Monday Message

"We urge all Latter-day Saints to be prudent in their planning, to be conservative in their living, and to avoid excessive or unnecessary debt." President Thomas S. Monson, October 2008 Priesthood Session, General Conference

I have been thinking this would be good to have as a topic this week. I am still under the weather blowing my nose boooo…grateful for lotion filled kleenex.

My husband has other shoes but he has this pair that are more comfortable, more comfortable he said than any shoe ever so he kept wearing them even when they looked like this…

I picked it up one day this week and looked at it. I thought it maybe was laced with leather strip but no it was a string type fiber and I thought ok, I got this. I pulled out some black linen type thread then I got out a yarn needle, an awl a beeswax candle, a pair of pliers and scissors. I cut my string then ran it through the bottom of the beeswax candle several times. This was to strengthen the string and make it waterproof. Then I sewed up the shoe using the obvious holes. Three, though, were going through double layers of leather so I used the awl and pliers to pull the needle through. 

I tied it off and he will get more wear out of his favorite shoes - he was surprised.

I will point out I had all these things on hand...

-Beeswax candle is a decoration I had
-Fiber from my weaving basket of fiber
-The yarn needle from my knitting bag
-Awl from my basket making tools
-Pliers from tool box
-Scissors I have for many things, the pair I used was from weaving bench.
-My knowledge…from sewing I learned the beeswax thing and sewing and basket making for the actual lacing. Knitting skills for how to easily thread that yarn needle.

Even feeling rotten it was something I could do sitting down.

So see, you do things all the time from skills you have learned without thinking. It is good to have skills on which to draw, so keep working on your skills.

This was one of my frugal things I did this week. Here are some frugal ideas…

https://www.sisterswithasystem.com/blog/use-it-up-wear-it-out-make-it-do-or-do-without-other-frugal-principles-to-live-by

https://harvestlanecottage.blogspot.com/2013/06/forty-ways-to-use-it-up-wear-it-out.html

http://www.providentplan.com/601/use-it-up-wear-it-out-make-it-do-or-do-without/

http://www.morningalliance.com/use-it-up-wear-it-out-make-it-do-or-do-without/

http://www.makeitcoats.com/us/sewing-life-skills-mending-101/ - I stuck this here as a reminder to build supplies and skills

We were driving in a town where there was a homeless lady walking, her pants were ripped along her bottom part of her seat and down about eight inches. I often wish I would see her again, I would hand her a sewing kit. How many people have the most basic of sewing kits? How many people do not…?  Do you have thread, needles and scissors maybe some buttons? Can you imagine not being able to mend your family’s clothes? Even having someone else do your mending is costly.

http://frugalmeasures.blogspot.com/2016/07/monday-message_18.html - the story in here about the oranges has stuck with me ever since I heard it. I think we don’t think it will ever be us. But if you have had to go without anything it is not hard to see that it is possible.  I think of all the people in the hurricanes and forest fires having nothing, it is very sad and it will take so long to get their lives going again. My daughter was telling me one lady is living in a tent and is about to have a baby, can you imagine how hard that is for her and all the others?  

You might say how would a sewing kit help? Having sewing supplies on hand will make it helpful to help I wish I had had one in my car for the lady we saw.  Think how much this lady would have wanted that orange and how very little there is in a travel size sewing kit.

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=how+to+reuse+yarn+from+sweater&docid=608016528321350358&mid=210BB90DA508F70D1BDB210BB90DA508F70D1BDB&view=detail&FORM=VIREHT

I love this gal. Did you even know you could do this?

So if you want to learn to knit or crochet but yarn is too much this could be an option. Yarn is expensive, I have seen it in person for thirty five dollars a skein. Yes, it isn’t the Walmart kind it was several years ago now that I saw that.

The gal above shows you what kind of sweater is a good choice. You may even have one you do not like hanging in your closet or see one from the thrift store.

I know many knitters are going to thrift stores to do this very thing to get the good yarns.

http://frugalmeasures.blogspot.com/2014/10/monday-message_20.html - here Gus is showing us unraveling a sweater.                                                                 
Keep building your supplies, building skills, living frugally and helping those in need.