2021 Fashion On The Ration Challenge

Laura_Elsewhere

 I shall just admire and applaud you runners as you whizz past, and carry on hiking - I always joke that I love my ankles as they are the only bit of me hat don't have their own chunk of my six-inch-thick medical file.... and that I blame my parents for not taking me every year on my birthday to be dipped into a vat of whatever they paint the Forth Bridge with to stop it rusting... multiple problems over decades with fused spine having to be broken apart, nerve supply to both arms being crushed by the inflammation of the spine, my kneecaps being malformed on he underside and too small (my cousin got this too, with a habit for her of dislocation alarmingly frequently) so I was constantly battling one or another knee issue and as one leg recovered the other would 'go' due to having all he extra work when I was limping on he first one... I'm a structural nightmare, me! I think if I asked a doctor if I should start running, they would call for a van to take me away to a funny farm!  
But the hiking and walking are fine, and 'm happy to see the world at a slower pace...

We have had between 3 and 4" of snow today - I went out this afternoon and swept and salted the steps back and front, for the flats, and measured 2.5" or 6cm, and the bare patches where a couple of cars had gone out are now totally invisible so I'm guessing at least another inch and still lightly falling with -3 forecast so tomorrow walk to the shops first thing will be fun - and if I can find them, I'll take my Yaktrakesque things to wear over my little leather boots. 

I made myself a brushed-cotton petticoat today, bright pillarbox-red with the ruffle at the bottom being a full 12" deep and a whacking 28 feet round, gathered into a 110-inch upper part, with elastic at the waist. Under my grey wool skirt it was warm as toast! I have enough left over (a kindly friend's unexpected gift a couple of years back - four kingsize red flannelette sheets, specifically because I'd said I'd love a red petticoat...) to make myself a couple of blouses, whcih I shall do. 
Also, I'm going to try making myself some washable period-pads. I'm 52 now, and in Nov had my first completely-absent period, so I'm assuming I probably have not that much longer to need them for, but I always have meant to, and having vast quantities of red brushed coton seems like a good time to make them! I've got a couple of useful websites, but any advice welcome... 

Laura_Elsewhere

@PipneyJane that is a beautifully-knitted jumper - well done! 

PipneyJane

Thank you both, @Cherryfudge and @PollyWollyDoodle.

It’s a pure wool yarn, @Cherryfudge. I bought it off Blacksheep Yarns at one of the shows, so probably by Sirdar but there was no brand label anywhere on the packaging.  (They buy a lot of Sirdar close-outs.)   The packaging just said “pure wool 4-ply”.  I bought 20 balls because I wasn’t certain whether they were 25g or 50g and had no idea how far they’d stretch.  (There was no mention of yardage on the packaging.)

Running tomorrow may turn out to be a total fail.  It depends on whether I can shut the front door from the outside.  DH replaced the drought strip yesterday - generally a good move - but it’s made it very hard to shut.  I failed today, when we went for our walk.  

- Pip

ETA:  Thanks @Laura_Elsewhere.  We must have cross posted.  That petticoat sounds amazing.  I don’t know anything about home-made pads, sorry.

thriftwizard

That jumper's absolutely lovely, PipneyJane. Gorgeous colour & beautifully done. 
A dilemma: DD2's knitting a baby blanket for - a baby - due in July. But as I'm the one with the accounts at the online suppliers, I'm buying the yarn (Drops Snow) - though she'll pay me back. Does it come from my coupons? Or hers?

Laura_Elsewhere

thriftwizard said:

A dilemma: DD2's knitting a baby blanket for - a baby - due in July. But as I'm the one with the accounts at the online suppliers, I'm buying the yarn (Drops Snow) - though she'll pay me back. Does it come from my coupons? Or hers?

I'd say her coupons - it's as if you're the one getting the bus over to the next town on market day so you've said you'll get it for her and then she'll pay for it when you get back - and hand over the coupons at the same time... 

Is this you becoming a grandmother?! Or is it a friend of hers having the baby? 

PipneyJane

What Laura said, @thriftwizard.  It’s your daughter’s coupons:  you are just the courier.

- Pip

PS:  Who is having the baby?

PPS:  Thank you, re the jumper.

skogar

Pip - lovely jumper. I think the pattern is really nice. I agree with your thoughts on may be a future one being a fraction longer, however I would say that anyway as I prefer longer jumpers - less chance of draughts.

Laura - your red petticoat sounds fantastic. Is there any chance of a picture.

Cherry fudge and Polly. - Really impressed by the running. Running is my idea of hell. Been out today and yesterday on the tandem. 20 miles is the limit at the moment. It's  too cold to go any further. I am dressed like Nanuuk of the North (and wear walking shoes with mid weight walking socks), everything is fine except my feet. I don't get cold feet when walking but its a real problem when cycling.

Dolly - if you wanted to knit i'm sure you could. I had been taught as a child but could only do the knit stitch but not cast on or cast off so you are ahead of where i was when I started. I am still quite a slow knitter so stick to small projects but now can knit things that actually look like the pictures. If I can do it i'm sure you can as well.

Well - In the light of Pip's lovely new jumper and Laura's cozy petticoat my crafting exploits today have rather more limited results. I cleaned and oiled the sewing machine earlier in the week and yesterday the grease arrived so this afternoon I greased the sewing machine and then started trying to work out how to use it. Took about 4 tries to sucessfully wind the bobbin, about 3 to get the bobbin loaded correctly and probably another 4 attempts on getting the thing to actually sew. 2 issues with the threading and then it jammed. It was a Gutterman reel of thread and it had jammed on the spindle as the bit underneath is fairly narrow. I'm wondering if this is because the shape of cotton reels has changed. managed to get it to work using a different cotton reel. Tension didn't look quite right - not use if this was due to sewing with 2 threads, or sewing on a knit fabric. I had loaded the bobbin with gutterman's sew all (fairly thick compared to the few others I have)) but the top ended up being a reel of sylko cotton (much thinner) as it was the only old shape bobbin I had. Also I was testing on one of OH's old t shirts out the rag bag. So my achievement is a line of sewing about 6" long! must have taken me about 3 hours! (not including the oiling and greasing.)

PollyWollyDoodle

@Laura_Elsewhere I’m trying to think what the red flannel petticoat reminds me of - one in a book somewhere. It sounds lovely, 28 feet of ruffle, wow! 

fiwen30

Late to the village, but hoping there’s room at the tea table?

Almost everything I own is secondhand, and so my wardrobe has been suffering with lockdown - both with decluttering and donating, and augmenting with ‘new’ things.

66 coupons seems like a handsome sum, when I’ve spent the last 7/10 months in ancient loungewear with varying amounts of emulsion paint on them, or pyjamas, and the other 3/10 months in retail work uniform! In the current climate it’s difficult to imagine ever going out and buying a new outfit, to go to some place that’s not the living room.

If I’m being honest, I could do with some ‘new’ non-COVID-everyday clothing, which isn’t holey jogging bottoms, but the lack of open charity and vintage shops rather puts me off the idea of buying brand new - from a frugal perspective, and an environmental one. eBay is a fickle mistress when it comes to buying clothes, one persons size 12 is not like the other. I do sew, but have never been happy to wear anything I make, and the materials often cost more than buying something manufactured, which I’d wear to pieces. I can knit you a rectangle in any size, but nothing else of note.

Do household textiles come out of our clothing coupons? Our new home needs at least 3 sets of curtains, and we could do with at least 1 new duvet set.

How about dog clothing for a medium-sized crossbreed? Our boy is rehabbing at the moment, and costing an arm and a leg. He’s already had 2 fancy coats this year (1 new, 1 mercifully secondhand and half price), though his third coat was handmade from a fleece blanket we never used, which was sacrificed to the sewing machine. The leftover fleece also made him a snuffle mat, and might even extend to a new cover for his bed, if I make it a patchwork affair.

Looking forward to seeing exactly what 66 coupons will get me this year, and how much I can make it cost in ££.

MrsCD

Pip, your jumper is beautiful, well done, and lovely even stitches!
I've hardly been out of my boot grippers lately, as the packed snow is now ice on the roads and paths outside my Dad's bungalow. We just seem to get rid of one lot of snow and ice then another turns up! No salt in the Council grit bin as people have come from other streets and taken it away. I put a report/request in over a week ago for it to be refilled but nothing yet. I've never been so glad of some bits of rubber and spikes!
The petticoat sounds interesting, Laura. Can't wait to see it. Sorry, but it reminds me of The Railway Children every time it's mentioned, but I'm sure it will be lovely and warm.
Today, I've had my thick woolly tights on with my home made wool socks on top to keep my feet warm in church this morning. The temp in the car was minus 2, so I was glad I went with all my thick clothes on! The risk assessment says we have to have ventilation, so the doors are left open and the windows slightly open. Hence the Nanook look. We are quite high up in our village, so don't usually have problems with flooding. My heart goes out to those who are at risk, or have been flooded. Take care all, either in snow or rain.