The 52 Week Money Saving Challenge - Week #20

Welcome to Week #20 of the 52 Week Money Saving Challenge.  This week we save twenty dollars.  Our total saved to date is currently two hundred and ten dollars.

What a week we have had in Texas.  Literally, a tornado went RIGHT over our house (without touching down on us) Wednesday night.  We heard it, felt the pressure change, and huddled together in the laundry room until it passed.  The power has been off for nearly 48 hours.  FYI, more tornadoes are spawned in our county than any other county in Texas.  But, we are very blessed.  Family and friends are safe.  Early this morning, I took a very cold and super-fast shower before sunrise in the semi-darkness.  Brought the blow dryer to work, re-wet the hair, blew it dry, and marveled at the events of the week.  Let me say it again.  We are truly blessed.  Having no electricity in a total-electric home is a bit like camping out, but with a much softer bed.  On top of all that, we love grilling.  Hot dogs that we had for supper tasted almost as good as the ones you make on a camp out.

A satellite photo of Granbury, Texas before and after a 200 mph-tornado ripped through the area Wednesday night.

/ CBS News/Google Maps

I'm not sharing such personal information to get y'all to feel sorry for us.  We don't need any sympathy or assistance, but our neighbors in Granbury got hit pretty hard.  Look at the photo.  It is true that a picture is worth a thousand words. If you want to help, you can make a $10 donation to Red Cross by texting the word REDCROSS to 90999. The area called DeCordova near Granbury, Texas, was devastated.  Habitat for Humanity had worked hard to build that place up.  Over 50 of the 61 homes built by Habitat were destroyed.  If you are unable to  donate but want to help, please pray for them.  They need all the prayers they can get.

For weekly challenge updates, subscribe to this blog via blogger, google, or email.  If you prefer, follow me on Pinterest or Facebook.  Check out the icon buttons in the right-hand column of this page.  If you're new to the challenge, welcome aboard.  You can start this week with twenty dollars and add a little extra to the challenge amount each week until you catch up with us, or  simply begin this week as Week #1.  Whatever works best for you is fine.  For a free printable chart, check out Stuck At Home Mom's 52 Week Money Challenge.  Happy saving!

 

Dish Towel Tutorial - May Edition - 12 Months of Pretty Kitchen Towels

Recently I updated my kitchen by making some lovely new Kitchen Curtains.  They look so pretty!  In fact, they are much too attractive to be seen with our sad old mismatched collection of dish towels.  So, I made some fresh new kitchen towels to coordinate with the new curtains.   The desire was to have decorative towels that were inexpensive to make, so I chose muslin instead of the blank flour sack towels that were available.  Muslin is not as absorbent as flour sack towels, but it is so much more affordable! JoAnn's has lovely 44" width muslin fabric in bleached (white) and unbleached (natural) shades.  I got two yards of bleached muslin and two yards of unbleached muslin.  This is enough fabric to make a dozen dish towels.

I will be posting one new kitchen towel each month for the next 12 months.  Since we're already well into May, let's start with the May edition. The design for May is very simple.  This unbleached muslin kitchen towel is trimmed with red grosgrain ribbon, machine embroidery, and a blue broadcloth ruffle at the bottom.  PUMPKIN says it's too pretty to be a kitchen towel.  She thinks it looks more like a curtain.  It matches my Kitchen Curtains quite nicely.

 

Want to make some for yourself? I'm sharing the tutorial for this one.  It is very simple.


Supplies

Thread
2/3 yard of 44" width muslin
Scissors
Ribbon
Ruffle
Iron
Measuring tape
Sewing Machine

Instructions


Step 1

Wash, dry, and iron muslin fabric.  (Trust me, it shrinks!)

NOTE:  Step 2 is for people making more than two dish towels.  If you are making only two towels, skip Step 2 and go to Step 3.

Step 2

Rip fabric horizontally at 23" intervals from selvage to selvage.  New to Ripping Cotton?  It is easy and fun.  Click on the link for a brief tutorial.

2/3 yard = 2 dish towels

1 and 1/3 yard = 4 dish towels

2 yards = 6 dish towels

NOTE: My muslin was 44" wide and 72" long before laundering.  After being machine washed and dried, it shrunk to 69" x 43". If a miracle happens and you have NO shrinkage after the muslin is machine washed and dried, you should rip fabric at 24" intervals.

NOTE:  Now you will have 2 or 3 pieces of fabric that are approximately 23" inches wide and 43" long.

Step 3

 Fold fabric once across the center so that it is half as long as it was before folding.  With an iron, press the fold, making a crease directly on the center of the fabric. This is your cutting guideline.

Step 4

Make one cut all the way down the crease.  Now you will have equal sections of muslin that are (approximately) 22" x 23".  If you're making two dish towels, you now have two equal pieces of fabric that are the correct size for dish towels. If you are making more than two dish towels, repeat Step 4 for each strip of fabric.

Step 5

Serge all the way around four edges of the fabric (or machine stitch close to the edges all the way around the fabric.  Use your stitches as a pressing line, and press under all the way around the fabric.)

Step 6

Press under machine serged edges just enough to make a narrow hem as shown. If you are using a traditional sewing machine, you've already straight stitched and pressed in Step 5.  Fold under once more the same width as before and press.

Step 7

Clip corners.

Step 8

With traditional sewing machine, straight stitch through the center of the fold, going all the way around the four sides to create your hem.

NOTE: Repeat these steps for each dish towel you make up to this point.  Experienced sewers may want to skip hemming until it is time to attach trim and do embroidery. Starting with Step 9, we are just adding embellishments.  You can trim your towels any way you wish.  If you'd like to know how I trimmed this one, read on!

 Step 9

Pin grosgrain ribbon along the hem on top edge as shown in the photo.

Step 10 

Machine stitch the edge of the ribbon nearest the edge of the towel.

NOTE:  I waited until I pinned on the ribbon to hem this edge.

 

Step 11

Machine stitch straight down the other edge of the ribbon.
 

Step 12

Machine stitch ribbon vertically near left and right edge of towel and clip the end of the ribbon off close to edge.

Step 13

Pin ruffle to bottom edge of towel, right sides together, and serge (or machine stitch with 1/4 seam allowance).

Step 14

Machine (or hand) embroider left and right edges.  For this towel, the left and right sides have identical embroidery.  I added the word "MAY" with some fanciful flower stitches using gold thread.  Have fun with it!

I hope you enjoy making some fun and fanciful new kitchen towels.  If you follow this tutorial and make your own new towels, please share some photos of them with me.  I might be able to include some in an upcoming post.

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The 52 Week Money Saving Challenge - Week #19

Welcome to Week #19 of The 52 Week Money Saving Challenge.  This week we save nineteen dollars.  Our total saved now stands at one hundred ninety dollars. 

 

How are you doing with the challenge?  Is everyone saving the exact same amount?  Anyone putting away a little bit more here and there?  What can nineteen dollars buy today?  Oh, well lets see.  How about: eighteen items at the dollar store, a big jug of liquid Tide laundry detergent, a few packs of diapers and wipes, a pair of jeans from Walmart, dinner for two at Denny's,  a tube of eye cream, five gallons of gas, or movie tickets and popcorn.  

But what about Mother's Day?  Save your nineteen dollars and make something for your Mom.  She'll be proud of you!  Allow me to make a DIY Mother's Day gift suggestion. Actually, I have twenty-five suggestions that are all very low cost or free to make.  Check out my Mother's Day Gift Tutorials - 25 Quick Easy Affordable Last Minute Suggestions for Gifts Mom Will Adore. 

Here are a few of the photos from that post that are practically FREE to make and give:

Flower Box Vase (Kleenex box+newspaper!)

Framed Sentiment(free printable+dollar store frame)

101 Reasons Why I Love You Mom! Jar

Painted Flower Pot (upcycled painted metal can + petunias)

Book Page Jar Light

FYI, I'm fifty-something with grown children and grandchildren.  I personally chose all these gift tutorials for Mother's Day because almost any mom or grandmother I know would love at least one of them.  Especially if it was hand made by YOU.

For weekly challenge updates, subscribe to this blog via blogger, google, or email.  If you prefer, follow me on Pinterest or Facebook.  Check out the icon buttons in the right-hand column of this page.  If you're new to the challenge, welcome aboard.  You can start with nineteen dollars this week and add a bit extra weekly to catch up with us, or simply begin this week as Week #1 with one dollar.  Whatever works best for you is fine.  For a free printable chart, check out Stuck At Home Mom's 52 Week Money Challenge.  Happy saving!