Category Archives: recycling

Make your own charm squares

quilting, recycling

Hello Dear Reader,

I have the most beautiful box of donated fabric which I will cut into charm packs and jelly rolls, ready to use them in a quilt for my dad. I was going to make him a quilt from all my old scraps but now I have enough fabric from donations and shirts to make him something rather special. Here’s a how to cut your own charm squares.

A pack of charm squares consists of 42 squares all measuring 5″ by 5″. It’s much easier working in factors of 12. A square that starts by being 5 X 5 will sew down into 4 X 4. I buy Hobbs batting from America - some one’s got to buy their stuff! That is in imperial sizes, for example - King size batting is 12′ X 12′. I can easily do that maths of how many squares I need when everything is a factor of 12. Simple maths for me please!


Onto cutting charm squares. I iron and lay my folded fabric onto my cutting board. As usual, I trim the edges and them cut away from me, in 5″ intervals.


I then end up with 5″ wide strips. In an answer to you yesterday, Dear Reader, you can make your strips or squares any size you want. There are lots of on line tutorials for quilts made with charm packs; I just make my own and then follow their designs at a smaller cost.

Next, I turn the strips to lie horizontally, line my ruler up at 5″ intervals and then cut away from myself to create 5″ squares.


I’ve had so much fabric donated today, that I’ll be able to make my dad a quilt from all new fabric. I’ll add in sashing from recycled fabric as well. I’ll need to cut 120 charm squares to make dad a twin size quilt (to fit his single size bed) and I’ll sew larger strips of the donated fabric to create the backing.

Now you’re going to wonder what I’m going to do with the scrappy quilt that I am making? Mmmm? I think it might be time for another give away!

Until tomorrow,

Love Froogs xxxx

Read all about it!

recycling

Hello Dear Reader,

Our magazines and papers come from trains and recycling bins. I walked past the recycling bin outside our supermarket this morning and saw a lady putting these into it. I asked her if she minded me having them and told her I would recycle them once I’d read them. She seemed happy enough and they came home with me. I wouldn’t dream of spending £4 on a magazine just to ogle at glossy pictures, but I don’t mind having a browse if it’s recycled. I shall put my feet up with a cup of tea and enjoy these this afternoon. If I were to buy just one magazine a week, at £4, then I would spend/waste £208 a year and if I were to buy a newspaper for £1.20 (we used to get The Guardian - now I read it online or which ever newspaper Dearly Beloved finds on the train) a day, then we would spend £312 a year on newspapers. The easiest way to save £500 a year! Read the recycled!

Until tomorrow,

Love Froogs xx

Froogs’ big day out

charity shop bargains, recycling

Hello Dear Reader,

We went for a mooch around Saltash today. A near by town on the banks of the Tamar and nestled under Brunel’s bridge. It has excellent charity shops, some independently owned food traders, cheap parking and pleasant walks. Some of the houses were built in the 1500s and still occupied and much in demand for local homes as they ever were.

I love the little shops where you can still queue and natter and the local catch up on the gossip.

The quayside was full of boats, most pleasure boats were out of the water and tucked away for the winter. Even in the winter greyness, it’s a lovely place to nose around.

St. Luke’s hospice shop caught my eye as everything in the window was 50p! Including the utility ware dish.
I also bought a large linen table cloth, reduced to 83p! (not in the window, but in the ‘reduced’ basket by the till) Dearly Beloved bought himself some books and left them with some books we’ve already read.

Now that’s a bargain, a huge piece of top quality fabric with so many uses.

My ‘Johnson Bros’ bowl is a tureen without a lid, but I’ll still add to my ever growing collection of utility ware.

I dug out some spare batting I had stored at home……..

and made Beryl the teapot a cosy! It’s a bit big so it’ll be cut down to size and ‘refitted’ later. How much fun can a girl have for £1.33!!!! I didn’t need either of these but was on the look out for bedding to cut into fabric for quilts; I’m also aware that charities need all the money they can get.

Until tomorrow,

Love Froogs xxx