BACK TO BASICS: A COMPLETE GUIDE TO TRADITIONAL SKILLS, 3RD EDITION

BACK TO BASICS: A COMPLETE GUIDE TO TRADITIONAL SKILLS, 3RD EDITION Anyone who wants to learn basic living skillsthe kind employed by our forefathers& adapt them for a better life in the twenty-first century need look no further than this eminently useful, full-color guide. Countless readers have turned to Back to Basics for inspiration & instruction, escaping to an era before power saws & fast food restaurants & rediscovering the pleasures & challenges of a healthier, greener, & more self-sufficient lifestyle. Now newly updated, the hundreds of projects, step-by-step sequences, photographs, charts, & illustrations in Back to Basics will help you dye your own wool with plant pigments, graft trees, raise chickens, craft a hutch table with hand tools, & make treats such as blueberry peach jam & cheddar cheese. The truly ambitious will find instructions on how to build a log cabin or an adobe brick homestead. More than just practical advice, this is also a book for dreamerseven if you live in a city apartment you will find your imagination sparked, & there's no reason why you can't, for example, make a loom & weave a rag rug. Complete with tips for old-fashioned fun (square dancing calls, homemade toys, & kayaking tips), this may be the most thorough book on voluntary simplicity available.ABOUT THE AUTHOR:Abigail R. Gehring is an editor & freelance writer in New York City, who grew up in Vermont. She spent most of her post-college existence as a dancer. She has made ends meet as a tattoo artist, "Cinderella," cater-waiter, swimming companion to an elderly man with Alzheimer's, & countless other eclectic positions. From childhood she has been fascinated with simple living, participating in barn-raisings, home canning, & enjoying countless hours of natural crafts. ISBN: 1-60239-233-1 publish date: 06/30/2009