Now, if you’re a beginner who’s looking into tackling a quilt, you may at first be overwhelmed by the number of gadgets and amount of knowledge most quilting tutorials involve. I saw pictures of cutting mats and cutters, 3 different rulers, chalk, special pins, yada yada, and I got nervous. All I had was a basic machine, scissors, and a tape measure. Would that work?

After absorbing the basic format of quilt-making, I realized that for hundreds of years, young girls have been making quilts — without a myriad of tools from JoAnns! So yes! You can make a quilt with whatever you have, so long as you have a can-do attitude!

Okay. That said, let me now share with you a few links to get you started on your merry way!

Sew, Mama, Sew! has countless quilting tutorials for the very beginner. Just a few days ago, this most recent tutorial was posted. It’s for a small patchwork doll quilt — just the thing for a beginner project! But even if you want to make a crib-sized quilt, this tutorial shows all of the important steps — cutting, piecing, sandwiching, quilting, and binding.

Do better with a book? There are certainly hundreds of how to quilt books out there. I tend to like a bit more of a modern aesthetic in my quilts, and I’ve enjoyed having Denyse Schmidt’s book on my shelf, for inspiration and direction.

There are so many cool quilt ideas out there. Of course, there are the intricate patterns that quilters have been mastering for centuries. But there’s a whole new flood of ideas, too. I especially enjoyed watching Hilary of Wee Wonderfuls as she decorated her daughter’s nursery with unique doll quilts. Lots of different ideas! She’s only one such blogger. Once you start poking around, you might find, as did I, that quilting is so much more than Flying Geese in calicoes!

The baby quilts I’ve made have been very special to work on, and even more special as I’ve snuggled my babies in my own handiwork. And the best part? Embroidering, “Love, Mama” in the bottom corner!

Today I want to talk a bit about how menu planning helps me stick to my budget:

1. First of all– and this has nothing to do with menu planning, but I thought it worthy of mentioning– it really helps to decide ahead of time what the grocery budget will be. Whether it’s a weekly, bi-monthly or monthly figure is up to each shopper, but the simple truth of the matter is that there is no money-saving replacement for having a predetermined amount to spend. You may have to track your normal grocery expenses for a bit in order to come up with a workable budget amount, but it’s worth it!

For me, I prefer a monthly budget. This way, if I have a week or two in the month when there is family visiting from out of town or special holidays/events, I can spend extra there and then plan very inexpensive meals the other days/weeks to make up the difference. My goal is not to spend exactly $x.xx per person every single day, but rather to stick to $xxxx.xx/year in groceries.

2. “Mix ‘n Match” meals. In other words, when I plan a meal like salmon, I will almost always insert it between two less expensive meals (i.e. lentil & rice tacos, potato soup, vegetarian chili, egg & spinach casserole, etc.). This way, at the end of 3 days, our average dinner meal expense is fairly low. Once again, an inexpensive meal in my home might be expensive in yours; but I think you get the gist.

3. Keep breakfast and lunch meals nutritious yet simple. I really get away with this right now because my children are young and like repetition. They actually get disappointed when I don’t serve them PB&J for lunch and their absolute favorite breakfast meal is oatmeal (baked or regular)! You may like a bit more variation in your home, of course, but you don’t have to be fancy to make sure you’re eating whole grains (cereal, oatmeal, whole wheat bread), fruit (bananas, pineapple, apples), veggies (baby carrots, celery sticks), protein (peanut butter, tuna, eggs), and dairy (milk, cheese, yogurt) throughout your day.

4. Have a Master Menu List. This is a compilation of all the foods I like to make/my family likes to eat/I want to try, which allows me to salvage some creativity in my weekly planning (personally, I don’t think I could handle a rotating menu due to boredom issues) while still, well, planning! When I sit down on Monday afternoons or evenings to plan my menu, I pull out my calendar and my Master Menu List, which has all my favorite foods broken down by category– beef, chicken, fish, beans, cheese & eggs, sides– and plot through the week, marking down items I need to buy as I go. The money-saving aspect of this is that I can utilize what’s on sale at the grocery stores better than if I had a predetermined menu from weeks and weeks ago.

Regardless of what we eat and how much it costs, I think we all can agree on how great it is to save money, especially at the grocery store. I hope these tips help/encourage you in your efforts to be a wise steward of what God has given you!