Friday, September 10, 2010

Farmgirl 101


Our first Chapter meeting and potluck went off without a hitch tonight.  Not only did we share some great dishes (one was from a Mary Jane recipe), but the ladies came out to the pasture to help with our nightly chicken round up.  Armed with rakes and a great sense of humor, we formed a human wall to guide (most of) the chickens into the Chick Inn for the night.  Debbie took pictures.  I hope they don't show up on those magazines by the check-out line.  Leslie did not wear proper shoes for chicken wrangling, and will take some, um, souvenirs home on her feet.


Debbie also brought a friend, Robin, who was quite captivated by the alpacas.  And the alpacas were captivated back, allowing her to stroke them on the neck a time or two.

We'll have details on Gail's apron class soon.  It's looking like a Saturday morning suits most people interested in taking the class.  Start collecting fun stuff to embellish your apron, and keep it here for dates and times.


Other Chapter ideas for workshops keep coming: furniture refinishing (great for those junk shop finds that need a bit of TLC), journal cover making, twining, paper making, etc.  How about some cooking or food storage tips?  Recycling or community service projects?

 
Our next meeting will be October 8th.  Watch for interim news and ideas here on the blog...

Farm on, ladies!

The First Official Chapter Meeting


 Potluck at 6 PM and meeting at 7 PM...  Bring your sewing, knitting, food, questions, ideas, and smiles.  See you soon!

Sunday, September 5, 2010

Farmgirls Have Mobilized


Great first meeting of a gaggle of Farmgirls yesterday at the Little Red Barn!  Rita was embroidering away on her badge, Gail modeled her newest apron, Jill brought blueberry scones, Laurie showed off her incredible shrug design out of old blue jeans (seriously, it's amazing), and Mother Hen Maryann helped us get an idea of all Farmgirls has to offer.  Dina brought some cool recipes, Leslie got to be with us again and Barbara and Marlene came along for the ride.


Here's a run down of what we talked about, for those who were not able to attend:

Meeting times for the rest of the year: Second Friday night of the month - September 10, October 8, November 12 (I just noticed that's the Boerne weekend!), and December 10.  In discussing the meetings, we thought it might be nice to start at 6 PM with potluck for those who can make it, and then the "regular" meeting would start at 7 PM and end at 9 PM.  I mentioned it might be good for us to be on the lookout for folding TV trays to eat and craft on in the barn, rather than trying to manage a large table in that small room.

We talked about some of the badges, their requirements, and how to earn them.  The descriptions of all the badges are on Mary Jane's website.  Small groups might like to form around a common badge project.  Let us know which badges appeal to you and put a team together!


We talked about some classes we'd like to share with each other: Aprons by Gail, Twining by Marlene, Tri-loom weaving, Papermaking, and others.  Looks like Gail's apron class will be the first one on the schedule, stay tuned for details as they are worked out.


 We'll also be talking about field trips we'd like to take, so think about that and make a note of anything that might be fun for the group.


Please comment on this post if you have anything that occurred to you late, or that you'd like to contribute if you weren't able to attend.  Check in here for updates, and we'll see you September 10!

Gail's newest apron is highlighted in these photos.  She's working on getting a class put together to make aprons like this, so let us know if you'd like to be included.

Thursday, September 2, 2010

Time to Stretch


Look how far she's come!  Our Jill was out in the paddock the other night, feeding our herd of hungry alpacas without so much as a bead of anxious sweat!  She's even smiling!

This is the same lady who several years ago coined the phrase, "too much nature" to describe situations in our rural environment that included flapping, wriggling, buzzing or beady-eyed critters.  And now here she is, Farmgirl Jill, toting a bucket of sweetfeed and braving the sea of peckish camelids.   She did a great job, too.

We can all stretch and grow, can't we, Jill?  That's the Farmgirl spirit!  Is there a merit badge for courageous 'paca wrangling?