Setting up a Sewing Machine

If you are not an avid seamstress…  sometimes pulling out the sewing machine can seem…  well, a bit intimidating.  It’s one of those humps, that unless you have someone helping you along, may seem impossible to get over.  Learning to sew on your own can be a lot of trial and error.  This is me, trying to help ease some of that sewing grief. 

Some of the biggest mistakes people make are also the most simple to remedy, but unless you know you are making them, then how can you remedy them?  There is only ONE way to set up a sewing machine.  If you do it wrong, it can mess up the whole project and leave you feeling very flustered. 

All Natural Skin Care and Remedies

I have been on somewhat of a health kick lately.  It makes for a whole lot of good crunchy herbal information for everybody around me.  So much so that I am calling people up and telling them “Did you know such and such is good for such and such!”  This kind of thing gets me excited.  In my former life, I was a medic in the Army.  I dig medical information even if it is a little…  ahem…  less than mainstream now.  ...And it is less emergent than my previous life.  Going from combat medic to wannabe herbalist is a big transition no matter how you try to swing it.  But the part I love most about it is that I can still manage my family’s health without pumping them full of chemicals to get the job done. 

Homemade Pure Vanilla Extract

Here at the Dirty Goat Farm we are all about homemade.  It’s a borderline disorder.  When I see something, I am not one of those people that say “Oh wow, that’s really cool.  How much does that cost?”  Instead, I say “Oh wow, that’s really cool.  Pf, I could do that.”  Sometimes I irritate myself.  I’ve heard that there is treatment, but so far I am skeptical. 

About a year ago, I said “I could make vanilla extract.”  So, I did.  It’s very easy, although start up can be slightly expensive (think long term), but it is not something that will go bad (that I know of).

Sustainability: Live Simply, Live Responsibly

Sustainability is important.  Until a few years ago, I really had never even considered it.  And then something changed.  I started paying attention.  Now, it drives everything we do.

There is a quote I like that says “We cannot simply think of our survival; each new generation is responsible to ensure the survival of the seventh generation. The prophecy given to us, tells us that what we do today will affect the seventh generation and because of this we must bear in mind our responsibility to them today and always."

Homemade Oil Lamp to Burn Your Midnight Oil...

You know what I love?  Fire.  Now…  I am not your typical pyro.  I only love fire when there is a real purpose for it.  I love candles.  I love a fire in the fireplace...  I also LOVE very MUCH...  oil lamps.  So tonight, we made oil lamps out of old mason jars, Starbucks bottles, and baby food jars.  There was also an old t-shirt- plus, a few other things.  But it was SO easy.

I wish I could claim this idea, but I can’t.  I not sure where I saw it originally, but it was one of those things that stuck out, and tonight I sought out to make them.  And this is how we did it.  In fact, my eight year old daughter, Autumn, helped.  She loves this kind of thing.

 

I am a fanatic about saving old jars.  Baby food jars are really great for a lot of things.  Tonight they found new purpose.  And I was also able to repurpose a t-shirt that I was just going to throw away.