2021 Fashion On The Ration Challenge

Laura_Elsewhere

@Shropshirelass, this is the place I bought my grey wool skirt fabric from (It was the American Civil War uniform wool, apparently! But sold out now...) - lots and lots of wools. I'd suggest looking at the pure wool flannel, which has a couple of greys. 
And Ali is always happy to send a sample, too! 

https://hertsfabrics.co.uk/collections/wool-fabric

Edit to Add: I did mine as a flared 3/4-circle skirt, because gathering or pleating wool, even quite fine wool, is rarely a good idea when you're my size to begin with! Worth considering?

PipneyJane

@Shropshirelass well done for not spending any coupons.  

@Liverpool_Anne - I’m glad you’ve had the all clear to eat normally.

Do you know, I’m still trying to work out my 2021 New Year’s Resolutions?  I think one of them will be “Knit from Stash”.  Another will be to sew an outfit.  I haven’t done any proper dressmaking in years.  I have the skills, just not made the effort.

- Pip

maryb

CraftyLittleLisa, I think that Planetary Health Diet is the one I found a link to as well.  If you scale up the suggested amounts to weekly, they fit very well with the ration amounts from c1940.
As I said before, I'm not following this totally strictly but I am trying to keep to wartime limits on meat and dairy.  Also not snacking on biscuits etc.  By not buying stuff like that I am sticking to three meals a day - and I have lost 1.5 lb this week.  The family haven't even noticed that anything has changed because I usually cook from scratch and with trying to avoid going out more than I have to, they know I am trying to use things up and not waste anything.  I always used to think I could never cope with wartime rations but actually it is enough especially as I am not limiting imported vegetables ( as long as they are not air freighted) - in fact I won't use my sugar ration.  The tea ration might be another matter.....

Cherryfudge

A spend to declare - 2 coupons for 4oz cotton for making a 'string' bag. Why is that attempts to decrease my stash persist in increasing it?

DrCarrie

I resisted the urge to buy some fabric yesterday. I have lots of fabric, and I don't need anything. I just wanted it, it was so pretty. But rations remain intact!

Liverpool_Anne

I have left OH to sort through the car mats to see if there is one that can be spared so I can have a play lol. 
@Laura I do like the mule type of slippers and have worn them for years. Ideally I would just wear socks and have a pair of shoes by the door but as we still have to sort out the floor covering and just have bare floor boards in some rooms due to the lockdowns and then not being able to get someone out to do it as they were so busy, I need to wear slippers. I did see some in MandS but the size was listed as S, M, L with no size guide, and I have no idea how that equates to real shoe sizes, I decided to leave them alone. But I will enjoy having a play to see if I can make something wearable lol.
I have never heard of the planetary diet but on investigating I find it is more or less what I eat, without the meat, though I probably eat more dairy as I love milky coffee and regular cups of tea lol.

maddiemay

I have some purchases to declare:-
Uniglow scoop neck fine base layer 5 points
Smart new kitchen apron from my Curry Club 3 points
Moshulu Bardsey chunky boots in purple (tho' IRL they are more of an Aubergine/Dark Beetroot shade)
13 points used leaving me with 70
These boots https://www.moshulu.co.uk/product/bardsey-1377#?variant=30
I have been very down in the dumps these last few weeks, but have pulled up the big girl knickers and trying to make more effort with my appearance, wearing more colourful clothes etc. I would like to go through my wardrobe and probably do some pruning, but things take up less space in there, I already have several bags of donations (clothes, books, Household) awaiting CS openings.
Vaccination booked for Tuesday, although they will not afford me a get out of jail card as medical condition means I do not make antibodies, it will be end of 2021 early 2022 before I begin to get the specific Covid19 antibodies from my replacement therapy treatment, but still good news even so.
MMx

Laura_Elsewhere

Cherryfudge said:

A spend to declare - 2 coupons for 4oz cotton for making a 'string' bag. Why is that attempts to decrease my stash persist in increasing it?

Because the stash is The Wrong Stuff! 

It's one of the (many...) things I'm slowly learning, largely due to three years of this challenge... I had a habit in the past of buying fabric because it was lovely, or because it was cheap, and thus ending up with various combinations of uselessness: 
- great skirt fabric but only 1.5m of it
- lovely for a top but only 1m
- no, I know it's fairly horrible but it was only 50p/m...
- why on earth did I.... 

Like @DrCarrie, I'm learning not to buy just because it is there... 

The result of the Everest-buying approach is a huge stash which is largely not really useable. I am going to have to destash myself in the next year or so because I just have to accept that I don't have enough to be useful. And the yarn is the same, incidentally. Lucky i do colourwork, isn't it? because I rarely buy enough of anything to make a whole jumper in my large size, because obviously that would be spending lots of money on buying wool. Whereas spending smaller amouns of money lots of times so I actually spend more is, er, well... 

We're back to Samuel Vimes and his 'Boots Theory' of economics... 

Laura_Elsewhere

@maddiemay, commiserations on having felt a bit glum - I think a lot of people have done, which isn' much help... good to hear you're on your way back up again, though and hurrah for wearing nice things you like! 

Laura_Elsewhere

@Cherryfudge - in fact, thinking further... have a look at your stash and just think how much of it you would actually buy now? If you were on your way out to lunch with me, and we'd both saved up enough to have all three courses somewhere really nice, but for whatever reasons were without any other money at that moment - and you passed a market stall on the way, what in your stash would make you think, "soddit, I'll lose the starter in order to spend the money on this!" and what would make you think, "ah, who needs dessert, anyway? I could buy this instead!"? 
And how much of it would you think, "hmmm, well, no, probably not worth getting it..."