Sarah Jane Humke

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I am taking a class through Annie’s Project.  It is a program that is designed to help women engage in farming in a different way.  In the past, women were there to raise the children and cook the meals and often to help with farm work when needed, but were often left-out of making important decisions about the future of the farm or even what their part in it is.  Since a lot of women inherit farm land, it is important for them to be able to make wise decisions about how it will be used and who will use it.  Also, an increasing number of women are taking-up farming or taking-over family farms.

I still don’t feel comfortable telling you all what kind of operation I am planning with this class.  I will share it with you all eventually, I promise.  However, this class has been excellent for me to clarify what still needs to be done, what I’m not going to be doing (which is often as important as what you are going to be doing), and figuring out what my strengths and weaknesses are in this endeavor.  Sometimes, being able to simply look at something in black and white is really motivating.  It has helped me look at nearly everything I do as either forwarding my goals and dreams or not.  Which is important.  Really important.  But it’s easy in the day-to-day to forget the big picture or lose sight of the bigger goal.

The class comes with two handy things.  One is a workbook that we are working through to develop our business plans.  The sustainable in the title isn’t an environmental statement, rather it is about if a business is able to sustain itself.  The other is a lovely faux-leather notebook that I keep calling my Trapper Keeper.  It was prefilled with handouts and resources that could help us outside of our class and workbooks.  I have been keeping my records in it and since it zips closed they have stayed in it:-)

In other areas, the hat is finished.  Yay!  I’m not totally in love with it as it turned-out smaller than I had intended.  But I will see what the boyfriend thinks before I start in on another (I have enough of the hand-spun to make another:-)).  I am now working on the Christening blanket/shawl that I spun 1200 yards of hand-spun laceweight for.  It’s not going to be exactly like the pattern as I am working it in the round rather than on two needles and sincerely don’t feel like purling every other row for hundreds of stitches.  However, it is turning out nicely so far.  We’ll see if it continues to behave….