Homemade Rags

So I know that rags are supposed to be just that, rags. But who really gets motivated to clean when you have a huge pile of cut up old t-shirts? Definitely not me.

Over at Joyful Hope Gift Shop they sell the most beautiful bedspreads. They're second quality, so there's some minor imperfection, but you save a TON of money because of it. Our bedspread is from there and the only imperfection is that it was dyed in a slightly wrong color. Anyway, when these bedspreads are made, the ends of the fabric are cut off. At Joyful Hope, you can also buy these remnants! I have found these to be the most amazing rags.

I recently bought a bunch of remnants for only $2 and cut them down to rag size. I ended up with about 20 new rags!! Since they do tend to fray, I had Hubby (yes, Hubby) sew a zig-zag around all of the edges. After a little bit of Sewing 101, he can now sew an impressively straight line, fill a bobbin, and thread my sewing machine!

Now if only I hadn't already gone through my nesting phase and scrubbed my house from top to bottom. With a 2 year old, I'm sure it won't take long before they come in very handy!

My New Ring Sling!

Awhile back, Hubby banned me from buying more carriers to wear my babies. He didn't however ban me from buying fabric (although he probably will once he reads this post)! Which is how my adventure of sewing baby carriers began.

Several months ago, I was at our local surplus and salvage store and found a beautiful 100% organic cotton for only $2.99 a yard!! I grabbed it with the intention of eventually making a ring sling out of it. Months later, I finally sat down and worked on it.

I have a Maya Wrap that I absolutely love for wearing itty-bitty babies, they're great for nursing, sleeping, and they support them really well! The one that I have is a darker color that doesn't work well in the heat of the summer, so I've been determined to make a new one. On their site, I conveniently found a pattern to make their slings!!

After ordering some rings, I quickly got to work and succeeded in making myself a new ring sling!

I ended up paying about $12 for fabric and rings for my sling. If I had purchased an organic sling from the company, it would have cost $95! For only a few hours of work (mostly spent fending off a very curious two year old) it saved me an awful lot of money. Perhaps that's why Hubby hasn't banned me from buying fabric...

Disclaimer: I tried to get Peter to model the sling with me, but since he hasn't been in one for awhile he was constantly yelling "uck! uck!" (translation: stuck). I instead resorted to using one of his stuffed animals.

Italian Peasant Bread

The most economical way to feed our family has been to make everything ourselves. Of course, this isn't always a possible option, but it definitely does add up over time. As an added bonus, homemade tastes so much better!

We don't always make our own bread, but we try to as often as possible. We have made this recipe so often that I now have it memorized and even Hubby has mastered it!

Italian Peasant Bread

• 3-4 cups good, unbleached flour (I only use King Arthur Flour)
• 1 package (2 ¼ teaspoons) of yeast
• 1  – 1½ cups warm water (about body temperature)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ¼ cups Olive Oil plus more for oiling the bowl
• Rosemary (to taste) - optional

1.       Gently mix the 2 cups of flour, salt, yeast, and optional rosemary in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with dough hook.  Add 1 cup warm water and mix into a dough. (3-5 minutes)
2.       Slowly add more flour until at least 3½ cups are in the dough.  If dough gets too dry, more water can be added.  Dough should be heavy (not wet) and cohesive (not crumbly).  Use extra water and flour to control this.  It will be a little different every time depending on the weather.
3.       Add the oil, and let it incorporate into the dough.  Continue to knead for about 10 minutes. If too wet or extremely sticky, add more flour, adding 1-2 Tablespoons at a time.
4.       Check the dough by kneading by hand for a minute or two.  It should be smooth and elastic and well-hydrated.
5.       Move the dough to a large, well-oiled bowl, turn to coat in the oil and cover with plastic wrap.  Put the bowl in a warm place and let it rise until doubled in bulk 1½ – 2 hours.
6.       Punch the dough down, reform into a ball, turn to coat in oil, cover with plastic wrap and leave it for a second rise. (about 45 minutes  – 1 hour)
7.       Shape the dough into two free-form loaves and put them on a baking sheet lined with foil or parchment paper and sprinkled with cornmeal. (Instead of a baking sheet and foil/parchment, I prefer to use my stoneware with cornmeal.) Cover with plastic or a damp towel and let it rise another 30 – 45 minutes.
8.       Place the bread in a preheated 400 degree oven and bake until crusty brown and cooked through, 30 -35 minutes.

My Little Helper