2018 Fashion on the Ration challenge

PollyWollyDoodle

Oh dear Pip - deep breaths, it will all be fine. Focus on that lovely yarn in your suitcase. It always calms me down to think of making something.

Laura I really love your inventiveness, not sure I could make a top in 45 minutes! The pics of your day-glo vest have shown up fine, it looks stunning. Can we see a finished picture please when it's done?

Laura_Elsewhere

Pip, bear in mind that you are in NZ... it's the home of the most kindly laid-back folk you could meet. Whatever it is that might go wrong, it won't be a problem... so no tizzying needed! You'll be mid-air by this time so will probably not read this til later... WELCOME HOME!!!

Polly, many thanks! I shall indeed post a pic of the finished vest. It should be jolly cosy, and will be worn as an underlayer, and to make me smile with its cheerful colours on a cold winter morning!

thriftwizard

How many coupons would you think for a cotton polo-neck top? I've been hunting round the CSs for ages but drawn a total blank; they're all viscose, which isn't much good in a house with original Edwardian drafts! I wear them under wool jumpers or cardis as I can't wear wool next to my skin. So I cracked & ordered a couple online... are they combinations, or blouses?

Laura_Elsewhere

Viscose is a cellulosic fibre, so it's actually pretty good at insulating you! Maybe get one next time you spot one in a CS and see how you get on with it? Depending on weave/knit it could be as warm, or even warmer than, your cotton ones!

Since you're wearing the cotton polo-necks specifically as an under-layer, I'd say they're combinations!

thriftwizard

Must just be my skin, Laura - viscose always feels really cool to me, as if it's wicking heat away somehow. Or maybe it's something in the knit?

Laura_Elsewhere

thriftwizard wrote: »

Must just be my skin, Laura - viscose always feels really cool to me, as if it's wicking heat away somehow. Or maybe it's something in the knit?

I think that may well be the type of fabric - certainly lots of viscose I have doesn't feel cool, leggings, tops...

Nylon actually DOEs wick away heat, though - why anyone wears nylon tights in winter to try to stay warm, I never understand!

Laura_Elsewhere

Right, it's been a week of calamities and confusions here so I am taking control of the things I can take control of, and getting on with some sewing!

I have curtain to make - I put header tape on one and it works really well, but I have to take it down now and take the tape off so that i can rip and re-sew the vertical seam joining two widths of velvet. These are my childhood bedroom curtains, unused for ten years or more, and the seam seems to have been done with nylon thread, back in 1979, so it's just shredding with movement now!
So, a pair of curtains to re-sew vertical seam on, add lining, add header tape, gather and put up.

Also, i have a pair of wide-legged trousers sitting cut out and ready, since the summer... I'd like to get those done. I need to cut out lining pieces for them, too, and find my buttons and find some for the fly.
And that satin dressing gown is sitting, cut out and waiting for some cream lining...

I need to GET ON WITH IT ALL!!!!

And no coupons!

PipneyJane

Good evening Ladies

The goose is in the oven - we do Christmas Dinner on Christmas Eve - and I’ve had 5 minutes to sit down, relax and tally everything up. Still have a couple of presents to wrap, but I thought I’d check in here first and wish everyone a relaxing and happy Christmas.

It took me the best part of a week to recover from the jet lag from my trip. I have never had it that bad before, so I’m wondering if it was because of the additional flight time from Auckland. It’s just that little bit further around the planet. We spent 29.5 hours in the air, which is at least 4 hours more than I’d suffer flying in from Melbourne (home).

Laura, you are right. The Kiwis are lovely, kind, friendly people. The staff manning the Emirates desk bent over backwards to get DH and I sitting together on our flights back to London, although we had to wait until they’d opened the gate to confirm that they’d succeeded on the first two legs. (Both of those flights were “fully booked”.).

The only incident we had flying back was that my Swiss Army “widget” got confiscated in the airport in Bali. I was an idiot leaving it in my hand luggage but it’s travelled the world without incident, even going to the Olympics. Also, can someone please explain to me why, when you have to go through security to get to Airside in the first place, they put all travellers through it again, including those who’ve just flown in? That happened in Singapore, Sydney, Bali and Dubai (where we went through security twice, even though we were inside the “B” terminal with no Landside access).

The Stansborough Grey Mithril yarn arrived on last week. I went to the sorting office on Thursday to pay import VAT. It’s now up on Ravelry.

I have one more yarn purchase to declare from New Zealand. In the Victoria Arcade in Auckland, I found New Zealand Fabrics & Yarn, the first real LYS I’d seen. Naturally, I explored. The window display consisted of cubby-holes of yarn and some French Navy coloured Merino-Possum-Silk, sport-weight yarn kept calling my name... That’s another 8 coupons spent, pushing me 25 coupons over. If you have a look at the third photo on Ravelry, you’ll appreciate the humour of the shop-owner. So true.

Finally, when I got back to London, I took a long hard look at some of my work clothes and decided that I needed a new suit, something wool-blend and classic. I ordered one off the Hobbs website: double-breasted jacket, skirt and trousers. It’s arrived, it fits, but since I can’t wear it until 2nd January, I’ve decided that I’ll deduct the coupons from next year’s tally. (Is that cheating??)

I will put the 2019 thread up next weekend. Thank you all for your friendship and encouragement this year. It’s been lovely seeing how creative you’ve all been.

- Pip

PollyWollyDoodle

Ooh, love that jacket. I'm definitely up for this in 2019 - it's really helped me to focus on whether or not I really need something.

I've finished the year with all my coupons spent, the last two went on some fabric, that hasn't quite gone to plan but I'll post about that on the Sewing thread. I'm going to need some more clothes next year, I am losing weight successfully for the first time in many years and if it carries on after Christmas (not going to happen for the next week or so!) I'll need to replace a few things.

Thank you for instigating the thread, Pip, it's been really inspiring. Happy Christmas to you too.

Laura_Elsewhere

Merry Christmas to all our Rationistas! And thankyou, PipneyJane, for starting us all off!

I am determined to make 2019 within my coupons - i will! i will!

I have tons of fabric, tons of yarn... and there are lots of second-hand things on eBay... so I should be able to keep to my coupons!

Like Polly, I'm hoping to lose some weight in 2019. I'm off to a good start by joining the Ramblers Association, going on one of their "social walks" as a freebie on jan 3rd to see how I get on but expecting to manage okay and join up.
I shall be knitting good socks, then!

But I want to get myself organised properly this year... I can see that I wear some clothes a lot, and other clothes rarely, and I want to consider carefully why that is: colour, size, style, what is it?

And then I can spend my coupons wisely, so that what I get will last a long time, be worn as much as possible, and look and feel great too!