Tools & Books

The Tools & Books I Use

I feel it’s very important to state up front that I’ve accumulated all of these things over the course of years (many of my tools are over a decade old) through my own purchases or gifts from family or my spouse.

I encourage you wholeheartedly to find refurbished or used tools. You can even DIY many things from spindles to incubators. Books can also be purchased used or checked out from your local library.

All links are affiliate links unless noted otherwise.

Books

I read a lot of books. These are some of my favorite reference books.

Garden & Plants

Gaia’s Garden*

An approachable guide to understanding and incorporating permaculture into your land.

For suburban & small acreage folks.

Cut Flower Farm*

A very beautiful and inspiring book that covers basic information on cut flower farming. You may prefer borrowing from the library.

The Flower Farmer*

A much more detailed flower farming book that goes beyond the information covered in the Cut Flower Farmer.

The Resilient Gardener*

Oregon author Carol Deppe’s popular book on growing your own food supply and how to be successful despite a changing climate.

The Lean Farm*

Essentially tips and examples of how he runs his market farm using lean business practices. You may prefer to check it out from the library.

Plant Breeding for the Home gardener*

If you’re interested in breeding your own plant varieties this book will give you a solid understanding without being a dry science manual.

The Organic Medicinal Herb Farmer*

I really enjoyed this book! It’s a hefty resource thoroughly covering the in’s and out’s of growing organic medicinal herbs.

Sewing & Knitting

Couture Sewing Techniques*

A detailed guide to sewing techniques used in making couture clothing. Definitely a great resource for those more finicky bits of sewing.

The Geometry of Hand-Sewing*

I reference this book often while sewing. Not only does it contain a variety of stitches for both construction and decoration, but it also has lots of information on adjusting patterns to fit.

Household Sewing with Home Dressmaking (Free)

A late 19th-century guide to stitches, sewing techniques, and garment construction.

Knitwear Design Workshop*

A darned good book if you want to design knitting patterns. However, it’s quite spendy so try and get it from your library.

Online Knitting Stitch Dictionary (free)

While there are a number of stitch dictionaries you can buy, I find that I mostly reference the free online dictionary by Knitting Fool.

Poultry & Livestock

APA Standard of Perfection

If you’re in the USA and are interested in breeding heritage poultry then the SOP is an important reference that should have.

The Call of the Hen (free)

Published in the early 20th century, this is a great reference for breeding any breed of chicken towards better egg production.

Storey’s Guide to Raising Sheep*

Storey’s Guides are always one of the first resources I look at whenever I’m researching a new animal to the farm.

In The Kitchen

Heavy Duty Kitchenaid

Refurbished, circa 2010. I recommend looking for used KitchenAids.

Hamilton Beach Food Processor

I use this for making pasta dough, pie crusts, grating lots of cheese, and more.

Heavy Duty Garlic Press*

One of the most used tools in my kitchen. Sometimes the kids even let me use it.

Imperia Pasta Machine*

A heavy duty, mostly steel pasta machine. Also beloved by the kids.

Cast Iron Pans

These can often be found used and reseasoned to make them like new. I have a few different sizes & a Dutch oven.

Around the Farm

Brinsea Incubator*

There are newer models available, but this is what I have. I use mine for incubating only.

Thermometer/Hygrometer*

I use this in my incubators to tell me the temp and humidity.

The “Cheap” INcubator*

I use this model specifically for hatching. It works very well despite being “cheap”.

Seedling Heat Mat*

Some seeds, such as peppers & eggplants, germinate better (and faster) with warm soil.

Premier Chick Brooder Plate*

Safer and more energy efficient than heat lamps. I have 3 heat plates total (1x for 50, 2x for 20).

Soil Block Maker

I have the 3/4 inch (20 block) size. I’d like to add larger sizes in the future.

Metal Stock Tank

For brooding chicks for their first 2 -3 weeks of life. Or, you know, for providing water to larger livestock.

Seed Starting Trays

My favorite size is 50 cell, but I also have some 24, 30, and 72 cell trays.

Making & DIY

Fiber Arts

Kromski Polonaise Spinning Wheel*

Also available as pre-stained. But I’m kind of into DIY and stained it myself.

Spindles

I have 2; one that I DIYed and one that I purchased locally from a woodworker.

Ashford Rigid Heddle Loom*

I have the 24” with heddle sizes 7.5, 10, 12, and 15. I opted not to get a stand.

Brother Standard Drum Carder

Unfinished, and I believe Fine 120 TPI.

ChiaoGoo Knitting Needles

Either the Red Lace fixed circulars or the Twist interchangeables. I like lace-tipped needles.

Darning Egg*

A darning egg makes repairing socks (and other items) much easier.

Tapestry Needles*

For weaving in ends when knitting, crocheting, darning, or weaving.

Needle Arts

Brother XR9500PRW

No longer made and I would 100% recommend finding a used sewing machine.

Thimble

You can make your own with leather or purchase a metal thimble. Sizing is important.

Bath & Body

Silicone Loaf Mold

I use this soap mold more than any other. It’s my favorite!

Immersion Blender

Try and find a used one since you won’t be using it for food ever again.

Safety Goggles

Basic safety googles can be purchased at any hardware store.

Vlogging & Blogging

Canon EOS Rebel t3i

The “big” camera that I use for almost all of my pictures. They don’t make these anymore. You can usually find them used for under $300.