Make do, Mend and Minimise in 2015

misstara

Hello all

Today I got some free bagels as part of a product testing survey that I took part in so had a couple for lunch with HM lentil and bacon soup that I made this morning. I've kept a couple for lunch tomorrow and popped the rest in the freezer for another day.

Have spent far too much time browsing Pinterest today, has given me lots of ideas

zebedy

Embroidery is a good idea halls -thanks - I've not tried it before. Do you 'draw' out the word on your fabric first and embroider over the top? I might have to google this weekend to find out about embroidery stitches

vhalla1478

It's best to draw it on first, whether you're an experienced embroiderer or not. A great thing to start with as it's not so big that you'll get fed up of it before you've finished and you can practice all sorts of embroidery stitches. women (and men) have been embroidering for millennia - it's very soothing once you get going. Good luck!

Anne_Marie_2

Prinzessilein wrote: »

And, just thought I'd share a little laugh (well...I gasped first...then laughed!)....A friend of the family was moaning - their little lad (started school in September last year, so he's about 6) was in tears, he NEEDED a new pair of trainers. ...and they had just bought him a new pair for Christmas! ...When asked why he needed a new pair so soon, the friend said 'well the laces snapped on one of his Christmas ones!'!!!!!......she buys a new pair of trainers when one of the laces break?????...she seriously needs to come onto this thread!.....(and yes, I DID show her how to knot the snapped lace as a short-term solution...and pointed out that shops sell spare laces for a fraction of the price of new trainers!)

:eek: That is really scary. What is it with the throw away all society these days?
I used to always have spare black, brown and trainer laces in the kitchen drawer. Woe betide anyone not telling me they had been used!

THIRZAH

I do names on draw string bags in chain stitch-it's what we used at school for our shoe bags. It's a very easy stitch and quite quick .

joedenise

I had to chain stitch my initials on my gym shorts! I had to do an extra initial as my sister had the same initials as me, LOL! Her's were DR and mine were DMR. I know I was really annoyed to have to do an extra initial as I hated sewing!

Denise

Prinzessilein

Just noticed a new series on BBC at 8pm tonight...'Eat Well For Less'....supposed to have some tips for shopping and cooking on a budget.




Don't know that they will have anything new to say....we are a pretty shopping-savvy bunch here! But it might be worth a watch.


If nothing else, part of the show should be an eye-opener....the blurb says that one family they look at spend £260 a week on food, to feed 4...that sounds rather a lot to me!....and they have £1000 of food in the cupboards/fridge/freezer.....

cheerfulness4

Couldn't resist and have been baking this afternoon once my door locks were fixed. Isn't it typical that he arrived just as I'd started making dinner so had to postpone. Then the job was bigger than he thought so he had to go off and returned just a a blizzard was coming down and I'd popped the CHeating on for an hour.
I was heating the street and couldn't get out of the lounge to shut the heating off. :eek:

Anyway, biscuits got baked and fishcakes got made.



The fishcakes were fine but I think I preferred them before I added the coriander and onion. This may be because I had to use a little ground coriander instead of fresh. I'd love to try them again with parsley. (once my own parsley is big enough).

Eat Well for Less starts on BBC1 at 8pm so I'm getting the kettle on and will put my feet up with a cuppa and one of my biccies while I watch.

Prinzess- I'm getting B&Q vouchers from consumer pulse, as is DH and we're slowly getting all our house done. He has told me he's now going to make me a little greenhouse so they will all be saved for materials for that now. :j

misstara- I could spend hours looking a Pinterest. Its a time gobbler but don't you get great ideas from it. I love it!

meritaten

while searching through the coat/shoe cupboard today I came across a coat I haven't worn for a couple of years. its from Roman Originals and its quite a nice coat. looks like suade with a fake fur lining. except it was grubby and looked old and tired. I was about to bin it when I thought 'try washing it'! so I did with bio powder, loads of fabric conditioner and on a 30 wash. It came out looking pretty good - and weighing a ton! no chance of drying it outside so I put it in the Tumble dryer on 'Cool' for an hour, with half a tumble dry sheet (I always cut them in half, they are so expensive).
it looks like new!
I still may not wear it - it swamps me at the moment. but at least if I do take it to charity shop I wont be embarrassed to donate it.

ziggy2407

Please could I join, Id really like 2015 to be my year!!

2014 was not a great year for me - I had a heart attack (massive shock at 44 with no real health worries apart from depression) followed by numerous chest infections and then to end the year - whooping cough. We are a 3 person family - me, hubby and son (aged 11), we have no mortgage (we managed to work hard and pay it off before we had our son), no debt just normal every day bills, we have one wage and child benefit - this year I'd like to make do and mend more than ever and spent last night reading through the whole thread and cant wait to get started. I regularly

order books from library (rather than buy)
craft (have lots of craft supplies)
can knit
can bake (but tend to stick to same recipes)
love comping
do lots of little "small things"

I am positive that I still have lots to learn

My last confession:
For Christmas 2013 I was bought a lovely sewing machine - it hasn't been used yet :(:o

Sat watching the BBC programme about eating well for less, hoping I might learn something new.

Thank you for all your inspiration