5/1/15 - 6/1/15

Main Posts Background Image

Main Posts Background Image

26.5.15

How to Find the Time, Space, and Money to Sew

 In my opinion, sewing is the most useful hobby you will ever pursue. I truly feel everyone should learn to sew, but many people don't feel it's economical or feasible for various reasons.




It's a shame that so few people get to enjoy the pleasure and the benefits of sewing. So many things in our home can be sewn rather than purchased!  Think about all of the items in your home that can be or are made of fabric--bedding, furniture covers, pillows, tablecloths, curtains, clothing, purses, tote bags, toys, journals, gift items and much more!

One of these was denim blue and the other hot pink corduroy. I used old curtains to recover them. It only took 3 hours!

Think of the sense of accomplishment you would feel if you could make all these things yourself! You  would not be left to the mercy of stuff-mart's limited selections or a department store's prices.

Not only can sewing help you provide for the needs of your home more inexpensively, but you can add that special 'touch' that uniquely represents your decorating style. This is something that you simply cannot buy in a store. Anything you make yourself is probably going to be of better quality construction and fabric.

I get one of these four responses every single time I mention how wonderful it is to sew...


  1. It's too expensive. People say that by the time you pay for fabric and a pattern, you could have purchased the same item several times over on clearance. 
  2. They don't have enough time.
  3. They don't have enough space.
  4. Their sewing machine doesn't work well. The bobbin is messed up or it skips a stitch.
I used to say the same exact thing every time I saw my sister's five girls in new dresses that she had sewn herself. Ditto for her pillow shams, curtains, tablecloths, couch pillows etc. She sewed for herself, for my children, for friends and on and on.  

Rather than run to the store, she ran to the sewing machine!  

All I could think of was the $16.00 patterns and $6.00/yard fabric plus $1.73 for thread, $1.24 for zipper, and the .65 cents for buttons. In my mind, every dress, pair of pants, or shirt would cost a minimum of $32.00 plus tax! If you are thinking that, then I hope this article will give you a new perspective on the art and feasibility of sewing. 



Can't Afford to Sew? Think again!

Stocking Up on Clearance Fabric

My daughter and I sew regularly We're always planning ahead for the next clothing or household item needed (like seasonal items, gifts, or a party dress).  We have the same mindset when buying cloth and patterns that many of you do when you buy clothes.


 The first secret to budget friendly sewing is to stock up while patterns are on sale and the seasonal cloth is on clearance.  

Every fall, winter, spring, or summer, seasonal fabric is put on sale at local fabric stores.  It's at exactly the same time that clothes go on sale.  We buy our fabric for $1.00 to $3.00 a yard.  A summer blouse need not cost any more than $3.00 if you have a couple of stylish patterns on hand (purchased at a $1.00 each on sale).



We stock up on fabric once every season--stuff that we like...for skirts, blouses, capris, or just because we love it! Not a whole lot but a few yards of good solid basics--summer cotton prints and twills, knits, denims, khaki, and guazy or silky stuff for nice skirts.  Then we store it in a cubby hole shelf divided by fabric type, until needed. (My sister used an old dresser for the same purpose.) A tower drawer organizer works too.

Don't overstock--keep good fabric not stuff you know you won't use! And don't forget to sign up for emails or newsletters from your closest fabric stores. I save my coupons every month just in case I have a sudden fabric need. That's at least 40% off! (Love the new barcodes for online coupons on mobile apps!)

Mother-Daughter aprons made from a $3.00 skirt at the thrift store.

Fabric from Re-fashioning

We also save old dresses, curtains, jeans, shirts, tablecloths etc. rather than throw them out, and sort them according to fabric type once we are tired of them in their current form. Later, we 're-fashion' them. Thrift stores sell fabric, clothes, and tablecloths and throws very cheap...lots of great fabric!

We save our scraps to make small gift items..hair scrunchies, yo-yo's for embellishments, tote bags, fabric bows for gifts, journal covers, drawstring gift bags etc. (appliques too!)--not to mention for the time honored scrap quilt for the last bits!




 Cheap or Practically Free Patterns 

 We also stock up  on patterns that are stylish but simple. They cover the basics...blouses with variations, skirts, and capris or shorts, and a dress or two. We spent $14.00 total one summer and got seven patterns each (with lots of options) and have been sewing for the last few years off of these.  

If we need something specific, now, we buy the $1.99  IT'S SO EASY  patterns from Simplicity...

or something along those lines. You don't get as many options, but you do get a cheap pattern for what you need, when you need it.  Also, thrift stores sell patterns too at great prices I might add!

The two blouses at the bottom were copies of the blouse at the top purchased from a department store.
And if you are really tight on funds, check out my post on how to make a pattern from a favorite blouse or skirt, without ripping it apart! That costs nothing but the paper you trace the pieces onto!


Cheap Sewing Machine

Craig's List to the Rescue!  Thrift stores are also great! You can't imagine how cheaply I once bought a great ewing machine for $35.00 plus had eight additional feet..gatherer, hemming, blind stitch etc. Sewing machines are almost universally cheap on Craig's list.  And thrift stores are overrun with perfectly useable sewing machines.

You don't need an expensive machine--mine cost under $150.00.  A basic Singer sewing machine  with a few specialty feet has served all of my sewing needs perfectly from clothes, to upholstery covers, to curtains, and quilting.
I've used a basic Singer for years.  I sewed ball gowns, wedding dresses, convention booth tablecloths, furniture covers, dress pants, worship banners and quilts...using nothing but a basic, plain Jane machine.  You need to be able to sew a straight stitch, zig-zag and a button hole. You need a zipper foot. You need heavy needles for leather and denim, light needles for satin or light knit, and medium size needles for cotton etc.  You can monogram and applique with a zig-zag stitch. Almost any machine will do what you need!




Number One FIX for a 'broken' Sewing Machine

I am not a sewing machine repair person, but I have almost NEVER found a sewing machine that I couldn't fix!  I once taught 14 girls and moms how to sew. At least six of their machines weren't working well.  What was wrong?  Simple, the bobbin thread had gotten jammed up underneath or the machine was incorrectly threaded.  Whenever I have a problem, even with my own machine....

The first thing I do is re-thread it! Most of the time, this is the only problem.

This is especially true if the thread is breaking or the wheel won't turn.  Often, the bobbin case get's jammed with bunched up thread. Pull the whole thing out, pull out all the loose threads inside. Re-thread the bobbin and re-thread the spool of thread on the top. Then see if it doesn't fix the problem.  Also, make sure the tension is set on 5 or the middle and that the stitch witdth is set on 3.  Then oil your machine in all the holes.  So far, only one machine out of the 18 machines of my friends that I have looked at, could not be fixed doing these things.



But Donna, I don't have TIME to sew!  Okay, if you have babies or toddlers, I understand. It was hard for me to and to be honest I didn't do a lot of sewing. But I do know that my sister did find time even while all five of her girls were aged baby to 11yr. old.

I'm swamped too! With several volunteer projects going and two college age boys at home, plus a website to run, there is constant demand. But I used some of that time I would have spent on a movie, or surfing the web to sew. When Hubby and the boys are goofing around watching youtube videos or playing computer games, I can get out the sewing machine and sew! Even an hour's worth of work will allow me to make some real progress!

In Confessions of an Organized Homemaker, (my absolute favorite homemaking book of all time!), Denise Schofield said,
The biggest part of any job is the  get ready time and the put away and clean up time which is the key to finding time to sew!  


I didn't manage to find time to sew, until I made a permanent place to do it.  The best sewing table is a small two to four drawer DESK--again, from Craig's list! I paid $20.00 for my sewing 'desk'. The file cabinet is full of patterns--and that is all the patterns I need--only current trendy ones, plus patterns for curtains, other home furnishings and baby gift items or clothes.  The top left drawer is for the current sewing project ( so you can put it away when you aren't working on it.) The other two to three drawers on the left are for scissors, thread, buttons, stitch witchery, notions, interfacing, bobbins and other sewing items. Use drawer dividers!


If you use a regular desk for sewing, all can be out of sight but convenient...

not too tempting to little hands or distracting, regardless of what room you put the desk in.  Make a nice fabric cover for the machine so it doesn't distract from the room. Dining rooms are the best place for sewing--because you have a table right there for working on! Bedrooms work great too, just get a a Cardboard Pattern Sewing Cutting Board-36"X60"that covers the whole bed for under $6.00!

Tuck it under the bed when you are through cutting out the pieces. Put the pieces in the drawer and it's all out of sight for the evening.   Remember, though, that if you can leave part of your project out on the desk, it will help you want to keep working on it too!  If you have to get out your sewing machine and put it on the table and pull out the sewing box from the closet, and hunt for a good pair of scissors, and go buy cloth and a pattern--at full price--you will never have the time, money or space to sew!


Pick Easy Patterns--They take less time! 

I was such a dummy, always picking elaborate things to sew...super fancy dresses, skirts with pockets, zippers and buttons! I don't know why! One summer, though, I needed a bunch of clothes fast..for a trip to Hawaii.  I went and bought a simple skirt, capris, shorts and blouse pattern and made several variations of each. With a friend's help surging seams, we made eight clothing items in one day!


The patterns were easy--that was the trick. I taught these girls and their moms to sew using only 2 patterns! One was a Straight Pencil Skirt and the other a tiered skirt . 

  A skirt, shorts, blouse, or capris can easily take less than an hour to make! Try Kwik Sew or It's So Easy. You can certainly make one of these items in the time it takes the family to watch a movie.

Why go to all this trouble? 

Because a nice dress costs at least $15.00 even on sale, fabric gifts made from scraps cost almost nothing, curtains, couch pillows cost a fortune. And store-bought clothes are often low on fabric and not worth the clearance price  you paid for them...flimsy and poorly designed.

Can't Sew? Practice Makes Perfect

If you start with a simple pattern and cheap cloth you can teach yourself to sew. :)  I learned more by practicing than by anything anyone actually taught me. 90% of what I know about sewing I taught myself just by practicing and yes, failing sometimes.

Of course a good teacher is worth the paying if you can afford it. Any fabric store will have teachers and it will be a great investment in a hobby that is more far reaching and practical in it's scope than any that I know of and more rewarding than I can even begin to describe. If you have kids, sign up together!  You'll be glad you did! If you can't afford lessons, at least start with a super easy project like a straight skirt or pillow cover. Then work your way up to more difficult projects. I learned most of what I know by sewing. Patterns are great teaching tools!


If you will set up a permanent place that allows you to put everything out of sight, so that sewing is EASY, you will find both the time and money to sew! I promise!
Happy Homemaking!
Donna  

20.5.15

A New Home Management Chart to Help Busy Ladies Get 'Caught Up' Fast!


 I don't know about you, but I always feel like I'm juggling so many areas at the same time that it's hard to feel like I'm ever 'caught up'.


Supposedly I was 'retired' at least from homeschooling and child-rearing. Umm.. not quite! My daughter said she knew she shouldn't have worried what I was going to do when they all 'grew up'.  I know I wasn't confused about that. Haha! She is impressed with all the fun stuff I have going.


The fact is that I do have more time but I'm still feeding a hubby and two big college boys. "What's for Dinner, Mom?" is normally the burning question on everybody's mind.


Sewing for grandkids, gardening, beekeeping, quilting projects, home repairs, house-cleaning, errands, blogging, bible study, and bills all beg for attention. The fact that I'm also running gardens, chickens and bees for a ministry an hour away just adds to the need for a good plan!



I'm also the Media Director for  Montgomery County Right to Life , so sometimes life can get downright crazy!


My Dear Hubby also mentioned this week that he hoped I could start decluttering/Ebaying to help streamline our storage and bring in a little cash as we'd planned. We have an extra bit of debt (partly due to installing a septic line to the apartment on our land) and want to tackle it the Dave Ramsey way--put every dollar you can earn or save towards it!  We love his approach to getting debt free!

So to help me manage all the varied pursuits in my day, I made a little chart which you can open here and edit if you like.



The idea is to list all the areas you manage in a day on the left and then fill in the highest priority tasks over the course of the next week.

The result is that on any given day you do the highest priority task in each area on your that particular day of the week.  In only one day, your stress level will drop considerably!


Here's what my list for today looked like. You can see that I have tasks related to sewing, the garden, house cleaning, devotions, chickens/bees, blogging, my website management work, cooking, deskwork, finances etc. By the time I was finished, I felt like a new woman!

If Procrastination is a problem for you..

Now there is one little catch. If you're struggling with self-discipline and it's hard to get things done once they are on a list, you might want to read a blog post I wrote about procrastination.

One of the most transforming things I've learned during my two year 'bloggy break' is that procrastination is simply a fear of the unknown or even (yipes!) a bit of good old fashioned laziness.

When I started spending every morning--waaay before the family got up or the phone started ringing--with the Lord, getting my needs met or getting 'happy in the Lord" as George Mueller calls it,  I found  that I really started to grow in this area. I found the strength to quit giving into the temptation to put things off.

What a joy it is now to be able to make myself 'do what I don't want to do".


I do hope this method helps you get some of those monkeys off your back. I feel like it's incredibly efficient. Even if you didn't get it all done in one day, you'd still be taking a more balanced approach to getting caught up.

My old method of just spending the day cleaning, baking, sewing, or gardening, tended to leave a lot of things hanging over my head.  This new approach really seems to help me!

Happy Homemaking!
Donna


Harvest Time! Where Was That Zucchini Hiding All This Time?


My first zucchini--oops! A little overgrown...
I guess it's understandable that I didn't find this 1.15 lb zucchini considering how big my zucchini plants are! 


I've been busy hunting for the deadly cutter bugs that have killed two of these plants and spreading diatomaceous earth all around.

Today's picking of Bush Beans
And I never saw these green beans! Almost a pound and ready to steam or roast for supper tonight! I'm so excited!

Cherry Tomatos
These cherry tomatoes are already starting to ripen!

Big Boy Beefy Tomatoes
I'm just going to have to be patient a wee bit more with these tomatoes. I added some mulch/compost around them this week so they develop roots further up the stem. The cutter worms ate two of them right off at the base. I have them soaking in a five gallon bucket. I do hope they survive.


Baby Bell Peppers
These are Bell Peppers and I can't wait for them to 'fatten up'. I planted five more newer plants so altogether I have ten. I adore bell peppers and I want to donate some to the New Life garden since they can't grow them in their shady garden.


I've been so busy mulching, wrapping, fertilizing, treating for pests with diatomaceous earth, and weeding, that I didn't realize harvest time was already upon us!

How's your garden doing? Have you had any pest troubles? I'd love to hear from you!

Happy Homemaking!
Donna


14.5.15

Loving Those Who've Hurt You

  
He that says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness even until now. He that loves his brother stays in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him.  But he that hates his brother is in darkness, and walks in darkness, and knows not where he goes, because that darkness has blinded his eyes.  1 John 2:9-11
Last year, I attended a political event, and while there saw someone I hadn't seen in many years. The Lord had been working in a powerful way in my heart that year, and I knew I ought to go say 'Hi'. But to my shame, I didn't. This person was a brother in Christ--someone who had hurt me and my family repeatedly but unknowingly through their own foolishness and dysfunctional situation. It had become an 'infamous moment' in our family history--that month when we opened our home to strangers.

This morning, as I was reading these verses, that scenario immediately popped in my head. I was convicted.  In my own mind, there was no one that I was aware of whom I 'hated'.  I certainly didn't think I 'hated' them, I just didn't particularly 'like' them. I certainly didn't want to have fellowship with them.

To be honest, I was deceiving myself, but it took looking in the mirror of God's word, to be reminded of my lack of love and my disobedience to the Lord's command.

'Not hating a brother' is not going far enough. Jesus' command was that we actively 'love' our brothers. In fact I've discovered that the easiest way to get over bad feelings for someone is to start blessing them as Jesus commanded us to do to our enemies.--to pray for them and do them good.

Everyone has someone they're tempted to hate--someone who has hurt them--maybe repeatedly. If we don't have Christ's love empowering us and we've never accepted the love of Christ, then there is no way we could ever forgive them.

Jesus commands are, to be quite honest, impossible for non-Christians to fulfill. They are also impossible for we Christians to fulfill apart from His grace.

Read More...


11.5.15

Princess Dress with a Little Extra 'Pizzazz"- Simplicity 2569 with Online Shopping List!

My sweet granddaughter, Lena.


My daughter-in-law, Elisabeth, wondered if I could make the granddaughters, Lena (5) and Lillie (1), princess dresses for Christmas. I thought that would be so fun and it was!  I fell in love with this Simplicity Sewing Pattern 2569.



While scanning the clearance aisles, I found some luminescent organza fabric and decided to substitute it for half the tulle. It was a bit more pricey, but on sale was not too bad and--wow--it really did add a lot of 'pizazz' to what would have been a fairly plain skirt.




Turns out the first dress was a bit too small for Lena so little Lillie will get the shorter pink one. I shortened the skirt because her mom thought it might be too much to manage for a toddler.


However, Lena, begged for a longer skirt and as I had to lengthen the bodice for her long torso anyway,  I made her dress the length called for by the pattern. Her dress was all in purples. It's hard to say which I like better!




 Matching up the skirt to gather proved to be a big challenge but gathering was very easy--surprisingly so. For this second skirt, I  just sewed two long rows of stitching as it gathered so easily.




This part was the hardest--stitching the gathered skirt to the lining, but even that went pretty well considering the thickness. The netting crushes down pretty flat when you actually stitch through all the layers.

If you are making the smallest size, I'd suggest trying to take out a bit of the width of the peplum because it's very wide on a toddler. I'm saving the scraps to make 18" doll dresses to match for their birthdays.  


Here's the shopping list for this pattern:

(Note: If you want to see a picture of an item, just hover over the link and it will pop-up. If it doesn't, you may need to disable adblock for my website.)

For the pink dress 

Fabric:

Notions:

For the purple dress

Fabric:


Lillie, now 3, wearing dress B, and Lena, 5, wearing dress A.


On Skype, Lena and Lillie were prancing and dancing all over the  living room!  They were so enchanted with their new dresses.  Her mom said Lena never took her dress off all day.

 It's so fun sewing for grandchildren! 

 If you have a princess dress you've sewn and would like to share, send me the link on my contact form below. I'd love to see it!

Happy Homemaking!
Donna

10 Steps for Getting Started with Beekeeping - My Bees Have Arrived!



Beekeeping is a grand adventure that I just started on this January! I was asked to help a ministry start beekeeping and told the director, "Sure--I can learn!"  And so a mad race began that has led to this moment--the arrival of 20,000 bees this Friday morning!




For those interested in beekeeping, to be honest, it's as much an art as a science. I'm starting two hives--one in Montgomery and one in my backyard.  It took a lot of research to get to this point and I thought I'd share the steps I've taken so far, in case you are looking into this fascinating hobby for next year.

It's pretty much too late to start for this year as your new hive needs the whole summer to prepare for it's first winter. Most apiaries don't sell bees except in the early spring. In fact, you have to pre-order to get your batch reserved in January! I managed to grab a last couple of packages in February when NLWC decided I could 'go ahead' and start.

These are the steps I've taken so far:

 Montgomery County Beekeepers Club



1. First and most important--join a beekeeping club!

The fact is that you really do need to be 'mentored' and taught. This is a community project and you need all the advice and encouragement and teaching you can get. Many folks join the local bee keeping club a year before they start so they can learn as much as possible before starting. You spend a lot of money on beekeeping supplies and bees, so you don't want to start out wrong.

My neighbors helped me install the women's center bees last week. 
Beekeepers are the nicest people I know! I joined MOCOBees in Montgomery County, right away, and started attending meetings. Wow--talk about informative! And my neighbors agreed to 'mentor' me. They are even helping me install my bees at both locations!

Texas Beekeepers Association Summer Clinic

Also the beekeeping clubs are basically support clubs--sharing advice, training, and even honey extraction equipment! Through them I also learned about the Texas Beekeepers Association and am attending their state convention this summer which happens to be local this year.


2. Research! Get a few books, a hot latte, and sit down for a nice evening (or maybe a lot of evenings)  of learning all about bees. 


Read all you can get your hands on and watch all the videos you can find.  Learn about the types of hives, breeds of bees, and how to do each step in the beekeeping process. I spent all of January and February doing nothing but reading. My favorite books were Beekeeping For Dummies and First Lessons in Beekeeping.  But please, remember to take the internet advice with a grain of salt. Word of mouth advice from your local beekeepers is much more dependable!

Here are a few website links I loved:

Montgomery County Beekeepers Association

Holding the queen before we add her to the hive.

3. Make sure it's ok with your city and/or the neighbors. 

Your bees are going to be flying a long ways from home. It's a good thing to make sure you can actually keep bees in your neighborhood, city or county before investing in them. It also helps to check with the neighbors and do a little friendly educating if you are in a residential neighborhood. Offers of free honey are a super idea!

Our bees took a back seat in our car while we were driving home last Friday. They kept up a steady but quiet hum all the way. Love it!



 4. Pre-Order Your Bees - Find a local apiary if you can.


I bought mine from RWeaver Apiaries because a friend recommended them and they were local. I prefer doing that rather than having them shipped through the postal system.



Decide if you want to buy a nuc (small established colony in four frames) or a package of bees in a screened box like I am--cheaper but the results are not as dependable. If I had to do it over again, I'd have splurged on Nucs.

Both hives before I had painted the bottom boards, 2 gallon feeder, or honey super. I also cleaned and repainted the hive boxes.


5.  Buy your equipment and prepare it. 

 Take some time to research. Do you want a traditional 10-Frame Hive, a Warre Hive or a Top Bar Bee Hive Plans_?  The link for the topbar, which we may do next year, is for only $99.00 but you have to be good at assembling things yourself.  Amazon actually had some great bargains and local stores also had some. I did a lot of price checking between Amazon and bee supply companies like Dadant. Don't wait till a week before the bees arrive! You may have to do some assembly.


6. Buy protective clothing.

In spite of what people on youtube say, beginners ought to have at least a bee jacket and veil and preferably gloves too as a new beekeeper--especially when the bees are a bit fiestier in the summer. If you don't have protective clothing, you're liable to rush when inspecting your hive to avoid getting stung which means you won't see the needs of your hive and you're in danger of cooling off the hive too much.  When you get better at it, you might could skip the gloves and there are some advantages according to some pros to going gloveless. But most beekeepers I know wear them.



I've had to paint stuff, clean old hives that my neighbor sold me, find pallets to set the hives on, set up a hive 'kit' to hold all my equipment, get sugar to make the sugar water to feed them etc. etc.

My hubby, Tim, added sides to the cover and metal tops to protect the hives from rain.

 It takes a lot to get it all ordered and some things have to be assembled with nails and glue.

Here's my supply list:

Hive and Components
   with Cover, Screened Bottom Board and...
   Metal Cover for Telescoping Cover (reflects heat, keeps wooden cover from weathering in the rain)
   Entrance Reducer ( so they have a smaller entrance to protect as a new hive)

Bee Bucket Feeder, 2-Gallon (for more time between feedings)
 Frame Feeder, 3-Quart(if you are feeding daily--less expensive) 
(I use a pallet or you can use cinder blocks instead of purchasing a hive stand.)

Protective Clothing
Light Beekeeping Suit  (lighter and much less expensive)  


Tools:

Supplies:
25 pounds sugar (local Sam's club or Costco)

If this seems a bit complicated, you can just buy a 10-Frame Traditional Basic Starter Kit 

Melting bees wax to coat the plastic frames.

Bee frames with added wax.

 I also bought bees'wax and painted my plastic foundations with melted wax per advice of my mentor. He said it gives the package bees a month and a half's head start!

The Women's Center Bees 

7.  Decide on the proper location. 

They need to be close to a water supply, or you need to plan to provide one.  My beehives are being set on pallets so the ants can't easily find their way in. It's important that they face the right direction and are not too close to people. Their flight path needs to be away from the home but facing the morning sun. Be sure it's not in too sunny of a place. We moved this one under a tree so they won't get too hot in our Houston heat. If you are in a cooler location, maybe out in the sun is better. If you have cold winters, that is another thing to keep in mind. A natural windbreak is helpful. I have lots of pines behind my hive.

My Home Hive
 There's a lot to consider as regards a location so be sure to research this! It's very important not to move your hive once you've chosen a spot. They get easily confused--even by 6"!  You need to make sure you can easily get to your chosen spot too. One of the hives I manage is quite a hike pulling a heavy duty wagon. At some point you'll be taking a hive super full of honey to the house or garage (like next year haha!) and that's a good 50lbs of weight!



8. Set up your hive and get your sugar water prepared for feeding. 

Just like you want the bassinet in place and the formula ready before the baby arrives, you want to have the bees' new home all ready before you drive to get your bees. I started keeping a running list of all the tips I'd been picking up at bee meetings like--put rubber bands, grocery bags, and duct tape in your kit to help seal your clothes.


9. Watch videos on how to install your bees! 

I am watching and reading and still I am so glad to have my neighbors' help.



My smoker with plentiful kindling. I ditched the matches and switched to a bic lighter. That's why we practice! I hadn't tried to do this on a windy day before.

10. Do a dry run. Practice lighting and working with your smoker.

I plan to practice going through all the steps in my beekeeping book. I also bought 2 suits--one for me and one for my son, so I don't have to go alone. I am going to suit up, light the smoker, practice using the smoker, and the whole nine yards.  I may do several to feel more comfortable.



So these are some of the steps to get ready for beekeeping, but that's only the beginning! There is so much more to it! Believe me, we are just barely scratching the surface here.

I'm really looking forward to our next bee meeting about pest problems. Last month we covered how to do a proper hive inspection. Monthly information meetings are only one of the many benefits of joining a beekeeping club.

My bees just after we 'dumped' them onto the frames of my hive.

It's about the most challenging hobby I can imagine taking on but also seems to be one of the most rewarding! My new friends tell me that you can care for bees all your life and still be surprised.

I hope my post has given you at least an interest in the hobby and if you don't feel ready to take it on or can't, then at least you can enjoy my updates from a safe distance. I'll be posting updates as I go!


Happy Homemaking!
Donna

“There's nothing half so pleasant as coming home again.” ~ Margaret Sangster

Friends of Comin' Home

Thanks for visiting!

Search This Blog

Followers

Copyright Comin'Home 2020. Powered by Blogger.

Error 404

The page you were looking for, could not be found. You may have typed the address incorrectly or you may have used an outdated link.

Go to Homepage