Made from Scratch

I think I'm knitting my third, no wait, my fourth pair of socks. I'm so glad that I found my way back to sock knitting. It is truly satisfying!

I've also been reading too. But I seem to have switched from fiction to non-fiction. I think I ran out of really good novels to read so I migrated over to how-to's and decorating.

One book in particular I've enjoyed lately is Made from Scratch by Jenna Woginrich. Part memoir, part urban homestead how-to, this book will leave you inspired. She talks about her life before starting her small farm and about the process she went through to get there. But it's not all roses. She paints a stark picture of some of the realities of the so called simple life. And the amazing thing is that she is only twenty-six! At that age I hadn't really even figured out what my life goals were, let alone made huge strides in accomplishing them. And even if homesteading is not your dream, Jenna's story is sure to inspire and motivate you to work toward your own goals. This would be a great gift book for a young person.

I think I've found a true kindred spirit in Mary Randolph Carter. Her books, American Junk and Garden Junk are a celebration of groovy junk she's aquired in all sort of places, yard sales, flea markets, etc. The book is crammed full of photos of those junk treasures as she found them. And best of all? She shares with us the price she paid for each item! It's like a conversation for your Saturday morning yard saling mama who comes home at lunchtime with an armload of treasures and a slew of stories. Love these books!

Now a couple of books that I recently found and could not put down are Junk Beautiful and Decorating Junk Market Style by Sue Whitney and Ki Nassauer. I don't think I've ever been as inspired to transform junk into treasures. These ladies are fabulous! You might have seen their articles in Country Home magazine. Their website is sure to inspire you as well so I hope you head on over there and check it out.

And finally, I've also been revisiting one of my favorite Better Homes and Gardens books, Flea Market Decorating: Creating Style with Vintage Finds. I actually own this one and love to flip through the pages every so often for a big old jolt of inspiration.

Finally, some of my favorite trash to treasure TV shows are Decorating Cents hosted by Joan Steffend and Junkin' with Val and Dave. Sadly, this last show is no longer on the air but you might be able to find a show or two over on YouTube. Or perhaps we should all email Turner South and demand that they put the show back on the air! Oh, and some of the older Decorating Cents shows are even better than the newer ones. Hope HGTV figures out they'll increase their audience by replaying fome of those old classics.

Ok folks, that's it! Hope you find some inspiration in these resources.

Comments

[Angie]

Ooh, I want to check out that urban homesteading book. My fiance and I want to get a farm, hopefully in the next few years so it would be a relevant read.

[Thimbleanna]

What a bunch of great crafty reading! But I almost fell off of my chair when you said "I think I ran out of really good novels to read" -- I'll never be able to utter those words LOL!

[Emma]

That sock is looking great!

[Jennifer]

I'm definitely going to check some of these out! Have you read the Inkspell series? Given that you're such a Harry Potter fan, I think you'd enjoy these (and they are NOT, for a change, HP rip-offs, like so much other children's lit out there these days) -- I'm on the first one and Dean's mid-way through the second. Thanks for stopping by my blog; it was lovely to hear your voice!

[carrie]

You've definitely sparked some motivation to decorate :) I love Junk/Flea Market Style... wouldn't you just love to do each room of the house in a completely different genre of decorating style? :) Currently I'm sporting the "we just moved and don't have a lot of stuff" sparse-chic!

[Tracy]

Super socks, Felicia! I'm just now learning socking knitting, after having taken it up before but not really clicking with it as I had other knitting. But so far so good! Thanks for all the terrific decorating idea books, etc...Makes me want to freshen things up around here...hhhmmm...Happy Day ((HUGS))

[missknits]

wow the socks are looking awesome! i admire anyone who has the patience to knit socks. i have yet to venture that far into knitting yet. i like more instant satisfaction of scarves and hats.

[Penny]

My hat is off to you Felicia! Satisfying would not be how I would describe knitting my own socks.....

[pouch]

a friend of mine designed the cover for that book, I think it looks great :)