Thrifty Tuesday

 

I have been busy using up cleaners today. I washed all the wood floors with a wood floor cleaner I have had around for awhile. This could be one cleaner that I actually keep rather than make my own for this purpose. It left a lovely shine and a clean smell.

Last week I found some black cotton at the back of one of my fabric drawers. Yesterday I pulled it out, washed it with my laundry yesterday, dried it and today I ironed it. That piece of fabric with some strategic placement made another 10 masks. 

No sewing this week so far, but I have been doing lots of cleaning. I guess I have started nesting, however I think much has to do with the fact I will probably out of commission cleaning wise for about 6 weeks. 

I made the condensed tomato soup and it is residing in the freezer. The one totally ripe squash has been frozen in cubes as well.

Harvey found a handle for my sewing/craft room closet door. I hope to have that fixed tomorrow.

I did some hemming on a couple of skirts, and decluttered a few clothing items that no longer fit.

Socks that were no longer able to be darned have been cut into rings and placed in a bag for next years garden ties.

Scrap material has been cut into 4" squares and tonight I will be cutting the scrap knit fabric into strips for the rug I want to work on this winter.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Thrifty Tuesday

Before I start my post for tonight I want to tell you all that we were under a tornado watch for a little while before supper. Everything is good, and the hail was not bad, just a few small bits for a short period of time. 

I am going to try and upload a picture/video. Hope it works.

I can't do the video sorry.

So what thriftiness was practiced on the old homestead this week?

I have been watching free television on my android box again. 

Eating fresh beans, and cucumbers from the garden.

Used up lots of little balls and orphan skeins of yarn knitting those 13 pairs of mitts for Kurt to take to school.

Started to use up more yarn from my stash knitting Harvey's Christmas sweater.

Collected another old sheet to use as backing for any quilt I decide to make (I have quite a collection of these now).

Mended a small hole in a pillow case.

Saved the elastics and twist ties from various bags from my shopping late last week.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Finally Finished

Well my wrap dress is done. It turned out quite well and is one of the projects carried over from last month.

I do like how it turned out, however I think if I make it again I will use a fabric with a bit more drape. Still, considering the heavy weight of the fabric it still turned out. I even managed to get the sleeves in the first time!! Sleeves and stitching in the ditch cause me the most grief when sewing clothing and this time both went smoothly.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Ooops

I actually forgot to post my monthly goals, so today I will post and give you an update all at the same time.

My list is a bit smaller this month, so hopefully it will all be completed.

1.  Unfinished goals from last month. Almost done the sewing part of those goals.

2.  Finish two quilts.  Done.

3.  Continue knitting the sport and finer weight leftover bits and bobs into squares.  Working on these still, but I am seeing the end of this yarn weight coming closer and closer.

4.  Knit on temperature blanket.  Doing so every day.

5.  Cut out 2 more patterns.  I have picked out some fabrics, but no cutting as of yet.

6.  Prepare rhubarb for winter usage.  Think I might just have another couple of picks and then I will be done.

7.  Continue decluttering. Just a few items this month will be leaving my house. Hopefully there will be a few more.

8.  Finish the presentation boards for the Ministry Fair.  Done.

I hope to get at least the sewing goals, the cutting out of the patterns, and the rhubarb done this week as next week we will be getting ready for our trip to the family reunion.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Saturday Roundup

This week has whizzed on by. I am sure that as I age the days fly by on wings of very speedy birds. It has not been a week with lots going on, but enough has occurred to make each day seem like there are not enough hours.

I did another weeding of the perennial bed and the long planters. I even pulled mini tree seedlings out of the pots, especially the tomato pot. Today we put the cage around it to hold it up.

At the beginning of the week we got some hail. 

Forgive the blurry picture, I was dodging hail stones at the time. Thank heavens nothing too big as I got hit on the head. I should also say thank goodness I have a fairly hard head as I just had some tenderness and a bit of a bump.

This one was taken from the safety of the doorway. While there were a very few larger ones, no damage was caused to my plants.

We got the thermostat working properly which is a very good thing. In this area one needs to be able to control the temperature for those 35C and above days, as well as those -40C days in the winter. Having a thermostat that jumped from 17C to 29C was not a good thing.

Harvey managed to take apart my vacuum which broke down (second item this month and it is only just over a year old). He plans on phoning the company on Monday to see if they will send him the part he needs. Until it is fixed I will use the ear jarring shop vac.

My new TV arrived and we managed to get it set up. I also managed to get the android box set up and working with the help of some wonderfully instructive texts from Kris.

I even managed some sewing (also knitting in the evenings).

This quilt is the replacement for Harvey's morning snuggle quilt. The old one was even beyond mending.

This quilt will be used for our family reunion silent auction. Hope it raises a few dollars as what is raised is used to pay for our big family supper the next year. We didn't do very well last year so I am thinking we might have to pay a bit this year.

I even managed to get another long awaited project completed.

These knit wide legged pants have been waiting in the sewing room for awhile. Just need to wash and press them now. Super comfortable!!

Rhubarb has been picked and frozen. With the cool weather I am hoping to get a few more harvests before my plants go to seed.

Harvey got some tickets for one of his beloved Saskatchewan Roughrider games. I kind of want to pick up another two tickets for him for Father's Day tomorrow and will do so early. Must go to see the game between the Riders and Blue Bombers on Labour Day. It is a tradition. He did give up his season tickets as the drive home from late night games was a problem.

So there you have the last week in pretty much a nutshell.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Thrifty Tuesday

I have been using small bits of my cardstock on the presentation boards for the church Ministry Fair this coming weekend. It is a good way to make sure nothing is wasted.

I have also used a small amount of the leftover yarn from making the 4" squares to make tassels for some bookmarks I will be distributing at the fair.

As I was putting together the board for Prayer Shawls, another use for all those small squares hit me. I decided to say a prayer over them and hand them out as pocket prayer shawls at this fair as well. Still have lots of the lesser weight yarn with which to make more to fashion into a blanket or larger shawl later.

Supper tonight was a main dish salad. It called for sliced celery and rather than cutting into the new bunch, I decided to use the cut up celery from the vegetable tray I made up for my visitors yesterday. Worked beautifully and I used it all up.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Thrifty Tuesday

This week has been one of using things up. All those little bits and bobs that seem to accumulate in my fridge and freezers.  I have also been using my pressure cooker a bit more over the last few days and cooking larger batches so that we are able to eat twice with just a warm up. 

I had a bit of a problem with my favourite sewing machine. First I broke a needle and then when I took the plates off to get said needle (it fell through and seems to have disappeared) I saw how lint and dust bunny filled it was. Gave it a good cleaning, put it together, and then it developed another problem. The thread kept bunching up on the bottom.

I was worried that I would have to take it in to the sewing machine hospital (which just happens to be two hours away). Left it overnight, and mid morning after getting my laundry started, pies made, and a few other chores done, decided to give it another go. Seems there was a few threads that were loose, caught in the bobbin feeder that were causing the problem. I got those cleaned out and gave it another go. It is humming away perfectly right now and I hope that continues. 

Tomorrow I get back to quilting that 2nd quilt I have sandwiched. Hopefully finishing it in a couple of days.

I used up another small leftover ball of yarn making those squares. Still not enough to do anything with but I will continue to work with the finer sport weight yarn as I find those orphan balls and little bits of leftovers.

Picked rhubarb from the garden and made two pies today. Used up the frozen pie crusts I had made awhile back. 

Planting and walking for my exercise.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

New Month, New Goals

It is a brand new month, bringing with it all that a fresh new beginning happens. I have my list of goals for the month.

1.  Cut out four more patterns.

2.  Sew all cut out patterns.

3.  Knit squares from leftover yarn (ongoing until I have enough for a blanket).

4.  Knit one prayer shawl.

5.  Work on the temperature blanket (year long project...I will post a picture of what I have gotten done.

6.  Sew tool caddy for under the Cricut.

7.  Continue with declutter.

8.  Start one cross stitch project (just a small one that I have had for a number of years).

9.  Buy bedding plants, and plant them all.

10.  Get two more large planters.

11.  Sandwich and finish 2 or more quilts.

My big project for the month in the sewing/craft room will be consolidating two sets of storage drawers of fabric into one.

The clear ones are the ones I will be working on this month. Hopefully I will get everything straightened up. I think folding the fabric properly will help the process immensely. Plus of course using more of it up making some necessary clothing and a pair of curtains for the bedroom downstairs.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Thrifty Tuesday

The day started out pretty gloomy, but the sun is shining now. I need to take a walk to pick up the mail in a very short time.

Now my friend learned that I use the plastic grocery bags to clean the kitty litter with and so has handed be quite a few over the last couple of days (this is the family that seems to go grocery shopping four days in a row). This means I can actually use my grocery bags (a couple at any rate) when I go shopping and still have enough for Shania's needs.

Another friend gave me some lily bulbs that she had thinned out from her garden. Saves me buying even more.

My menu has changed already. I am really tired of cooking so Harvey is going to BBQ some sausage he found in the freezer (yeah, I get a rest and the stove stays off). I may just wrap asparagus in foil with some butter to serve as a side. We really have been eating way too much lately.

I just may get out of grocery shopping this week. We have tons of food in the fridge, freezer and cupboard. I over bought milk so we are good that way as well. The only thing we are a bit short on is sandwich meats, and if I make egg salad, and chop up some leftover turkey to make a sandwich spread we will be just fine. Would be really nice to save one weeks grocery costs.

Collected all the coin from various places (mostly that which I removed from Harvey's pockets before washing clothes). I ended up putting $4. 85 in the coin jars. I should have kept looking as I know there is more kicking around the house. Perhaps on Friday I will have another total for you.

I am working on knitting up all those small balls of yarn. I am making 4" squares and hopefully once I am finished all the finer yarn, I will have enough squares to make a blanket. It could take awhile though.

Using scrap fabric (felt) I have made the labels for the prayer shawls. Only need clip threads, pull off the stabilizer, and cut them apart.

This afternoon I took fabric from my stash and cut out a dress pattern. I don't often make dresses, and this is a pattern that is a new one to me. Hope it turns out. There is enough fabric leftover to make a pair of shorts as well (this is a heavier cotton). I am no longer wasting anything if I can help it.

Pre-treated another piece of fabric and I may make another dress from this as well.

Off to get the mail and have my second walk of the day (all be it a short one).

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Mid Month Update

1.  Knit cardigan for me.  Working on, though I must admit not that much.

2.  Sew three projects for myself.  Plan on starting this tomorrow.

3.  Alter skirts.  Done

4.  Knit one prayer shawl.  Done

5.  Decluttering.  Working on this constantly and I will update you all on how much since January has left the house at the end of the month.

6.  Work on temperature blanket.  Doing my one row a day.

7.  Sew 2 new quilt tops.  Actually managed to get 4 quilt tops completed and found another I had done awhile back.

8.  Mount and frame more cross stitch.  Mounted and framed 3 more cross stich. I have trimmed a couple more and hope to finish all mounting (probably not all framed though) by the end of the month.

9.  Tidy up sewing/craft room again.  Things are beginning to look decent in the room. I work on things as I declutter.

10.  Cut out 2 more patterns.  Not done.

11.  Make up stock up list. Done

12.  Swap out wardrobe for spring/summer clothing.  Done

13.  Use some of the smaller balls of yarn to knit squares for a blanket.  Started and I have 2 small squares completed.

So things are not looking too bad for this months goals. I do need to knuckle down and get the sewing accomplished as well as the cardi. 

Now on to why I have been here and yet not here.

I had my cervical biopsy done last month and on Monday we made the trek to the city 2 hours away for the results. 

I can rest a bit easier in that the cells were not cancer, but what is called pre-cancerous. The specialist recommended surgery and gave me two choices. Needless to say I chose to have a total hysterectomy, mainly because he could not promise that these cells would not appear at a later date perhaps even when I was much older and less able to take the surgical interference. So once my doctor here gets the pre-op paper work done and sent back I should be back in the city within 2 to 6 weeks of that date. Finally an end is in sight, and I can rest a bit easier.

(Pictures tomorrow of the other quilt tops)

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Thursday Tidbits

While the days have been for the most part nice and sunny, temperatures most days have started off below freezing and haven't really risen much. I am glad however that this corner of the Canadian prairies is not getting the snow and storms that our neighbours directly south of us are getting.

I managed to get the third quilt top completed and pulled out the strips to start the next one. I have a different idea for this one, but I am not sure that it would work out. Guess all I can do is give it a try. The idea I have could make it much quicker to set up and complete. Now I just hope that next month I can complete the sandwich, and the quilting on all of them (going to be very simple quilting).

All this means is that I only have one drawer left to clean out. Those 4" square fabric pieces. I just don't know if I could face making another two or three quilt tops this month in order to use them up. So I may just make some fabric out of them and construct a few shopping bags. I am going to wait on that project for a week or so. Perhaps even after Easter.

Shopping today was a breeze. This was the first week of not heading across town to pick items up at Walmart. Instead I made sure to pick up enough pet food, over the counter medications and various other items to last two weeks. So far this seems to have worked out okay. It does take some planning to make sure I have everything on my list. If this works, I will be driving a bit less saving gas, wear/tear on the vehicle, and time every second week. I think I will try this for a few months and then try a monthly shop, though that could be pushing it a little bit.

It was weigh in today and at first I thought I had only lost 1/2 lb, but in checking my numbers I actually lost 1.1 pounds. I don't know if it will be possible to meet my goal before the family reunion, but I am going to try my best. Right now this means I have lost close to 18.5 lbs. Not much more to go to reach 20 lbs and my goal is 25 lbs by the end of June. I will set the next goal after that probably another 10 or so and I will be almost at my pre third child weight. 

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

A Couple of Goals Almost Completed

I promised you all some pictures tonight of my completed quilt tops. I had thought I might be able to have the third quilt top done, but I still have a bit of work to do on it.

So here are the two that are finished. I have some threads to clip, but that will be done once all the tops are finished. The way things are moving along, I may just get 4 tops done this month and use up all those 2" strips. That will clean out another drawer in that set of three. Two drawers cleaned out and one left to go.

Then there were those finished cross stitch pictures that have been laying around for a number of years. 

Still have four to get mounted and framed. Hopefully sometime this weekend I will have those all finished as well.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Thrifty Tuesday

This past week has seen a few thrifty moves. Ones that I had planned on for awhile, but never gotten around to. Well, that is until I actually gave myself the challenge of clearing out that one set of storage drawers in the sewing/craft room.

I managed to complete two quilt tops and pinned a third (partially) out of just the strips I had cut and saved over the past few years. No hesitation on my part thinking I might need them later on. 

I also took the small strip of foam board that was left, repressed some of the cross stitch projects that needed to be mounted and got those completed as well. I even found some old frames and managed to get them framed as well also. There are still 4 cross stitched pieces to do and I have one more foam board to use, hopefully I will get at least 3 more mounted. Frame wise I don't have any that will fit so when I go shopping on Thursday a swing by the Salvation Army Thrift store will be necessary. 

Pictures of the quilt tops and cross stitch will be up tomorrow.

I have managed to use up all leftovers except for a spoonful of leftover Lazy Perogies. So doing very well on that front as well.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Decluttering and Using Up Some of the Stash My Challenge For April

This is the area that I am working on decluttering and using up.

I want this set of storage drawers gone, or at least move them to take the place of one set that is broken. I also want the single storage drawers and one box out as well. They are full of yarn, full skeins and balls as well as partial leftover yarn balls.

This is just a portion of the 4" squares I have collected from worn out clothing and scrap fabric. Heaven help me I may be sewing quilts and making shopping bags (only from the denim) for quite awhile.

This is mostly 2" strips. I have actually used quite a bit of this up as I have finished two quilt tops and have started a third. However it looks like there might even be 4th to be made.

The bottom drawer with still more balls of leftover yarn. And what seems to be some interfacing that needs to be put with the other interfacing.

I think I might actually have bitten off more than I can chew this month. However, I will soldier forward and get done what I can. I have many more storage drawers that need to be cleaned out so a good effort is needed over the next few months. Especially if I want to move a proper desk into the room.

I will share pictures at the end of the month to show how far I managed to get.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Thursday Tidbits

The frigid weather has broken for a few days, I even managed to get a bit of a walk outside this afternoon to get the mail. I used my walking poles just to be on the safe side. It really was lovely to be out in the fresh air.

Shopping was done early this morning and my goodness have prices risen over the past month. Part could be because of the carbon tax that has been levied, but I have a feeling that it has more to do with my healthier eating habits. Fresh produce does not come cheap at this point in the year. 

I ended up moving some of my unfinished projects for the month to next month. Hopefully a few more will be wrapped up and gone for good. 

Here is a photo of the first month of the year done in knitting. Only 11 more months to go, so this is one project that will be carried on for the entire year. This project will use up a great many of those orphan skeins and balls of yarn. Making a bit more room in my sewing/crafting area. Hopefully enough will be gone over the next few months that I can actually get my second serger set up with dark thread.

I finished up the budget and while we went over in one or three categories we ended up being under budget for the month!! Hope to shave a bit more off here and there.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Slowly, Slowly

Winter has arrived bringing with it rain, snow, and clouds. I woke up this morning to a sheen on the small amount of snow we have on the ground. It rained during the night and roads were very treacherous.

I phoned Kris to make sure he had gotten back and forth to work okay as I saw on the news that the city of Regina, where he lives and works, had 50 accidents. He said the roads were terrible this morning, but he made it to work only a few minutes late. Others arrived after him. The roads after had been sanded so travel was a bit easier.

I told him that providing the weather cooperates we would be up in the city on Saturday to do our stock up shop and asked if he wanted to join us. Of course he said yes.

Slowly, but surely I am making my way through my goal list for this month. I managed to get another top sewn today. This leaves only two unfinished sewing projects to try and get done this month. I will probably get another one done and only have to carry one through to next month. That doesn't mean I haven't got other projects to carry over and new ones to add. I think I might just have too many projects on the go for one month.

Lists are made for next month and the run up to Christmas, here is hoping I haven't got carried away again.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Thrifty Tuesday

I did some mending and darning of socks today. Mending consisted of sewing a button on a pair of shorts for Harvey. Darning was done on a pair of his rather expensive socks.

The peels, tops and tails of various veggies were thrown into the garden to be worked under.

I finished off the soup that was stored in the refrigerator.

Old t-shirts were made into rags and a badly torn sheet has been stored to use as quilt backing. I also managed to save some fairly decent parts of the t-shirts to be used in making a rug at some point this winter.

I am now knitting mitts to give as Christmas gifts out of some larger balls of leftover yarn.

All in all it has been a thrifty week.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Sunday Ramblings

This week has gone by much too quickly, the days since Thursday have sped right on by.

Friday, we headed into Regina, picked up Kris, had supper out and went to the football game. It was disappointing to say the least (not the time spent with Kris, but the game itself). The stadium was pretty empty, and the Roughriders lost the game.... Badly. Thank heavens it was just a preseason game and they have a week to get things together. I hope they play better next Friday.

Saturday I baked bread, picked rhubarb, and the two of us started to clean up the back of the basement. We still have work to do, but it is coming together nicely. I hope we finish it off early next week and I get to move some yarn totes out of the sewing/craft room.

I had every intention of doing some needed sewing. However, my intentions fell by the wayside. Instead I finished off the prayer shawl and started knitting scarves. Perhaps next week (or the week after) I can get back my sewing mojo.

Today, after a lengthy Mass in a very warm church, Harvey mowed the lawn, rototilled between the rows of the garden and bottled his dessert wine (aka Port). Me, well I did the usual Sunday chores, had coffee with a friend, went for a short walk, did my wrist and arm exercises, watered my flowers, made meals and knit. So pretty much a regular Sunday around here.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Projects Started, Projects Finished

Thought I would share a few pictures with you of our various projects. Both finished and unfinished, but being worked on.

First off, Harvey decided rather than try to do the  renos on both of the rooms in the basement, he would work on them one at a time. He chose to work on the smaller bedroom/library room first.

My book cases are installed, now just to get the books on the shelves once again.

I need to make some new window coverings.

Then on to my finished project. 

I had cut out a red knit skirt the morning of the day I took my tumble. So once the cast had been off for a bit I started sewing. Slowly day by day for 5 days I would complete a seam or two.

It really is a lovely red, I just can not figure out why sometimes the camera isn't true to colour.

This is my blanket of Many Colours. Every day I knit a few more rows and it is slowly growing. Mt stash of orphan skeins and small leftover balls of yarn are slowly disappearing as well.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Upcoming Projects

I promised you all pictures of my next sewing projects. I had planned to cut one out today, but I still have the hem on my red knit skirt to finish. Hopefully tomorrow I will have a finished project to share.

These three pieces of fabric are leftover from other projects and what better way to use them up. I plan on making three different views of this pattern. One blouse will have sleeves, one will have cap sleeves and one will be sleeveless. All will be dressy enough to wear to church or out on date night. They will also use up some of my fabric stash, which is always a great thing.

The arm feels not too bad today, but I took another day of rest. I did declutter some papers. Shredded them up and cleared off some desk space. Tomorrow, after shopping I plan on getting that hem completed and underneath the computer desk cleaned up. Two little jobs with plenty of rest in-between.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.