2021 Fashion On The Ration Challenge

Baileys_Babe

thriftwizard said:

@Baileys_Babe - yes, it's a Bongo! My much-beloved & wonderfully useful little van...

I love my Bongo too, but we are thinking this is probably its last year with our family 😞

Liverpool_Anne

Hi all, lots to catch up with but first I have spends to declare. OH has been in hospital since last Friday evening with blood clots in the lungs. Well on the mend now and probably home early next week if not sooner. However I finally had to admit defeat today as I just couldn't get the washing dry and bought 2 pairs of pj bottoms, didn't need tops as has got loads of t shirts so I think they will be 6 coupons each so 12 spent. Total spent 57.5 leaving me with 8.5 coupons.
@Laura_Elsewhere I love the colours of that wool and can't wait to see how it turns out It must be frustrating waiting to organise the wedding but I am sure it will be wonderful when it happens
@Gem-gem, welcome, loads of really lovely people in here who will be able to give you lots of advice, I have learnt so much from them
@thriftwizard, love the twining loom stuff and it is definitely on my list of things to try as soon as I can get the space organised for a loom
Well a bit cream crackered so off to bed
Take care everyone

TwibbleDee

I’m fairly certain I’ve blown my coupons out of the water at this point. Three new tank top/bras (the tank tops with a shelf built in) still unaccounted for, a tiny cloth purse yesterday, and I still desperately need a new belt and to replace half my work shirts as they’re getting old and faded. Sadly, they discontinued the kind I buy, so I’m going to have to go on the hunt - my current ones are sleeveless v-necks, all the same exact style, but in colors and patterns that vary enough that very few people realize I’m wearing effectively the same shirt every day. 

So, the tiny purse I bought is more of a pouch, big enough for wallet, phone, lip balm, and tiny notebook. I started off with a bag on clearance that would have been $12, but luckily realized it had a design flaw that would drive me batty.  I was fully prepared to pay full price ($38!) for the one I found, when the lady said it was ringing up on sale!  Then she told me to wait a minute, as if it was 65% off, it would then be another 50% off that price!  And it was!  My bag was under $8 instead of $38. 

Laura_Elsewhere

Og @Liverpool_Anne! I'm glad to hear he's on the mend but what a frightening time for you both... hurrah for the NHS, and if you 'do' hugs then please consider yourself well and truly virtual-hugged! 

CAFCGirl

Heavens, 7 pages to catch up on.

I'm glad I visited the coffee machine first before I sat down.

I hope everyone is doing well, and much love to Mr @Liverpool_Anne

And despite it only being 2 pages back I can't for the life of me remembering who was talking about 'woodsman boots' but I googled them and I have to say they look absolutely fantastic in the olive colourway, from a fellow diddy shoe size wearer!

No coupons, no buying of clothes for that matter! Just books and plant pots. DS had the task of counting them all up, 92! Plants - not books... perhaps I need a 'Botanical' rationing   

No knitting happening here either. I have been trying my hand at crochet, and did some rounds and cotton shower puffs, but I seem to have stalled in mental capacity when watching tutorials to learn anything else bar the two stitches they require.

Liverpool_Anne

@Laura_Elsewhere, yes I do hugs and I take them anytime they are offered . Thank you.
@CAFCGirl, the thing I find with following videos is that it is quite difficult to look at what you are doing and watch the video . I usually have to stop it and scroll back several times for each step and that interrupts the flow of the stitch. Having said that once you have got the basic stitches it does start to flow easily. I find it is easier than knitting once you get going, but I am still learning a lot of things myself so just keep practicing
Take care everyone

florianatwobob

@CAFCGirl, it does get easier with practice and muscle memory helps once you learn the stitches. I still gave to go back to remind myself if I’ve not done a specific stitch in a while. I started learning crochet to create granny squares to finish a blanket my mum had stated many many many years ago. I’m still trying to work out what stitch she used to join the squares she had done. I know she’s going to be sitting on her fluffy cloud laughing her socks off as i puzzle this out. Anyway since learning granny squares I have progressed to amigurumi   I’m quite proud of this gargoyle although I don’t have pictures of him with his wings attached. 

CAFCGirl

wow @florianatwobob what a piece of art!
I do really want to learn how to crochet some houseplants!

@Liverpool_Anne I can't needle knit either LOL But yes you're spot on with videos, I have to watch the same part over and over again, when all I want to do is be able to 'follow along'. Must learn some patience obviously!
My hands, and well mostly my brain (I have a medical condition honestly!) don't communicate overly well and some of the videos I'm stuck straight away for not seeing where they put the hook into in the first place! So it's all downhill after that   

Maybe that'll be 2022's mission.
I couldn't sleep last night so have formulated about 5 different loom knitting projects to be getting on with.... and I'll have to go yarn shopping for them OH NO

florianatwobob

@CAFCGirl thank you. I’ll see if I can find a picture of the wings, they introduced me to some weird stitches!  It’s the same principle for crochet house plants as for the gargoyle. Amigurumi works in spirals so stitch markers help. I normally run a loose length of yarn through so I can see where one round ends and the next starts, other people use posh stitch markers but a safety pin will do the same job. I also use one of those people counting clicker doodahs so I don’t need to remember how many rows/rounds I’ve done!

Gem-gem

Laura_Elsewhere said:

 Alternatively you could take one long, wide strip, sew it up the first leg, over the crotch and down the other leg, to be a "design feature".  You may need to re-dye the jeans to get consistent colour throughout, because the last thing you want is a darker patch, which would make it look as if you'd wet yourself.

- Pip 

I used to avoid that 'oops!' look by using brightly-coloured contrast thread to handsew the patches onto my jeans - I actually used two long rectangles, as the crotch isn't a right-angle from the leg-seam so one long rectangle ends up bunching up (!). 
I used to just shove an old hardback book or handy offcut of wood up the trouser-leg and smooth the leg flat so the worn area was all spread out, and then used pins to get the patch in place- always make it bigger than you think! The patches were any spare strong fabric I had - the calf of another pair of jeans were often cannibalised! I just cut or tore it to shape and folded the edges under once. Then I just sewed along the two long edges and across the bottom short edge; repeat for other leg and sort of just fold and tuck to make the bit in the middle look ok and sew that. I didn't use any particularly fancy stitch, just over-sewed, and then back again in the other direction so it looked like a row of little Xs, and as I learnt the areas where it tended to pull a lot I did a bit of backstitching (second stitch in same holes as first, and sometimes a third one) for extra strength. 
A bit of trial and error - patch one pair, @Gem-gem, and you'll find where the pull-points are on your legs on your jeans-style, and then the next time you'll know whether to make the patches wider. Sometimes I used bright red thread on black jeans or bright royal blue on faded blue jeans. It worked fairly well and surprisingly often just didn't even show... 

thank you very much - will give it a go.