2020 Fashion on the Ration Challenge

PipneyJane

CapricornLass said:

Gosh  - I'm away for a few days and you've all gone into overdrive with your knitting and crocheting !  Creative things too!  I'm afraid that all I've done is shorten a lined woollen skirt for my mother (an absolute brute) and do sashiko embroidery over the patches in my son's workshop trousers!

What is sashiko embroidery, please, @CapricornLass?  I've never heard of it.  A photo of your repair job would be much appreciated.

- Pip

Cherryfudge

I thought this recycling mishap might amuse you: I’d been given a ‘string bag’ pattern and decided to try it out with a bit of stash wool that had obviously been used once already, as it was all crinkly. Then I happened to have the iron out so I ironed the rest of the ball. It wasn’t very long but as I did it I thought the ironing board was smelling a bit hot, so I moved the yarn around. 

Of course, it wasn’t the board that was overheating: good job it’s a string bag not a nice jumper I’m trying! The yarn has gone distinctly stringy in patches! 🤣

skogar

Many thanks for the advice Laura. I thought I'd worked it out but it wasn't looking as I expected so I wasn't convinced. Good to read through your logical approach - when I first started I forgot that I would be going the opposite way. I think I had worked it out but wasn't sure it looked right. I wasn't sure about the purl one below either -- it looked a bit odd to me. I haven't done knitting into the stitch below so wasn't sure I had got it right. I did read somewhere that it takes a bit of time before the  pattern becomes clear and I've persisted a bit further and it's looking a bit more convincing now so finger's crossed. It would have been easier to follow the pattern and knit it flat but I dislike sewing knitting together and if I knit it in the round I don't have to.

CraftyLittleLisa

I am always impressed with how much crafting everybody does.  Those quilts are gorgeous.

I have done a few little things recently.  On the clothes front I made myself a top for Christmas out of some fabric I got from one of my subscriptions boxes - that is 3 coupons.  I have also managed to finish the lace wrap I spoke about previously.  It wasn't too lacy so the pattern was quite straight forward so I managed to finish that a lot quicker than I thought I would.  That was made out of wool in my stash so that is zero points.  I think that means I have used 63 and a half coupons this year which with the coupons I brought over from last year leaves me with 21 and a half left.

I have also been sorting through my crafting supplies to try and declutter it a bit.  I have made a felt elf tree decoration (a free gift with a magazine), knitted one silver star with another one half way there (another free gift with a magazine) and also finished embroidering a decoration on some curtains for my dolls house.  This time of year is definitely the time for crafting.

PipneyJane

Since we’re so close to the end of the year, I’ve started thinking about the Fashion On The Ration Awards.  Do we do them again this year?  Do you think they need tweaking?  They are currently:

Platinum Award - less than 66 coupons spent
Gold Award - 66 coupons spent
Silver Award - between 66 and 86 coupons spent
Bronze Award - between 87 and 100 coupons spent

Personally, I think I’ll end the year with 10 coupons in hand.  I have been admiring a pair of boots for ages at Celtic Sheepskin and I have a £20-off coupon.  They aren’t cheap but I have barely spent anything from the Clothing Fund this year.  What’s holding me back is deciding on the size.  I usually take a 5 but, given that I wear socks under my boots, I probably should order a 6.  (@Laura_Elsewhere I’m also considering the boot maker that you recommended, who makes period shoes.  Can’t decide.)

@Cherryfudge, does that yarn have a high acrylic content by any chance? I can’t imagine a natural fibre behaving like that.

@CraftyLittleLisa, agreed.  I think it’s because we’ve spent most of the year in some form of Lockdown, so we’ve used our spare time well.

- Pip

Cherryfudge

PipneyJane said:

@Cherryfudge, does that yarn have a high acrylic content by any chance? I can’t imagine a natural fibre behaving like that.
- Pip

I think it will be 100% acrylic, Pip. It lost its ball band long ago, and the bit I ironed started as unravelled from I-don't-know-where. Incidentally the ironed bit knitted up nicely, and I think the rest will stretch when the bag is in use, so it won't be too obvious. The bag is proving a bit of a challenge as it looks nothing like the photo on the original but I'm putting that down to yarn difference as I used almost the right needles. (Size 11 not 12 because I didn't have any 12s). The original yarn for the pattern was something called Lyscord and I haven't been able to find details of it apart from it was used to knit gloves.

I wasn't here for previous awards but I think there are a few people who might get one, especially as it hasn't been a clothes-buying sort of year (I was awarded extra bedding for my bomb damage and work introduced a uniform which has saved a few coupons, so I feel relatively virtuous). I didn't expect awards but I think there are some available dates in the Village Hall calendar, aren't there? And it would be nice to put an 'at on and try your latest cake!

catherinekate

Fisherman's rib is my bugbear, I always seem to make a mistake slipping off the top stitch at the end of the k1b and end up with either an ever increasing number of stitches, or a large number of holes!

I'm all for the awards especially as I will be platinum - I think I've only spent about 40 coupons to date.

Is anyone thinking about new years' resolutions yet? I usually make one around reducing consumption and waste but struggling to think of anything this year as I haven't bought anything and also thrown very little away, and certainly the early part of 2021 looks like it's going to be very similar. Maybe I am a changed person?!

CapricornLass

Hi, Pip,

Sashiko is a Japanese technique used for mending and repairing fabrics - cotton used to be horrendously expensive in Japan.  Its basically running stich, done on the front of the fabric,set  into precise lengths, and arranged  in elaborate patterns ( something that Yours Truly still has to master!) 

I think most people tend to get a piece of cloth, draw the design on, stitch it with sashiko needles and thread (needles are longer and more flexible than a normal needle, and the thread is quite thick) and then make something out of the cloth.  However, its brilliant for mending.   It creates a very solid,almost padded repair over a hole with a patch behind, which is why I used it on Calum's workshop trousers.  The poor lamb is trying to go self employed, and is currently leading a very hand to mouth existance, and he was trying to cobble them together himself.  Mending his trousers so that he can carry on wearing them in the workshop seemed a good way to help him.  They wont win prizes for beauty, as my stitches tend to be a bit irregular in size, and wander all over the place, but they will last until he able to afford to buy new trousers.  Unfortunately I cant post pictures, as I've already given them back to him!

CapricornLass

I've no problems with the awards, Pip.  I will fall into the Platinum category - just.

However, I started the year with an extra 19 points which I carried over from last year....  Does that mean I will now go forward with those 19 and the 2 carried over from this year?   There wasn't an end date on the coupon, was there?

Laura_Elsewhere

Cherryfudge said:

The original yarn for the pattern was something called Lyscord and I haven't been able to find details of it apart from it was used to knit gloves.

Acc'g Rav, a cotton named 'Lyscordet' is made by Twilleys of Stamford... https://www.ravelry.com/yarns/library/twilleys-of-stamford-no-5-lyscordet-crochet-cotton