Note: If you’re wondering how to sewing and not break your budget, I’ve written a guest post for Money Saving Mom titled Five Ways to Save Money on Sewing Supplies. There are some great ideas in the comments so be sure to read those also. In the hustle and bustle of getting ready for children’s …
I hope you guys had fun making your pincushions last week. We had a great time and everyone finished their project here at the house. So, now that we have your pins and needles all organized we’re going get on with another useful project. Making hotpads. There are a million and one ways to make …
Chocolate cake was one of the things we always made from scratch when I was growing up. My mom’s chocolate cake recipe was famous among my friends – it was a true old fashion chocolate cake recipe. Several years ago I got a package from one of my dad’s sisters and inside was a copy …
I hope you had a great time last week making your needlebooks. We had 8 girls, a couple of moms and 7 boys who played Risk and Clue! We had a really great time. We didn’t quite finish the books, so the girls took them home to finish them. I can’t wait to see them. For …
We are beginning to pull up our garlic. This year has been a little disappointing. I think I could have watered and weeded them a little more often. But that’s okay, I will probably have enough to can with my tomatoes and onions. Next year I will purchase bulbs specifically to plant. I’ve always just …
My granny’s old-fashioned bread and butter pickle recipe is just what you’re looking for in a pickle. A crunchy pickle with the perfect balance between tangy and sweet! “I doubled the recipe because this is my daughter in laws favorite pickle. These are absolutely amazing. I don’t even like pickles and even I think these …
Our first project for Summer Sewing School is to make a needlebook to keep all of your needles organized. Depending on how you design your needlebook you will learn how to sew on a button and how to sew a blanket stitch, a whip stitch, a running stitch and a back stitch. Supplies Needed: Two 9″ …
There are a few basic hand stitches that everyone should know. You will be amazed at how much you can do with these few stitches. If you are stitching an item that will not be washed you do not have to use real knots. Thread your needle with both ends of the thread so that you …
This week is preparation week for our Summer Sewing School. Since this class is geared toward non-sewers I wanted to give everyone time to get their supplies together. I’ll repost the supplies each week for the next week, so don’t think you have to have everything the first week. If your just starting here’s some …
Basil pesto is a great way to enjoy the bounty of the summer garden. This frugal basil presto recipe is made with just a few flavorful ingredients. To keep costs down, we swapped out expensive pine nuts for pecans. The flavor is still bold, as basil pesto should be, and the cost is quite inexpensive. …
Note: I’ve mentioned before that all my boys have various levels of sewing ability. They all have learned to at least sew a button and do some simple mending. So while most of the stories I draw on will be about Phoebe since she is by far the most proficient sewer, please remember that sewing …
When we planted our Roma tomatoes this year we put some of last years compost in the bed. For all the other beds we used aged hay from a friend’s horse and goats. By the time we planted the Romas we were out of farm “stuff”. I had started my Romas from seed and a …
Stuffed squash is one of our favorite meals during the summer months when the garden is overflowing with different squash varieties. This vegetarian stuffed squash recipe has a Tex-Mex flare that my children love, especially when we use scallop squash but you can use whatever summer squash, zucchini (courgette) or delica squash you happen to …
This weekend our local homeschool group sponsored a graduation ceremony for any seniors who wanted to participate. This was the first time we have been able to go, it was very touching. There were 10 students participating, I personally knew all but 2. There was a video presentation for each student that each family put …
Phoebe and I have finally ironed out all the details for the Summer Sewing School. At least I hope we have. I wanted to be sure that the projects were, in fact, something that an elementary or jr high child could not only do but also enjoy doing. Phoebe helped me quite a bit with this. …
This easy pasta salad is packed with fresh vegetables and topped with a zesty homemade dressing. Pasta salad is so versatile that you can use whatever vegetables you happen to have on hand or in the garden, you can use homemade or store bought dressing, and you can also easily make it gluten-free, dairy-free, keto …
Since we homeschool we have the freedom to arrange our schoolwork in a way that works best for us. We’ve done it all… schooled year round with a predetermined schedule; schooled year round because that’s just how life worked out that year; started school after labor day, took holiday from Thanksgiving until New Years and …
We have some dear friends whose oldest son is getting married in a few weeks. Carl and I love weddings and try really hard to make the gift that we give something that is truly useful – something that goes beyond picking a gift off of a registry. Because sometimes newlyweds really don’t know what they …
If you go out to your garden and the squash that has been doing just fine, is suddenly wilted, you probably have vine borers. We have these every year and since we don’t spray our plants we will probably always have them. We’ve learned how to manage them over the years so that their damage …
We now have 3 different kinds of chickens, we have a mama and a daddy chicken, 17 “teenage” chickens and 12 new baby chickens. We gave our two small ones to a friend who doesn’t have a rooster. And lost a couple of the Red ones we bought. So we got 6 Orppingtons and 6 Barred Rocks. We …