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7th out of 209 books
—
125 voters
Made from Scratch: Discovering the Pleasures of a Handmade Life
Starting off as a young, single woman with a desk job and a city apartment, Jenna Woginrich set out to build a more self-sufficient lifestyle by learning homesteading skills. She didn't own land or have much practical experience beyond a few forays into knitting and soap making, but she did have a strong desire to opt out of what she saw as a consumer-driven culture. After...more
Hardcover, 184 pages
Published
December 3rd 2008
by Storey Publishing
(first published 2008)
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Mere nostalgia for a so-called “simpler time” is not enough reason for me to do anything; I have to know there is some modern benefit, something to justify its practice in the here and now. The author of Made From Scratch does an excellent job not only convincing me of this, but stoking my excitement for it.
Of 11 chapters, I loved 6:
Chickens. Eggs aren’t that expensive -they might be some of the cheapest sources of protein available- so why raise your own chickens? First, by doing so you’ll kno...more
Of 11 chapters, I loved 6:
Chickens. Eggs aren’t that expensive -they might be some of the cheapest sources of protein available- so why raise your own chickens? First, by doing so you’ll kno...more
Nov 23, 2010
Brixton
rated it
2 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Yuppies who want to learn how to kill a variety of animals all by means of negligence
Recommended to Brixton by:
amazon robots, <i>wie ironisch</i>
Pathologically self-absorbed, undeservedly self-congratulating-- especially given her apparent special talent for neglecting animals to death-- and overwhelmingly under-helpful.
"Me. Memememememe, me!" x 184 pages = Made From Scratch by Jenna Woginrich
An open letter to the author:
Dear Jenna Woginrich,
I hate to inform you of this, but "pioneers" did not send animal hair to online retailers for processing into yarn, nor did they have laptops for ordering, well, anything at all. Especially consider...more
"Me. Memememememe, me!" x 184 pages = Made From Scratch by Jenna Woginrich
An open letter to the author:
Dear Jenna Woginrich,
I hate to inform you of this, but "pioneers" did not send animal hair to online retailers for processing into yarn, nor did they have laptops for ordering, well, anything at all. Especially consider...more
10 likes · like · see review
view all 4 comments
"Plenty of people in suburbs and sublets all over the country are replacing their pansies with peas and putting up henhouses where the doghouses used to be. Knitters are casting on in subways, and homebrewed wine is fermenting in your neighbor's basement. A revolution is self-sufficiency is riding the L train, and we saved you a seat."
What begins with this sage observation continues to offer enough information to inspire and humor to educate. Yes, that's what I meant. The information and resourc...more
What begins with this sage observation continues to offer enough information to inspire and humor to educate. Yes, that's what I meant. The information and resourc...more
THIS is what I wanted from the last book on homesteading / hobby farming that I read. Interspersed among the little anecdotes about homesteading is solid advice about raising chickens, planting a garden, cooking from scratch, and more. I thought the dogsledding/packdog section seemed a bit strange for inclusion, but the other topics were just what I wanted to find. This will definitely be taking a spot on my reference shelf, and I'll be heading to the library to check out some of the other books...more
About the most I can say for this book is that her enthusiasm for the subject was fairly infectious. Definitely made me excited for the sort of projects/ideas she was presenting. However, most of the projects unfortunately can't really be done if you live in a true urban setting (read: condo with no back yard). Other than her enthusiasm for growing her own food, raising chickens, bees, and rabbits, about the only thing I got from the book was that you should be prepared for these things to be di...more
oh, how i longed for this book to be more. while i guess it's interesting to hear tiny stories from a person's experiences with "homesteading," i was really hoping for some lengthy narratives and real advice/experiences from which to learn. this would have been much more compelling and useful if it was about twice as long/she focused on half as many topics with the same number of pages.
I know the feeling of making something yourself. Woginrich really takes it to a new level in that she not only knits and spins (like I do) she also raised hens, kept bees, and taught herself how to play both the mountain dulcimer and fiddle. While this book is essentially a shallow primer of all her accomplishments, it really provides an interested reader the highlights (and lowlights) of each task she took on.
I enjoyed the lighthearted take on everything and the book did make me want to try a f...more
I enjoyed the lighthearted take on everything and the book did make me want to try a f...more
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This was a Christmas gift from Lynn, and it kept me from completely losing my mind as I was stuck in the airport on my way back to the 'burgh. It was a quick, light, enjoyable read. However, I'm going to have a little trouble reviewing it. The book is one part "how-to" and one part "anecdotal evidence." I enjoyed the latter much more than the former. I appreciate that the author was willing to share her many missteps when learning to raise honeybees and angora rabbits, among other things, and di...more
2 likes · like · see review
I recently re-picked this book up from my library (I picked it up once before but had to return it before I finished). The book Made from Scratch by Jenna Wogenrich is subtitled "Discovering the pleasures of a handmade life." This isn't an intense DIY kind of book--if that isn't really your thing. This book is more of a memoir of a young woman who decides to rent a farm to live on when she moves to Idaho for her IT job rather than renting an apartment. This book chronicles her experiences and th...more
My Amazon review: This is a fun, quick read with some personal stories and a few tips for getting started on things like beekeeping, training working dogs, sewing clothes, keeping chickens and rabbits, cooking, making music and generally making the most of everyday life. This is not, however, (nor do I think it was meant to be) a book for someone looking for detailed information on becoming a homesteader or on becoming self-sufficient.
For those who already practice "the lifestyle" this will be a...more
For those who already practice "the lifestyle" this will be a...more
Despite living in a city, and having a small jungle of a backyard, I dream of having a bit of land, chickens, a big garden, and a kitchen that lots of homegrown/homemade stuff comes out of. I really enjoyed this book for this reason. Makes me wish to run out and homestead!
I read this a while ago and never added it. Wendy described it as a collection of light and engaging essays, and I would agree. I think my beef with this was that she sometimes made things sound TOO EASY. Like, "Chickens are wonderful...they take up less time than a gerbil does." Well, I know I don't have to be a fifth-generation farmer to keep chickens, but I don't think it's as easy as having a gerbil. Mind you, I'd love to have chickens. I just think she oversimplifies at times.
That said, the...more
That said, the...more
I know this seems like a weird book for me to read. I don't know why, maybe it's my grand fathers genes in me, but I want to live on about 40 acres in the middle of nowhere with a small farm house with my wife, 12 kids (JK honey), 3 dogs, 2 cats and other crazy barnyard animals. So maybe thats why I picked up this book.
I don't agree with some of the philosophy espoused in the pages (I think the writer is a buddhist) but I did realize just how attached I am to stuff. OK I will admit it. I'm addic...more
I don't agree with some of the philosophy espoused in the pages (I think the writer is a buddhist) but I did realize just how attached I am to stuff. OK I will admit it. I'm addic...more
I'll start by stating that I grew up on a working farm (as in a really broke all the time, long, miserably cold hours, stuff always breaking kind of farm) so I used to have an instant aversion to what I thought of as overeager "yuppie farmers". That is, until I moved off the farm into an apartment with NO LAWN AND NO GRASS and realized just how miserable life was without some form of self-sufficiency. Now I'm one of those "yuppie farmers" desperately trying to build a little bit of independence...more
A wonderful mix of how-to and storytelling, this book is a testament to the simple pleasures in life. Cunningly split into several chapters, it encompasses many aspects of farm life as seen through the authors eyes and performed by her hands.
The first chapter, Chickens, is exactly that. From her own experiences with chickens, to a basic guide on caring for them, this encompasses all of what it means to have a small flock of chickens. I enjoyed the stories of her chickens and their antics, and th...more
The first chapter, Chickens, is exactly that. From her own experiences with chickens, to a basic guide on caring for them, this encompasses all of what it means to have a small flock of chickens. I enjoyed the stories of her chickens and their antics, and th...more
A quite basic but worthwhile book on homesteading. The main difference between this and many of the other contemporary homesteading/farming books I've read is the calm tone. While Woginrich certainly doesn't ignore the problems of farming, and gives many anecdotes of her failures, she also projects a "you can do this" attitude that actually pairs quite well with the simplicity of the discussion. Now, ok. I would definitely prefer to get far more information on a big swath of the subject matter--...more
Made From Scratch is a story about the author, Jenna, and her desire to do more things for herself–things such as growing and preparing her own food, making her own clothes, and creating her own music. She teaches herself about homesteading, and plunges in when she relocates to northern Idaho.
This is not a hippie commune in the backwoods—Jenna is a 26 year-old who is commuting five miles into the city to work at a graphic design job in a large corporation. She stresses that you do not need a far...more
This is not a hippie commune in the backwoods—Jenna is a 26 year-old who is commuting five miles into the city to work at a graphic design job in a large corporation. She stresses that you do not need a far...more
Read this book if you check three more of the following:
__You want to raise hens and lay awake at night imagining how good their eggs will taste.
__You have untapped desires for shopping antique malls and acquiring old things.
__You are jealous of fancy-pants farmers who spend all day in their gardens and all winter spinning wool from sheep, but work a 40 hr. a week job.
__Reading about a flopped bee hive in this woman's backyard sounds interesting to you.
__You want to live simply, so you learn how...more
__You want to raise hens and lay awake at night imagining how good their eggs will taste.
__You have untapped desires for shopping antique malls and acquiring old things.
__You are jealous of fancy-pants farmers who spend all day in their gardens and all winter spinning wool from sheep, but work a 40 hr. a week job.
__Reading about a flopped bee hive in this woman's backyard sounds interesting to you.
__You want to live simply, so you learn how...more
A couple of months ago Mother Earth News ran the introduction to Jenna Woginrich’s Made from Scratch: Discovering the Pleasures of a Handmade Life. I read the article as I sat in the eye doctor’s office waiting for my pupils to dilate. I can’t imagine a more pleasurable way to lock my eyes into a position that makes everything else foggy. Woginrich’s style and sensibility really stuck with me.
So last week, I went looking for her book, and lo and behold, my local library had several copies. I ord...more
So last week, I went looking for her book, and lo and behold, my local library had several copies. I ord...more
I picked this up because Krista saw it somewhere and thought it looked good. Usually, by the time I end up reading a book I have no idea where the recommendation originated from, but in this case, I know it was definitely my wife. We got in queue at the library for this book, and waited for months. I guess it's pretty popular in Olympia lately.
I was pleased to find that this book is an accessible, clear, forthright memoir of one lady's efforts to become more self-sufficient. From cubicle to com...more
I was pleased to find that this book is an accessible, clear, forthright memoir of one lady's efforts to become more self-sufficient. From cubicle to com...more
The book is light, but infectious. Jenna Woginrich is so excited about all the self-sufficient and sustainable aspects of her life that you absolutely want to join her.
As a child my parents raised chickens and rabbits, and the occasional other animal (a duck, a flock of turkeys--turkey eggs have such a thick inner sac you have to cut it with a knife, but they are BIG). I loved it. I love fresh eggs, and I liked hunting around the yard for them. We raised big New Zealand rabbits, meat rabbits, an...more
As a child my parents raised chickens and rabbits, and the occasional other animal (a duck, a flock of turkeys--turkey eggs have such a thick inner sac you have to cut it with a knife, but they are BIG). I loved it. I love fresh eggs, and I liked hunting around the yard for them. We raised big New Zealand rabbits, meat rabbits, an...more
Let me preface this by saying that I grew up in a family of women making their own clothes and people singing and playing instruments. Also, I live in Seattle, where keeping chickens is not uncommon, there are enough beekeepers to support a beekeeping association, and gardening is rampant. So, many of the things Woginrich talks about as somewhat uncommon steps towards a more sustainable life just feel like parts of people's normal lives to me.
I love personal essays, and what I think of as infor...more
I love personal essays, and what I think of as infor...more
While I agree with some of the reviews that the enthusiasm of the author is infectious, this book left me unsatisfied. Her anecdotes about how she got started in various parts of homesteading were very entertaining reading. I appreciate that she gives the good with the bad. I came out of this realizing that she's not very good at taking care of living creatures (except for her dogs). She killed two whole hives of bees, 5 chicks, and a rabbit. I therefore didn't feel that she was particularly aut...more
This was such a fun, informal read. Jenna’s writing style is loose, and the book is structured somewhat like reading a series of blog entries. She covers all of the different ways in which she has learned to be self-reliant while living in a rented house in Idaho: raising chickens (for eggs), baking bread from scratch, beekeeping (which she has yet to get the knack of), knitting with angora yarn spun from her own rabits, gardening in raised beds, buying old stuff (to be green and unique), playin...more
After an amusing, promising start, this devolves into disorganized rambling about a variety of disconnected and increasingly ridiculous DIY projects, none of which seemed to be done particularly well. The author gets excited about but then fails at chickens, bees, and sewing, shares a recipe for basic (boring) white bread, and then goes on pointlessly about her antique cheese grater ... blah blah blah, who cares?
I skimmed a bit, and then I gave up entirely. I could really care less about traini...more
I skimmed a bit, and then I gave up entirely. I could really care less about traini...more
This book sucks. The author comes off as a naive, flippant hobbiest with nothing better to do with her time than "try out" serious endeavors, like raising animals. I endured the chapter about letting her huskies eat four Silkie chicks (the first chapter, no less), but was appalled at the stupidity of letting a bee hive collapse because she didn't know to take the queen out of the box in which it was shipped. I had to finally stop reading when, yet again, she let her huskies frighten one her ango...more
In Made from Scratch, Jenna Woginrich writes in simple, yet beautiful prose about her life as a homesteader: baking, raising animals, growing vegetables, keeping bees, even making music on a fiddle.
What I liked best about the book is her honesty. She's never done any of this before, but is willing to "Research, Son" and ask questions(and for help)like nobody's business. As she writes about her experiences, we learn that, while there are many, many joys to a more earth driven and sustainable life...more
What I liked best about the book is her honesty. She's never done any of this before, but is willing to "Research, Son" and ask questions(and for help)like nobody's business. As she writes about her experiences, we learn that, while there are many, many joys to a more earth driven and sustainable life...more
This is so me!
"Learning about homesteading — or the skills associated with it, anyhow — seemed like the solution I desperately craved. I decided to take the reins and start learning how to produce some of the food and resources I used every day. There were obvious problems: I had no idea what I was doing. I had just spent four years in design school learning where to put things on computer screens, and that doesn’t exactly help you bed down a chicken coop. Also, I didn’t have a home to stead.......more
"Learning about homesteading — or the skills associated with it, anyhow — seemed like the solution I desperately craved. I decided to take the reins and start learning how to produce some of the food and resources I used every day. There were obvious problems: I had no idea what I was doing. I had just spent four years in design school learning where to put things on computer screens, and that doesn’t exactly help you bed down a chicken coop. Also, I didn’t have a home to stead.......more
I enjoyed this book, but it was not exactly what I had hoped for. The sections where she talked about her experience with a topic were too short, in my opinion, and I wish they would have had better ties to the other chapters in order to give a better picture of what it was like to uproot your life like that. They seemed disjointed and out of order.
The book seems to place more importance on the "how to get started" sections after each chapter. The "resources" section in the back seems more helpf...more
The book seems to place more importance on the "how to get started" sections after each chapter. The "resources" section in the back seems more helpf...more
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