Homemade Quilts vs Store bought Quilts

How many of you have quilts on your beds during the winter? I know I do and so do my children. Today I would like to talk to you about quilts and how expensive they are. The last time my mother-in-law bought me a quilt I had to look twice and say that’s a quilt. I took one look and said it’s so thin how can this possibly be a quilt. I now use it for a throw over my quilt for a bed spread. Quilts are very expensive and very in thickness and quality and price. So I am going to show you several store bought quilts and homemade quilts. I think you know where I am leading to here, I own homemade quilts.

First the store bought quilts range in price from $25.00 dollars to over $300.00 dollars. These quilts can vary in thickness and quality. My mother-in-law always wanted my girls quilts to match their room and style. This can become very expensive, so I let her buy these quilts for them. But me girls always went back to their homemade quilts, because they were always warmer and thicker. Here are some store bought quilts in different thicknesses.

Now I want to talk about homemade quilts. I grew up with a homemade quit and still have one today. My girls have homemade quilts and so do all my nephews because I made them for them. My mother has a quilting frame which I used. You don’t have to have one to make a quilt by hand, but is does make it a little easier to tie them.  Here' is  my homemade quilt and my girl homemade quilts.

Making a homemade quilt is a lot cheaper and you can control the thickness for warmth. My youngest daughter wanted a blue quilt so I went to the store and bought two flat sheets, quilt batting, and yarn to match her quilt. If you do not have a quilting frame just lie your sheets on the floor and place your batting inside and sew up the sides. Next cut a piece of cardboard into a big square (any size you like). Use your square to mark where you want to tie your quilt. This will help keep your batting in place. When buying your batting always remember to buy washable batting.  After the winter season, I just wash my quilt and put it away for next winter.

My oldest daughter decided she wanted a patch work quilt, so here is where all your scrap material comes in handy. Between me and my mother, we sewed a lot of squares together to make the front of her quilt. The back of her quilt was a flat sheet. Then we used yarn to tie her quilt.

When I tied the quilts from the quilting frame I sat underneath and pushed the needle up while my mother pushed the needle down. This was fun for the girls to help out making their quilts. If you do not have a quilting frame just lie the quilt on the floor and fold the quilt as you go when you tie it.

My homemade quilts are warmer and thicker than store bought quilts because I can control the thickness. Plus I can make a homemade quilt for under $75.00 dollars. I have owned my homemade quilt for over 30 years now.  Have fun making and creating your own quilt and save money in the process from Suzie Homemaker.

How to Buy Cheap Clothes and Shoes

                When I was growing up with two older sisters and a younger brother, money was tight. I was taught from a very young age to save and to look for bargains wherever you could find them. Since I had the two older sisters I received a lot of handed down clothes, some I could not wait to grow into. Every summer I could not wait for the rummage and yard sales to begin. This is where you can find new to slightly used clothes at the fraction of the cost. For all the new moms out there, this is where you can save a lot of money on baby clothes. The only time my babies received new clothes was from the relatives. My children were brought up on rummage and yard sale clothes. Since I had two girls this was double the savings because everything was handed down to the second child. Another great place to look for adult and kids clothes is thrift shops and your local Good Will store.

            If you do not want to do the thrift shops or rummage sales try this out. Go to your favorite stores at the end of the season and shop the clearance sales. What I like to do is watch for certain items and wait until almost all of my size is gone then I buy. Some stores keep lowering the price until they are almost all gone this is when you get your best deals. Just be patient and watch then buy those items at a very low price. Another great way to save is to watch for stores to have their 80% to 90% off sales and they give you a store coupon which gives you and extra discount. I have walked out of stores with more than 10 items for under 50 dollars. I buy next year’s clothes at the end of the seasons and save a bundle of money.

            Buying shoes is a little harder but not impossible. End of season is another good time to buy but also watch for sales. Again be patient, some stores keep lowering their prices just to reduce stock. Buy when you think the price will not go any lower. Watch for some shoe stores to have buy one pair get the second pair half off. This is where you can sometimes even use sale items and still get the second pair at half price. My last two pairs of shoes cost me under 20 dollars. I have even bought tennis shoes recently for $3 dollars a pair so I bought two pairs right away so when the first pair wears out I have another pair available.

            To this day, I have never bought anything unless it was on clearance or 80 to 90% off. To pay full price for something is a waste of money. I pride myself on getting the best deal I can possibly get. This is like a game to me to see how much I can save on kids to adult clothes and also shoes. Be a smart shopper and save money in the process. Check out more saving ideas from Suzie Home Maker coming soon.