saving – A Cottage Crafter

Update on what I’m making

Hi all, I have been working hard behind the scene to complete something that I have started!

I have quite a few on the go and I really do need to stop my head from turning into a crazy mad woman haha.

I have a hexagon cardigan that both sides have been started and I could finish it in one to two days!
I have a crochet t-shirt that I tried to get finished before the sun went down on Sunday.
I started a sock pattern that turned into a bed sock as it was far too bulky.
I started another sock pattern but it wouldn’t go round my feet and I’m really thinking it should be pulled back a bit and made into mittens (hmmm, I wonder?)
I’m on with a lovely pair of fingerless mittens that I think look absolutely fabulous but I just can’t seem to get the pattern on the thumb part to look right!
I have a sewing project of making as many heat pads as I can create and sell for a way to save water and to stop rubber hitting our landfill sites.
Another sewing project of handkerchiefs, also to help the environment from too much waste.
I have started (last night) to make a 0-3 month cardigan for my friends that have informed me that they are expecting their first baby.
For the last 4 years I have had a shawl on the go and I must finish it sometime.
And I have lots of cotton yarn that I make into dishcloths. Another great idea I have to be more eco friendly.

I seem to have many great ideas and need to focus on just the one thing really.

It’s such hard work trying to work out what I should make first, but I will eventually I will get to the finish line with some of the projects. I think I will have at least 4 completed before the end of September! What do you think?

So there you have a preview of some of the things I’m currently working on.

Please leave a comment to let me know what you think is going to be the first finished.

See you again soon blogger friends

ZJ xoxo

Clean & green living!

Well, I love to have a good read of books if they get me hooked on the first page.

I’ve been following a lady on Instagram, Nancy Birtwhistle, who has been sharing reels of how she uses natural products to clean her home, clothes and more! She is an extraordinary lady and has even been on the TV showing us her tips.

So earlier this month, I went out and bought her book, Clean & Green, and was instantly hooked! The tips in there are fantastic and I needed to get myself some products to make these brilliant cleaning products.

So once all the products had arrived, I got on with making my very own eco-friendly cleaning detergents.

Works great with my newly knitted dish cloth!

I was so overwhelmed with how good the bathroom looked once I’d cleaned it that I had to make myself the fabric conditioner (as everyone loves fresh smelling clothes!) It smelled good but I wasn’t convinced it was going to make my clothes smell nice, until I tried it. Oh my goodness my clothes smelled lovely and since then, I’ve not used the ones you get in the supermarket. Job done!

Then I decided that I wanted to see more tips from Nancy, so I went out and bought myself her next book, Green Living made easy!

Still impressed with everything written within and looking for ways to do things so much greener in and out of the house, I showed them to my 15 year old son, who is now also hooked and for the first time in his life looks forward to doing the cleaning!

Once we have Christmas and New Year out of the way and we all get back to normal again, I will try some of the recipes from the book.

Now, if you’ve wanted to be a little greener and haven’t really got a clue of where to start. Go out and buy these books, they will change your life for the better and save you money too!

All the best for the new year folks, happy reading 📚

ZJ xoxo

Socks!

Near enough every one of us wears them! Socks are just the greatest invention every to be on my knitting needles! I can’t seem to get enough of them. I love making all different colours of ankle socks that make wearing my walking boots a joy!

I started knitting socks 4 years ago when I was challenged to do something out of my comfort zone because I needed something small to do when I was on a cruise!

The challenge was accepted and I knit a great pair of socks for my Son. He still wears them to this day and he wants to learn the art of using dpn’s just like me! At 15 an autistic it would be a little bit tricky for him to do I think?

After the first pair I decided to make another, this time I understood the pattern and made them within a few days. So then a 3rd was cast on.

Last year after having made a few socks for both myself and my son, I decided to take the leap of asking my own patterns. It was quite interesting trying to work out how to fit a pattern into the correct amount of stitches. Eventually I managed it and my first pattern was born. The dragonfly!

I’m ever so proud of these socks and found it was the simplest of patterns to learn to grasp.

Since then I’ve been able to make a few other patterns. I hope for them to be published into a book someday. Take a look at the pictures below of all the other patterns I’ve completed.

If you like any of the products pictured please find them listed on my sum up shop on http://acottagecrafter.sumup.link or http://www.esty.com/shop/acottagecraftershop

Are you eco friendly?

Since the gas prices have doubled ive had to cut down on what I use. It amazes me at how many electrical and gas appliances we use on a daily basis.

During March we were all informed on the rise in gas and electricity costs that were due to be in place from 1st April 2022, so I thought it would be best to start taking action now!

Taking action!

I stopped using the heating as much and demanded my husband and son to add another layer if they were cold. Given that my husband is in his late 60s he has tried his best to do this, my son finds it great to wrap up in the blanket he knitted himself. I, being a knitter have just worn most of my woolly makes, (including socks!)

The first few days of April were cold and down to freezing temperatures, so I had to put the heating on for a short time to warm us all through. The evening was the same, but I tried to time it with the bedtime schedules. Luckily the weather warmed up shortly after and we were able to keep the heating off. Now it was down to cooking and showering!

Cooking

So our cooker (owned by the landlord) is gas. The hobs, grill and oven all get used quite frequently. But on one particular day in March the grill refused to stay lit! The landlord notified the man for the job only to find the safety for the ignition had broke, it needed a new one and was going to cost as much as a new cooker to repair it! The landlord vetoed that idea and said she’d get back to me on that.

Later that same day after talking with her husband decided to drop off a halogen air fryer they had spare, (there was a great offer at Xmas so they bought it!) They came round the next day with it. I have to say I was not feeling the love and thought to myself here goes my savings on gas!

Once we got it set up I thought I’d make a plate of chips for lunch. Thinking this was going to cost a fortune I took note of the smart meter, £0.46p, okay here goes…

20 minutes later chips perfectly cooked I checked the costs, £0.48p. I was shocked, 2 pence for 20 minutes! That was amazing and I had to admit to I really thought it would cost a fortune to run!

Since then we have cooked, fried and toasted in the air fryer. For vegetables though we have used the hobs, but the hasn’t been using as much as the main oven.

Plastic

I’ve had many adverts for eco soaps and never really looked into them, until I’d finished my shampoo. I clicked on a couple but they were too expensive, but one kept popping up on Instagram with a code for “a free bar just pay postage” link, so I clicked on it. I found one for coloured hair and paid the postage like it said.

Once it arrived in its no plastic packaging I thought I’d give it a try straight away. It smelled great! Once my hair was dry it looked smooth and felt soft, perfect, I could not have been happier! This is the best shampoo I’ve ever had before, you should try it!

Slowly but surely I’m buying less and less products with plastic and I’m moving towards the better way of using bags. I even make my own reusable bags which are great for shopping!

Gardening

I’ve got into growing my own fruit and vegetables now (as well as flowers to help the bees!) So far I have some little shoots from the turnips, I’ll be able to have some really good casseroles with all the vegetables I’ll have.

So as it is, the saving energy part is a work in progress. Soon I hope to reduce my energy usage save a few pennies too! How well are you coping with the rise in costs? Let me know in the comments.

Thank you for reading. Have a good day x