Yesterday was a long day. I had a routine medical test that took three and a half hours. The kicker was that I had to drive one and a half hours each way in order to take it. Even though there was little physical activity, it sure did drain the energy right out of my body. Does that ever happen to you? I was tired so I went to bed early but then couldn't sleep. Kind of a no win type of day all around!
So, I was thinking of things I used to do when money was really, really tight but I still had to feed six folks. I thought I would list a few ideas but I bet you have heard them before. To save money, though, you need to incorporate them into your plans.
First off, plan your meals around weekly sales. And if you have a bit of extra money, buy more of the sales items that you will use during the week. That's an investment for future meals.
Second, couponing! Eons ago when the kids were young, coupons were available for a lot of products. Now days, it seems like coupons are more for packaged, processed foods. If that's how you prepare meals, then use them. If not, then use only the ones that are compatible with your family like canned soups. Loyalty programs will also save you money and during the holidays may help with major purchases like turkeys or ham.
And finally, I really did invest in a large dry foods pantry purchasing some of the items when on sale and using store brands rather than name brands. Those are three of the ideas that helped me through lean times (and for most of us, we're in lean times right now)!
I watched a video on 'The Sewing Channel' about making quilt as you go 'bricks'. I was so intrigued that I wanted to purchase the template but I could not find it. So, I made one out of cardboard which I covered with packing tape...
To make these 'bricks', you cut one piece of fabric, right side down, on the outside of the template. Then cut one piece of the fabric, right side up, and one piece of batting on the inside of the template.
Then place the small pieces batting first and then fabric, right side up, on the large piece of fabric which is right side down...
On the Sewing Channel, they used a small glue stick to make the folds. I decided to use a glue stick on the first fold...
But then I used small clips for the second fold...
To hold together, hand stitch around the folded hem and then do some creative quilting in the middle. Once you have made several, you stitch them together.
This is what the back side looks like...
This is a hand sewing project and as you know, this year I am all in on slow making including slow stitching. And as the 100 Day Project will be starting soon, I decided that this would be my project. Not sure that I will be able to make 100 'bricks' but I am aiming for at least 50!
That's it for today...
Have a wonderful day and do something you enjoy doing...
Talk with you tomorrow...