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Off the Grid/Homesteading Skills:  Lost art skills wish list  |
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NikisMom
True Blue Farmgirl
140 Posts
Julie
Framingham
MA
140 Posts |
 Posted - Apr 02 2016 : 5:57:21 PM
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| I have so many skills that I need to learn to aid in my dream of owning land in Maine. I have learned to make soap, rug braiding. I do sew, garden and can perform minor house repairs. Next up on my list is to make laundry soap, eventually learn how to spin (maybe even with my malamutes fur). I am also researching grey water systems and composting toilets. The list can go on..... |
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Celticheart
True Blue Farmgirl
811 Posts
Marcia
WA
USA
811 Posts |
Posted - Apr 03 2016 : 8:30:58 PM
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The list does go on and on doesn't it. I have an update on the beekeeping. Our hives are very healthy this year. So healthy in fact I'm a little afraid. But, today my husband helped me with the second hive....it's bigger and too heavy for me, so he does the lifting. Usually he just moves what I tell him to, then goes and does something else until time to move something else. Today he asked if he could do one super while I did the other!! It worked great and he loved it! Yay! That only took three years.
"Let us never forget that the cultivation of the earth is the most important labor of man. When tillage begins, other art follows. The farmers, therefore, are the founders of civilization."
Daniel Webster
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lovinRchickens
True Blue Farmgirl
3492 Posts
Kelly
Pipe Creek
Texas
USA
3492 Posts |
Posted - Apr 04 2016 : 2:26:43 PM
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Marcia
I am happy your bees are doing great. I get my first two nuc's next week. I can hardly wait. They have been a long time coming. Husband took a while to say yes.
Farmgirl #5111
Farmgirl of the month October 2014
Blessings
~Kelly~ |
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Calicogirl
True Blue Farmgirl
5216 Posts
Sharon
Bruce Crossing
Michigan
USA
5216 Posts |
Posted - Apr 09 2016 : 07:03:29 AM
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Yay CJ! I would love to try making some Beeswax Tapers :)
Jamie, you already do so much! Great list of skills to learn:)
Janice, I met a gal who is willing to show me Bobbin Lace making. I would love to learn but timing is not good right now :( She also wants to show me how to spin. That to me looks like it would be so relaxing (once you get your groove going :))
Marcia, good for you! My honey (no pun intended :)) would love to start Beekeeping.
~I am learning to quilt since my last reply. I just need to find time to practice :)
~I am slowly getting more competent at gardening. I am glad to see that each year the garden and harvest get better, deer and weather permitting :)
~My honey is continuing to smoke and cure meats. A neat blog: http://cowgirlscountry.blogspot.com/
This gal does so much!
What is everyone else up to? :)
Farmgirl Sister #5392
By His Grace, For His Glory
~Sharon
http://amerryheartjournal.blogspot.com/
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NAGarcia
True Blue Farmgirl
102 Posts
Natalie
Gresham
OR
USA
102 Posts |
Posted - Jun 16 2016 : 11:44:37 AM
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I bought a tomato plant this summer to try some gardening. I don't have space for much and the last time I tried, nothing grew. Made me sad. But now I'm kind of excited for fresh off the vine maters.
I'm spending the summer cutting denim squares for quilts. Oh, and making strips for rag rugs.
Natalie
Farmgirl Sister #7004 May 2016
^*^ We are the weirdos, mister. ^*^ |
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Cozynana
True Blue Farmgirl
1123 Posts
Kem
1123 Posts |
Posted - Jul 31 2016 : 12:04:47 PM
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| I don't know if this is a lost art, but I learned to kayak this past week. I was so brave and proud of myself. One more thing I now know how to do. |
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saram
True Blue Farmgirl
521 Posts
Sara
Biggs
CA
USA
521 Posts |
Posted - Mar 18 2017 : 11:18:08 AM
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What I like most about this thread is that we all have a common drive to continuously learn new things. I've always recognized that in myself, and now I see how many others like me are out there!
Over the past 30 years I have taught myself vegetable gardening (I try a new vegetable every year - this year it's shelling peas), preserving what I grow through canning, freezing and dehydrating (I'd like to build a solar dehydrator some day) and new, yummy ways to eat it all. I bake breads, make ice cream, and have tried a few cheeses. (I have Milk Cow Kitchen but haven't gotten up the courage to buy the cow yet!) I have raised chickens, ducks, goats (milked a dairy goat for a while) pigs, rabbits, horses, and developed an alpaca breeding business for about 10 years. In conjunction with that, I learned to spin, felt and weave. (Side note: I am currently offering free alpaca fiber to anyone who wants it. That is on the Barter forum.) As a walnut farmer I drive tractors, run equipment, fix irrigation, and soak up lots of summertime sun. I have my own chainsaw (but haven't used it much), power tools, scroll saw, and a very well stocked woodworking shop at my disposal. I sew, paint and love to make art. I've learned fluent Spanish and would love to add Italian.!
I am now training myself to revamp my vintage trailer single-handedly. The internet is my main source for this, which is not so rewarding. I'm hoping to find other women who are doing the same thing and want to lean on each other. I started a thread on the General Chat Forum under Outpost, in case one of you fits this description.
I'm also learning how to make sausage from the hog I raised this past fall. I'm using The Sausage Cookbook Bible by Ellen Brown as my source for this. Today, I'm stuffing the hog and sheep casings I bought online for the first time. Wish me luck!
Before I go, one of my favorite quotes: "The more things thou learnest to know and enjoy, the more complete and full will be for thee the delight of living." --Phalen
Enjoy the Quest!
Sara |
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Cozynana
True Blue Farmgirl
1123 Posts
Kem
1123 Posts |
Posted - Apr 08 2017 : 01:58:41 AM
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| Sara, you have quite a list of accomplishments. Congrats!!!!! My dad was a teacher and always told me to learn as much as possible and experience many things. He thinks this creates an intelligent person. I love to learn the lost arts too. My grandfather use to do potato bologna at Thanksgiving and I always helped him. I inherited the very crude sausage stuffer I use to this day. |
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Mamagoat
Farmgirl at Heart
6 Posts
Maggie
Ellis Grove
IL
USA
6 Posts |
Posted - Mar 08 2018 : 12:52:35 PM
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| My wife and i bought a 7.5 acre farm almost 2 years ago. We have goats, chickens, and a quarter acre pond with bass and catfish. I have never butchered anything before, but today my dogs killed two of my chickens. Instead of giving Penny and Scarlett burials, i am now learning to butcher, with them as my first. Too bad theres not a butchering badge. I got this. Chicken may be a bit salty due to an abundance of tears. But i don't wanna waste, and this is a skill i needed to learn. Just wasn't expecting it today. |
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atkinst2
True Blue Farmgirl
907 Posts
Theresa
Canal Winchester
OH
USA
907 Posts |
Posted - Mar 21 2018 : 5:05:52 PM
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One of the things I wanted to learn was to carve. I have been working on it and am having a blast. Here is a photo of a shawl pin I hand carved.
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There is never a road so long that there isn't a curve in it. |
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Tumbleweed
True Blue Farmgirl
1036 Posts
Nancy
Texas
USA
1036 Posts |
Posted - Mar 21 2018 : 11:26:05 PM
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Wow Theresa your shawl pin is beautiful. You are very talented. I have a few shawl pins, all store bought, all plastic.
TW
The fun begins where the sidewalk ends. Shel Silverstein |
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naturemaiden
True Blue Farmgirl
2569 Posts
Connie - Farmgirl #673
Hoosick Falls
NY
USA
2569 Posts |
Posted - Mar 22 2018 : 02:01:05 AM
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Maggie that's brave. Especially to be thrown into it before you knew if you were even ready. We are considering chickens when we move, and being a prepper, I thought maybe we would keep chickens for eggs and maybe meat, but I'm not sure I could butcher them (in an emergency i think that would change). A butchering badge would sure be deserved for you.
Theresa that shawl pin is so beautiful. You obviously are a natural at it. Do you think one day you might sell them?
Sara, I too love that we all shall this common interest. I'm glad to know that it's not just me. Between the soap making, sewing machines, books, gardening, natural medicines, etc- sometimes i feel dizzy, and i've often wondered why i'm doing all this because sometimes i burn myself out. I always have multiple projects going on at once because I love trying new things. Even when i get a break to sit back and rest, i feel like i have to be doing something else. I've gotten better at balancing everything because it was all starting to overwhelm me.
Last summer I learned to start a fire with flint and steel, a primitve method, but hey, what if the zombies come? I have this 'always be prepared' attitude and try to instill it in my sons too. A new project I'm going to try is to make sewing machine bases, out of wood. I already bought most of the tools, i just need a table saw LOL. Truth is i'm scared of saws. Not sure when I'm going to do that. Last summer i was in the backyard re-finishing furniture with a new sander i bought myself. I have a lot of tools! I'll be making and canning sauerkraut this year and dehydrating food from the garden. I've also started blending my own herbal teas. I have countless quart jars of flower blossoms, roots, and spices. I try to make my husband drink the teas, but he says they taste like dirt. I love it. As far as gardening, i already have some seed growing in my cold frame. I built a solar oven years back. It works too! Another back up just in case.
Of course, MaryJane's books are so awesome, they make you want to try everything. Her Ideabook, Cookbook, Lifebook changed my life. I bought that book years back through a book club, and that when I discovered her and all of you :) That book is my most used book, nearly all the pages are either marked, folded or have bookmarks.
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Lil' Chefs Cookbook- Delicious Recipes for Toy Ovens - http://www.vintage-toy-ovens.com/
Vintage Sewing Machines, Original Parts & Related Book Titles - http://www.thriftyfarmgirl.com/
Handcrafted Artisan Soap https://www.etsy.com/shop/naturemaiden |
Edited by - naturemaiden on Mar 22 2018 02:11:04 AM |
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atkinst2
True Blue Farmgirl
907 Posts
Theresa
Canal Winchester
OH
USA
907 Posts |
Posted - Mar 23 2018 : 2:34:52 PM
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Thank you Connie. No, I don't think I will ever sell anything. I did that years ago and found that it felt like a job and I want it to be fun. I agree, I think it is very important to know primitive methods... one never knows, those zombies could be on their way! This spring I am going to start teaching my 4 year old grandson to forage. Like you said... one never knows ;-)
There is never a road so long that there isn't a curve in it. |
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naturemaiden
True Blue Farmgirl
2569 Posts
Connie - Farmgirl #673
Hoosick Falls
NY
USA
2569 Posts |
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HollerGirl56
True Blue Farmgirl
1334 Posts
Barbara
Flat Top
WV
USA
1334 Posts |
Posted - Mar 24 2018 : 05:31:39 AM
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| I love to forage. I know how to gather wild mushrooms. And how to pick wild greens. I also know a lot of things you could eat in an emergency. I think we should all learn these things. LIFE IS GOOD. |
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naturemaiden
True Blue Farmgirl
2569 Posts
Connie - Farmgirl #673
Hoosick Falls
NY
USA
2569 Posts |
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atkinst2
True Blue Farmgirl
907 Posts
Theresa
Canal Winchester
OH
USA
907 Posts |
Posted - Mar 24 2018 : 07:08:22 AM
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Thanks, In May we will go for wild garlic. Then we will keep an eye out for mushrooms, some herbs and the such. Mulberry, raspberry and hopefully some elderberry. He already loves to cook, so hopefully we get enough to can some jams. We will dry the herbs and such.
There is never a road so long that there isn't a curve in it. |
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Old Spirit
True Blue Farmgirl
1498 Posts
Rae
MN
1498 Posts |
Posted - Nov 10 2018 : 5:01:45 PM
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Making cheese would be a top of the list thing and then knitting mittens and socks. I have problems reading patterns, if someone shows me step by step and I write it in my language I am ok but would love to be able to knit anything.
Rae
...those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles:...
Isaiah 40:31
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atkinst2
True Blue Farmgirl
907 Posts
Theresa
Canal Winchester
OH
USA
907 Posts |
Posted - Nov 12 2018 : 07:03:32 AM
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Rae, wish I lived closer to you as I would be happy to teach you to knit mittens and socks. Reading patterns can be hard. You just need someone to translate them for you.
There is never a road so long that there isn't a curve in it. |
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Old Spirit
True Blue Farmgirl
1498 Posts
Rae
MN
1498 Posts |
Posted - Nov 15 2018 : 04:28:00 AM
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Thank you Theresa, wish you were closer as well. Will just have to set a goal and work on it. Imagine you tube must have some videos? Always forget to check that out. So much nonsense on internet so forget can be helpful :-)
Rae
...those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles:...
Isaiah 40:31
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loribeck
True Blue Farmgirl
588 Posts
Lori
Alvordton
36
USA
588 Posts |
Posted - Dec 20 2018 : 6:30:13 PM
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I would love to make my own cheese as well as learn to spin wool. There are so many things I would love to try. I would also like to make all my own soap. I have tried many different kinds of soap from the store but they make me itch. My mother used to make her own soap and I loved it. My skin was soft and I never had a problem with itching.
Lori Beck |
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loribeck
True Blue Farmgirl
588 Posts
Lori
Alvordton
36
USA
588 Posts |
Posted - Dec 20 2018 : 6:30:52 PM
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I would love to make my own cheese as well as learn to spin wool. There are so many things I would love to try. I would also like to make all my own soap. I have tried many different kinds of soap from the store but they make me itch. My mother used to make her own soap and I loved it. My skin was soft and I never had a problem with itching.
Lori Beck |
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Off the Grid/Homesteading Skills: Lost art skills wish list |
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Lost art skills wish list
