362 thrifty days till Christmas

Cranberry's on the Grapevine???! 

Before Christmas I was given a jar of Cranberry and Orange relish by a lovely and very talented lady called Mary who comes along to one of the knit and natter groups I also go to. She had promised me the recipe if I liked the relish, and 1 large packet of cream crackers and a quarter pound of Stilton later the jar was empty and I had made my mind up that it was indeed extremely good relish! 

She e-mailed me the recipe, but as Cranberry's are not something I usually have in...well, I don't think I have ever actually bought a fresh cranberry in my life, I thought I would just pick up a bag as and when I could afford one.

Now this is where a good thrifty grapevine comes into play. Yesterday I received an e-mail from Mary marked "Cranberry relish - URGENT!"

Sainsbury's had a load of fresh cranberries reduced from £4 to 50p!  Now who of you would have been able to resist a reduction like that? 

A quick trip to Sainsbury's, 4 bags of cranberries (that still only came to half the original price of just 1 bag) and everything else I had in, and in less than 1 hour I had 3 jars of ruby red relish and 3 spare bags of cranberries popped in to the freezer to make more relish when I need!

Preserves are like the name suggests a way of preserving a glut of anything, I don't believe in buying expensive fruits and vegetables to make mine, instead relying on a glut on the allotment, or a friends apple tree, or from the hedge rows. Usually the only fruit I will buy are Seville oranges for my marmalade as they only grow in Seville, but with the cranberries I feel I have liberated them from a landfill site because lets face it, who eats cranberries all year round? and we all know how much good food supermarkets throw away.

Mary has kindly let me put the recipe on my recipe page for your use, she points out that it is her adaptation of a recipe by Saint Delia (the boozy bit) so please have a go - if you can get CHEAP cranberries!

363 thrifty days till Christmas

I am as always trying to tidy my sewing room. Now matter how much I throw out, sell, tidy, give away, with in a week of there being floor and bench space, it has usually all vanished again. I don't buy very much new sewing materials these days, but I am always having a lot given too me! I belong to a couple of knit and natter groups and where there is one craft, others follow. Most of the ladies at these groups now exactly what I use, what I like, what I am looking for, and every time they have a clear out I get bags of goodies. Vintage lace, fabric, paper, ribbons, you name it, they have had it, and now I have it!  Besides this I am an incredibly untidy person. I can't help it, and I long to be a tidy person. 

If money were no object I am sure by now my little box/sewing room would have been transformed into a storage savvy area, but as money is always tight the room is full of random shelves from mum and dads kitchen, an old cupboard with the doors removed (as there wasn't space to open them) a couple of old office draws, baskets, boxes, tins...well you get the idea. I have to climb over stuff that hasn't yet been sorted out and bags of wool, just to get into the room.

I have decided that I need a set or two of free standing book shelves to place against the last bit of free wall but as I can't afford anything at the moment I have put out a plea on 'FREEGLE' 

I joined this web group a few years ago when it was called Freecycle - I'm not sure why it changed to freegle, but it did. 

If you are not familiar with this concept, I urge you to look it up. 

Basically it is a way of getting rid of almost ANYTHING that is perhaps not good enough to sell but is far too good to go into landfill. It is also a way of receiving stuff as well. 

You put out a Wanted or an Offered, let people know what it is you are giving away or what you want, and hopefully you will be inundated with people who either want what you are giving or have what you need. 

If you are lucky enough to 'win' an item it is up to you to collect it, if you give something away, then it is up to the recipient to collect it from you.

Ourselves, we have received a double bed, a single bed, 2 gorgeous sofa's, a microwave, a tea chest, grout whitener, fabric, yarn, toys - to name just a few! we have got rid of a sofa, 2 beds, a wardrobe, files, books, an arm chair, fabric, yarn and all sorts more. 

It is a fantastic idea, and ours in this area seams to work pretty well without incident plus they are all over the country. Even if you just sign up with nothing to offer, it is a revelation to see what is offered and what people actually manage to get hold of! 

So Keep your fingers crossed someone has an old set of bookshelves they were going to get rid of and they come our way, one day I WILL BE TIDY!

364 Thrifty days till Christmas

On Christmas Day and Boxing day I did NO crafting. I had been knitting and sewing presents right up to 8.30pm on Christmas eve, and wanted to sit back and think about what to do next, as I have previously mentioned Hubby and Dad's birthdays are both in the next week, but I didn't think I had a hope of getting anything else made for them! 

I have spent those 2 days 'off' pouring over the gorgeous books I got for Christmas, mainly baking books, and a wonderful history of British Magic that has seen me having a sneaky lie-in for the past 2 mornings while I read.

Anyway, to get to the point, last night I was bored stiff without a project to get my teeth into - I wanted something easy, pretty, and thrifty. 

Now while this particular project didn't start out thriftily, I think it has ended up thrifty, and it is the principal behind it that counts! 

A couple of years ago when my purse seemed to have a little spare cash in it every now and again I indulged myself with 1 ball of Noro knitting yarn. As anyone who has bought or looked at it will know it is NOT cheap. A jumper can cost over £150 to knit in it.

I started to knit a shawl with my 1 ball, but I soon ran out and had to buy another 2 balls, they ran out and I bought another - by this time the shawl had cost about £40 and was still too small to put around my shoulders! 

I cast the damn thing off and left it for 18 months in a cupboard, discussed with myself for spending all that money on something so useless!

About 6 months ago my Mother insisted I let her pull the shawl back, which she did, and since then it has been sat in 1 giant ball - staring at me menacingly. 

Last night I started to knit it into a swirly scarf. I am LOVING IT!!! and can tell it is going to end up really long so it will wrap round many times. And who knows, I may even sell it and try to recoup some of the expense!

There is not much recycling of wool these days, acrylics are relatively cheap to buy, and not as many people knit from necessity, but my Grandma would often pull back a jumper that one of my uncles had grown out of and knit something up for my mum, she would knit sleeves from shoulder to cuff so if the cuff became worn or frayed she could unpick it from the cuff and replace that bit, she re healed and re-toed socks and never threw out anything that could be re-used.

So, if you have some yarn hanging around that needs knitting, get on with it, if you have something you made but don't like, pull it back and make something new! 

My twirly scarf pattern is available for free (there is a tab at the top of the page) or click on the picture!

365 thrifty days till Christmas

After eating up some of the left overs from Christmas day at Mum and Dads, Taryn pointed out to me that even though we watched several programmes by various exciting (or was that excited?) Chef's on how to make delicious and unusual left over turkey recipes we always end up making 'butties' (British for sandwiches) with just a bit of everything left on them, still, we have not had to buy any food for 3 days!

Today Mr Juicy and I had to brave a 'Supermarket' as all the bulbs in the kitchen had gone, and although I have an ample stash of tea lights, it wasn't going to cut it! 

As we had to drive to a nearby town to visit family we made sure we went to a supermarket on the way to save on fuel, and as always I had the above 'mantra' firmly fixed in my mind. As you can imagine the left hand side is the side I seam firmly planted on. 

We bought EXACTLY what we needed and NOTHING else, in fact we did not even venture down any sale isles because the temptation of a bargain I don't need and cannot afford can be very strong! 

You may recognise the mantra from the Money Saving Expert's web site, and my advice is that if you have never been onto the site, click on the mantra and go take a look, there is something for everyone there, and even better, sign up for the weekly news letter! 

oh, and thanks for the comments and idea's - keep them coming, 366 thrifty tips is a lot to come up with! 

wrapping paper

wrapping paper, a photo by juicyfig on Flickr.

366 Thrifty days 'till Christmas 2012

Ahhh, I hope a wonderful Christmas day was enjoyed by one and all! 

We had a lovely morning opening our hand crafted and carefully chosen pressies before a chaotic, noisy but very tastey afternoon at my mums with my Brother and his clan, then back home for Dr Who? and Downton Abbey.

And so to my new challenge - a whole year of blogging a thrifty tip or action EVERY DAY for a year, and as was pointed out, we actually have an extra day this coming year - What a mammoth task! hehehe

This is NOT aimed solely at next Christmas, it is to get me through all the different events plus daily life! we have a plethora of birthdays as usual, a few weddings (4 in the next 2 years so far) and all the other usual events, Easter etc! I am determined to save money, mend the house, eat better, exercise more, well, you know, the usual resolutions plus more - and the sooner the better.

I already have Mr Juicy's Birthday looming large on New Years Eve, and no idea what to get or make him as I kinda threw everything into Christmas for him, then on the 3rd January it's my Dad's Birthday. I know these events occur every year at the same time but I am never prepared and consequently they both tend to end up with reduced Christmas food items from the supermarket. 

Anywho - back to my first Thrifty Day, (only 365 left!) 

Baby Fig and I are determined to not spend ANYTHING on wrapping paper this year, it costs a fortune and is usually just ripped off and thrown in the bin, so Taryn the bag fairy had away with every gift bag as soon as it's gift was removed and came home with a stash to keep us going for ages - plus any that are torn or damaged around the top we are going to cut down and customise.

I know it sounds extreme and not much of a saving, but this is something we have done before, no one ever notices it is recycled and like I said, it just ends up in the bin in the end. 

An image that blogger won't let me upload!!!!

Only one more sleep till Christmas!

Well, it's almost here, just one more sleep to go! 

On Boxing day I will be starting a personal challenge to blog every day for a year, the theme will be 

"365 frugal day's till Christmas"

I have been a very lazy blogger this past 12 months, but 2012 is an even numbered year so I am sure things will go better than they have this year - not that it's been a bad year, I just don't seam to have got to where I was hoping to get!

Here is a Christmas Essential!

it would not be Christmas without Kermit the Frogs legs as he carries Tiny Tim home singing the Christmas Scat

A Parliament of Owls - How wise.

A Wise old owl lived in an oak

the more he saw, the less he spoke

the less he spoke the more he heard

why can't we all be like that wise old bird?

My Grandma recently sent a copy of the Wise Old Owl to my niece for her to put on her bedroom wall. It had been years since I had heard this little poem, and for something made up of just 4 lines, it is one of those stop and think little rhymes.

With the state of our country at the moment this would be good advise for our government to stop and listen to the people for once, and as a group of Owls is called a Parliament - I thought it was quite apt to go into full Owl production! (well, it all made sense to me!)

So these little guys are the result - Owl brooches made from gorgeous felt and 'up-cycled' fabrics and buttons!

Then, I became all nostalgic for the 70's - my formative years from birth to 10 years old and remembered these little ladies

Sunbonnett Sue. After doing a bit of research it transpires that she has been around shading her face from the sun for over 110 years! it is such a lovely appliqué pattern to use though, and she looks so sweet - so more brooches! 

My Folksy Shop had been getting smaller and smaller of late so making these gave me a real creative boost. The freshly tidied sewing room now need tidying again, and Owl production has continued in the form of soft toys and soon will be transferred to cushions! Baby Fig has also convinced me to make black felt moustaches with brooch pins on....not entirely sure what thats about!

Another new enterprise in the ever more enterprising juicy household is Mr Juicy's new found button making skills! He has been very busy searching out unusual woods that are 'Spalted' - this is where fungi has started to colonise the wood resulting in these amazing 'zone' lines. He has been cutting and sanding and drilling and polishing both the wood and the tips of his fingers. I have used a few of them so far and the rest he is hoping to sell - so keep your eyes peeled for his new Folksy shop (we are waiting for their big November relaunch of the site!)

And finally - an embroidered angel - Baby Fig thinks she looks like a Moomin, so she will probably not be going on sale! 

As usual life is complete chaos in the JuicyFig household. I thought kids were supposed to get easier as they get older? Baby Fig has gone back to collage to study hair dressing. I am getting LOTS of free hair cuts and colours, but this can only go on until I have no hair left! we also seam to have plastic heads turning up clamped to tables and smelling of setting lotion. Mr Figs wooden buttons are leaving a trail of sawdust, shavings and sandpaper in the most unexpected places, and my sewing room has had to have all the wool removed to fit in the fabrics, so now I have wool in bags boxes and baskets in every room, waiting for a 'clear out' which for me means reorganising it all into colours and weights then maybe getting rid of one ball. 

Right - Back to the wool sorting!

The preserve of the poor!

It has been ages yet again since I wrote anything here. Weeks are flying by and I always seem to be busy without having that much to do!

I have been a busy house wife making jams and jelly's from a glut of plums on other peoples trees. I have been baking bread on a more regular basis while Mr Juicy has also been working on his own gluten/dairy free loaf - When he is successful all is well, when it doesn't quite work out the way he wants we all know about it as he gets the stinkiest wind you could imagine! (so bad it actually woke me up the other night!)

We have put up with a broken oven for months, using only a halogen cooker from Baby Figs last flat, but finally could afford to get the oven fixed and I am baking all sorts - well, mainly Yorkshire Fat Rascals with my own twist (basically replacing the dried fruit with anything in the cupboard!)- but bread, puddings and biscuits are very comforting this time of year - All my warming stews get made in my treasured stove top tagine these days, one of the BEST cooking pots I have ever owned!

There has been a huge abundance of fruit this autumn which is always a sign of a bad winter to come - I have never seen so many Sloe's in the hedges. As soon as we have our first hard frost I will be out there gathering them up for a bottle or two of Sloe Gin. The only problem with all this cooking baking and preserving is the vast quantities of sugar everything requires. ~I think I should start buying 1 bag every week of the year.

Things have been slow on the crafting front. The craft fairs I have done have been so lovely and friendly but not very profitable once stall fee's and petrol costs are taken into account, so I have chosen just 3 to attend up to Christmas (besides my Folksy and Etsy shops) 

At the top of this post is one of the rag wreaths I have been making, and above are a couple of scarves ready to be sold.

I have had a big tidy up of the sewing room recently. It is a tiny box room with far too much stuff in it, I had been thinking about trying to rent a space as a workshop, but we really are totally skint - so I have had to make the most of space we have. It is really difficult to make anything of any size, especially my beloved quilts, but I am determined to work around these issues - I even managed to squash our old computer in there with the intention of 'writing' - I have make a start on a book about thrifty living and old fashioned home making, mainly inspired by my Grandma's life. I can't see it being finished any time soon though, every time I start to write it either turns into a rant or splits off in 10 different directions. Keep your eyes peeled though, I may be out here soon asking for ideas, suggestions, opinions and tips!

So - That was a very quick update (waiting for mare Fat Rascals to cook!) I shall leave you with this photo taken from the sewing room window the other day. The structure that frames it is Whalley Viaduct.

Are YOU ready for Christmas? a de-stash special!

Before anyone tries to have me murdered...and yes, I know it is only September, but honestly, I am thinking of YOU! 

I have been having a long overdue clear out in my sewing room. It is SO difficult for me to part with fabric, but it is so long since I made anything with Christmas fabrics I thought 'what better time to get rid of some' then if anyone buys it they have over 3 months to put it to good use before the festive season is upon us.

So - bellow is a sample of some of the fabrics I have put onto e-bay today. They will be listed for 7 days (ending Sunday 11th September) and everything starts at 99p. P&P is really cheap and I will combine shipping for multiple wins!

So, if you are into your sewing and desperate for a new project or even just some fabric to add to your stash - pop over and take a gander!

(click on a photo to take you to the auction)

and if you want to look at them all - click HERE! 

Happy September everyone!

ps. I have been adding to my SUMMER SALE over in my etsy shop, you never know there may be the Ideal Christmas present for someone there...!