Practical, cute and cozy

The other item which I have copied so far is something called a "warm wrap" at the craft fair, but most people call a hot pack. Rice is a popular filler and I had some on hand, so that's what I used. This was super easy to figure out, even without a model.

Sometimes it's hard to draw the line between being frugal and being cheap, or even mean. It seems to me that frugality is a virtue when you have a moderate income, a necessity when you have a meager income and a sin when you have a liberal income. Since I currently have a very limited income, frugality is a necessity to me, but I long to be more liberal in my spending in order to support some of the very deserving crafters out there. All this is said as an excuse to justify my recent sewing adventures. Having attended a lovely craft show this past Saturday morning, I was inspired to recreate some of the items I coveted but, alas, could not afford. I did part with a little money for items I felt I could not create - a machine embroidered dish towel with a cute saying and a pair of clever hot pads/trivets that were very well designed and made. I also picked up a microwave potato bag because it had been marked down to $3. The virtue of having something that was complete and ready to give outweighed my natural parsimony. I also thought it would be nice to have one to study in order to recreate it. I had read instructions on-line on how to make one, but they seemed difficult to visualize. So, that very afternoon I retired to my sewing aerie and figured out how to make it. Since I used material I had on hand - calico fabric for the outside which was bought over 25 years ago, a scrap of muslin "inherited" from the stash of my bff's mil and a scrap of cotton batting left over from a quilt, my cost was negligible. I am quite happy with how it turned out, but I haven't taken it for a test drive yet.