Keeping warm

We are starting to get some nice sunny days at the end of this long Winter. Hopefully it won't be long until Spring warmth is upon us.

2 of my friends just got their electricity bills... $900 and $1200! We were scared about this happening to us so we took drastic measures this Winter.

Luckily we have a North facing house which warms our living, dining and kitchen area during the day. At night instead of using the heater and electric blankets we opted for wheat packs.

You can buy these at the chemist and other places but if you have a sewing machine or can borrow one, then you can make your own for a fraction of the cost. Even I can make them and I am not an expert sewer by any stretch of the imagination!

You just need a bag of wheat (from an organic shop or health food store), material - I just used scraps and of course a sewing machine with cotton.

Here are a few pics of how I put mine together - very basic!

Fold a piece of material in half

Sew along two edges

Double-stitched, one side is left open

Turn it inside out

Approximately half fill with wheat

Sew the open edge closed,
hand stitch for a neater edge!

Pop in the microwave with a cup of
water for one and a half to two minutes
depending on your microwave