Sewing and Shopping.

Thursday is my shopping day, I pick Maggie up at 10.00 and we go off to Pontardawe. A quick trip round Lidl, perhaps a saunter round Home Bargains and maybe Poundstretcher and Farm Foods. Then back home, shopping unpacked and put away by 11.30.

I do not always buy much, fresh fruit and veg, milk and butter usually, flour, yeast and pastry fat every 3 weeks or so. The few tinned goods that I use I buy a couple of months worth at a time and cleaning products every couple of months. When I spot a bargain I snap it up, my freezers are pretty full at the moment so I am trying to eat out of them now. I did buy a great deal of cheese a short time ago, I popped into Tesco and there was a pile of good cheddar reduced to less than half price. I will not need to buy more for several weeks.
Lidl have a few things on half price every weekend and I use my head on what to buy. Their ready made burgers were on a while ago, they are 100% beef and worked out much cheaper than fresh loose minced beef. Ready to freeze and portion controlled, I snapped up a stack and froze down in packs of 2. I have made many meals from them and there are plenty left for the next month or so.

I am just as thrifty when I sew, I was up early this morning and had these made by 7.00. The fabric was £2.20 a metre from the Fabric Guild, I always buy enough fabric at a time to get free delivery.

I used a different pattern and just added side seam pockets. They are low waisted and a perfect fit for me. Fran will need 3" off the legs and the pockets raising by 3".

Then I picked out the free pattern that came with a magazine this month.

I made the cross over back style, as I was unsure about the style I used some old fabric and lined it, if I like it I will make a fully lined version.

Instead of one button on the back I used four as decoration. I will probably not make it again, the front neckline is 2-3" too high and the front really needs darts. Fran very kindly modeled it for me. Made in a very light fabric it may well hang better but I like substance to my tops.

I had another surprise through the letterbox, a very lovely bookmark. I already have it in use, thank you Rachel.

I have been doing some scrappy sewing as well, most of my small orphan blocks and HST have been sewn into blocks and are being made larger with strips of fabric sewn around them. I will show and tell when a bit more is done. I am using mainly blue scraps and strips as I seem to have amassed another small mountain of them.

Dinner tonight is chili and I need to go cook some rice.

                       TTFN                                              Pam