Made from Scratch: Discovering the Pleasures of a Handmade Life (Hardcover)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: North Idaho, North Carolina

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

One day Woginrich, a Web designer, threw her hands in the air and vowed to change her life. She was going to be more self-sufficient: produce her own food, make her own clothing, live a simpler and more fulfilling life. Easier said than done, she soon learned. This amiable memoir charts her course to self-sufficiency, documenting her successes and disappointments, exploring what it means to make the shift from consumer to producer. It’s almost two books in one: each chapter (for example, the one in which she tells us about her early misadventures in chicken raising) is accompanied by a brief guide to its subject (in this case, she talks about the importance of selecting a breed, choosing the right food, and providing a proper, poultry-friendly environment). The book, therefore, is simultaneously a lighthearted fish-out-of-water, city-girl-turns-homesteader memoir and a more serious primer on making a lifestyle change. Perfect for environmentally conscious, do-it-yourself readers. --David Pitt

Product Description

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 moving across the country to a rented farmhouse in northern Idaho, she learned to raise chickens, keep bees, and grow her own food.

This is the story of her joyful, dramatic, and sometimes sorrowful journey toward self-reliance. Along the way, she learned that an abundance of enthusiasm and a willingness to experiment could make up for a lack of knowledge, and that reaching out to others for mentoring and guidance could help her reconnect with her community.

From the satisfying work of starting a new garden and installing honeybees, to the bliss of gathering fresh eggs to be baked into a quiche served with warm-from-the-oven bread and hand-churned butter, Made from Scratch shares the deep satisfaction that comes with providing for oneself. In an encouraging and entertaining voice, Woginrich weaves into her narrative easy-to-follow instructions for making your own clothes, teaching yourself to play a musical instrument, and much more.

In any setting — urban, suburban, or rural — with any level of experience, it's possible to take small steps toward self-reliance. Windowbox vegetable gardens, a batch of homemade strawberry jam, a handknit sweater, or a small flock of backyard chickens all satisfy the craving to homestead. It's not about having a rustic cabin on five acres, complete with a pickup truck and a barn full of livestock. For Woginrich, it's about being more receptive to learning the simple skills most of us have forgotten, and finding joy in the process.

Praise for Made from Scratch —
"The book...is simultaneously a lighthearted fish-out-of-water, city-girl-turns-homesteader memoir, and a more serious primer on making a lifestyle change. Perfect for environmentally conscious, do-it-yourself readers." —Booklist 

"This fine, simple book is the real deal — and it will come as a great relief to people feeling some silent dread in a time of rising gas prices, food shortages, and the like. Much can be done -- in your home!" —Bill McKibbon, author of Deep Economy  

"A delightful introduction to the simple (and not so simple) life." —William Alexander, author of The $64 Tomato

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Storey Publishing, LLC (December 3, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 160342086X
• ISBN-13: 978-1603420860
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #12,033 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

44 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars sign me up, December 27, 2008

By	Auntie Claus (seattle, WA) - See all my reviews

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 know exactly how they've been treated instead of wondering by what loophole "free range" came to be stamped on the egg cartons at the grocery store. Second, fresh eggs (Cook's Illustrated and a number of other authorities assert) really do taste better. Third, getting eggs out of your own backyard is a nice way to bypass the whole "eat organic vs. eat local" debate. Fourth, chickens will eat the slugs and other pests harassing your vegetable and herb garden. The one glitch seems to be getting your hands on chickens humanely. She gets chickens through the mail, first two-day-old chicks who arrive in a box "parched and starved" and later pullets (chickens just a few weeks away from laying their first eggs) who arrive with clipped beaks.

Grow Your Own Meal. The food at the grocery store is a mystery. You don't know how it was grown, how far it was trucked, how long ago it was picked, who picked it, or what they were paid. It's coated in wax and dyes. It's oversized, dry, and flavorless. It's grown for shelf life rather than taste. Not only does growing your own food cut all that out of the equation, it gives your kitchen scraps new purpose as compost.

Beekeeping. Honey! Wax! Support for the garden's ecosystem! Too bad I'm probably actually too afraid to try this one.

Old Stuff. "There are a lot of really good reasons I run to the past when I need something as utilitarian as a cheese grater: things were made better, looked prettier, and lasted longer before plastic took over. Buying from a neighborhood secondhand shop helps support the local economy and is a kind of recycling." -p. 78

DIY Wardrobe. There are two things that excite me about this chapter. First is simply the fact that I hate shopping for clothes; 10 minutes in a dressing room and I seriously ponder following the example of the woman who made a single brown dress and wore it for a year. My body type (like anyone else's) only seems to be "in style" once a decade, if that. Things don't look on me the way they look on the hanger/mannequin. I know I'm not the only one to have a great skirt hanging in the back of the closet for lack of the right shirt to go with it. I can't count on living to see the type of clothes I like (1930's, 1940's) being manufactured ever. Second is just enthusiasm for the idea that it is possible to REALLY make stuff with my own hands. "Most of us never even consider that something like a pair of jeans could actually be made without an assembly line behind it." -p. 90 It seems widely regarded that any homemade item is sure to be inferior, unsafe, or even flat out impossible. I think this is reinforced by "craft" stores like Michael's where to make paper, soap, candles, or chocolate you must first buy ... paper, soap, wax, and chocolate, merely shredding or melting it down and bringing it back together in a new shape. Even as a kid I thought that was pretty lame -and quite the letdown for someone high on reading Anne of Green Gables and the Laura Ingers Wilder books.

Research, Son. Seventeen pages of memoirs, how-to books, and websites that pertain to the topics discussed in the book.

The other five chapters are: The Country Kitchen, Working House Dogs, Angora Rabbits: Portable Livestock, Homemade Mountain Music, Outside The Farm, and Want More?

I would give the book five stars but for the occasional cliche-riddled description of rich, authentic, simple, soul-satisfying farm life that reads like it was lifted off a Cracker Barrel billboard.

Whether your interest in the DIY scene began with knitting a scarf and now you're looking for more, you crave the comfort of control that only self-sufficiency can provide in turbulent times, or you feel like there is nothing to do with your free time anymore but shop, this book is worth a look.

And she has a blog: http://coldantlerfarm.blogspot...

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Oh, The Not So Simple LIfe, January 3, 2009

By	Nancy Grisso "Stepfordmomto2" (Tehachapi, CA USA) - See all my reviews

I picked up this book for a quick little chapter read to see if I would be interested and didn't put it down until I had read the whole book. Very much in the same vein as Animal, Vegetable, Miracle but without all the preachiness.

Woganrich takes you through her experiences in homesteading and living a simpler life. Each chapter begins with her discussing her adventures, successes, and failures then ends up with mentoring tips. All the stuff you are looking for without all the hours of research.

The chapters can be taken or dismissed depending on your wish to undertake this particular part of your own adventure into homesteading, but I did have to laugh when I came to the one on Dogs as Work Animals. I own Pugs and there is not a single working gene amongst them so that part just won't work for me.

The other chapters on Bees and Chickens are quite interesting and it's quite refreshing to read an author in this field that will actually discuss their failures and mentor you to your own successes

Great book and going to her website you can see what she has been up to in the year since.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great book for city folks who dream of country living..., March 23, 2009

By	Heather L. Vincent - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book came into my life at the perfect time. I am a midwestern transplant living in NYC and was starting to feel depressed and disconected by city life. I picked this book up one day and read it while commuting to work. My usual boring hour ride on the subway flew by as I read about Jenna's garden, chickens, and bees. I finished the whole thing that night and then went online to read her blog, and it sparked something inside of me,and I realized that even if my dreams of country living are probably not going to happen for a few years there are plenty of things i can be doing now. As of this moment I have some rapidly growing vegetable plants in the window, a pair of socks on the kntting needles, a quilt in progress, and can play about ten songs on the fiddle. So if you are just looking for a great read, or some inspiration for your country dreams pick up this book, you will be glad you did.