Frugal Gift Idea

Pin It I love our Goodwill Store. Many times you can find new items that still have the tags attached for a very reasonable price. The other day I was able to pick up a set of 3 Valentine's place-mats for 99 cents. They still had the tags attached and were so cute that I had to try my new idea with them.

These place-mats are the kind that are double layered.







First you need to carefully take apart the seam on one end. Just an opening large enough to be able to stick your hand into it.




Next, take some cotton batting stuffing and begin to stuff, making sure that all corners are well stuffed.

The last step is to hand sew the hole back up and voila!

You have perfectly stuffed pillows! I was thinking seasonal pillows would be so reasonable to have throughout the home. Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, Easter, July 4th, Halloween....... oooh, the possibilities!

Have a great day everyone, I am off to finish a new table runner that I have been working on.

Remember to give your loved ones a hug! =)

Penny Rug Update

Pin It Some of you have asked about my penny rug. The material is wool except for the little plaid pennies on the outside. I picked up this kit at the local Goodwill store for 99 cents and thought it was a great way to experiment making one.

I am having alot of fun with it and will definitely make more. Here is a great link to not only show wonderful pictures but also the history of how the penny rugs came to be and she also has some links for patterns.


http://www.astorybooklife.com/how-to/penny-rugs/


I suggest giving it a try as not only are they decorative but easy to make!

Soon, I will have another great easy and frugal idea to make for gifts.


Have a great evening everyone! =)

Fabric and Penny Rug

Pin It I have made some wonderful friends on the web. People I have never met in person but I know that if I did, we would sit around for hours, drinking tea or a glass of wine and have a great time.

One of these friends is Bev who lives in Spokane Washington. I have been making here some crocheted flowers that she wants to make into a quilt on day. They have been fun and different to make and our agreement was if I made them for her she would send me some snowmen fabric. I LOVE snowmen so to me it was a great deal.

The last few days we have been experiencing a blizzard with a lot of snow. Yesterday when we were clearing the driveway and parking lot, I decided to talk the long walk up to check the mail and I am so glad I did! The mailbox was empty and full of snow as the snowplow must have hit it when it went by. I happened to glance to my right and I noticed a green box buried halfway into the snowbank so I thought I would check it out and toss the garage into the bin. Well, it was a parcel addressed to me!

When I opened it, Bev had surprised me with this wonderful Valentine fabric!



She sent me three yards of each and I was so excited!!!



I was jumping up and down (while Bob and Luke thought I was crazy).

I envision many wonderful projects that I can make with this fun fabric. Thank you Bev so much!!! I just love the choices you sent. I have been enjoying myself just playing with it and figuring out what to make first. You are the best!

I have also been working on my first penny rug. It is a Christmas theme and I have made a few mistakes along the way but it is beginning to come together nicely. I still have all the stitching to do around the sides and the wool pieces but I like how it is looking. This will be placed in my Christmas box as a gift for someone this year.

What have you been doing to pass the time away this long winter? I love hearing what everyone else is making.....it gives me even more ideas! =)

Have a great day and don't forget to give your loved ones a hug!

In The Frame

Pin It Last fall, Bob and I hit a garage sale that was about a mile from us at an old farm. The little old lady and little old man that were hosting the garage sale had it set up in a big pole barn. The pole barn was packed to the rafters with goodies!

We must have been there for at least an hour, walking through the aisles and aisles of treasures that they had laid out. Records, old magazines, china, radios from at least the 1920's, everything you could think of was there. I LOVED that sale!

Off to the side, I noticed a long box and when I looked closer, the box was labelled 'quilt frame'. I was so excited!


I took the box up to the counter and asked the owner if all the pieces were there and she guaranteed that they were. She asked if I quilted and I told her that I wanted to start this winter. She was so happy that it was going to someone who was going to enjoy it as she did. Her husband had bought her a new one and no longer needed the one I was purchasing.

After a few hours of trying to put it together the other day, I was finally able to attach my quilt top and get busy. I was surprised when I unloaded the box, the instructions were still in the bottom intact and easy to read. The one brace had splintered from age but an angle bracket was added and it worked wonderfully. Now I am happily quilting away, thinking about how many hours this little old lady worked like I am. Did she make a quilt for her children? Her grandchildren? What did she think about while sewing those pieces of fabric together?

Whatever she was thinking, whoever she was making the quilt for, I am excited to stitch away on my quilt that is attached to a piece of history. Who says 'new' is better? I don't! I wouldn't trade my quilt frame for a new one any day!

Have a great evening and don't forget to give your loved ones a hug! =)

Been Busy

Pin It Wow, it has been busy around here at the old homestead. My sewing machine has never worked so hard as it has this past week.

I have to apologize to all my blog friends. The lack of comments on your sites is not intentional. I have very limited opportunity to use the computer lately as Bob is using it so much for work that it makes it difficult for me to pop in and say hello. I have been reading faithfully from my iTouch however to comment is difficult on that blasted little machine. So I am still there...just not talking! =)

I wanted to show you what I have been working on...







A set of tapestry pillows. This will be given as a Christmas gift. I cannot mention names as she might read this site so I will keep quiet on the receiver.

My Christmas gift box has been started and these made their way into it. I am happy to say that the box is filling up quickly. This excites me as during the summer, it is so difficult to get any crafting done.




This little needlepoint pillow will be another gift for a special little girl whose parents are friends of ours.

I am hoping she likes it.

Here is a quilt top that I just finished today. The blue flowered material is a vintage material that I discovered in my stash. After picking up the red (it does have little dark blue polka dots on it) and the yellow material, it took very little time to whip it up.

After ironing all the creases, I made my way to the old farmhouse to find my quilting frame that I had purchased last fall at a garage sale. I had never put it together and was hoping all the pieces where in the box like the lady told me.

A few hours later and a little tweaking on the one stabilizer bar (the wood has split but I used an angle bracket to fix it) my $3 quilting frame is ready to go!

The backing material is just finishing up in the dryer so tomorrow I can spend the time layering the top, batting and backing and pinning it together. I need to re-read the instructions (yes, they were still in the box!) on how to lay it all on the frame so it stays nice and taunt so I can begin hand-quilting it.

This is my first attempt at such a big quilt project. My blocks that I showed you a week or so ago are still sitting waiting to be made into the top. I am a little apprehensive about cutting the material for the sashing......maybe I will get the courage up to cut it this weekend.

A storm is headed our way starting tonight. Sleet, ice and snow are expected with accumulations of 4 - 6 inches. Perfect time to enjoy a cup of tea, bake some treats and quilt my time away.

Have a great weekend everyone and remember to give your loved ones a hug! :)