last week's sewing and handwork

Crib sheet
this was so quick and easy to make!  I  read over a few online tutorials, then I got busy.
You need a length of fabric 69 inches by 44-45 width which is the standard width of most  fabric.
Then cut 8 inch squares from each corner of the fabric.
Now, sew those corners back together on the diagonal and finish the seams.
Then,  finish the edge all the way around and add elastic to the corners.

I got that cute redwork fabric from my Mom's fabric stash several years ago.  

I am not a very good blogger,  I should of taken this picture when the bag still had yarn in it for a before and after comparision
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I got a bag of cotton yarn scraps at the thrift store on Friday,  50 cents for the bag.  It contained 3 skeins, partly used,  and  about 7 small balls of yarn.
I have been wanting some more crocheted dishclothes so again,  I looked at some online tutorials.

I don't really like to crochet or follow patterns so I ended up just crocheting circles because that is easy for me, no stress.  

I used almost all of that yarn and ended up with 6 scrappy dishcloths.
Not bad for 50 cents!

Some of the yarns were thin so I doubled them up if you are wondering about the parts that look variegated.
Nope, they are not all exactly the same size,  I just stopped each one when they looked about right or when I ran out of yarn.    

St Patricks day is coming up.
I got a very long length of this sweet shamrock fabric at a thrift store  about 2 years ago.
I used some of that fabric and some vintage bias binding to sew up a new tablecloth for the dining room.  

I really like how the binding looks on the hem.  

the last project was some plastic canvas bird plant pokes.
Doesn't every home need some?  

use your gadgets

To go with Sunday lunch,  I baked cornbread muffins in some miniature muffin pans that have been gathering dust in the cookie sheet drawers.  

The tiny cornbreads were so popular,  I used those mini-muffin pans again today 

and baked mini blueberry muffins with scrambled eggs for our breakfast.

The blueberry muffins were just as yummy and cute as the cornbread muffins.


I am going to look around my kitchen and pull out some other kitchen items I have not used lately.

Do you have any kitchen gadgets you  have not used in a long time?  

first round of breakfast eaters at Cafe Rhonda -
my parents were here for several days but left to go back to TX this morning.

Gavin and Amanda ate here too but they get here later than Nina and Elizabeth do.

 Toddler fun

 G and E had fun playing ring around a rosie this morning,  you can see in the last photo that they really like the  all fall down part.  

Walgreens and AARP

Frugal tip - if you shop at Walgreens and have an AARP membership - always hand your AARP to the cashier to scan when you check out.  The coupon machine will spit out some extra coupons for you,  usually one like $3 of your next $10 purchase of Walgreens items or $5 off your next $20 purchase as well as some discounts on other products.

The $2, and 2 $4 register rewards were from buying toothbrushes a few weeks ago.  I was expecting 2 of them but the 3rd one was a surprise.  I don't know if the AARP card triggered it or not.

I am not a dues-paying member of AARP,  I read about a sign up for a free membership a few months ago and got my membership card for free.

(almost) Once a month grocery shopping

Doing a "big shop" once a month is still working for us.  It is a lot of work to make a long list, checking it twice,  then driving to Sams and maybe Aldis and Crest.  Putting away all the purchases is tricky too,  good thing I like to work puzzles!  

It is just really a big time saver all the rest of the month to not have to go shopping.

little fridge

We bought lots of oranges, clementines and grapefruit - they keep well.

full size fridge - more meat is in the small chest freezer

Can you see the bottom right drawer is full of romaine lettuce?  Each head is wrapped air tight in a plastic bag and should keep all month.  The grapes, strawberries and spring greens will be used first.

partial view of the pantry

Onions and potatoes are stored in crocks on the pantry floor.  I've been keeping the door shut on the pantry so it stays cooler in there and the root veggies have been keeping very well.

I still watch the local sales and have bought a few things.  One store had Pace salsa on sale for 99 cents for the Super Bowl and I got 24 jars.  That same store had butter for $1.99 a pound and I got 6 to put in the freezer.
I've also bought a few things at Walgreens but mostly I have stayed out of the stores.  I can't say I am really spending a lot less shopping this way but I am spending less time.

Dishwashers and Electric bills

a portion of our last utility bill
our water and electricity is on the same bill
notice that the previous months bill was about $28 higher than this months bill

we heat our home with natural gas and that bill is from a different company

I think I have heard at least a dozen times, from "energy experts" that automatic dishwashers cost less to use than old fashioned handwashing.   I have about decided that those experts must be paid off by the dishwasher and dishwasher detergent makers!  

Several years ago,  I did an experiment with my bill, trying to lower it and hand washed all dishes for a month.  
My utility bill was lower that month,  you can read about it on my old blog
A Home With A Smile 

I had pretty much forgot that until I got this last utility bill.  I was wondering why it was so much lower,  
then I remember I had not been using the dishwasher because it was not working correctly even before it flooded my kitchen.  

And have you priced dishwasher detergent lately?  None of them are cheap.
Liquid hand dishwashing soap costs a lot less than the automatic stuff too.  

So,  if you are really trying to lower your utility bills and grocery store bills,  you might want to switch to handwashing.  
As I type this,  my dishwasher is running- cleaning all the breakfast and lunch dishes-
I am not giving it up right now but I certainly could if needed.