Friends

This week some of our good friends moved away. Far away. The boys and I have spent a lot of time talking about what that means, and how we will try to stay friends.

As a going away present, we made writing folders with some blank postcards to color and some with our address already inscribed. I looked at this tutorial on Soulemama, and made something similar. I started with quilted thrift store place mats, so my measurements and edges are different.

I hope our friends write, and I hope they have a wonderful adventure.

Travel safely folks. -Polly

Me and my Singer.

I am infatuated with my new old Singer. I am sure no cross words will ever come between us.

We made a bag together.

And another.

And another. I do believe (singing) we were meant to be together. -Polly

Unravelled Sweater

One cashmere sweater, plus one pair of scissors, plus one snow day equals two

new balls of string. -Polly

Red

Red. Thanks M. Thanks thrifty store. - Polly

More Yard Construction

A fort has been constructed in our yard. After visiting a bigger boy's impressive fort, our resident 5 year old felt he needed one of his own.

This fire ring came to us courtesy of our city water department. A water pipe broke underneath the street causing a massive sink hole. During the repair project, this piece of pipe was trimmed off, tossed into our yard and forgotten. When the project was over and it was clear that this item was left for us to clean up, we rolled it over and put it to use.

Lovely on a summer evening. -Polly

A Mixed Bag

I have a mixed bag of projects underway this week. My favorite involves this yarn. These skeins are all from one color way! It came to me from Heritage Yarns .

These red critters are quilted pillow shams. For some reason, my local thrift stores often have lots of these. Last week I came home with three others. These red ones I plan to cut up and reassemble. The other ones I am hesitating to cut, but we will see.

And... The terrariums are multiplying. I am not sure how these will fit in the window when I bring my wimpy plants in for the winter. I will need to find a place though, I just love the green stillness of these. -Polly

The Esthetics of Frugality

So, we are trying hard to be frugal because we believe it is the right way to live. We are intentionally seeking to consume less, and lead a simpler life. Sometimes this looks nice, and sometimes it does not. Our kitchen shows an example of each case. This sad looking pile of parts was recently a very nice looking faucet. When a youngster in the family attempted to use it as gymnastics equipment, it's useful life was ended. Fortunately, an old salvaged from who knows where faucet was waiting in the garage. Because I am brave and committed to consuming less, I did not complain excessively as the replacement was installed. As it turns out, this new to us fixture is so much easier to use that I have come to like it quite well.

The other example that I would mention here is our new old stove. We have had success heating our house with wood for a number of winters, and have been on the lookout for a cook stove. This coal / wood cook stove turned up at the right price. To me it is just beautiful.

The best part is that this lovely stove will replace a clothes dryer that has not worked for two years. When the dryer stopped working, I already knew that I could get our clothing dry without electricity for most of the year. We debated about tossing the machine right away. Mr. Moss said that if I chose not to fix the machine, a new one would not be an option in the future. What I learned is that if we have a wood stove going in the winter, I can easily dry all our clothing all year long. If we have two stoves working, I see no reason to keep the dryer. See, there is a connection here! In this case, the stove is much nicer to look at. -Polly

Metal Parts

Enough suspense already! Here is my mother's day present. A ring! I found this large metal ring in an old cellar hole. Part of it was buried in the ground, and held down by a tree root that had grown over it. We think it is a barrel stay. The inside is flat, the outside is somewhat rounded, and there are no holes in it. After it was rolled out of the deep woods for me, I set it up in a shady part of my garden. I am so pleased with it.

After the ring followed me home, but before it was installed, I found even more rusty metal parts. These leaf springs were under our garage for some time. Only when my mind was happily musing on the aesthetic qualities of discarded metal did they jump out at me as a perfect addition to a sunnier garden. -Polly

Little Projects

I have some small projects going that appeal to my thrifty nature. I cannot stand to get rid of even the tiniest bits of interesting cloth. Making these little buttons helps to reduce my scrap pile. I really like the way that the shape of the button crops the fabric into a little image. Because I did not want to buy plastic or peat trays and pots for starting seeds, I tried using the eggshells that I had. I figured that if eggshells are good for compost, maybe they will break down nicely if I plant them right into the garden. I do not know if this is an accepted gardening practice, but it has worked well for me. I crush the eggshells as I plant the seedlings outside.

-Polly

Treasure By the Curbside!

Today being trash day in our neighborhood, I am now the happy owner of a costume trunk.

This questionable new treasure caught my eye this morning as we made our daily drive to school. By the time I had gone around the block to get a closer look, another driver had pulled up beside it. We eyed each other as we both approached the curbside goods. Luck was with me however. Though she had a gentleman with her to help carry the item, he was not impressed with it. It took me several tries to somehow insert it into our car. Now it has been washed, dried in the sun, and painted inside. All the past Halloween costumes fit in it! So there it is, one good side to city living. -Polly

Before and After

I have a unique opportunity to show a before and after here. Almost never do I think to photograph the item of clothing or cloth that a project starts with. This finished scarf may look familiar if you have been reading along here. Now I have finally listed it in my Etsy shop. Happy April! -Polly

More Scarves Finished, More to Make

I have finished sewing a few more scarves. This one is made from a cotton striped shirt, and a piece of very fine floral silk. This is the last of the red paisley with a striped wool twill. I hope to have both of these listed on ETSY in the next few days.

And, more wrinkled silk was acquired yesterday. Right now though, the weather is too nice for indoor work.

-Polly

Three scarves finished

Maude is green wool and silk paisley. Eunice is quilted cotton.

Clara is made of the same green wool as Maude, but this time with a brown floral silk.

-Polly

Baby steps here

I spent most of today trying to figure out a package for scarves that could be mailed. I make nice block printed bags for the scarves that I sell in person. Having a carry bag arrive in the mail did not make sense. The helpful person at my local PO says this will mail first class. Just the answer I was hoping for. On the drying rack, I have more scarf ingredients from the thrift store. One pair of green wool pants, and two silk skirts. All have been washed and cut apart. All the little boy school hours of this week are used up, but I will get to these. Baby steps here.

These little friends are completely protected from the snow outside, yet they do make spring seem possible. Yes?

-Polly

Thrifty Village

Now it is time to pack away the village. All through the year I seem to find these little houses at the thrift store. They are only a few dollars, but they usually have not been painted very carefully. The yellow one here is just the way I found it . The white church was an unpleasant stucco color with brown windows. I spent 45 minutes painting it , and now it is a favorite. The yellow house may get the same treatment next year.

-Polly

Happy chairs

The chairs are looking festive in their new old pillow cover seats.

Several new projects.

Cranberry update.
10 and a half jars of cranberry sauce. One pound of frozen berries for later.
All socks and shoes are dry again.





I found three chairs like this one at my local thrift shop. Also two velvet pillow cases that ought to fit the seats.

These are just in time for Thanksgiving if I can manage to put the seats together. - Polly