Awesome Giveaway!!

Over at Unsinkable, these fine ladies are giving away a pattern for a beautiful, 1910 Tea Gown ePattern kindly donated by Mrs. Chancey of Sense and Sensibility Patterns!  What an awesome pattern!

Just hop on over to the Unsinkable blog and enter.  The giveaway is until November 12, 2011. 

Happy sewing,

 

Personal! For Ladies Only!!

OK, don't say I didn't warn you.  Actually, the title is rather silly because probably only women read my blog anyway!  But I wanted to give fair warning so after you read this post you won't say, "Why didn't you tell me this was personal?"

During a season of thoughtful frugality, I was thinking on how to save money.  I was trying to think outside the box of normal savings.  A faint memory came floating through my brain.  I had seen these little things on Etsy and had briefly considered them then.  But nothing came of it until this moment.  It wasn't going to be a huge savings but it was the principle of the thing.  Cloth panty shields/menstrual pads! 

Before you say, EEWWWW!!, please hear me out.  I did some research on how to make them myself and therefore being extra frugal.  I had some flannel in my fabric stash.  So after reading HERE (I like her layered idea even if she is a little pin crazy!) and this LINK to many patterns, I decided to give it a try.

So I made one.

I tried it on. 

It was awesome!

Seriously, I was hooked, completely convinced!  It was so soft and comfortable.  I just knew that I had to make some to use all the time. 

So I did even more research and found out about a relatively new fabric called PUL.  It stands for Polyurethane Laminate.  It is a waterproof fabric but feels like thin knit, with stretch to it.  Fabric.com has it for $7.98 and right now they have a sale of at least 15% off (more if you spend more).  It is 60" wide so unless you are making a lot you won't need much.  I bought some so I would know the pads were waterproof. 

I used the disposable pad I had been using as a pattern and just made up my own pattern.  Then I used a layer of PUL and 4 layers of flannel.  You could use an old towel for the terry cloth if you wanted it more absorbent.  I use a basic snap on the "wings" and it works fine and stays in place.  If you want more info, or a copy of my patterns, leave a comment and I'll get back to you.  :) 

Just throw them in with your regular wash cycles and they clean up beautifully!
Please read what the Hillbilly Housewife has to say about how to use these for your cycle.  She explains it so well, I don't need to repeat it.  Click HERE. 

Here are some I made.

So now you may think I am crazy.   But if you sew, try them yourself.  You may be pleasantly surprised at how nice they are and wonder along with me why you didn't do it sooner!! 

P.S. If you already use these, drop me a line and let me know what you think of them.  :)

Happy sewing and saving,

Quick, Easy and Frugal Mittens

The weather has been very cold here lately.  It seems to have been cold EVERYWHERE!  The gloves and mittens have mysteriously disappeared, too!  We had some in the fall.  Enough for everyone.  Since my gloves got passed down to a child, I decided to make some more. 

I had this cashmere sweater that I had found at a thrift store in Michigan last winter.  I had already made some leggings from the sleeves so I cut out some mittens from the body of the sweater.   Using my sewing machine, I stitched these up in no time. 

You could use an old sweater.  If it is wool, it could be felted first.  Just make a pattern from your own hand.  Remember to add enough for a seam allowance and room for that seam allowance in the thumb, especially.  Otherwise it will be too tight.  Have fun!  Let me know if you make some.  It would be fun to see your creations, too!!

Have a great day!

Just a quick note....

to let you all know that we are still alive and kicking! Yes, we are finally feeling better and have finally caught up with house cleaning and laundry. So there is a little time for blogging. I have some sewing projects that I am working on so I will post a few pictures soon.

Julia has learned a really neat "granny square" and is going to show me how to do it. I'll show you that, too.

I've been taking advantage of the meat sales at our local grocery store. I have been buying extra and canning it up for future use. Another reason blogging has been put off.

Thanks for your prayers and concerns for our well-being. I have met some truly nice people in blog world and for that I am very grateful.

More to come,
Gloria