Skip to main content

Cheapness

Calling me frugal is like saying the sky is blue. I grew up quite poor. As an adult I learned how to get by with very little. I taught myself to make a lot of things that other people purchase. It is a lifestyle that I've never considered abandoning, even when I didn't have to live like that any longer. I refuse to forget what it's like to be poor, or behave recklessly with money.

Example of my frugality: my guy and I were out trying to thrift some bookcases for my sewing room, and saw this quilt rack set out in a pile of "free" things at a local thrift store. I'm always on the lookout for quilt racks; I can never have too many.

This rack was coming apart at the joints, and had a little chip in the wood, which is why I guess the folks at the thrift store thought it was trash. We asked and made sure it was free to take, brought it home and repaired it wth materials we already have on hand. It's beautiful and quite sturdy now. I smile every time I look at it. Cost: $0.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Better than Fried

I cut some chives from the kitchen garden to make garlic-chive baked fries for dinner. This is a great side dish for veggie burgers. Click here for the recipe from Taste of Home.com.
Post a Comment
Read more

Stuff

After finding this Caron one pound skein of lovely peach yarn in my thrifted lot I raided my stash for two cakes of Mandala in Pegasus, which matches it perfectly. For practice and hand therapy I'm going to make another Worth Street Afghan with this free pattern , but this time I'll use the yarn that was recommended for it plus the one pound skein. I'm not quite ready to do the vintage/recycled linen quilt I had planned (still a bit too nervous about the idea), so I'm going to use some color therapy and make a quilt from these thrifted green fat quarters. I considered doing another Yellow Brick road patchwork pattern, but I might go with a split rail fence like this one.
Post a Comment
Read more

Make It Yourself

As we head into December, here are ten ideas for easy handmade gifts: Cookie Exchange: If you live close to your friends invite them over for a cookie exchange. Basically everyone bakes a set amount of their favorite cookies, and these are exchanged at the gathering by lottery, sharing a little from each batch with everyone, or however you want to do it. You can also exchange recipes, too. My neighbor did this once and it was wonderful. Favorite Recipe Cookbook : For my favorite person I found a copy of my favorite cookbook from a vintage bookseller (yes, I am that old) and went through it making notes on all the recipes I used, how I tweaked them, etc. Ornament: There are probably a million free tutorials on how to make your own holiday ornaments, so do some research online. I like to make hanging pomanders , which smell heavenly and are biodegradable after the holidays. Mug Rugs: If you sew, making up a set of mug rugs is simple and easy; I add these every year to my ...
Post a Comment
Read more