Danielle Pientka, DIY Blogger and Maryland Homesteader
Occupation: blogger, author, homesteader, mom, and doer
Residence: Maryland
Hobbies: Sewing, building things, gardening, horseback riding, but mostly chasing loose goats, ducks, and children
Background: Danielle Pientka is a social worker and therapist turned stay-at-home mom who found her way to homesteading over the course of eight years. It all began with one fuzzy, soft cloth diaper at the local children’s consignment store. She looked at it, said, “YES! I’m going to do this,” saw the high price tag, and said, “YES! I’m going to learn to makethose…”
She dusted off the old sewing machine in the closet that she had barely touched. She found some tutorials on the internet. It would be safe to say, things escalated quickly.
Danielle started to delve into other sewing projects, such as clothes for her children and any reusable product. She discovered she was passionate about reducing her family’s environmental footprint. She started composting and gardening, bought a few ducks for eggs, decided to move from a 10,000-square-foot suburban property to 8.5 acres in the country. Because goats.
She taught herself how to build in 20-degree-Fehrenheit windy January weather, because she wanted a goat house and a milking stand, and she wanted them fast. After all, she didn’t want her husband to change his mind about the goats. By February, she had fresh goat milk in the refrigerator — after a week spent in tears, learning to milk a goat who wasn’t “beginner friendly.”
Early in this process, she started blogging about her various adventures on DIYDanielle.com, because one of her favorite things is helping other people learn. She wrote How to Sew, Use, and Clean Cloth Diapers, as well as two other sewing books. Eventually she developed a sewing app, Sew Organized, with her husband, Brandon.
In her spare time, Danielle can be found chasing goats whenever they discover a new and creative way to escape their fencing, and being stalked by 15-ish Muscovy ducks who have bottomless pits for stomachs. She absolutely adores sharing her love for animals, growing, and making things with her three young sons.
Current Projects: Danielle is the author of:
How to Sew, Use, and Clean Cloth Diapers: With Tutorials for Cloth Wipes, Unpaper Towels, and More!
A Month to Happiness: Guided Journal
Danielle also is the program manager for Sew Organized, a sewing phone app.
Connect with Danielle:
Creating for Children Facebook page
