SUPPLIES FOR A SIMPLER LIFE...

This picture may be from the 16th, but the view is the same!  YUCK!

Good morning, friends.  It is a snowy, cold mess here in my part of Pennsylvania...but I couldn't be happier.  My Dad is home from the hospital!  My dad underwent lung surgery on Tuesday to remove a cancerous lesion.  At 80 years of age, he came through the surgery amazingly well and was released on Saturday evening.

I accompanied my mom and aunt down to the hospital every day, and I don't know if it was because of my increased stress, impending weather changes, or what, but my pain level was really high the entire week.  My neurologic issues were also raising their ugly heads!  I think DAD was walking better than I was!!  One day at lunch I couldn't keep my sandwich in my hand, nor pick it up when it dropped!  I took my crocheting with me but was unable to accomplish more than about half a dishcloth over the course of an entire week!  I just hurt too badly and was tremoring too badly to do much of anything constructive.

But, sitting there next to his bed for all of those hours (he slept a lot) gave me a really good chance to think.  A post on frugalliving@about.com not too long ago got me to thinking about what items in my life I could "make" instead of "buy".  Over the long term I really hope to make less of an impact in all aspects of my life.  So I began thinking of the things that I have made over a span of many years that can be utilized more routinely to both save money and lessen my footprint...AND I began planning things I can make into the future to achieve my goals! 

Here is what I have thought of so far...

Blankets and quilts to keep our heater turned down a little lower:  

"Solo Trip", made in the 1980s, is folded on our family room sofa to snuggle under

"Memories of Myrtle", made in 2012, is folded on our family room sofa to snuggle under

"Dorm Denim", made in 2006, is on our guest room bed.  It keeps me warm when I sleep in there to avoid waking Dear Hubby with my tossing, turning and moaning in pain. 

A "Ripple Afghan", made in 1981, for my then boyfriend (now hubby) sits on my Scrappy, Happy Place rocking chair to keep me warm while resting. 

I am currently working on a new queen sized quilt for the guest room (the denim quilt is only a twin).  It is VERY slow going as I only work on it for a short while at a time, but as long as I don't have a real "guest" any time soon it is not a problem.  The quilt will be made of 5" squares so I am going to need lots and LOTS of blocks to reach queen size!  I am hoping to have it finished by the end of 2013...maybe. 

Cleaning supplies to keep my house sparkling without all of the harmful chemicals:  (Note:  I still have a LOT of store bought cleaners to work my way through, but am changing over to homemade as things run out):

A freshly brewed bottle of citrus cleaner

Citrus cleaner ready to spray

Homemade laundry detergent.  Looks like it is time to make more!

Baking soda shampoo & apple cider vinegar rinse

Reusables to replace disposables of many household items:   

A handmade washcloth to use with liquid shower gel

A handmade Swiffer to use on my laminate and/or tile floors

A finished set of 3 washcloths for future use

My first handmade dishcloth to replace worn out store bought dishcloths and sponges

Things I am planning to make:  

I may actually attempt to crochet dishtowels as I am tired of buying towels that just push the water around and don't actually dry anything!  

I am also planning to crochet "soap sweaters" to hold all of our scraps of soap while showering.  The "soap sweaters" should also work well with sample sized soaps.   

I am planning to sew up more cloth napkins.  We have just started using cloth napkins and I need more.

I am planning to sew up reusable paper towels for "daily use" and some "disposable" paper towels (out of really worn material) to use with super "messy" jobs.  

I am planning to use some soft flannel to make hankies to replace boxes of tissues.   

ETA:  

I am planning to learn to make socks on my "sock loom".  

I am  planning to make an afghan for the guest room for extra warmth in bed.  

What have I missed?

These are all of the "handmade" substitutions I have been able to think of.  Any suggestions on items I have missed?  What are you "making" to lessen your footprint?

 

   

DAD'S QUILT IS DONE!

Hi everyone!

I did it!  I finally finished my dad's quilt.  No more worries of wrapping an IOU as his Christmas gift!  Now I can fully relax and enjoy what little time is left before the holidays, lol. Here it is, in all of its glory!  Please excuse the faded out beige pinwheels on the bottom row.  They show up much more distinctly in person than they do in the picture. 

Dad's quilt is made of flannel and faux suede.  The faux suede matches the beige of his leather recliner, while the other colors (the flannel) are pulled from elements in my parents' home.  I wanted something "masculine" for dad, yet pretty enough that it would look okay lying out in the family room. 

This quilt reminds me of flannel shirts and argyle socks.  Since flannel shirts have a placket down the front, I used a double line of stitching in the sashes to pick up the same feel.  And, of course, all flannel shirts have to have buttons on the plackets...which I centered on the intersections of the sashing.  The rectangles of flannel on the border reminded me of argyle socks...so I stitched an "X" of quilting into each rectangle.

For the center of each block I wanted a quilting detail that would mimic the round button shape...but it had to be angular enough to pick up all of the other straight lines in the quilt.  I think the quilting pattern I found is just perfect.  Thanks again to my wonderful hubby who bought me a Baby Lock Embroidery Machine for my retirement!  My quilts can still have beautiful stitching, just sewn by machine now that I can no longer sew by hand!

The last detail to be added to the quilt was my label.  I didn't want just a "normal" quilt label showing my name and date, etc.  I wanted something that would communicate to my dad just a bit of the love that went into his gift.  A few months ago he came down with a bug that was making the rounds in our area.  Suffering from a relatively high fever, my father, the man who is NEVER cold, borrowed a quilt I had made 20 years ago...so he would have something warm to snuggle into while he watched TV!  I knew then what he was getting for Christmas.

Now he will have his own special "hug" from me... to keep him warm and cozy, always.  

I can't wait to give it to him!

LONG TIME, NO SEE!

I walked into my sewing room this morning, "blurry eyed" and miles away from "bushy tailed"...in desperate need of a steaming cup of coffee.  After a few sips the room began to take shape around me and my monitor jumped to life in front of me.  OMG, can it REALLY be December 6th?!?  I rubbed my eyes to make sure that the number on my desktop wasn't a 3 masquerading as a 6 just to see me squirm.  No, definitely a 6.  What?  When?  Where did all that TIME go?!?!?  It wasn't even Thanksgiving yet when we left for sunny South Carolina!

My dear sweet hubby and I returned from vacation a mere five days ago.  We knew when we made the reservations that we were "cutting it close" with Christmas preps, but it was the best time for him to be out of the office given the project workload.  But THIS close to the big day already? My palms are getting sweaty just thinking about the things that still need to be done before the big day.  Making my schedule even more difficult,  I have four medical appointments to go to by the end of next week and a Social Security court hearing on Monday! What was I thinking, or drinking, when I made that many appointments in the small window of time between our return from vacation and the holiday?  Somehow I will have to muddle through and try to get the absolute necessities done...and maybe fall very short of my usual Christmas verve.  But Christmas will come, whether I am ready or not. 

However, on a good note, today is the first day since our return that I can honestly say I feel like I have settled back into my home and routine.  I have been extremely fatigued since we have been back, taking several hour naps in the middle of the day...just to survive until I can drop into bed sometime after 6:00 PM.  My pain level has ramped a bit higher now that I am not spending my days sitting on a balcony staring at the ocean.  In the past five days I have accomplished ONLY the absolute necessities. 

But, my steaming cuppa jo' this morning chased away the cobwebs and primed my engine to accomplish as much as possible between now and then!  Time to get the lead out and move my bum!  I still have two handmade Christmas presents to finish (I have pared down my list a bit), a Christmas menu to plan and order, a house to straighten/clean and gifts to buy.  I sure hope my guys are up for a challenge as I will be dragging them kicking and screaming into my whirlwind, taking advantage of any and all help I can get, lol.  Christmas is a time of sharing and caring...and believe me I intend to SHARE the load, and don't really CARE if they like it, lol. In all honesty, though, my guys are really GREAT about helping me around here when I need it.  I just hope there is enough time for all THREE of us to get it all done.

Before I head off to work on my dad's quilt I want to give you a quick update on the things I HAVE accomplished since my last check-in.

A scarf for my aunt (completed):

Dad's quilt (in-progress):

I promise a "completed" picture of dad's quilt will be forthcoming in the next couple of days.  Then I have to turn a pile of miscellaneous parts into a scarf for my mom...I hope...

Off to work on the quilt!

FINALLY, A FINISH!

Well, it is finally done!  My "Memories of Myrtle" quilt is finished and ready for snuggling.  

Attaching the buttons was really straight-forward and easy on my machine.  So much so, that I didn't even bother doing a practice button!   I must be getting daring in my old age, lol.  By dinner time yesterday the embellishments were all sewn on, the quilt was labeled and it was folded over the arm of the sofa waiting for someone to wrap themselves in its warmth. Now that Hurricane Sandy is over I can't wait for the patio furniture to be moved back out of our family room so that I can sit before a wonderful cozy fire, all wrapped up in this snuggly goodness!