Ask yer Granny!

Bitsy_Beans

I think what strikes me reading this thread is the stuff like turning collars on shirts etc it's all lost information. Its only down to this forum that I am even aware that it's possible to do something like that (although if I am honest I haven't got a clue what's involved ) It's a completely lost of art of make do and mend. How are people ever to be educated when the wear it and chuck it era is so deeply ingrained.
It's funny my H has lots of work shirts, some cheap from supermarket and only a couple that were from a very expensive retailer (bought in the sale). Guess which are holding up to the day to day wear. The suggestion to buy quality over quantity is a good one although some retailers I am finding (like M and S) aren't cheap but aren't turning out to be good quality either where do you recommend to shop for quality clothing that will last. I am fed up of my cheap knitwear bobbling after a few wears and going out of shape. Where would Granny have shopped?

Patchwork_Quilt

I'm afraid Granny would have unravelled another jumper and reknitted the wool into the new jumper! I do wish I could knit at more than a snail's pace.

bobble_hat

Excellent Thread! Mardatha! Both my step-grannies are no longer with us and I never knew my real Nannies.

I did see the effects of my Nan's thrifty ways though. She turned cuffs and collars. She also 'turned sheets', when the middle of the sheets started to wear she would cut straight down the middle and sew the outside edges together. I remember all her flannel sheets had seams down the middle when we were children, so she'd been doing that for years. I believe she also used to use sheets to replace worn shirt tails, as they never got seen but helped tuck the shirts into pants.

She also used shopping bags, the same shopping bags were used by my Granddad until he had to move into a home.

When I left home the first thing I made sure to buy on my shopping list was a bag of oatmeal, because I'd been brought up knowing that if you had a bag of porridge you could make any meal stretch. :rotfl:

As I didn't particularly like porridge, I always found something I could conjure up before I resorted to the oatmeal, so it worked. :rotfl:
I've learned to love porridge now.

Also my Granddad always said, possessions are a burden, never own more than you can carry on your own back. We have a ridiculous amount of 'stuff' in our house and it makes me really nervous because it seems so wasteful. I'm constantly having a clear out.

Butterfly_Brain

I vaguely remember my maternal grandmother who died when I was 5, my other nan died long before I was born.
But my Mum had a real struggle to bring 5 of us up on very little money because Dad was a brickie and work was intermittent, and he took some really strange jobs just to make ends meet. We lived in a flat in London that had 1 bedroom a bathroom, shared toilet (yuk) and 2 main rooms which were not that big so Dad partitioned the front room so that it was big enough for a room that would fit 2 sets of bunkbeds in and that was our bedroom (3 girls and a boy) the youngest was in a cot upstairs in Mum and Dad's room. We had a gas fire in the Kitchen and an open fire in the front room, any other heat was from a paraffin heater, that was moved to any room that needed a bit of warmth such us our tiny bedroom and it was taken out as soon as the chill was off, if we were cold we just had an extra blanket on the bed. The winter of 62/63 was really tough and Dad burnt a lot of furniture just to keep us warm. All mum had to do laundry withwas a burco boiler with a mangle in the bathroom.
Making paper chains with gummed paper at Christmas and there was always lots of glitter.
The rag and bone man to get a few bob to eke out the money.
Penny for the Guy was a great highlight of our year we stood by the tube station and got loads of money.
Schools stayed open even if there was no heating, we just had to sit in our coats hats and gloves. Breakfast was usually porridge with a dollop of jam and a cup of tea, school dinners were vile but you were made to clear your plates (shudder at tubey liver, lumpy mash served with an ice cream scoop and watery cabbage) But loved the puds.
I remember mum doing a lot of plate pies, macaroni cheese, egg and chips, stews, soups and stretching every bit of food as far as she could. she knitted all our cardis and jumpers and even dresses.
We moved out of that awful flat in 1969 when I was 11 to a four bed house in Stevenage. OMG we thought that the house was a palace ! It seemed so big to us and only 2 children to a room what luxury! We had parkray central heating ( how I wish I had that now) and we were surrounded by fields and we found a local farmer who let us help out on the farm and we used to take mum home stuff from the farm shop as payment. I loved the smell of the fruit and veg and the apples were the smell that I remember most. We also went blackberrying and even scrumping.

I remember the power cuts, 3 day week, hospital strikes, miners strikes, bin men, gritters etc and the sugar shortage and bread shortage ( caused by the bakers strike) in 1974.
I was working in Tesco at the time and it was hell we had to ration everyone to I bag of sugar, 1 loaf of bread 1 bag flour, yeast etc because everyone went mental and fights broke out. People were paying up to £5 a box for candles if they could find them anywhere.

Times were tough then but people were in the same boat and everyone pulled together.

But I have gained a wealth of knowledge from my Mum who has now sadly gone and I do thank her for it because it has helped me get through a lot of tough times.

mardatha

Squeaky that happened to my youngest when he was learning to fly cast for salmon. Next door neighbour was a gamekeeper and he snipped the end off the hook then pulled it out. Yukkk!
Totally agree with Bobble's grandad re "stuff". "Stuff is an anchor round your neck, you worry about paying for it then you worry about it breaking I dont have "stuff", and when the kids were wee they didnt have fancy things...but we did all eat round a big table every meal all together.
Maybe the great Granny Secret is that they were older and had seen it all, and they knew what was really important in life?
Maybe we had silly pretentions or expectations... but once you hit this forum you learn to ditch them eh. Egg and chips is a great meal, esp when its yur own tatties and yur own hens eggs:) Added to your own HM bread - it's fantastic.

mardatha

Could I add that hand knitting now isnt cheap... wool costs the earth. But on the other hand you can mend it forever .
Bitsy, just cut a collar off an old shirt and try it - reverse it and sew it back on so that the good side is upwards and the worn bit plus the sewing is hidden underneath...?

pws52

My Gandparents are long gone...and I am a Gran myself.
I remember buying the Shirley Goode Cookbook in the 1970s after watching her on Pebble Mill at One. I still use a lot of the recipes from that and they remind me of the stuff which my Gran did.
I also read her Blog and she is still a great fount of frugal knowledge and advice....just like my Gran was!!

redlady_1

Well, I am very lucky indeed. Longevity runs in the family and at 42 I still have both of my nans. My great grandmas both lived to a ripe old age too. When mum and dad split I used to go to Nanan as she was known and she taught me how to crotchet. When she died the only thing I wanted was a small copper kettle that I used to play with. I look at it fondly and remember her. The other one had pheasants hanging in the parlour and was a strange one (used to insist on combing my hair in exchange for home made bread and proper butter) but the serious old styler is my nan.

We lived with nan and grandad (he is still alive too) for a while and she has taught me so much. I call her the "stain removal" as any stain, she knows how to get it out, she dresses game, paints, lays carpet, cooks anything, knits (tiny tears has much to thank her for). Grandad is the gardener and provides the food for the table. Mum, well she is the one who taught me all my practical and DIY stuff. I remember going to work with her in the holidays (she worked on the land) and so a strong work ethic was instilled in me from day one. She taught me how to sew. Funnily enough it is me who taught mum the best way to use her breadmaker so it is crossing the generations.

I had little materially growing up (never went without mind) but heck, it was made up for in love and time. When I said recently to mum that I thanked her because she gave me her time she said "it was all I had to give". Oh how I blubbed!!!

So, this weekend I am off back up north to see them again - and Fat Knacker is coming too! I swear nan looks forward to seeing her more than me :D

But dont ever try to get me to eat mashed potato. I am still scarred by my mums! :rotfl:

Softstuff

grandma247 wrote: »

OO Mardatha this is a brilliant idea. I agree with those who said about learning new "old" skills .
This age we are living in is wonderful for that. The internet is a very rich resource for learning almost anything.
If you do a search for a particular food you would normally buy ready made it is almost certain you will find someone on the net who has made it from scratch or at least a passable substitute.
utube and video jug have tutorials for how to's and there are probably others.

This is so true. I'm on a kick right now with finding out how near to scratch I can get, looking at making vinegar, forming sourdough with yeast from the air, making soap. It seems that even when you do a lot of things yourself, there's always a step further back you can take it.

mardatha

Last year I started a "really old style" thread after reading some American pioneer type books - because I wanted to see if it was possible to avoid shops altogether for as long as poss. Not total self-sufficiency as in growing grains and rearing animals for meat - but having always enough in the house to live on even if it snowed for 9 months of the year
So the ideal granny's pantry would be very well stocked wouldn't it?
I wish mine was still alive so I could ask her how to make meat go further and how to keep hens happy in wet weather, and how to grow huge onions and and...!