Welcome New Sisters! (click for current roster)

Merit Badge Awardees (click for latest awards)

My featured Merit Badge Awardee of the Week is … Ashley Edstrom!!!

Ashley Edstrom (#7053) has received a certificate of achievement in Stitching & Crafting for earning an Intermediate Level Quilting Merit Badge!

“I took a class to learn the Hunter Star technique, which included using a ruler I had not tried before. I was able to use some animal fabric that had been hanging around my sewing room for years.

I worked on my project at a local quilting retreat, which included 30 other women. It was a great time, and I made enough progress on my project to come home and finish it!”

The adorable, always humorous MBA Jane is my way of honoring our Sisterhood Merit Badge program, now with 7,130 dues-paying members who have earned an amazing number of merit badges so far—10,150 total! Take it away, MBA Jane!!! ~MaryJane 

Wondering who I am? I’m Merit Badge Awardee Jane (MBA Jane for short). In my former life …   

For this week’s Each Other/Her-Story Beginner Level Merit Badge, I found myself stumped for a moment. Find an influential and/or powerful woman who is still alive to research.

Hmm. Seemed simple enough, but surprisingly difficult, to boot. Also, I got a little sad when random women jumped into my head, then when I Googled them, found that they had passed to their eternal reward. Sniffle. Audrey Hepburn, I’m talking to you.

Audrey Hepburn and Mel Ferrer, while filming War and Peace. Milton H. Greene for LOOK Magazine via Wikimedia Commons.

I puzzled and puzzled till my puzzler was sore. I racked my gray matter. I pondered and pontificated and mused. I ate some cookies. I thought some more. I drummed my fingers restlessly on my coffee table, where my latest stack of library books sat ready and waiting. I looked down.

Then, I had it!

Harry Potter’s cute, little, bespectacled face peered up at me endearingly.

J.K. Rowling!

photo by Daniel Ogren via Wikimedia Commons

Talk about influential and powerful. I mean, she singlehandedly got millions of school-aged youngsters to love books again. That’s influential. She changed the game for middle school novels. That’s powerful. And even more than that, I learned she’s pretty darn inspirational too.

Some facts about J.K. you might find as super-neato as I did:

• J.K. (or Joanne as I like to call her, since I pretty much assume we’re friends by now) wrote the first Harry Potter while she was a single mom on welfare, and it was rejected 12 times before being picked up by a publishing house for a mere $4,000.
• The fourth book in the series, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, became the fastest-selling book in history. Like, history of the world, peeps.
• Rowling is now the 13th wealthiest woman in Britain (wealthier even than the queen!)
• Her book, The Tales of Beedle the Bard, puts every cent in royalties earned towards charity.
• The films based on her books are the second-highest-grossing films in history.
• She went from living on state benefits to multi-millionaire status in a mere five years.
• Forbes ranked Rowling as the 48th most powerful celebrity of 2007, and Time magazine named her as a runner-up for its 2007 Person of the Year, noting the social, moral, and political inspiration she has given her fans. In October 2010, Rowling was named the “Most Influential Woman in Britain” by leading magazine editors.
• She based the character of Hermione Granger on herself when she was 11.
• In 1982, she took the entrance exams for Oxford, but was not accepted. She ended up going to University of Exeter, where she recalls doing very little work, and mostly read a lot of Dickens and Tolkien.
• In 2012 Forbes had to remove Rowling from their list of billionaires because she had given so much money away to charities, she lost her billionaire status. Wowza!
• Rowling has named communist and civil rights activist Jessica Mitford as her “most influential writer,” saying, “Jessica Mitford has been my heroine since I was 14 years old, when I overheard my formidable great-aunt discussing how Mitford had run away at the age of 19 to fight with the Reds in the Spanish Civil War”, and claims what inspired her about Mitford was that she was “incurably and instinctively rebellious, brave, adventurous, funny and irreverent, she liked nothing better than a good fight, preferably against a pompous and hypocritical target.” Sounds like a few s/heroes I know!
• Rowling has described Jane Austen as her favorite author, calling Emma her favorite book. As a child, Rowling has said her early influences included The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis, The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge, and Manxmousee by Paul Gallico.

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Welcome New Sisters! (click for current roster)

Merit Badge Awardees (click for latest awards)

My featured Merit Badge Awardee of the Week is … Melissa Jackson!!!

Melissa Jackson (#3639) has received a certificate of achievement in Cleaning Up for earning a Beginner Level Going Green Merit Badge!

“I have been mostly green for a while, but after doing some extra research on this subject, there are certain things that I would use “sometimes” if I needed to, bleach being the number-one culprit. I have started using fresh lemon, baking soda, and salt as abrasives and whiteners. I made a green category on my Pinterest board as a reference for good green and homemade cleaners without chemicals for my reference. It also has some upcycled projects for useful things I can use for storage, etc. around my house. I am also loving the many uses for vinegar—it eliminates lots of nasty odors!

I am loving the fresh scent of lemons as cleaners—everything feels just as clean and I feel better knowing everything is biodegradeable. My daughter just moved into a new place, so I made her a little starter kit of natural cleaning supplies. I packaged up some basics, along with the upcycled cans she can use for storing things in her laundry room.”

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Welcome New Sisters! (click for current roster)

Merit Badge Awardees (click for latest awards)

My featured Merit Badge Awardee of the Week is … Linda Olivera!!!

Linda Olivera (#1919) has received a certificate of achievement in Stitching & Crafting for earning a Beginner, Intermediate, & Expert Level Quilting Merit Badge!

“I know how to quilt, so I made some scrappy table runners. They are smaller projects, use up fabric scraps, and don’t take as long as a quilt. Here are just 3 of the table runners I made. I love making table runners out of extra or ‘orphan’ quilt blocks and strips. All of my table runners have batting and backing and are bound. Backing fabrics sometimes, but not always, match the theme of the fabrics on the top.

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Welcome New Sisters! (click for current roster)

Merit Badge Awardees (click for latest awards)

My featured Merit Badge Awardee of the Week is … CJ Armstrong!!!

CJ Armstrong (ceejay48, #665) has received a certificate of achievement in Garden Gate for earning an Expert Level Rootin’ Tootin’ Merit Badge!

“I decided to try a few new things in my garden this year, and for root crops, chose red potatoes, parsnips, and leeks. I know that some say leeks aren’t a root crop, but my research tells me that they generally are considered to be a root crop. I’ve purchased them at the farmers’ market in the past and really like them, so thought I’d give them a try. My mom always planted parsnips in her garden, but in all my adult years and gardening, I have not. Thought it was worth a try. I always plant beets and carrots, and have my favorite varieties, but do try different ones.

We have researched different ideas for storage for our root crops, but usually leave them in the ground and dig as we need them. In our climate, typically the snow layers insulate from the cold, and if we mark where they are planted, we can usually just go dig up what we need. The leeks will be kept in the refrigerator. I don’t have a large crop, so they probably won’t last long.

I didn’t put any potatoes in the photograph, as I didn’t want to dig any of them up just yet. I did post a pic of the plant with blossoms on it in the Garden Gate section of the forum. I’m always happy with planting a garden and even happier when things grow. This year has been relatively successful, and I hope to try a couple new things next year … just for fun!”

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The adorable, always humorous MBA Jane is my way of honoring our Sisterhood Merit Badge program, now with 7,130 dues-paying members who have earned an amazing number of merit badges so far—10,150 total! Take it away, MBA Jane!!! ~MaryJane 

For this week’s Garden Gate/Rootin’ Tootin’ Expert Level Merit Badge, I was basking in the warm glow of achievement. Oh, Expert Level Badges, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

The warm and fuzzy feeling I get when I earn one.

The newfound knowledge that makes my head swell (in a totally humble and attractive way, of course).

The eagerness with which I tell my friends and family.

Embroidering my badge and feeling oh-so-accomplished.

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Welcome New Sisters! (click for current roster)

Merit Badge Awardees (click for latest awards)

My featured Merit Badge Awardee of the Week is … Ashley Edstrom!!!

Ashley Edstrom (#7053) has received a certificate of achievement in Each Other for earning a Beginner Level Community Service Merit Badge!

“As a quilter, I researched organizations where I can use my quilting skills. There are many (local and national), including Project Linus, Quilted Comforts, and the one I ultimately chose, Quilts of Valor. The quilts made by QOV are donated to veterans upon request of their family in honor of their service. I have attended “sew days” where we work on blocks to create one quilt, or we may work on individual quilts.

I have finished my latest project for QOV, with approx. 40 hours of time into this quilt. This quilt will be presented to a Vietnam veteran in September!”

The adorable, always humorous MBA Jane is my way of honoring our Sisterhood Merit Badge program, now with 7,130 dues-paying members who have earned an amazing number of merit badges so far—10,150 total! Take it away, MBA Jane!!! ~MaryJane 

For this week’s Farm Kitchen/Make It Fruity Expert Level Young Cultivator Merit Badge, I made sure I was fully recovered from my blackberry-bush war wounds, and Piper and I set about earning the last and final badge in our pursuit of all things fruity.

First off, I had to bring Pipe down a notch: Turns out, becoming an “expert” in something went straight to her tiara-topped head. She got so big for her britches she nearly didn’t fit in the kitchen. But she came ‘round and her eyes got big when I told her we’d be making fruit leather.

photo by George Wesley via Wikimedia Commons

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