanation makes it look esier! Thank you! Wishingnyou a blessed New Year.
That looks wonderful, Dori! And just the kind of thing I like on New Year’s morning (or any holiday morning.) Your instructions make it look so easy…I’ll definitely whip that up for Thursday! Thanks for sharing it with all of us…sending warmest wishes for a terrific 2026 to your family!
Mary
YES!!! The blog will continue. There are three of us Farmgirl Bloggers and we will each continue.
The magazine will also continue!!!! We can be so very thankful that MaryJane found a way to continue it when the Publisher couldn’t. Please read her post on her website about it. Here is the link to her magazine update: https://shop.maryjanesfarm.org/Magazine
It would be hard to live without MaryJanesFarm magazine wouldn’t it?
Hello my Farmgirl friends!!! A month ago today I had some corrective surgery on my big toe. And not only am I in this horribly heavy boot, I’ve not been able to put any weight on it at all. So I’m here to share all the things I’ve been up to in this season of life! As this picture above shows… I’ve been moving to all my favorite spots around my house where I drink my coffee and read! ALWAYS coffee in hand!
Oh girl! In two years, I have had 4 surgeries on my left foot and one on my right. I have been 8 weeks non-weight bearing many times and I have to say that it is not fun. You were better prepared than I think I was the first time, but after that it just seemed to be a burden. I don’t like to sit either.
Oh my word… that is A LOT!!!!!!! Were the surgeries successful??? I feel like mine has been very successful. I will not ever be able to bend my big toe again so I’m wondering if that will be hard to figure out how to run properly again. However, that toe wasn’t really working well the last few years so hopefully it’ll actually be easier since I won’t have pain. I hope your surgeries were successful.
Oh Dori you Rock you really do!!
Speedy recovery and no more falls please🤗
My favorite pie is Pecan. I am not much of a pie girl as I do not like the crust. But for
Pecan Pie I will suffer!
Happy Thanksgiving yo you and yours.
Farmgirl Hugs,
Debbie
I am glad you are on the mend and doing well. Prayers. My good friend is about to undergo foot surgery in the beginning of the new year and I keep telling her she has to prepare! Thanks so much for sharing.
Dori,
I hope that your foot continues to heal and you are up to your fun and exciting things soon.
Enjoy your time with your family this holiday season.
Sincerely,
Linda
Such a huge boot for an itty bitty toe! You are blessed to have wonderful family and friends helming you out. I have to laugh at the left foot sewing. When I first bought my sewing machine with a knee lift, I took the class offered to learn how to use it. Right off, the instructor taught us to “drive” with the left foot so it would free up the right leg to use the knee lift bar in a smooth motion when starting and stopping. It’s quite comfortable! Wishing you a speedy recovery!
Dori, you are a strong person. I am a not good when it comes to surgery and pain. I would probably be on medication and sleeping all the time. Looks like you have done lots of stuff while you are recovering, you my girl are an inspiration.
Ha Ha!!! Have you ever tried it???? You’d be amazing how much easier it is! No getting up and down constantly etc! 🙂 Maybe you shouldn’t try it though… then you’d be hooked! Ha!!
Hello my Farmgirl friends! I recently made some of the sweetest pillowcases and shared them on my personal blog with a tutorial. I’ve had so much interest in those pillowcases as well as my tutorial, that I decided it needed to be shared here too.
Those pillowcases are SO pretty! Thanks so much for sharing the instructions here. I’m definitely going to dive into that project. I was so shocked when your last picture came into view. Owie! Take good care of yourself and heal fast.
Pre-wash any of this fabric you want to use for a pillowcase and then test it on your face. Many of these fabrics are scratchy and miserable next year your skin.
Thank you for that advice. I do only purchase and sew with very high quality quilting cottons; but pre-washing for something like this is a great suggestion. Some fabrics would be absolutely miserable to sleep on!
Oh dear, I just saw your foot. I have no idea what happened to you, but I do know that because glyphosate is coming out of the car exhaust (from corn ethanol being added to gasoline), and is in all the food and water you do need to take glycine powder. Glycine is an amino acid that is in your food and your body uses to make connective tissue, which is muscle, ligament, bone, fascia (that net under your skin that used to be called cellulite). Glycine powder is inexpensive, sweet tasting, just put the dose in your mouth and chase it with water. If you need more information, see the work by Dr. Stephanie Seneff, who has been studying glyphosate for over 15 years. She reads and correlates everything written on it. Wonderful colors in your cases!
Thank you for the info. I will look into that! I’ve had a bone graft from my heel to my big toe so I’m certainly interested in anything that is going to cause me to have stronger and healthier bones.
Dori, you are so talented those pillow cases look just so pretty! It is nice to see the bright cheery colors, since we are going into stick season now in Vermont. Your bunting hanging in my window keeps a smile on my face. I wish you well with your recovery.
These colors are so gorgeous aren’t they??? They make me really happy! I’m so glad you are enjoying your bunting. In front of a window is the best place to hang them I think!!
Last month, I wrote about Jina… the friend I finally met in person! I keep thinking of the sweet little gift she brought me that makes me smile every time I see it, and it got me thinking about tiny little home made things that bring a smile to someone else.
Thank you so much, Dori! I’ve sent you my address and have already decided where to hang your sweet gift. This is such a perfect project for using up those scraps that I will be making some of my own to pass the happiness along.
Dori,
You are such an inspiration to me. I have made many buntings but never thought to give them as little gifts. I will be making some for my Bible study ladies for the fall. Good to have on hand for a nice hostess, birthday or cheer someone up gift. Way to go Sister for sharing your talent with us! I know we would be good friends if we lived close. So we’ll just have to be good friends from a distance. Have a Blessed day my Sister Friend!
Darlene
PS: Your home always looks lovely and so welcoming!
I absolutely LOVED you comment on my blog post!!! What a sweet thing to say and YES, we would be good friends if we lived close! Thankful for things like social medial, blog posts, email… so we can be friends from a distance!
It is really fun to gift these because it’s just a simple thing but is a really happy little thing too!! I think gifting them to your bible study ladies is a brilliant idea!!!
Bless you Dory, you made me smile for the first time since tragically losing our oldest son Michael in an accident while our (healthy)youngest son was recovering from a stroke(undetected birth defect). I always enjoy your blog so, so much and even have ordered fabric you featured. My favorite was those pink Russian dolls 🪆/strawberries that you inspired me to make a purse (I’ll try to send photo, but seems I retired from technology when I retired from nursing😉, so not sure it’ll go through. Thank you for the JOY you bring🙏
Oh Barbara. I am so very, very sorry for your loss and such hard experiences. Wow. My heart hurts for you. Life can really have some hard things can’t it.
I’m thankful that my blog posts can bring a little joy on a dark day.
Also… MaryJane forwarded your email to me and I LOVE the purse!!! Isn’t that fabric so much fun???
We are looking forward o the weather changing into Fall so there’s pleasure quilting and srwing with out guilt that it good weather, we should be outside working~Binky Thorsson- Petaluma, Ca
I know EXACTLY what you mean about the guilt of sewing when it’s perfect “working weather” outside!!!! I look forward to Fall and Winter for that reason as well!
Hello farmgirl friends! I just returned from a week in Florida; we go every year with our kids and it’s always the best time. This year it was exceptional in so many ways. Not exactly sure the difference but everything was special. However, there is one thing that will stand out to me as one of the biggest treats and I’m sharing that with you here today. So here is my story (everything in my life has a story attached!!).
I love that stories of friendships like this spill over and fill the hearts of those reading them with the same sense of friendship toward those in the story. Treasure every single minute! And I need me some Poppy cotton!!
That is so beautiful, it is so special when you make that connection of friendship across the miles and then get to meet up! I do not sew but I do artwork and the Poppy cotton is like an artist palette, and you my dear are the Artist, your friendship with Jina is the muse! Keep creating your beautiful and useful sewing.
I do not have a friend I have known for years and finally met in person, in many ways I wish I did. I do have several friends that I have kept in touch with over the years when I have moved out of state, and I am so glad that I did life seems to fly by once I became an empty nester and even tho I have been busy a quick note to some one seems to help keep the friendship going. You are so lucky that you got to meet your friend in person and keep that friendship growing.
Dori – isn’t it amazing when we meet people and just click? It’s as if we’ve known them forever. And when dear friends move away – then we finally meet up again – no matter how much time has passed, we always pick up right where we left off. Truly – those friendships were meant to be. And while I’m an prim gal when it comes to colors – golly, those fabrics are so cheery and beautiful and the projects you’ve created are so amazing – I could easily be pulled into the retro/vintage colors and life…gotta love aqua and red! So happy to read your story and so glad you both finally met.
Oh my goodness! Are all of you Farmgirl friends as hot as we are here in Tennessee? It went from a nice, cool, wet spring to HOT and HUMID!!! Not that I am complaining, because I do love the hot summer. But it has been a shock to the system.
What a wonderful project! Thank you so much for sharing. I love the flowers but I bet these would also be great with Christmas scraps and a Christmas saying. I’m adding them to my gift idea list. Now I just need some time to sit at my sewing machine 🙂
I love that Dori it is so pretty. I wish I could sew as I would love one for myself and a couple of Farmgirl Friends. You always have the greatest ideas and make the prettiest useful pieces.
Thank you for sharing and Happy Summer.
Hugs,
Debbie
Planning to make at least 3 to give to my tea party friends. They love things I make for them and this is the perfect project to do at do when I am between bigger projects.
What a cute idea! I am not new here, but quiet. I occasionally read blogs, but I find myself being captivated by life and other things.
I am actually living in Oro Valley, Arizona, ( northern foothills bedroom community of Tucson) and soon to be moving to New Mexico, more specifically in the north central area, near the Sandia Mountains, halfway between Santa Fe and Albuquerque. We wanted to be between both cities for medical convenience, as my husband is in remission from cancer. We now own a small ranchette of 7 acres and will live in an adobe home, which we LOVE! I wanted to simply give a shout-out and actually, and finally, introduce myself.
I am a wife, mother, grandma, and definitely a country woman, not a city lover, by ANY stretch of the imagination! If it were solely my decision, it would have been 100 acres, 100 miles from the nearest neighbor. LOL!
Lovely mug mat! I am recently retired and look forward to using up as much of my “stash” as possible. This mug mat may be my first project! Thank you for providing so many wonderful ideas!
Hi Farmgirls! Wow! Spring has sprung in New England! We’ve had a wonderful, busy month. Outside, suddenly, everything has just “popped” – we’ve gone from grey to green, there’s lots to do and see, birds are back, and so are the insects – some that are so beautiful! Not all insects are bad; so many are beneficial. Don’t grab that spray can of nasty chemicals, help shoo away unwanted pests naturally!
Our redbud tree is full of leaves!
It was a kind of a weird spring. It took forever to get warm, and when it finally did, we made up for the drought we were in with rain, rain and more rain. Last week, we got ten inches of rain, and over two this week.
When the clouds finally cleared, and the rain stopped, it seemed like spring was here, abruptly. Trees have leaves, greenery is sprouting everywhere. Birds are singing and nesting, flowers are blooming, and insects are buzzing. Mother Nature is alive again!
Every evening, we hear owls hooting all around, like this beauty who hung around one morning, right outside my bedroom window. What a magnificent, stunning creature!
Nothing makes me more sad than seeing a post on Facebook about an owl or a beautiful fox (like the one we see often on our cameras at night), that died because of ingesting its prey that had been poisoned with rodent poison.
Now don’t get me wrong, I love animals, but I HATE finding evidence of rodents in my living spaces! I am not against old-fashioned, fast snap mouse traps, (but I hate to use them). Poison is cruel and can hurt your own pets, as well as other animals. In my vintage glamper and in the basement, I swear by Grandpa Gus’s Potent Mouse repellent! I spray it around the perimeter and potential entry points, and it really works! I’d rather not have mice come in anywhere at all, so repellent is a good choice. I use the spray several times a year, and now that it is spring, I use it to repel mice that might be looking to come in a basement or camper to nest.
Made from mint and cinnamon oils, this actually smells nice! I got it at my local hardware store but it is also sold online and in many stores.
Because we had a warm up in early spring while the ground was still frozen, some gardeners here lost plantings. Sadly, I lost one of my two year old peach trees. The outside temperature was warm, but the ground was still frozen, so the roots could not get the water they needed. However, once everything finally thawed out, this has been one of the prettiest springs I can remember, with blooms galore!
The blooms on my flowering quince are more full than I remember seeing! My daddy bought that for me decades ago as a housewarming. I wish he could have seen the blooms this year.
All of these beautiful blooms also attract insects. I have already noticed butterflies, and a lovely Nessus sphinx hummingbird moth in my lilacs this morning.
I thought it was a true hummingbird at first, the buzzing was so loud!
I love that my flowering bushes and trees are “buzzing” with the sound of bees, busy at work. Bees are one of our most important beneficial insects; if we lose them, we lose much of our food!
Look at those bees knees full of pollen!
It always amazes me how gardeners want to attract beneficial insects, but also want to spray everything with chemicals as soon as they notice any sort of pest. If you do need to spray for an infestation, use organic products like neem oil or insecticidal soap, and use them in the early morning or late evening, when beneficial insects are not as active. Most insects are just “passing through yards and garden spaces!
A cart full of beautiful!
I was so excited to find beautiful, full geraniums at a great price! Geraniums are my favorite – easy, simple and beautiful, and last here until fall when I switch them out for seasonal mums. They remind me of my mom and my childhood; Mama always had pots of geraniums around the house outside in summer. I’ve seen hummingbirds and butterflies attracted to my beautiful flowers.
In just a couple of weeks, it will be time to put the veggies into the vegetable garden (the soil temperature is still too cool just yet; right now I am hardening off my seeds that I started indoors). One of my favorite ways to garden organically is to do companion planting, using plants as my ally in warding off bad insects that can harm my plants. Each year, I plant basil in between my plants, such as my tomatoes and peppers. Not only does it ward away pests such as whiteflies and aphids, but I can also clip fresh leaves all summer for yummy dishes. At the end of the season, I harvest the remaining basil and make pesto (which I put in canning jars and freeze for up to six months).
I first started planting garlic when I read about using the scapes in MaryJane’s first book. I have been hooked ever since, and plant garlic each fall for a summer harvest.
I plant my garlic around the border of my veggie bed – not only do I get delicious scapes to eat (the best part, in my opinion), and yummy fresh garlic to harvest, but garlic also helps protect nearby plants from pests and fungus! We have lots of different types of fungal issues in Connecticut, due to our wet springs and often wet autumn seasons.
Also around my vegetable garden and other garden borders, I plant dwarf Marigolds. I love marigolds! Deer and other critters don’t eat them.
Marigolds also last through summer into the fall, adding fall color as well as working hard all summer to keep pests such as aphids, whiteflies, and nematodes away (just make sure to plant dwarf varieties so you don’t shade other plants).
Indoors, most homes in New England get problems with spider mites, due to our dry homes with our dry, non-moving winter air from wood burning stoves and forced heat. Opening windows on a cool spring day often lets in flies or mosquitoes, and I have noticed a few times nasty fungus gnats from the soil in my houseplants. In early April, I ran into a local garden store to get a last minute need for a gardening class I was to teach one evening. While shopping, I noticed the store had venus fly traps! The plants were tiny, and so cute that I just could not help it. I purchased one, and brought it home.
Venus fly traps are not your typical houseplant; they are a carnivorous plant native to the bogs in the Carolinas. They need lots of light, with four hours of bright light a day during the growing season. Never water your venus flytrap with tap water; only use rainwater, spring or distilled water, placing it in a dish (mine is so tiny, I have it in a teacup’s saucer). They do not like regular potting soil, and skip the fertilizer. I’ve had mine for over a month, and it has grown, with many new “mouths”…I even witnessed a mosquito get “munched”!
Everyone needs that one friend who can have fun with you, even going just grocery shopping! My friend, Susan, is that friend. We have been friends since our children were toddlers, and can have fun together anywhere! On a recent Costco run, we both picked up beautiful, large lavender plants!
I love lavender – lavender soap, coffee, and of course, plants! Inside, dried lavender is a great alternative to nasty, toxic moth balls. I use it in drawstring muslin bags, like a sachet, and tuck it in with my sweaters on my closet shelves, and in my yarn stash to repel moths. Inside, dried and fresh lavender helps repel all sorts of nasty insects that can come indoors, including stink bugs that like to find their way into homes in the Northeast. In warmer seasons, I love fresh lavender on my porch – it smells amazing and helps repel bugs like mosquitoes.
Rosemary is another good companion plant – it helps repel a variety of pests, including aphids on lettuce. I always have lettuce in a giant pot on my deck, with rosemary next to it. Perhaps that’s why I have always had healthy, aphid-free lettuce in my pot! Rosemary is also one of my favorite herbs to cook and bake with!
Love porch sitting? Hate flies? I swear by this, an old trick I learned eons ago in Texas, from true Texas Bar-be-Que restaurants, where the smoky meat draws flies. Hang clear a plastic bag full of water. That’s it.
I keep one on my “shabby chic” porch, and one in my chicken coop and get no flies (and we have horse flies, house flies, and bottle flies in Connecticut). It has something to do with interfering with their vision, so flies steer clear of the area.
I hope everyone had a wonderful Mother’s Day! Mine was lovely. I was spoiled – breakfast in bed with fresh bagels, and my daughter surprised me with a garden-themed “surprise book box” – a box that is packed with all kinds of surprises, like socks and organic coffee, centered around a signed book. Then, in the afternoon, we had a beautiful sunny day, and my family took me to my favorite restaurant for lunch, and afterward to a local garden center. There, I picked out the cutest bee-themed wind spinner, and a big, full citronella plant.
In the geranium family, citronella repels mosquitoes, and I don’t have to spray myself with some awful chemical to enjoy my time on my porch!
Speaking of gifts, I finished Dori’s special gift and mailed it out to her! I love the quilt jacket she made me so very much, and wanted her to have something, special hand made by me, too. I went to one of my favorite yarn stores, and found a soft, colorful yarn to hand knit a lacy scarf. I wanted a yarn that would not be too heavy or too warm for her area. This lovely yarn is from Berrocco, called “Sesame”. It’s a blend of wool, acrylic, cotton and nylon. Dori says she loves it, and I can’t wait to see photos of her wearing it this fall!
I really hope Dori loves the scarf I made her, and thinks of it as a “farmgirl hug” when she wears it!
Ants, ants, ants! Any suggestions for getting rid of them? We have had alot of rain and they are all coming in my kitchen window area. I hate to use Terro but I know it works. Don’t use borax due to little people around.
Hi Ladybug! I hear ya on the ants. Are you getting sugar or black ants? The peppermint oil spray might work for them, too. Also, if you sprinkle diatomaceous earth around the perimeter of your foundation, that will help, as well. It is organic…I use it in my chicken coop run. Ants won’t go near it. Hope this helps! Farmgirl Hugs, Nicole
Same here – so much rain this spring! Hopefully it is not a wet, cold summer here, but so far, it has been cold and rainy or windy more than warm and dry. Farmgirl Hugs, Nicole
Thank you Nicole for the useful hints for getting rid of nasty summer pests. I especially like the plastic bag full of water for my deck. The flies love to hang out where we love to sit. So I will try this hanging from the gazebo ceiling on the deck.
Happy Summer My Sweet Friend.
Hi Lee, thank you so much! Let me know what you think about the water bag trick. I have always found it works like a charm! We also get the biting horse flies that hurt, so I love that this shoos them away! Thank you for reading and commenting! Farmgirl Hugs, Nicole
My go to gardening advice is Howard Garrett. He was a chemical pusher landscap architect and golf course superintendent. In mid 80s he had a baby girl and said to himself “all of this is poison” and turned 180°. His website dirtdoctor.com is a wealth of information. Use the upper left library topics to look up what you need to know. Do not use the hourglass at the upper right. It will bring ads from Google before you get to his good organic information. It is good from coast to coast and border to border. Just adjust for the weather conditions where you live.
Hi Karen, Howard Garrett is a Texas-based gardener. I love that he realized after working on golf courses that all the chemicals were not good! I teach gardening classes, and always use only organic gardening methods in my classes. His website is great for Texas gardeners! I love that he does pet adoption, too. Thanks for the info. Farmgirl Hugs, Nicole
Now for the bugs. My favorite book is Bug Busters by Bernice Lifton. She has been through many revisions and finally in one of the later ones put the trick for crickets that come in your house. Wind some duct tape backwards on your hand and stick it to the floor, the crickets will stick on it and you can pick them up and throw them away. Her premise for everything is block them out and use no toxins. If your house is caulked everywhere correctly and your weatherstripping is intact that is most of your bug exclusion right there.The most common places that mice come in the house is something that the air conditioning system installers skip over. Mice go in that cord or in the hole from the condensing unit into your house so it needs to be caulked.
Hi Karen, thanks for the info. I looked up the book, and it is available on Amazon. I am assuming you live in Texas, since you mentioned the dirt doctor. Unfortunately, in New England many homes are in the woods, or very old (like from pre-revolutionary war), and we all have underground basements. Sometimes the little critters come in. (My house does not even have an air conditioning system). Mice and insects are one of the downsides to life in New England (but there are so many good things here, too)! I love the cricket advice you shared. We get a HUGE jumping cricket here that almost seems aggressive in our New England basements, and every time I do a gardening talk on insects, I am asked about what to do. Will pass that tip on. Thanks again for the info! Farmgirl Hugs, Nicole
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
~ Mark Twain
Debbie Bosworth
is a certified farmgirl at heart. She’s happily married to her beach bum Yankee husband of 20 years. She went from career gal to being a creative homeschooling mom for two of her biggest blessings and hasn’t looked back since. Debbie left her lifelong home in the high desert of Northern Nevada 10 years ago and washed up on the shore of America’s hometown, Plymouth, MA, where she and her family are now firmly planted. They spend part of each summer in a tiny, off–grid beach cottage named “The Sea Horse.”
“I found a piece of my farmgirl heart when I discovered MaryJanesFarm. Suddenly, everything I loved just made more sense! I enjoy unwinding at the beach, writing, gardening, and turning yard-sale furniture into ‘Painted Ladies’ I’m passionate about living a creative life and encouraging others to ‘make each day their masterpiece.’”
Being a farmgirl is not
about where you live,
but how you live.
Rebekah Teal
is a “MaryJane Farmgirl” who lives in a large metropolitan area. She is a lawyer who has worked in both criminal defense and prosecution. She has been a judge, a business woman and a stay-at-home mom. In addition to her law degree, she has a Masters of Theological Studies.
“Mustering up the courage to do the things you dream about,” she says, “is the essence of being a MaryJane Farmgirl.” Learning to live more organically and closer to nature is Rebekah’s current pursuit. She finds strength and encouragement through MaryJane’s writings, life, and products. And MaryJane’s Farmgirl Connection provides her a wealth of knowledge from true-blue farmgirls.
“Keep close to Nature’s heart … and break clear away once in awhile to climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods, to wash your spirit clean.”
~ John Muir
Cathi Belcher
an old-fashioned farmgirl with a pioneer spirit, lives in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. As a “lifelong learner” in the “Live-Free-or-Die” state, she fiercely values self-reliance, independence, freedom, and fresh mountain air. Married to her childhood sweetheart of 40+ years (a few of them “uphill climbs”), she’s had plenty of time to reinvent herself. From museum curator, restaurant owner, homeschool mom/conference speaker, to post-and-beam house builder and entrepreneur, she’s also a multi-media artist, with an obsession for off-grid living and alternative housing. Cathi owns and operates a 32-room mountain lodge. Her specialty has evolved to include “hermit hospitality” at her rustic cabin in the mountains, where she offers weekend workshops of special interest to women.
“Mountains speak to my soul, and farming is an important part of my heritage. I want to pass on my love of these things to others through my writing. Living in the mountains has its own particular challenges, but I delight in turning them into opportunities from which we can all learn and grow.”
“Wherever you go, no matter the weather, always bring your own sunshine.”
~ Anthony J. D’Angelo
Dori Troutman
Dori Troutman is the daughter of second generation cattle ranchers in New Mexico. She grew up working and playing on the ranch that her grandparents homesteaded in 1928. That ranch, with the old adobe home, is still in the family today. Dori and her husband always yearned for a ranch of their own. That dream came true when they retired to the beautiful green rolling hills of Tennessee. Truly a cattleman’s paradise!
Dori loves all things farmgirl and actually has known no other life but that. She loves to cook, craft, garden, and help with any and all things on their cattle farm.
Wyoming cattle rancher and outpost writer (rider), shares the “view from her saddle.” Shery is a leather and lace cowgirl-farmgirl who’s been horse-crazy all of her life. Her other interests include “junktiques,” arts and crafts, glamping, collecting antique china, and cultivating mirth.
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.”
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!
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.
Farmgirl spirit can take root anywhere—dirt or no dirt.
Nicole Christensen
Suburban Farmgirl Nicole Christensen calls herself a “vintage enthusiast”. Born and raised in Texas, she has lived most of her life in the picturesque New England suburbs of Connecticut, just a stone’s throw from New York State. An Advanced Master Gardener, she has gardened since childhood, in several states and across numerous planting zones. In addition, she teaches knitting classes, loves to preserve, and raises backyard chickens.
Married over thirty years to her Danish-born sweetheart, Nicole has worked in various fields, been a world-traveler, an entrepreneur and a homemaker, but considers being mom to her now-adult daughter her greatest accomplishment. Loving all things creative, Nicole considers her life’s motto to be “Bloom where you are planted”.
Previous Suburban Farmgirl, October 2009 – October 2010
Paula is a mom of four and a journalist who’s partial to writing about common sense and women’s interests. She’s lived in five great farm states (Michigan, Iowa, New York, Tennessee, and now North Carolina), though never on a farm. She’s nevertheless inordinately fond of heirloom tomatoes, fine stitching, early mornings, and making pies. And sock monkeys.
Kris Ross 
Gayle Duda 
Debbie 
Elise Mysker 
Carol Doberstein 
Marge Turner 
Patty 
Meri 
Heatherlynn 
Denise 
Julie Ray 
Anita 
Charlotte Major 
RoseMary Baty-Willcox 
Cindi J 
Bellepic 
Stacy Sundgren 
Ann Ramirez 
Glenna Fugate 
Peggy Smith 
Sylvia Jacobus 
Binky Thorsson 
Sheila L. 
Pat Mitchell 
Diane A Peterson 
Gayle Baskin 
Debra Ampe 
Brenda White 
Jenny 
Sarah P. Roy 
Dori Troutman 
Jenny 
Mary Murray 
Loretta 
Carol Slater 
Molly 
Judy 
Debbie Klann 
Debbie Fischer 
Cathi 
Linda Hilburger 
Dee Ann Parry 
Llinda 
Kim Obrien 
CJ Armstrong 
Karen Scribner 
TinaTina 
Stacey Mitchell 
Sharon 
Melanie Gafken 
Karen Martell 
Darlene Riboldi 
Juli 
Barbara A Falencki 
Jeretta Bliss 
Kim 
DeAnn Weir 
Sherry L Buck 
Terry Garratt 
Heather 
Tuna Grondin 
Terry Steinmetz 
Wanita Panza 
Anita S Johnson 
Vicki Lawson 
Nicole Christensen 
Lee 
I love it! Dori, how did you determine the fabric to binder size? When my old boss was clearing out unused files, he let us take the large ring binders. I’ve used mine for recipes, but it’s big and black with state logos on it – so ugly! This would be the perfect solution.
Hi Cindi!!
I laid the open binder flat and measured that and added about an inch on each side all the way around. If I remember correctly I trimmed after I had quilted and confirmed the size. The measurements in my tutorial will be accurate for a 1.5″ wide 3 ring binder. Email me if you have any more questions or need help figuring it out if you binders are a different size! redfeedsack@gmail.com
~ Dori ~
I love your post! It was so sweet reading about your mother and her parents and how they and the ranch weathered the depression and other times. I would love to read more about them and their recipes, and your memories. Such a loving tribute. Your post started my Sunday so special, many thanks!
Dear Anita,
Thank you! Recipes and food are such a huge part of our memories aren’t they???
~ Dori ~
I love everything about this! Thank you for sharing and also for the detailed instructions!!! I can’t wait to make one for myself 😊. Love the fabric!
Hi Debbie!!!
I can’t wait for you to make one either!!! Let me know if you need any additional help!
~ Dori ~
loved the story and the binder cover idea, will be trying the pattern soon, thank you!
Hi Charlotte!
Thank you so much! If you have any issues with the pattern, email me!
~ Dori ~
Your story of your Mother a You is so touching to my heart and so beautifully an perfectly written Special Moments for sure My Mother will be 90 March 13. The recipes are sure to be treasured just like the Mothers who prepared those wonderful recipes. Thanks so much, just Beautiful ❤️
Dori – This is adorable – I think I will attempt to make one for my small embroidery projects – I will see if I can obtain the clear vinyl inserts for the binder to hold my projects from my office supply store – also, I will probably need to incorporate a ribbon on the outside edge to allow me to tie it closed – Thanks so much for sharing – you are so talented!