2019 Fashion on the Ration Challenge

Laura_Elsewhere

I'm spending this week mostly getting properly organised after all the maelstrom of the last 4.5 months (my partner's son is now home! Still another 9 months or so with extensive metalwork around his damaged limbs, but astonishing healing of all the other injuries. Being hit by a car is *not* good for pedestrians...).

Anyway, because I'm now sticking to an old-fashioned Housekeeping Routine, I have set housework for each weekday and I finished today's much faster than I expected, so I have had a bath and washed my hair and then I neeeearly put back on my ordinary clothes, but suddenly had inspiration from You Lot and instead went and looked in my skirt collection and am wearing a skirt I've not worn for a couple of years because it isn't very well made, wonky hem and a rubbish waistband and so on... but it's lovely floaty viscose fabric, scarlet with pale blue, gold and black designs all over it, and mid-calf, flared and swirly, and frankly nobody is going to be staring critically at the hem and saying "that bit there, see when she stands still for a moment, look, see, it's at least an inch shorter than that bit over there..."

So I've got my lovely colourful swirly skirt on, with a blue vest-top I bought but never wear because "it doesn't go with anything" - well, actually, with a little black ballet-cardigan wrap-around over it, it looks great with this red-and-coloured skirt! Dark bright-blue ankle-socks, and plain black plimsoles - but I changed the plain black laces for bright yellow ones to add a touch of lively colour there too!

No coupons, and using two different items I hadn't worn in a couple of years!

PipneyJane

CAFCGirl wrote: »

Good day here! I managed to save my loom knit project by individually unpicking each stitch and then hook the previous one, till it was all back on the loom. Took about an hour. But then I was able to stitch a few more rows and bind it off properly, pull the corners together and stitch the sleeves and it is done!

It's a lovely spring shrug style cardi thing now, and when the weather improves with a white tank\vest, some light rolled jeans and toms style white flats, it'll look really crisp and fresh I think. The colour flow goes from aqua, through to yellow, mauve, purple aqua and grey. Very happy with the coupon spend for the yarn, and I've got nearly 2 cakes of it left, and something totally unique for the wardrobe.

Please post a picture! It sounds lovely.

I know you can’t upload a photo directly to MSE, so I upload my knitting photos to Ravelry (https://www.ravelry.com) and then link from there. If you aren’t already a member of Ravelry, please join. There are several loom knitting groups on there.

- Pip

PipneyJane

Laura_Elsewhere wrote: »

I'm spending this week mostly getting properly organised after all the maelstrom of the last 4.5 months (my partner's son is now home! Still another 9 months or so with extensive metalwork around his damaged limbs, but astonishing healing of all the other injuries. Being hit by a car is *not* good for pedestrians...).

Anyway, because I'm now sticking to an old-fashioned Housekeeping Routine, I have set housework for each weekday and I finished today's much faster than I expected, so I have had a bath and washed my hair and then I neeeearly put back on my ordinary clothes, but suddenly had inspiration from You Lot and instead went and looked in my skirt collection and am wearing a skirt I've not worn for a couple of years because it isn't very well made, wonky hem and a rubbish waistband and so on... but it's lovely floaty viscose fabric, scarlet with pale blue, gold and black designs all over it, and mid-calf, flared and swirly, and frankly nobody is going to be staring critically at the hem and saying "that bit there, see when she stands still for a moment, look, see, it's at least an inch shorter than that bit over there..."

So I've got my lovely colourful swirly skirt on, with a blue vest-top I bought but never wear because "it doesn't go with anything" - well, actually, with a little black ballet-cardigan wrap-around over it, it looks great with this red-and-coloured skirt! Dark bright-blue ankle-socks, and plain black plimsoles - but I changed the plain black laces for bright yellow ones to add a touch of lively colour there too!

No coupons, and using two different items I hadn't worn in a couple of years!

That’s good news about the Offspring.:T

You’re outfit looks lovely. Very cheerful and summery. Pity Winter’s popped back for a flying visit. The shade of blue in your top is picked up by the flowers in your skirt and matches your watch.

This week, it seems I will mostly be wearing French navy blue. Navy blue suit; navy blue cardigan; navy blue company fleece (it’s cold down here), even my jeans seem a darker blue.

- Pip.

CAFCGirl

A lovely combination of items there! I love how the colours from the skirt are picked out

CAFCGirl

https://pin.it/snbsibflfysbn4

I usually upload to Pinterest but I will try Ravelry.
This is a bad photo of it, and I'm wearing my cleaning clothes with it.

CAFCGirl

My new loom set has enabled me to make some make up removal squares. They take about 15 minutes each so I'm making up a bundle to put in a kilner had in the bathroom - not really ration challenge stuff but I'm feeling quite chuffed

Laura_Elsewhere

CAFCGirl wrote: »

My new loom set has enabled me to make some make up removal squares. They take about 15 minutes each so I'm making up a bundle to put in a kilner had in the bathroom - not really ration challenge stuff but I'm feeling quite chuffed

Excellent bit of work that fits right in with the principle of this challenge, even if not precisely within it - instead of paying money for cotton-wool produced with pesticides and bleach and hundreds of litres of water, or the even worse wet-wipes, either to be used once and thrown away, you have made something from textile you already had which can just be washed and re-used!

Excellent!

It was the very first thing I ever crocheted, washable make-up removing pads for my 20-something nieces, and I still use the experimental prototype ones myself for odd bits and pieces.... I did find I had to put them in a little bag for washing though, as they tended to go quickly into the folds of the door-seal and stay there til the end of the cycle, not being washed!

Laura_Elsewhere

Thankyou for the nice skirt comments! I'd only ever thought of picking up on the scarlet or black in the skirt, so it was a surprise finding the blues worked!

I've been listing what I actually NEED, in the way of clothes this morning. I wear a sleeveless pullover a lot, much of the year - I call it a slipover 'cause of being old-fashioned I wear it in cool summer weather over a t-shirt or short-sleeved blouse, or under a jumper in cold weather to add warmth without the arm-restricting effect of two jumpers!
And my poor old trusty slipover is literally wearing into holes after a decade or so... so I'm knitting a test piece with the gorgeous yarn my pusher/friend gave me last week, laceweight held double to approximate fingering-weight, and I shall make it a Priority Project to knit at set timetabled times throughout the day so it happens quickly - which is how my Gran would have knitted! 20 minutes here, half an hour there...

Crafty_Lisa_Hampshire

Laura Elsewhere and PipneyJane I did have a fantastic night out. The best night out in a very long time.


CAFCGirl - I know where you are coming from. I have also been doing the Frugal Challenge as well as this one and I have really noticed how my lifestyle has considerably improved on the eco side. It makes me appreciate just how far I have come.


I love the idea of having a Gold, Silver, Bronze result at the end of the challenge.


I am doing a dance show in May to raise money for charity and we now need to sort out our costumes. I did try and find something in the charity shops but it is quite a specific style I need. We need to wear Mary Quant 60s style black and whilte clothes. I had a quick look on line and saw loads of cheap stuff on Amazon but a) I don't like cheap and b) I don't like buying from Amazon. Miraculously I found in my pattern collection and old pattern that my Mum must have given me for a 1960s style shift dress which will be perfect. I bought myself some fabric and a zip and I am going to have a go at making something that is of a decent quality and that maybe I could wear again. I think that works out at 7.5 coupons. That leaves me with 46.5 coupons. I guess it may be less if I don't use all the fabric.


I love seeing everyone's photos. I would like to put some up but I can't work out how to do it. Can someone give me an idiots guide to how to upload photos from my phone.


Thanks in advance and also thanks for all the encouragement from everyone to everyone.

PollyWollyDoodle

Laura that skirt is FAB.U.LOUS (said in my best Craig Revell-Horwood voice), I love the colours. Glad to hear your partner's son is coming home.

I like the idea of 'Awards' - something to aim for. I've just spent a further 16 coupons - a pair of black trousers, essential for work and I couldn't find anything suitable second hand, and a multipack of M&S undies. I have been talking about making my own knickers for at least a year, and still not got round to it. Maybe I'll sacrifice one of the old pairs (my fingers went through the side seam - they are very old!) as a pattern. It doesn't take long to get through those coupons, does it.