Plaited rag rug

Finished my January frugal/craft project of rag rugging!

Here it is filling in the gap between spare bed and wall in the second bedroom where just have varnished floor boards. I have used more curtain and duvet cloth in this, mixed with some more rayon/nylon fabrics (lining of old dresses - hence the orange!). This gave the plaits a much thicker feel, especially as each plait was folded and ironed so it was 4 layers thick. I laid them out in rows and stitched them in pairs by hand, then gradually joined the pairs. If it stays here in the bedroom I do not need to make it any wider. If I was to move it elsewhere I could easily add a few more plaits.  I am not sure if I will leave the ends open or fold a contrast fabric across to seal them in. 

Would I recommend this craft?  

Yes, it uses up a lot of second hand fabric and clears out your stash wonderfully.

It is easy to do and you can do it in front of the fire.

Compared to my earlier round mat made with thin dress/blouse material this is thick and cosy for the toes. (Unfortunately, as I left the half made version in front of the settee, it emphasised that the lounge carpet is worn and far from cosy. So by next year this carpet we inherited on buying the house, two years ago, really has to be replaced.)

Disadvantages

My hands ache. I found my limit was half an hour of stitching or an hour of preparing and plaiting a day (about 4 plaits a day ). It would not suit someone with arthritis.

I have a hole in my middle finger. In the end I had to find my thimble which I hardly ever use. But pushing the tapestry needle through and using a thicker than normal thread took its toll.

My next household project is going to be a summer quilt for our king sized bed. I am pricing up the wadding needed and the cotton thread, but I think I have enough material in hand to do this in 4 inch cotton squares. I was inspired by a post by The Seasoned Housemaker recently with a beginners quilt.

Run out of...

The store cupboard is getting a bit thin as the month draws to a close -

Ran out of biscuits - baked blueberry muffins.

Ran out of bread - made some crumpets.

Ran out of fruit juice for accompanying evening meal - drank some Christmas gift wine!!!

I don't think I am suffering too much.......  pension due at end of month.

My Supermaket fetures

Frugal in Essex is always recommending using this on her blog so I have made an effort to re enter the site and have another go at playing with its features.

Firstly, I made a list of all my regular buys. I shop on line and its delivered once a fortnight for £1. I put in items on the last 3 receipts.
For the regular 70 or so items  S**insbury's was cheaper for the things I buy by £2 or £3.
I extended the list into things brought less regularly.
I could save £5 or so by splitting the order between two supermarkets (S's and T*sco) - but then would have two delivery costs and two minimum orders to cope with.
I carried on the list and put in rare treats and stuff I might buy for visitors and then probably only get if on offer and stuff I buy once every 6 months. Now it got interesting.  Apparently with that kind of shopping in the mix it was now cheaper to go to A*da by more than £3. Other supermarkets seemed a lot more expensive for the kind of shopping I like to do - which is very little processed foods and very few luxury buys so I am probably not in their target market!

Regular readers may remember that I am trying to reduce my salt intake and my trans fats to tackle high blood pressure and cholesterol. So the extra panel that counts your fat/sugar/   was interesting. Our diet is apparently pretty low and it had one or two suggestions. I am going to try the rapeseed oil frying spray instead of dollops of veg or olive oil.  However, when I went back in to this site a few days later the Change4Life panel had disappeared. I can't find it anywhere, what a shame as it could have been an interesting tool to monitor shopping with.

I was not so impressed with the "swap" feature.  Most of the suggestions were pointing to inferior standard products (in my opinion) which does not always save money in the long run - the basic kitchen towels for example just lately have been pretty useless. The next level up are proving better and I use half the amount so i am unlikely to follow that kind of swap suggestion.   I was amused by the suggestions on  rice products. I use risotto or paella rice for those dishes but the site suggested using basmati instead of these products. I have used basmati and cheaper rice but you don't get such good results. More amusing macaroni alternative was penne pasta!  Not sure my milky macaroni puddings will be the same with penne; though for macaroni cheese type dishes it probably would not matter.

I can also see on another comparison button is that I would get twice as many Sainsbury/Nectar points as I would get Tesco points on my total shopping list. One of the reasons I was looking at Tesco was because they owe me 3500 points anyway. My husband had three years worth of energy supplier bonus points to collect and he put in to have these back as Tesco club card points. That was 5 weeks ago and Tesco are still processing the request!

Ah well, that willed away another foggy afternoon!  I could have finished my Michael Connelly (Bosch) novel instead but husband has refused to light the fire till the sun goes down (if we could actually see any sun today).

No spend and stretch January

Everyone seems to be in same boat trying to save money this month. I updated our accounts this week and got a shock to find buying the Fuel oil for the heating had cleared out the balance. Only £50 left till next week!  My grocery and household bits and pieces so far this month had totalled £123.75.

Quick look in the cupboards and freezer revealed just about enough food, except potatoes, till Monday if we have so inventive meals. The turkey carcass from Xmas came out and was stewed with veg and the left overs from that will make soup. A jar of mincemeat found to make pie for puddings with custard or there is plenty of jam for sponge pudding.  There is half a gammon joint in there from Xmas and two 4oz portions of mince for Spag Bol if needed.

Purse tipped up - just enough cash for a sack of potatoes at the local farm shop and a loaf of bread from the local bakers. So we could get through till Tuesday or Wednesday when it will clearly be the February budget before having a big shop.

Crises averted. Amazing what you can do when pressed.

Hand wash gel

What do you use yours for?
I have found this stuff really good for:

• Getting dried seagull pooh of my car - just a smidge on a damp cloth will do it.
• Cleaning the glass in the log burner - a bit on a worn out washing up nylon scrubber will lift the baked on black.

and today

Used the bit at the bottom of the empty one in a bit of hot water in the bath to soak the shower curtain. Those black mould spots were gone after a quick rub!

What it does for your hands I have no idea. My husband swears by the stuff. I use the bar of soap in the bathroom unless I have grease or thick dirt to get off and then I reach for the hand cream straight away.

Grabbing a fine day

Despite fog and frost most mornings we grabbed the opportunity for a 4 mile walk around the lanes yesterday. Still, bright but hazy.

 We admired the vast areas of spring cereal crops already green and doing well.

Totally puzzled by the ridges in this field. Too early for potato ridging? Its a bit solid looking? Eventually we spotted the green shoots of daffodils! Its a flower field! The next field over, behind some thick hedging,  was more advanced and you could see rows of green tops. 

By the time we left the road and took a path between fields, copses and hedges we had warmed up and had to loose hats and gloves and loosen woolie scarf.

Home in time for lunch of carrot soup. Our carrots are getting a bit old now and I have found a bit of ground cumin when softening the onions really improves the flavour and colour of the soup.

On the very miserable days I have been pursing my rag rug making. I have concentrated on longer lengths and used wider strips of thicker fabrics mixed with jersey fabrics or rayon to give colours. Each strip is folded in to conceal as much of the raw edges as possible. This is giving a nice thick braid when plaited up.

I have been stitching them together in pairs in front of the TV in the evening and I think I will need 20 pairs to make a big rug !  The odd bits hidden in cupboards and drawers are rapidly getting cleared into this project - old cushion covers and tablecloths as well as old clothes and pillowcases!

How have you been using your time in this cold weather?

When I am old

I was mooching round some clothes rails with my husband today on a rare visit to town. He was moaning about the lack of interesting and affordable men's clothes and I was depressed by all the grey and beige woollies in the women's aisles.  I was reminded by this poem by Jennifer Jones which starts...

When I am an old woman I shall wear purple
With a red hat which doesn’t go, and doesn’t suit me.
And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves
And satin sandals, ......

Most of the clothes we saw were expensive, would not last one wash let alone half  a year and were dull and thin.  I shall book a half day to mooch round the charity shops after my next wardrobe review. I shall look for much brighter colours.

We returned from town with a pile of library books and some meal worms to a bright sunny afternoon which allowed us to rush round the garden doing those little jobs (logs, veg peelings to compost, dig up carrots, weed in the poly tunnel, replenish bird table and feeders).  Retired back indoors at 4pm to shake our heads sadly at the USA antics and plan to watch BBC's Winterwatch next week!!!

Courgette crises?

Did you see the News today?  Apparently its snowing in Spain so courgettes in British shops are £2 a lb.  Courgettes in January????

For goodness sake Britain.  Grow your own all summer, you will get so many and then you will be glad not to see another courgette till next June!!

I was doubly amused by the guest/commentator at lunch time who suggested people could buy some green in the form of a nice savoy cabbage from Lincolnshire instead. The BBC reporter got all sniffy and cut her out of the conversation from that point on. Obviously savoy cabbages are not as topical or interesting as courgettes.

Personally our "green" consists of sprouts, kale and spring cabbage harvested as needed from the garden or runner beans from the freezer. I will confess to a packet of frozen peas on stand by. Courgette seeds arrived in post yesterday and are ready and waiting.

Rag rug progress

Two summer dresses, two skirts, four blouses/shirts, and a couple of odd bits later I had a pile of plaited one metre lengths ready to make my rag rug. Quite a lot of work (but it has been particularly cold and horrid outside).  These came from the bottom of the recency box and were very thin and screwed up and I did not bother to iron them! I cut through darts, seams, godets, plackets and only rejected  cuffs and collars (put by these to clean the greenhouse glass!). As the fabric was very thin I did not appreciate at first I was cutting it too narrow and should have cut 3 inches wide rather than 2 inches or less. 

As I progressed colour gradients emerged and I worked from a dark middle outward. Soon found out that if you don't put it on the floor now and again it starts to form a "cone".  I stated with a sharp needle but after while got sore fingers and swapped to a tapestry needle.

Several sessions later it was finished off with a black rim. This was one of those black polyester office skirts you buy for £9.99 in a supermarket and wash and wear for YEARS and it just would not die.  Its dead now and provided a nice edge! 

I really enjoyed this.  It was time consuming but cost nothing and the recycle box is a bit emptier. The clothes were not good enough for a charity shop and the fabric not good enough for restyle. I have seen some projects on Pin interest for my second rug. They have used much flatter cloth like sheets and curtains - I have some and have been sorting out some to cut in 3.5 to 4 inch widths which will be tidily folded before being plaited. 

A few weeks ago Ilona on Life After Money blog posted a doodling picture link.  I tried it out and it was a most relaxing doddle.  Do try it!

As part of using up Christmas left overs I came across an opened bottle of chilli sauce. It could only be kept for 4 weeks so I threw half in this pan of chicken thighs, onions and mushrooms. Yummy.

Ready, Steady, Sow

Tick list:
Propagating mat set up
Propagating covered unit set up with lid
Extension lead
Seed tray pressing down tools - boards with handles
Bubble wrap to insulate greenhouse for moving plants on
Smoke candle for greenhouse to make sure its clean and ready

Trays washed

 Old seeds sorted
New seeds ordered

Vermiculite found
New seed compost brought (Expensive but best quality I think, Clover brand)

To do
Find indoor fine watering can or spray
Plant labels!
Buy weekend Broadsheet Newspaper - seed sewing always a messy business and I like to cover the table!

Bring on Spring!

Bag project completed

My project to make some new casual shopping bags is completed with these three bags. The blue from some charity shop curtains and a duvet; the green and white from an old skirt of mine lined with an old summer shirt of my husbands. And the pink revamped from a shoulder bag that somehow acquired a stain. It was made smaller and then lined with some left over thin pink fabric from my stash.  I shall try these out.  No cost so if they only last a while it will not matter. Oldest son says there is a stack of reuse bags at their house I can have.

Having gone through my "rag and reuse" boxes several times now it is time for a clear out. I have been inspired by this library book.

I have started with plaiting technique!  This was so therapeutic!!! cutting things up which were too thin, wrong colour, wrong material into strips and sometimes machining the strips cut to get the same long lengths. Then old fashioned plaiting. I tied one end to the back of one my spindle chairs and used a big bull dog clip to hold the plaiting whenever I wanted to stop and sort out the tail ends. Used up odds and ends of cotton in the work basket to just stitch the ends together.

I am going to make several lengths and colour ranges and then think of a design.  The book has some very modern takes on how to use these!  I remember my mother and aunts having rag rugs but the over powering colour in the 1950s was brown!  I have not done the thing they used to do with the hook and canvas for years and years - I am tempted!

Once the stash is down a bit I shall not feel quite so bad on adding to the recycle clothes.  We are rapidly working our way through winter clothes we have had for 4/5 years and the ex office stuff. This year we may celebrate a change in our wardrobes based on what we do now - not our past!!

Ah ha - Blogger twist!

Been a lot of Blogger users saying they can't trace back followers lately as that feature had changed.  I found a new way today - if you go into Dashboard and look at some of the hyper links on the right - under "Stats and "Comments - you can get straight back to fellow bloggers own sites!

Looking forward to reading some new blog followers now!

Chicken dish

Made this tonight = cost about £2 all in and served with potatoes, carrots and sprouts from our own garden.

Fresh Chicken thighs in thick chunks  £1.60
2 tbsp of oil
Quarter teasoop each -
turmeric
ground coriander
ground cumin
ground paprika

Onion
Carrot
Garlic clove
Celery stalk
Knorr chicken stock pot  (this kicks up the price but the quality of stock is sooooo good)
A few mushrooms sliced
half a sheet of noodles added at end
1 ltr water as needed.

We needed little else to eat and was ready in 20 mins.

Wrong title?

Early mornings us retirees  have a cup of tea in bed and a bit of a read.  I interrupted my husband with a question.

"If I came home from town and described a passenger on the train/bus sitting opposite me as =- well over 30, but not looking too healthy so could be mistaken for 40, straggly hair, a bit over weight, agitated and stressed, poor skin colour.  She got off the train/bus in a terrible hurry."

"Who, got off - the woman?"

"Exactly a woman! So why is this b.... book called "The Girl on the Train"?  And why is the time line from 3 different perspectives, thing so complicated?  And none of the 3 women is under 30 - are any of them likely to be described as a "girl".  Surely  girl is applied to a young person, or a youthful under 25?  Why use that term? I once nearly slapped a manager when he referred to the women (fully competent professionals)  in the organisation  as "you girls" in a staff meeting".

"Er, good job you are no longer working, remember your blood pressure!  The book has a good ending and she ends up visiting Wells-next-the sea, just down the road from here.  Would not make such a good selling title "The Woman on the Train!" or "Woman on the slow moving London commuter train!

Can't wait. I am off to wash my hair and go out to pick some sprouts before it starts snowing!!
At least Pauline McLynn *  was more accurate with her "The Woman on the Bus" and there were a some  similarities about the main characters story line.  And the bus from Dublin to Limerick  goes as slowly as a London commuter train (as we know, having used both of transport things in the past).

So much for relaxing reading!


*Pauline's other career included being the housekeeper in Father Ted!

Cold task

Why do bare rooted shrubs have to come in the worst weather?  We had been expecting these since November and they turned up from the specialists this week.

Been wandering around with a wheelbarrow of damp compost, muddy spades and even muddier wellies putting in another 15 feet of British native hedging root stock at the far end of our field. One day there will be a hedge - not just planted "sticks"!

Mind you with the mist today we can't even see the end of the field  from the house!

Spring cabbage and other signs

Hi
Too many sprouts sent me further down the veg patch this week and stole an early spring cabbage from the row of 10.

I know I could have left it to get bigger but it was sweet and delicious with some fish.

Round the side of the house in a very sheltered spot one of the primrose plants is trying to bud.

We have halved the overshadowing buddelia and taken 2 shrubs out this year to open this corner out and it will be interesting to see what else makes an appearance.  Hope these survive the frosts and come early to cheer us up!

Sewing progress

Hi
I have completed one project. The second has had one go and I have got a technique sorted for a "gusseted" bag - I just need to refine and practise!
Bed cover - I used an old duvet cover (gosh, when it was on the bed I had not seen how  worn and thin the material was, but it should be Ok for this purpose).

First bag - I used some of the curtains I brought in a charity shop for £2 and part of the duvet. So no cost.  it suits my 3 weekly collect of 6 novels and an art book from the library!

Outside it is cold and frosty. Most of the farming round us is in a pretty quiet phase except for the 20 to 30 lorries passing every day rushing the sugar beet harvest to the factory before the end of its "best to use" date of 1st February (according to neighbours, who knows more than us).  We don't have much livestock near us so are not effected by the bird flu thing but have not seen or heard one neighbours chickens for a long time!

Sewing projects for January

I have set myself 3 projects for January and have put aside time to practice machine embroidery! First, we brought this folding bed for the grandchildren and as it will be pushed from around from room to room and cupboard to cupboard depending on space to be stored I decided it needed a cover to keep any dust off. 

Secondly, all my reusable canvas shopping bags have given up the ghost or gone off with children/families to house shoes or toys.  I also found them a bit too big and scratchy if you happen to have bare legs in the summer.

Third project is to shorten this brown skirt to the length of the flowery one. I like it but have found it just a bit too cumbersome lately. I have had these for 4 or so years, and I did only pay £5 each from a shop in Stroud (Gloucestershire) that sold end of line cotton ladies wear dead cheap! The charity shops near by were more expensive! It eventually went out of business - which was a shame!  It is very full skirt, cut on the bias, so I will have to work on a stitch setting on my machine that will overstitch/hem it in brown or black thread!

I saw this resolution on The Seasoned Homemaker (US) blog the other day and thought YES I must do this! Also it will help keep my blood pressure down - success today as the readings were bang on acceptable at the doctors today! Advice was to relax more.

Over the past year I have started practicing the 20 minutes a day of sewing concept. By taking 20 minutes every day to do something creative, I've been able to finish more projects, and I'm starting to see my stash dwindle (although most people would think it's out of control!).

I really, really, really encourage you to take a few minutes every day to do something that can't be undone! Almost everyday I try to take a few crafty minutes at the beginning of my day. I might mend a little by hand, work on a quilt sketch, or stitch together a few pieces to a quilt block. Nothing spectacular, but ever so satisfying.

leslie@seasonedhomemaker.com

What do you do every day to be creative?

Welcome to Rita and Kaye.

Been using up the left over Xmas bits this week.

Found an open bottle of red wine behind the coffee machine (why was it there?) so made a nice red wine sauce for some left over lamb!  I used one of Jamie Oliver's recipes from his home cooking course (NVQ1).  I always wanted the Adult Education organisation I worked for to run this so I could be nosy about the recipes!

Some left over sausages have made sausage rolls for lunches along with soup made with veg from the garden - parsnips, carrots and leeks along with potatoes from the last half bag saved from the summer crop. Though digging these roots up is proving muddy and cold - we have set up a washing station on a bench with buckets and scrubbing brushes in the garden.

There were some unused lemons too. These went in a lemon sponge cake.

Update on the fire fan - the room temperature seems to be a consistent 1 degree more for the usual level of wood used. If this makes sense.

Fire Fan

Have you ever seen one of these fan things before? We glimpsed them in various house buying programmes sitting on top of woodburners in posh country houses and then saw one in a showroom. Did a bit if investigating and found our it was supposed to push the hot air out into the room but we could not quite see how the actual mechanism worked. It is made of heavy metal and has no actual "motor" with no batteries or electric. We were watching the  Rieth Lectures (BBC 4) this Christmas which was about transfer of energy methods and realized how the motor would work effectively.

So we got one this week and are trying it out. Certainly the cold spot to the left of the fire is better. We have to work out if the heat is pushed out to the staircase area. And if it saves any money on the oil fired central

heating.

Hard to say if it helps with heating yesterday as it has suddenly turned milder!  We had been out doing a bit of gardening. Husband created a new bed and put in 18 allium bulbs he got for £1 (big reduction at the garden centre) and he did a winter wash on the fruit trees. I went off to pick sprouts, take the composting bin up to the compost heap and move some branches up to the bonfire. I also popped into the greenhouse and cleaned off some dead leaves off over wintering plants. You have to keep them clean in damp weather to avoid diseases.  Today it is continuous depressing rain.

Hope you are finding things to do when the weather gives you a break.

Happy New Year