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When you have weather like this it is time to sit and sew (after you sled with the grand-girls of course)! My craft room is my happy place. One of the things that makes me the happiest is to pull out some fabric scraps and create!
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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.’”
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.
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.”
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.
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.”
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!
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”.
Dori,
I absolutely love your post!! I love feed sacks, too. A lot of my dresses were made from feed sacks, I have one on in my fifth grade school picture. I sold most of mine a few years ago as sewing/quilting has become too painful. Enjoy those grandgirls they grow up so fast. You have blessed my day with your talents!
Oh, thank you Doris. I asked my mother if she still had any of her dresses made from feed sacks. She said she didn’t think so. Which makes me kind of sad. But you can’t save everything can you? Thanks for writing! – Dori –
Oh, your bunting is so sweet! And easy to sew. I was recently introduced to 1930’s fabric at a quilt shop where I participated in a quilting retreat. The fabrics are really sweet and do seem to remind me of earlier times. And feedsack lore and materials are so wonderful. I cherish the apron and quilt from my maternal grandmother made from feedbacks. They are both unique and charming and such a lovely testiment to the skill and resourcefulness of women from that time period. The original “repurposers and recyclers” of their day! Thanks for column. I enjoy and look forward to it each month.
Ann, I agree with you – the 1930’s fabrics are so very sweet. They just give you a good feeling. I think that women from those days could teach us a lot and I try to keep that in mind when I’m visiting from ladies of that time – like my mother. Thanks for writing! – Dori –
Loved your post! I love the vintage fabric also. I have being working everyday on a school house quilt with pine trees and deer in the border. Cold weather forced us inside and that is where I wanted to stay, close to my fabric and sewing machine!
Cheryl, Your quilt sounds lovely. Are you hand quilting it? I’ve recently been making a nursery ensemble for a cousin and I’ve decided to machine quilt the quilt… which I hate to do, but I just don’t have time to hand quilt it. It sure is a perfect winter time project isn’t it? And there’s nothing better in the wintertime than being close to our fabric and sewing machine!! 🙂 – Dori –
Hi Dori,
Oh how I loved this post! Feed sack fabrics make me swoon and I just adore the artwork you’ve created for your bathroom along with your buntings too! YOU are ONE talented farmgirl!!! I feel so inspired and cheery after reading your post today! Thank you!
hugs from the beach farmgirl Deb
PS. Here’s my post on working with feed-sack fabric a while back! http://www.farmgirlbloggers.com/196#more-196
Hi Deb! The fabric and embroidery artwork I did in my bathroom ended up being a fun surprise. I started it out of boredom about 6 months ago and it just kind of grew and got more fun as I went. I had the idea that I put each of them (there are 6) in a six-pane old window and hang that. But when I did it, I wasn’t happy with it at all. Somehow putting them in individual frames of different colors, sizes and styles actually really made it pop.
I’m glad I was able to cheer your day… do you still have feet upon feet of snow?
Heading over to read your feed-sack fabric blog post. 🙂
– Dori –
Ok wow! Loved the screaming laugher in the video. Yes I too adore feed sack cloth and I am fortunate to have received a large supply of it upon my mother’s recent passing. I just may sew one of those adorable buntings with it, now that you inspired me. I’m so over the snow and this would be a great project. Best, Kim
Hi Kim, yes… screaming and laughing is the best isn’t it? I just can’t seem to sled without it, no matter how many times I go down the hill!
Oh, my word. How FUN it would be to have a large supply of feed sack cloth. (Sad you lost your mother though.) What other projects do you think you’ll do with it?
Share your bunting picture with me if you make one! – Dori –
Great post. All my clothes were made from feed sacks and I used it for doll clothes too. Cute video. Looks like minnesota in the winter. Cute pictures you made and what a treasure to have your grandma’s apron.
Bonnie, I’m planning to make some doll clothes for grand-daughter. She has an American Girl doll and the clothes are so expensive. So, that will probably be my next project! Our snow was wonderful and fun and only lasted 2 days! 🙂 The perfect kind of snow right? Thanks for writing! – Dori –
Dear Dori,
As you know I love, love, love your posts and blog. You are the kindest, sweetest person I have come across. Thank you for sharing the fabric and pattern for the bunting. I really love it and plan to do it in my kitchen when I get my forever home. The prices are a little steep for this old gal but I plan n purchasing a little at a time. I like making aprons and stuffed animals. I also got 2 patterns off line for a pillow case and a baby receiving blanket. I plan on making. I did pick up some material at Goodwill that will work for both. I will also watch for sales on the material I will need. I have a picture “black and white” of me in a dress my older sister made for me. She was quite a seamstress. She could make anything without a pattern. I was the youngest of 5 so things were tight for my parents. I was born 17 years after her. We all have memories of our wonderful, amazing families. I realize some don’t and I feel for them.
Hugs from this old Farm/Ranch gal.
Kay
Hi Kay, I think a bunting in the kitchen of your “forever” home is a great idea. Fabric is TERRIBLY expensive. Finding clothing in the thrift store with fabric you like is great… you can cut it up and repurpose it.
How fun that you had a sister that sewed for you. Some people are so talented with sewing without patterns. I’m a great seamstress…. IF I have a pattern and instructions. I once made my grand-girls little matching dresses from a German pattern. It was a simple dress and I really thought I’d be fine without instructions in English and for some reason I got so panicky about the language problem I couldn’t even figure out the pattern!!! I did do a google translate on some of the tricky things and it helped a tiny bit!
Hope you’re having a good day! – Dori –
I have several old aprons collected from who-knows-where. They are getting pretty worn, so I have them ready to trace off their patterns … I like the design/fit and modern apron patterns do not have the comfortable neckline like these old ones. Maybe you could do that with your grandma’s, too, before it is too worn out. (I wear an apron most every day and for sure when I’m cooking … saves those grease spot on my clothes and gotta have those extra pockets and a hand towel attached.)
Here is a tip for your bunting pattern fans … if you need to purchase new fabric, consider a charm pack (a selection of prints from one fabric family pre-cut to 5″ square) and adjust the bunting length and width to take advantage of the 5″. For visual aesthetics, you may want to make it narrower than 5″ so the “flag” is longer than it is wide. At any rate, this streamlines cutting from 5 cuts using whole fabric down to 2 or 3 with the pre-cuts.
Thank you!!! You are absolutely right about using a charm pack. I actually had a jelly roll (pictured) of the Fresh Air fabric, but I wasn’t happy with the fact that it is only 2 1/2 inches wide. So yes, a charm pack really would’ve been great! I do like projects like this one though that are small enough to use scraps.
My mother has her mother’s apron pattern. And it is so true – those aprons just fit and feel better than the new-fangled ones! I must get the pattern from my mother and make a few.
Thanks for writing and thanks for the charm pack suggestion! – Dori –
I love the photos of the feedsack quilts! I can remember visiting at my grandparent’s farm and being there when the feed delivery truck came. Grandpa called my Grandma to come outside and pick out the prints she wanted. Seems like it took 2 or 3 sacks to make a dress. I had lots of feedsack dresses when I was a little girl.
My Mother used bleached white feedsacks sewed together to make tablecloths which she embroidered. I admire these great ladies who did so much with what they had!
I always enjoy your posts!
Esther, I love those quilts. One of them is really tattered in places and I’ve looked at how to fix it and have decided I love it just the way it is. My mother mentioned the feed delivery truck too! Can you imagine how exciting that would’ve been? Do you have any of the tablecloths your mother made?? I bet they are gorgeous. Thanks for writing – Dori –
Hi Dori,
Thanks for sharing your fun projects. And the sled ride! My two youngest watched too and we are all jealous! We live where we are SUPPOSE to have the greatest snow on earth but this year…not so much. One of my favorite things to do is drag the sleds up to the bus stop to meet the kids and sled all the way home. Miss that this year. Oh well. Take care and stay warm. 🙂
Colleen
Colleen, we had heard that you weren’t getting much snow this year. Won’t be good for the snow melt in the lakes down below will it? We’ve had a lot of ice here – that is scary to me. What an awesome memory your kiddos will have when they are grown – their Momma meeting the bus with the sleds. I love that. Hugs to you and your family Colleen. We miss you. – Dori –
Such a lovely idea for the bathroom, the bunting and the framed pieces. The fabric is so sweet.
Donna, thank you. That fabric is very sweet. – Dori –
Hi Dori, I love the bunting, and I love old feedsack material as well. Just made some aprons for myself and my mom that she had saved from my grandma’s general store. I love repurposing things, and now I am making sewing kits out of vintage train cases, record cases, makeup cases, etc. just finished the first one, but how cool would it be to do one in vintage feed sack material. I don’t know how to put a pic on here or I would show you. Also just made Garden aprons out of old blue jeans, and added a little lace to the bottoms. They are really cute. Only been sewing a couple of years so still learning. 🙂 Be Blessed and yes, I too LOVED the sledding video. 🙂
Vivian, your Grandma had a general store?? How cool is that? And to make aprons from the fabric. I’m just dying! I would LOVE to see a picture of the sewing kits you are making. You can email a picture to me at: redfeedsack@gmail.com. I’d love to see a picture of your garden aprons too! 🙂 Thanks for writing – Dori –
I love your projects & the quilts! My favorite is vintage fabrics too, and I have collected some of those same prints. LOVE Moda fabrics too! 🙂
Maxine, thank you! I really want to begin a collection of the “real deal” 30’s fabrics! But then I’m afraid they would be so special I would just collect them and never use them. I’m kind of famous for that! 🙂 Doesn’t Luanne have a stool that she refurbished and put a padded top on it with the vintage fabric in little squares? Maybe it was an old quilt she repurposed and put on the stool. I can’t remember, but something is ringing a bell there. Thanks for writing! – Dori –
I love the step to step directions. One could get addicted to that fabric too! And yes, they make great gifts for friends! 😉
Angela, good morning! I’m glad you are enjoying your bunting and the pictures looked wonderful – I just want to see it in your kitchen in person now! Hugs – Dori –
Hi Dori, I loved your tutorial on the feed sacks and the bunting pieces. I am definately going to make one for my sewing room. Also thanks for your sledding video. It made me smile.
Hi Sandy, I’m glad you are going to make a bunting. You’ll have to email me a picture! Thanks for writing! – Dori –
Hi Dori, Loved your post! Brings back memories…. My first year knitting a sweater in 4-H I needed a dress for the fashion show. Money was especially tight at that time so Mom made a pink floral dress from the feed sacks she kept in the closet under the stairs. She had gotten them from her Mom and of course it was very special to me. After all these years I still have a piece of the fabric….. Always enjoy your writing and projects. Enjoy those GrandGirls!
Teri, I love memories like that. I also think it is lovely that you still have a piece of the fabric. That is so sweet. Thanks for writing. – Dori –
Spring just starting to arrive over here in Lincolnshire UK we have a lone goose who honks to the wild geese who fly over but won’t allow any to land on his pond, we have had to give him a mirror to look at himself in as he used to look at himself in our workers hub caps and not let them get to their cars!!
Love to read all the blogs and agree about the solitude, not just a time to be alone but a time for reflection and realisation of what we have around us.
I love your fabric colours and your bunting looks fabulous 🙂
Denise, Thank you! I love those fabric colors too! – Dori –
Love the idea. I have made numerous quilts and have kept every single scrap. Thanks for the great idea. I’m going to take a break from my wild rags and make some cute curtains for my sewing room.
Deanna @ rustedspur.com
Deanna,
I’m terrible about saving my quilt scraps… I just never seem to have room, so I end up giving away the scraps. But no more! I have a great craft room now so I’m saving all my scraps. Thanks for that inspiration!
– Dori –