2020 Fashion on the Ration Challenge

PollyWollyDoodle

Oh wow, that looks brilliant Laura! 

PipneyJane

Laura_Elsewhere said:

I've just acquired a new-second-hand copy of this - it's an entire book made up of a short well-written foreward and then just all the rest of it is full reproductions of the original Ministry leaflets from the war, on Make Do & Mend and also on Fuel Sense - including a whole section on the clothing coupons, in detail - running shoes were specified at only 4 coupons, compared to 5 for ordinary shoes! Slightly bizarrely, slippers were 5, but heelless slippers were 4... I suppose less labour involved, as well as a tiny bit less in materials. 
And we have been spot-on in reckoning modern knickers to be 2 coupons a pair - this specifies "non-woollen briefs (no legs)" as 2 coupons a pair! Those trying to make their nylons last, it seems what we call pop-socks - "pair of non-woollen half-hose" - were only 1 coupon a pair, compared to 2 coupons for other stockings. 

Anyway, I really recommend finding a copy - I jsut got mine online second-hand, after finding a copy of the companion volume of Eating for Victory, same Jill Norman intro, and again, reproductions of the original leaflets - although I do know it isn't 100% complete as I have the original posted to Gran during the war on making jam, and on Christmas recipes, and neither of those is in the book, so I'm guessing they just chose some out of the many, many, leaflets sent. 

https://jillnorman.com/index.php/book/make-do-and-mend/

Ooohhhh!!!!  Thank you, Laura, for the recommendation.  I am 99% certain that I have a copy of both books.  If only I wasn't waiting for the "Stray Australian*" to phone me, I'd skive off work and go upstairs to find them, then lose an hour or two reading them.  That will have to wait until next week, when I'm on leave, so will have plenty of reading time.  (We were meant to be in Normandy.)

No coupons spent so far this week and there are no fashionable clothes on my horizon.  I've knitted the body of my jumper up to the armholes and am now doing the sleeves.  This is the first time ever that I've knitted with a yarn that makes me sneeze!  It's not a consistent trigger nor does it occur all the time. I can only assume that some of the balls were exposed to a pollen or something that disagrees with me.  (Normally, the only things that are guaranteed to make me sneeze are black pepper, and the fumes from frying fresh chilli.)

Did Boris' announcement affect you at all?  I won't be going back to the office any time soon.  None of us will.   While I miss the company, I am more worried that more people will get sick as a result of the easing of restrictions.  I don't want to risk it.

- Pip  (Week 8 of Lockdown and desperate for a break.)



* The "Stray Australian" went back to Sydney two months ago.  He works through their evenings.

CAFCGirl

Ebay Shirt Saga,
I can only presume I wont be receiving it, as despite saying she would post it the Monday I randomly have a refund issued from her with no other communication. At least I don't have to chase it, and I definitely can understand not wanting to visit a post office for a non essential item, but a message would have been nice.
Still no coupons spent but I have already got 12 balls of yarn in my online basket waiting for payday LOL

PipneyJane

CAFCGirl said:

Ebay Shirt Saga,
I can only presume I wont be receiving it, as despite saying she would post it the Monday I randomly have a refund issued from her with no other communication. At least I don't have to chase it, and I definitely can understand not wanting to visit a post office for a non essential item, but a message would have been nice.
Still no coupons spent but I have already got 12 balls of yarn in my online basket waiting for payday LOL

Pity about the shirt, but at least she refunded the money.

What are you purchasing and what are you planning on doing with the yarn? 

- Pip

CAFCGirl

PipneyJane said:

CAFCGirl said:

Ebay Shirt Saga,
I can only presume I wont be receiving it, as despite saying she would post it the Monday I randomly have a refund issued from her with no other communication. At least I don't have to chase it, and I definitely can understand not wanting to visit a post office for a non essential item, but a message would have been nice.
Still no coupons spent but I have already got 12 balls of yarn in my online basket waiting for payday LOL

Pity about the shirt, but at least she refunded the money.

What are you purchasing and what are you planning on doing with the yarn? 

- Pip

This is very true. I was surprised she said she would still post it when I had messaged her, as frankly I would have offered a refund then, (or bought postage online and dropped it in a post box - which I did suggest) so at least that's one thing I don't have to chase or wonder if its lost etc.

Well I have 6 balls of James Brett party chunky to make a blanket for a friends two little stepdaughters who live with her. They recently took DS's old wooden playhouse from the garden (Social distance adhere to - I dismantled it and put it in our front garden and her partner collected it a day later and we waved through windows). So I thought their newly painted pink and white playhouse might appreciate a blanket for snuggly book reading in there. 
Then 2 balls of the same make but a different colour for making leg warmers and/or yoga socks (its grey, white, yellow and reminds me of bees), plus some Hayfield Spirit Chunky which I'm planning to use with some plain cream yarn I have to make a blanket cardigan. 
I don't really need any of it, but what I do have, I don't have any in quantities to make larger items that are itching to be made. It'll all have to wait a couple of weeks though till there's some money in my account LOL. I have plenty of cash but none of it is accessible electronically and I'm not about to head down the bank to pay it in.

PipneyJane

Coupon-Free Hat Idea

Just quickly.... I'm on the Great British Yarn's mailing list and they're selling a pattern called Bits And Pieces Beret, which uses 50g of 4 ply yarn.  The idea behind it is brilliant!  You need 10g of one, plain yarn to do the ribbed brim and the rest of the hat is comprised of whatever odds-and-ends of yarn you've managed to spit-splice together into a large ball.  (The designer suggests that you need at least 2 metres of a yarn.)  You knit it from the brim up, so I'd aim to have the shorter lengths in the crown.

 - Pip  (I am now itching to make one.)

Laura_Elsewhere

Fair Isle uses just the same scraps of yarn - this was all leftover ends and bits... free pattern on Rav called Gramma K's Fair Isle Tam - I still wear it nine years later! 

Useful tip for berets or tam-o'shanters - black them by putting the biggest plate you can inside them and using waste yarn to stitch back and forth across to pull the cast-on brim towards the centre. Gives just the right shape!  

PipneyJane

Laura_Elsewhere said:

Fair Isle uses just the same scraps of yarn - this was all leftover ends and bits... free pattern on Rav called Gramma K's Fair Isle Tam - I still wear it nine years later! 

Useful tip for berets or tam-o'shanters - black them by putting the biggest plate you can inside them and using waste yarn to stitch back and forth across to pull the cast-on brim towards the centre. Gives just the right shape!  

That's beautiful, Laura.  I love the way the colours go together.

- Pip

dolly84

CAFCGirl said:

Ebay Shirt Saga,
I can only presume I wont be receiving it, as despite saying she would post it the Monday I randomly have a refund issued from her with no other communication. At least I don't have to chase it, and I definitely can understand not wanting to visit a post office for a non essential item, but a message would have been nice.
Still no coupons spent but I have already got 12 balls of yarn in my online basket waiting for payday LOL

I've listed and sold over a dozen items on ebay in the last week or so, I posted them all out within 24 hours of payment and I can honestly say that going to the post office to post them was pretty much the same experience as it always is, no fuss, no drama and all my parcels have arrived within 3 days of me sending them.  Don't get caught up in the drama.

CAFCGirl

dolly84 said:

CAFCGirl said:

Ebay Shirt Saga,
I can only presume I wont be receiving it, as despite saying she would post it the Monday I randomly have a refund issued from her with no other communication. At least I don't have to chase it, and I definitely can understand not wanting to visit a post office for a non essential item, but a message would have been nice.
Still no coupons spent but I have already got 12 balls of yarn in my online basket waiting for payday LOL

I've listed and sold over a dozen items on ebay in the last week or so, I posted them all out within 24 hours of payment and I can honestly say that going to the post office to post them was pretty much the same experience as it always is, no fuss, no drama and all my parcels have arrived within 3 days of me sending them.  Don't get caught up in the drama.

I'm opting for the 'not in my realm of control what other people do' and at least I got my money back LOL