"Eat it up,
Wear it out,
Make it do,
Or go without."
~A Pioneer Sampler, by Barbara Greenwood~

Pioneer Woman at Heart

One Flourishing, Frugal and Fun Family!

One family learning to live off the land, cut back on expenses, and to live a simpler and a more self-sufficient lifestyle.

Thursday, February 9, 2023

Painting Barn Siding ~ Seeds Started and other Tidbits

 In the midst of moving everything from room to room, in order to get floors repaired, my cut barn siding boards were unburied.



I cleaned them up with vinegar water, and let them dry for a few days.  I had the brainy idea to paint words on them for a craft show addition.  These boards have been floating around the house for several years (like about 5 years now), so it was on the "get'r done' list.  

The power went out around 8am yesterday, and it never came back on until after noon.  I was lucky I had just brewed some coffee.  

There was an accident with poles down, wires hanging, and then a substation shut down for a while.

Luckily, my portable charger was charged, and I could not only charge my phone, but my neck lamp too.


Quite fitting of a saying for a time with the power outage, ha ha!  I had stencils for these.


All done, so the only thing to do was to read or crochet.  When power goes out, our water pump goes out.  I could not clean or cook.

Most likely the signs will be put into a storage box, and used for gift giving or donations for fundraisers.  I don't see a good craft show in sight for a few years.

My neck lamp is my favorite way to crochet with extra light, or when the power is out, but I also have these battery operated crochet hooks.  I just don't like the way they made the hook part.  You have less control over your yarn, can't catch the yarn or sometimes the yarn falls off the hook to easily.  Anyway....

Almost all of my garden seeds have been started and grow lights are on.


Extreme Clean Update

What went in the donation box:
-one toddler clothes hanger (they show up out of no where)
-two shirts
-one summer bathrobe
-one baking dish (no handles/edge so getting it out of the oven is a bit of a struggle)

We woke up to powering rain this morning.  It should slow down in a few hours.







Wednesday, February 8, 2023

....from the handiwork journal






Crocheted plant leaf coasters that fill a "pot" when not in use.  It turned out super adorable.  I used what colors I had on hand and think they were perfect.  I may or may not make more of these.  Daughter E's suggestion.

Finished this blanket finally.  Only 40 hours of labor (love).

I'm back to working on our own blanket now.  My husband is happy about this one.  I have not made us a blanket in years.  The dogs destroyed the last one I made when we first moved here.  I'm so happy to work on it again.  I decided to rotate soft white in between the black and heather grey yarn.  I'm  hoping to get it done before winter is over.  Summer is not an ideal time to crochet a large blanket.

Future possible project - a crocheted Valentine Tic-Tac-Toe game.  Is it not adorable or what?  On the possibility list for next year.  I have a house to get in order this year.  Pattern is free online HERE.