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Merit Badge Awardees - Woo-hoo Sisters!:  Farmgirl Sisterhood Merit Badge Awardees |
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16272 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16272 Posts |
 Posted - Feb 23 2009 : 4:33:28 PM
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Carrie Meerwarth has received a certificate of achievement in Garden Gate for earning a beginner level Bee Good to Your Mother Earth badge!
"May 1, 2008-Oct 31, 2008
One of my earliest memories is of being about 5 years old, standing in my father’s “postage stamp” garden, eating a warm, juicy tomato that I had just picked; I’ve been in love with gardening and have cultivated some sort of plant, in some capacity, ever since!
2008 was a bad growing season for my area—a very dry spring then a very soggy summer; so my garden did not produce like it usually does. However, we enjoyed corn, cucumbers, beans, and some lettuce. I have pumpkins, beets, and winter squash as well. I am sad to not have my own tomatoes, but the farmer’s market has helped to fill this void with lovely heirloom varieties!
Through the use of a very handy book—“Carrots love Tomatoes” by Louise Riotte, I have been able to take advantage of the fertilizing and pest controlling benefits of companion planting. This book is a must-have reference for any gardener! This year I followed her suggestions and planted my cabbages in the herb garden next to my sage; placed marigolds and onions near my peas; carrots next to my tomatoes (though they did not produce tomatoes I had very healthy looking plants!); and beets by my beans. I had no pest problems outside of a sneaky little bunny who haunted my flower beds. I also felt that my plants benefited from the fertility advantage of the companion planting—my corn did well with peas growing up around the stalks and squash shading their bases.
I am so glad to understand organic gardening methods better now and I take advantage of every chance I get to share my knowledge with others. I taught a workshop on organic gardening at our church’s last ladies breakfast. We used toilet tissue tubes filled with organic soil to start vegetable seeds and calendulas. The ladies asked all kinds of questions about organic methods and veggie growing. Many of them have never even tried to grow their own food! One lady went on to start many different seeds and had a lovely productive garden this summer. She asked me questions about pest control and watering and when to plant/pick her veggies. She was so very proud of herself and her new endeavor; I’m sure she’s a true-blue gardener now!
And, finally, through the months of April, May and June, while my garden was doing it’s thing and there was little for me to do but weed and water, I read Nancy Goodwin’s “Montrose: Life in a Garden.” I enjoyed the pictures and stories immensely, though I found the reading difficult to follow at times because of her use of latin terms and other things that I did not understand; Nancy gardens at a level far above my own! But Ippy Patterson’s illustrations inspired me so much that for my birthday in June I asked for (and received!) “Keeping a Nature Journal” by Clare Leslie and Charles Roth. I have been slow in getting started but love the meditative process of watching, drawing, and recording.
How fun it is to Bee Good to Mother Earth!"
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16272 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16272 Posts |
Posted - Feb 23 2009 : 4:44:32 PM
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Carrie Meerwarth has received a certificate of achievement in Garden Gate for earning an intermediate level Bee Good to Your Mother Earth badge!
"I spent my summer enhancing my yard with native plants that will attract pollinators and beautify my yard at the same time. I added a butterfly bush that my mother-in-law dug from her own garden; this is blooming in front of my house near my sunflowers where butterflies of all kinds come to see us. I planted a row of buckwheat in my garden which has greatly increased the number of pollinators there! I hope to have some grains to grind soon, too. I spread my flowering sage to a couple more places where it can offer it’s scent as both an attractor to beneficial bugs as well as a repellent to harmful bugs like cabbage moths.
My habitat is a small corner of a hill just outside our main door where it is very difficult to mow and keep nice. A few years ago, I dug a hole right on the knoll and put in a small pond form with a cascading form above it. Around the pond are native grasses, herbs, and flowers. This year I divided the grasses and spread them out more, moved a tall flowering plant to the rear next to the bird feeder, trimmed the lavender and added compost and ashes to it, added rosemary and some ground cover from my mother-in-law’s garden, trimmed back the invading quince (hummingbirds love this one!), and fertilized the hydrangea. This area is always a-buzz with activity! I have frogs and wild birds that frolic in the water, a mole and a chipmunk that hide in the calendula and eat its seeds, and bees that buzz from sage to daffodils to lavender. I don’t have year-round blooms like Nancy Goldwin and her Carolina garden, but we have lively activity in our mini habitat from spring thaw until winter freeze!
With the help of my family, we also converted another steep spot into a wild flower garden this spring. This area has been eroding for a few years and my chickens have not helped matters with their constant scratching. So, we fortified the chicken pen to keep them in, dug and raked the soil back into place, spread the area with grass seed and one pound of wild-flower seeds, and watered diligently. We were rewarded with a cascade of colorful blooms! We’ve been cutting them for the table all summer and enjoying just seeing them there when we play in the yard. Since many of the flowers were perennials, I look forward to watching it sprout on its own next year.
And, for the final requirement of this badge, I planted several seeds that I had saved from my plants last year. I have found that calendula is a very easy seed to harvest, share, and plant. It is one that I give to ladies to encourage them to spend time gardening and enhancing their yards. They are incredibly easy to grow and have many uses and health benefits—fun to experiment with if one is interested in going deeper with horticulture! I also grew arugula from last year’s seeds. This, too, is a good starter plant for those interested in saving seeds. And I grew columbine from seeds that my daughter saved. When they are ready I will save seeds from my own plants to share at an upcoming ladies retreat."
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16272 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16272 Posts |
Posted - Feb 23 2009 : 5:05:28 PM
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Vicki Taylor has received a certificate of achievement in Stitching & Crafting for earning a beginner level Knitting badge!
"Who knew that snuggling down with a good book ('The Friday Night Knitting Club' by Kate Jacobs) would lead to a new passion, a gift for a grandchild, and the application for a beginner's merit badge in knitting?
I'm still new to the craft, but I think the red scarf turned out well. AND best of all, my grandson loves it!"
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16272 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16272 Posts |
Posted - Feb 24 2009 : 10:37:43 AM
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Debra Swan has received a certificate of achievement in Stitching & Crafting for earning a beginner level Crochet badge!
"I started the dish cloth in MaryJane's Ideabook Cookbook Lifebook.
There is an elder lady in our church that used to make up knitted ones and she has passed on. We missed her gifts of dish cloth. So I thought I would make them up to give as gifts.
Did up gold color one to match my kitchen. Love it!"
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16272 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16272 Posts |
Posted - Feb 24 2009 : 10:49:43 AM
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Debra Swan has received a certificate of achievement in Stitching & Crafting for earning an intermediate level Crochet badge!
"My daughter wanted to learn how to crochet a hat & scarf and mittens for a child. So I said why not do one together. So we did. Had a great time doing one with her - special time together.
I thought they came out nice. Was a little challenging circling around for hat & mittens. I took it apart couple of times. But it finally came out. Love the mittens."
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16272 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16272 Posts |
Posted - Feb 24 2009 : 11:00:02 AM
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Debra Swan has received a certificate of achievement in Stitching & Crafting for earning an expert level Crochet badge!
"Lady from our church made afghans with left-over yarn. Thought that was a great idea to use up my yarn. Again my daughter wanted to learn how to make one as well. So we got together one night with my friend from church to show us how to make one.
Love it! They are so pretty and warm. Made some up for Christmas gifts."
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16272 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16272 Posts |
Posted - Feb 24 2009 : 11:22:32 AM
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Jessie Yonkovit has received a certificate of achievement in Each Other for earning a beginner level Farmgirl Spirit badge!
"On February 13, 2009, I hosted the inaugural Mint City Farmgirls chapter meeting at the University Club at Michigan State University. (The included photo is a table from the room, featuring MaryJane's books, magazines, my homemade pinkeeper, my Sisterhood certificate, and my jacket - with my Sisterhood badge on the front and merit badges on the back.)
Unfortunately, only one other person came, but the two of us had a good time and plan to go ahead with the chapter anyway!"
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16272 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16272 Posts |
Posted - Feb 24 2009 : 11:44:36 AM
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Jessie Yonkovit has received a certificate of achievement in Stitching & Crafting for earning a beginner level Aprons badge!
"I made a half-apron using Simplicity pattern 4692 and Norman Rockwell print fabric from Fabrics.com.
Excellent! The scallops on the apron was a technique I've never used before, so I learned something new on this project."
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16272 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16272 Posts |
Posted - Feb 24 2009 : 3:29:19 PM
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Janie Edwards has received a certificate of achievement in Stitching & Crafting for earning an intermediate level Buttoned Up badge!
"After organizing my buttons, I started crocheting a necklace for me. I used flat white 2-hole and 4-hole buttons and white #10 crochet thread for my necklace. Most of the buttons were from my grandmother's and mother's stash. I enjoyed making it so much that I have started a pink and green necklace to wear and started sorting my blue buttons for a blue one.
I have never been a very outgoing person. MaryJane challenges me to change that. I thought long and hard about actually wearing this necklace, but decided that I did want to apply for the intermediate level and that meant actually wearing it somewhere. So I put it on February 14th and ran some errands. At the first 2 stores, no one said a word, BUT at the third store, a bookstore, this lady came up behind me and made me turn around so she could see my necklace better... she went on and on about how 'gorgeous' it was and how creative. I had to tell her that it really wasn't my creativity but part of a merit badge requirement from MaryJanesFarm, etc. She kept talking about it so long that I finally told her how it was made with crochet and buttons and in 3's and 5's and she put her books down, said she was going to go home and make one for her daughter (who would just love it) and one for herself. So 'thank you, MaryJane!' for helping me step outside my comfort zone. I have never had anything like that happen before and I just love it! After I finish my next two necklaces, I plan on learning how to needle tat and do a necklace or bracelet or both that way! :)"
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16272 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16272 Posts |
Posted - Feb 25 2009 : 3:29:02 PM
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Karen Bates has received a certificate of achievement in Stitching & Crafting for earning a beginner level Embroidery badge!
"I have not embroidered in 35 years but found an old Aunt Martha's pattern for vegetable seed packets and with a little advice from Aunt Jenny I made some kitchen towels."
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16272 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16272 Posts |
Posted - Feb 25 2009 : 3:37:35 PM
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Karen Bates has received a certificate of achievement in Stitching & Crafting for earning a beginner level Quilting badge!
"I made a crib quilt for my expectant grandbaby (April 30th). My daughter and I picked out the fabrics before Christmas and I made the quilt by machine. I quilted it myself, too.
My daughter (not a seamstress) kept adding little embellishments, the last but not least was she wanted appliques on the front. It turned out very nice and will be presented at her surprise baby shower on the 14th of March."
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16272 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16272 Posts |
Posted - Feb 25 2009 : 3:45:04 PM
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Gail Springman has received a certificate of achievement in Stitching & Crafting for earning a beginner level Aprons badge!
"I sewed a half apron from a pattern. It has been many years since I've done that. It was a bit hard to understand the pattern, but I finished it.
It turned out ok. Not something I would exchange with anyone who sews though. I need much more practice and am looking forward to sewing well again."
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16272 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16272 Posts |
Posted - Mar 11 2009 : 2:12:07 PM
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Carrie Meerwarth has received a certificate of achievement in Stitching & Crafting for earning a beginner level Embroidery badge!
"September 1, 2008-February 16, 2009
Finally, my sampler is complete! It has taken me five and a half months to design and stitch and I am so very happy with it. In the center of my sampler is a sign that I designed. It is very much like the sign that hangs in front of my house declaring “Farm Fresh Eggs”—the post is exactly the same and the sign in the sampler is taken from my business label which I tape to the cartons of eggs that I sell. (The sign in front of my farm will eventually resemble the one in my sampler!) Then, all around the farm sign are different things found on my farm: roosters, hens, chicks, wild rabbits, naughty squirrels, apple and cherry trees, honey bees, dragonflies, bluebirds, and a pea patch. My stitch samples are in the edging and the whole sampler is framed with drawn thread stitches in a “serpentine hem” design. The drawn thread stitches took me approximately 15 hours—clipping, tugging, stitching, and finishing the corners where they came together!
All of my stitches are featured in the Dorling Kindersley “Stitch Sampler” book by Lucinda Ganderton. The instructions are clear, colorful, and easy to follow—even a young farmerette could follow them!
I am incredibly pleased with my project and can’t wait to frame it. My husband has promised to help me build a frame out of some barn boards that came from an old barn that used to stand on his parent’s farm…a heritage frame!"
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16272 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16272 Posts |
Posted - Mar 11 2009 : 3:25:16 PM
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Nicole, Farmerette of Carrie Meerwarth, has received a certificate of achievement in Stitching & Crafting for earning a beginner level Embroidery badge!
"My daughter Nicole has earned the beginner level of the embroidery badge by stitching a sampler. She used Caroling Vincent’s “Creative Sampler Embroidery” for inspiration as well as the instructions for Meg’s design featured in the Aug-Sept issue of MaryJaneFarm Magazine. She came up with her own personal embroidery sampler that beautifully displays her talent as well as her personality. I am so very proud of her work!
Here is what Nicole has to say about her project:
“For my sampler I used a coarse linen which gives an authentic country look and bright but natural looking colors which I coordinated from lightest to darkest. The lavender plant I portrayed in the middle was because I love lavender and its smell. The other pictures were simply picked for their simplicity and different stitching techniques. I love my sampler mainly for it being my first and also because it came out so well.”
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16272 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16272 Posts |
Posted - Mar 11 2009 : 3:33:50 PM
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Carrie Meerwarth has received a certificate of achievement in Farm Kitchen for earning an expert level Bustin' Out badge!
"I have spent the last five months shopping at the local Farmer’s Market and Food Co-Op. I am getting better at talking with the people who grow the food that I buy. Most of them are excited to talk about their farms and don’t hesitate to invite me to visit them!! I’m also finding more and more organic options including organic apples at an orchard that I haven’t shopped at in a few years because they hadn’t carried organic varieties…and now they do! I also buy “no spray” varieties when organic choices are limited. I’ve found this to be a “next best thing” for fresh, local fruit. I also, to my amazement, found a gentleman not far from me, who grows strawberries without any artificial additives. This is especially exciting to me because I haven’t eaten strawberries in a long time because all of the larger farms use sprays and fertilizers! I can’t wait until next year so I can get an early start and make some jam!
I am also continuing to spread the word about organics, and I take fresh, local, organic foods with me whenever I visit friends. I am surprised to learn that so many families I know are catching the fever for organics."
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16272 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16272 Posts |
Posted - Mar 11 2009 : 3:54:49 PM
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Cheryl Severeide has received a certificate of achievement in Stitching & Crafting for earning a beginner level Aprons badge!
"I copied another apron as a pattern and made a half-apron.
I really like it. I wear it out to collect eggs from the chickens, because it has a nice padded pocket."
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16272 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16272 Posts |
Posted - Mar 16 2009 : 2:59:40 PM
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Jenny Beasley has received a certificate of achievement in Stitching & Crafting for earning a beginner level Quilting badge!
"My mother taught me to quilt before she passed away in 1994. I made two small quilts, and a table topper. I have since made baby quilts and lap quilts. I have been making quilts out of recycled receiving blankets and sheets. I give them as gifts to new moms for "floor" quilts. I even still have fabric my mother had when she passed away. I have moved it several times!
I love to sew thanks to my mother!" |
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16272 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16272 Posts |
Posted - Mar 16 2009 : 3:14:14 PM
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Jenny Beasley has received a certificate of achievement in Cleaning Up for earning an intermediate level Going Green badge!
"If it makes my eyes itch, my nose twitch or my skin raw ... throw it out!
I have been collecting and journalling 'green' tips for two years. I have thrown out all my yucky cleaners at home and at my part-time job. I have made laundry soap, homemade soap and natural cleaners, and shared them with friends! I visited with my girlfriends about going green and will be speaking at a Women's forum on Livin Simple - Livin Green at the end of the month.
There are 7 people living in our house and we wash our clothes with our own laundry soap and hang them on the line to dry! My two grown daughters have learned to make soap and hang out their clothes so that they don't wrinkle!
I have shared my notes and books on green cleaning with more than 3 friends.
I am now known as the Green Lady! ...
My 16 year old daughter's friends think I am crazy, but they love the smell of our clothes and sheets! I am excited to share the tips and tricks of living green to women from all over our county. I even spoke last night at a 4-H club meeting on recycling plastic and how to avoid using it." |
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16272 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16272 Posts |
Posted - Mar 16 2009 : 3:28:35 PM
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Jenny Beasley has received a certificate of achievement in Garden Gate for earning a beginner level Bee Good to Your Mother Earth badge!
"I have been growing our own food for two years now. I have started most of my veg. from seeds, all organic. I have learned to save seeds also. I share whatever seeds I have an abundance of to all who ask. I use only organic fertilizer and bug sprays. My husband is a rangeland major at the local university and we have spent more than 30 hours researching 'good' fertilizers and so-called 'bug sprays'. We use no bug sprays. I have a 60x60 garden and we work it and harvest without using any type of pesticides.
I planted luffa sponge seeds last year and had bug detergent's till the hard freeze in January. We have a large compost pile just west of our garden and we raised several rabbits for the composting contribution they make. All animals are fed organic feed and apple cider vinegar. I have raised calendula, Joseph's coat, Hyacinth vine beans, and many other flowers in and around my garden.
I had tomato plants way into the freeze-time for Texas. We have raised a winter crop which is coming out of the ground due to weather here. I brought the bees back into our yard with the luffa plants. We now use Luffas instead of sponges or rags." |
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16272 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16272 Posts |
Posted - Mar 16 2009 : 3:46:21 PM
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Debra Swan has received a certificate of achievement in Stitching & Crafting for earning a beginner level Embroidery badge!
"When I received my membership badge I was thinking what to do and also to try embroidery to earn another badge. I haven't done embroidery since I was around 14 years old. My grandmother showed me a little at that time. It brought back so many memories.
I thought it turned out well. Lots of fun. Couldn't wait to receive another badge to try a little harder embroidery"
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16272 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16272 Posts |
Posted - Mar 16 2009 : 3:55:53 PM
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Debra Swan has received a certificate of achievement in Stitching & Crafting for earning an intermediate level Embroidery badge!
"I earned it by embroidering my second badge. Lots of fun, and a little challenging.
I thought it turned out really nicely. My husband and daughter thought it was cute. Now I can't wait to do a set of pillow cases."
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16272 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16272 Posts |
Posted - Mar 16 2009 : 4:16:12 PM
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Debra Swan has received a certificate of achievement in Stitching & Crafting for earning a beginner level Aprons badge!
"Well, I thought, looking at my old beaten apron about 17 years old, it was time to get another one. So reading Stitching & Crafting on the Farmgirl Sisterhood site thought I could try making one. Used my old apron as a pattern. So I dug out my cloth and started to create it. My pocket is an old hankie from my grandmother's. So something I will cherish.
I thought it came out really nice for my first."
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16272 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16272 Posts |
Posted - Mar 17 2009 : 3:43:37 PM
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Chelsey Swan has received a certificate of achievement in Stitching & Crafting for earning a beginner level Crochet badge!
"I learned how to crochet this past Fall (2008). I practiced my skills by crocheting many scarves to give away as Christmas gifts. I used the double stitch. I crocheted everywhere to make sure that I would have enough scarves to give one to everybody on my xmas list. It worked out very well and I completed them in a variety of colors.
I have also been crocheting dish cloths and dish towels by using the double stitch.
Very recently, I finished a neat scarf for myself using the triple stitch. I created it by making a long chain and triple stitching into each chain. On the next two rows, I put two triple stitches into each chain. The result was a super cool twisted scarf!
All of my projects so far have turned out very nicely. I am very excited about being able to crochet. I have been a knitter for years and have always wanted to learn. "
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16272 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16272 Posts |
Posted - Mar 17 2009 : 4:00:13 PM
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Chelsey Swan has received a certificate of achievement in Stitching & Crafting for earning a beginner level Knitting badge!
"I have been knitting for a number of years but have mainly worked on basic knitted items. For this badge I used a pattern I purchased from a fellow farmgirl on the MJF forum. I made a small knitted bunny stuffed animal for my best friend's little 1 year-old girl. I used Caron's Eco yarn in a pretty purple color. The body is worked out in garter stitch and the ears are stockinette stitch. I embroidered the facial features.
The knitted bunny stuffed animal turned out wonderfully! It is so cute and soft. I was so happy with the pattern and the end result and so was the little girl who got to take it home!"
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16272 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16272 Posts |
Posted - Mar 18 2009 : 10:08:25 AM
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Gail Springman has received a certificate of achievement in Stitching & Crafting for earning a beginner level Sew Wonderful badge!
"I took some material and placed it over the lid of a mason jar with stuffing inside for the pin cushion. Then I hand-stitched the material on bottom of lid. Filled the jar with tape measure, buttons, different threads, needles, pins, safety pins, scissors and thimble for a beginners sewing kit.
It turned out ok. Maybe a little lopsided, but it works."
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Merit Badge Awardees - Woo-hoo Sisters!: Farmgirl Sisterhood Merit Badge Awardees |
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Farmgirl Sisterhood Merit Badge Awardees
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