This summer will be a time of kids coming and going. One week the house will be full and food literally just flies out of the ref. The next, it is quiet, lonley and I do not have to share with anyone. Very interesting time here.
– Finished Aaron’s Antheneum Costume- total out of pocket cost, $2.25- pattern .99, black thread, 1.25. I used wood suiting fabric that was given to use several years ago from an older lady at church who could no longer sew. The lining was left from a sewing project during Hannah’s 4-H sewing career. Buttons (24) were a gift from my mother for this project. She had purchased them for other sewing projects long finished. Aaron will wear this to the Anthenuem Ball in July, then I will enter in county fair competitions this summer in the costume catagory.
-Cooked 25# turkey bought at Thankgviving. After thawing in the ref for a week, we cooked Sat AM. Aaron was incharge, as his 4-H project this year is Food Science. Since we will be using the meat for various recipies, we did not season at all. When it was cooked, Aaron carved and divided into quart size zip bags for future use.
-Assembled circle applique quilt top. I have enjoyed hand appliqueing circles onto white or pink fabric for several months. I like applique if it is a simple shape, circle is just perfect. I had used many scraps for circles and just decided I did not want to do any more. I layed all the squares out and decided it would make a decent size throw quilt, so I began sewing together. I did some sashings and need to add a couple more to the sides, to make it just a tad wider. This entire quilt if from scraps and fabric that was given to us, even the batting. I plan to machine quilt next week.
-Because our schedule has slowed a lot, I stayed home several days last week! It is so easy to get a lot done around the house when I am at home! And on the days I did go to town, I stacked the errons so that I was home in record time. I hope to do this again next week.
-Gifts- it is graduation and wedding time here, so we are giving a lot of gifts to commemorate these special occations. Rachael found a cute pattern for a personalized t shirt, that I was able to duplicate at home. We got the long sleeve tshirts at Hobby Lobby for 30% off, and she found small / remenant fabric in the school colors. I made the shirts and we delivered at each party or graduation. I had planned to spend $10-15 for each gift, but these came in at about $6 each, plus they are one of a kind. A couple need to be mailed, but I will do that this week. And for the wedding gift, since I had to mail, I found some things in my gift stash that would be great for the couple just starting their new home, and would not break in the mail.
-School books- as our home school year ends, I am getting rid of books we have completed. Some I gave away on Craig’s List as their condition was pretty bad after 4 kids. Others, I listed for sale. And my college kids are looking for books for summer classes, so I have added their books to my wish list on Amazon and Paperback Swap. So far we have received 3 college books on Paperback Swap, and rented 1 on Amazon. College books are so expensive, so I try to help them with watching for good deals. And Paperback swap is a wonderful way to build your library, get books to read or use for projects, and trade books you are finished with. Check it out.
-Returned items not needed- When I did errands this week, I returned a number of items that I purchased, but we did not use or need. Several were extra repair items (what size? not sure, bought several and am now returning extras) This cut down on clutter and saved a little money. I guess you could say that I am recycling. It took a little effort, but was well worth the work.
-Shearing sheep- We are a little behind on this farm activity, as we try to shear in early May, but the rain and cold temps has delayed it until now. Our deadline is June 12, which is the wool pool when we sell our wool. Aaron did most of the ewes and now they are shearing the yearlings and moving to the neighbor’s farm, where there is a pasture with grass. While wool prices are down this year, it is still important to shear and sell the wool. TN has the oldest Wool Pool in the country, and we enjoy working there each year. It is a hot, dirty, busy, and tiring day, but it is fun to work with other sheep producers to accomplish the task. I will try to take pictures and post so you can see what happens at the wool pool. This makes the frugal list because the kids shear, so I do not have to pay a shearer!!! They even make some money during the summer shearing other small flocks in our area. 4-H- teaching life skills!
So, what makes your frugal activites for last week?
Dee's Farm and Family 