2021 Fashion On The Ration Challenge

Cherryfudge

I think swapping counts as coupon-free as things are effectively second-hand, however unused.

There are plenty of us here with UFOs - have another biscuit and feel free to tell us if there are any you are thinking of going back to! I'm currently having a third attempt at a jumper which my friends know as 'the 90th birthday present' for my DH. Never has a jumper been rethought so much!

You could read us chapters of the novel in between projects if you wish.

PipneyJane

wit40iwtwan said:

Thank you all... I am likely to be a bit controversial... I am going to sorta buck the trend and start my year June to end May 22 as I have just made a nice page in my bullet journal to track coupon spend (haha ha ha).... I am fairly certain I will not need much but possibly spend on underwear more than anything else... So - a bit about myself, I am an avid knitter, crocheter and I sew a fair amount of clothing for myself and quilting... I am also very bad at not finishing things so hoping that this will make me think twice before adding to my stash of fabric or wool... 
The name was unique nearly 12 years ago when I turned 40 and fancied writing a novel... but I am still writing and the novel is nowhere near finished... and it has changed subject a few times along the way. 
Random question - I am invited monthly to a pattern and fabric swap shop - if I swap my stash I am guessing that does not count - right?

That's right.  Swaps are "second hand goods" and therefore do not require coupons.

What's the betting that you don't spend 38.5 coupons this year?

< cough > Finishing?  Hmmmm...... I have heard the term but I'm not certain I know what it means.... < cough >  If I don't sew something up on the day I finish knitting, I never get around to it.

- Pip (ducks and runs for cover)

Liverpool_Anne

Hi all, spend to declare. I went to Black sheep to collect the extra wool for the shawl, (ordered on click and collect and already declared), and it seemed rude to not have a little look around, 400g jumped off the shelf into my hands for a similar shawl for my sister's birthday present. I don't think I will need all the 400g but it came in 200g cakes and I will think of something to do with what is left when I know how much I have. There was some lovely cotton for a jumper I want to make for myself but I resisted as I wasn't sure how much I would need, having downloaded the pattern but not scrutinised it for how much I would need, but I will be going back for it and probably more when I have planned other Christmas presents. I plan to do as much home made as possible this year, but that might go out of the window as I really do have to crack on with sorting out the house. I have a plumber coming out next week, fingers crossed, to look at a suspicious damp patch on the kitchen ceiling under the bath, sharp intake of breath.
@Laura_Elsewhere, that caplet is beautiful and the colour is so lovely. Are you going to knit it with both yarns together? I was a bit confused as the pattern says worsted weight and one of your yarns is worsted. I also love the socks, I might give them a go at some point in the future but right now I have so many socks I couldn't fit another pair in the draw lol.
@wit40iwtwan welcome, you will find everyone very kind and some very knowledgeable about all things knitting and sewing. I think the pattern and fabric swap would fall into the second hand category so would be coupon free, what a fab idea, but Pip will let you know for sure.
Take care everyone, 8 coupons spent which brings me to 19 spent and 47 left I think.
Anne
Edit, coupon spend 18 with 48 left, don't know where my brain was this morning but it obviously wasn't working

PollyWollyDoodle

Yes, swaps and gifts don’t count. Nor does second-hand clothing, or fabric/yarn. Thank you for explaining the name, after Laura’s suggestion I have been coming up with all sorts of weird and wonderful possibilities!

wit40iwtwan

Cherryfudge said:

I think swapping counts as coupon-free as things are effectively second-hand, however unused.

There are plenty of us here with UFOs - have another biscuit and feel free to tell us if there are any you are thinking of going back to! I'm currently having a third attempt at a jumper which my friends know as 'the 90th birthday present' for my DH. Never has a jumper been rethought so much!

You could read us chapters of the novel in between projects if you wish.

I finished a cushion with a cross stitch that I had completed 10 years ago and had bought the fat quarters to make the cushion then too.... so that is probably my oldest UFO that has been finished this year!  
My next UFO in terms of age is only from 2017 mind you... the Scheepjes CAL Hygge shawl... I am on week 10 of 14!  I know so close.... I will not list the rest of my UFO's as it is rather embarrassing ... at last count I think there were 38 (ducks out to go sit in the naughty corner)

Laura_Elsewhere

Liverpool_Anne said:

@Laura_Elsewhere, that caplet is beautiful and the colour is so lovely. Are you going to knit it with both yarns together? I was a bit confused as the pattern says worsted weight and one of your yarns is worsted. I also love the socks, I might give them a go at some point in the future but right now I have so many socks I couldn't fit another pair in the draw lol.

Ah, that's one of those confusing trans-Atlantic things! 
In America there is a weight named "worsted" which is heavier than our double-knitting DK but thinner than our Aran. 
In Britain, we have 'worsted' as the (correct and very long-established, like hundreds of years) name for when a yarn is spun in one particular direction - worsted-spun. The other direction is woollen-spun.

With wool, if you spin it woollen,  you get a softer yarn that will be cosy and comfortable but wear quite quickly. 
With worsted-spun, you get a much longer-lasting, hard-wearing yarn - if you have five strands which are worsted-spun together, you get the traditional yarn used to knit ganseys or guernseys, which was knitted on 2.25mm needles and some were not only bequeathed after many years of wear but even bequeathed more than once! 
the Frangipani yarn is worsted 5-ply, which is he Guernsey yarn - classed in American terms as 'sport', but in British terminology it's always only been called Gansey or Guernsey worsted. 

Sally's pattern, being for international use, says "Aran/worsted weight" so it is definitely "worsted weight", the American term. 
I'm holding the Gansey worsted and the 4-ply together, knitting them as one yarn and i's working nicely

wit40iwtwan

Question time... how many coupons would a wetsuit count as?  I have recently taken up stand up paddle-boarding and while I am adamant I do not need a wetsuit I may find after my first fall into a UK Lake that this is stupidity... 

PollyWollyDoodle

Hmm that’s a tricky one - ‘overalls, dungarees or like garment’? That’s six coupons

maddiemay

Hi everyone great to read about lovely things being made, details of stashes, wips etc. and to see new faces in the village hall too.
I have been on a bit of a spending spree and bought 6 new pairs of nics (very necessary), 5 pairs of socks (not necessary, but lovely), 3 new  Breton Striped T shirts and am expecting delivery of a new pair of Vionic trainers in a very impractical light pink colour!.  I have studied the coupons page and think that this has left me with 43 coupons for the rest of the year.
I have been having a mega sort of and clearing out session of my clothes, many bags sent to the CS, lots of things O.K., but not in my most flattering colours, I really feel that I have aged badly through shielding and lockdown, so a wardrobe revamp and a very drastic, but brilliant haircut for an updated look.  I guess that the majority of women felt like that after years of making do, not much choice and a lack of ration points.
No knitting or crafting happening, awaiting some scans on poorly hands and I think I might have to find a private physio, I guess that pre-NHS all such things would have been private if they had existed.

Liverpool_Anne

@Laura_Elsewhere, thanks for the explanation re worsted weight / worsted spun. You are right, these transatlantic terminology changes can be very confusing. I sometimes struggle with American crotchet patterns and usually resort to u tube