2022 Fashion On The Ration Challenge

Laura_Elsewhere

Go for it, @2Scratters - I'm wearing my blue-flowered duvet-cover as I type, so to speak  

And planning the yellow-flowered other side of it as probably a halterneck-top, wide-waistband; full-skirted summer sun-frock! 

TwibbleDee

So...our weather service posted this yesterday.  100F is 37.8C.  Good news is, I haven't melted quite yet!  Bad news is, I'm wearing a heat patch smack dab in the middle of my back today for cramps and that DOES NOT HELP with the heat.

Still going through the rotation with the same 3 dresses (plus a 4th that I can't wear in to work pops up on wash days/weekends, and a 5th that has sleeves was worn for a wedding).  They've now said they'll be releasing a teal at the end of the month, so I need to get my order in for that one.  Teal is a family thing, to the point of one of my friends growing up describing the color as "*last name* teal."  I'm considering whether I want to find lighter weight bike shorts, but haven't seen any with a thick enough waist elastic that they won't roll down.

My mother is still unimpressed by wearing practically the same thing all the time, but pfffft.  She should have known my fashion sense and hers were different when I kept asking for a haircut I didn't have to do anything with while I was growing up (my hair is buzzed now and I love it).

Laura_Elsewhere

Oh my, @TwibbleDee - and here we're nervously wondering about the end of this week when it's forecast to be 27/28 in my area and 30+ in London and the SE.... (82-86F)... 

But then again, we get humidity with ours - and no practice... whereas you're a bit more used to it and your homes and workplaces are set up to deal with it, whereas aircon is very rare in homes over here because we never used to need it... and many homes are built so you can't have any through draught - thank heavens for our windows front and back!

TwibbleDee

@Laura_Elsewhere A friend of mine who moved further north once said that the people up where she was start melting at those temperatures.  We generally hit 90 before noon!  But you are right about buildings being designed for those temperatures.  Even our mobile home and camper both have good enough insulation and air conditioning that the temperature is generally under 75F inside no matter what. We keep gas on hand for the generator for the camper in case the power goes out - saved us a lot of hassle during the massive freeze in Texas last year as well - we just moved to the camper and were toasty!

Right now, the wind is blowing enough that the building I'm in is creaking, and it's a rather solid building.  We basically live in a blow dryer.  With tumbleweeds.  In the past 3 weeks, we've had hail (damaged the camper a bit, cars are fine), 2 inches of rain after practically none since August, and winds high enough to shift the camper off its blocks (luckily no damage there), and a haboob (ie, a wall of dirt - see here: http://www.okenergytoday.com/2022/06/west-texas-raked-by-massive-dust-storm/).

I'm talking a person about facilities management software for work and said something about wild weather - he wasn't expecting that list when I started explaining!

MrsCD

CAFCGirl said:

Coupon spend!

5 coupons on yarn. I think this is my first yarn purchase this year that wasn't business related and therefore a coupon spend.
I'm attempting to crochet a cardigan.
If its nice and I can complete the pattern without too many tears, I may invest in some nicer yarn for the next one, but for now this is the potentially wearable prototype   

Ooooh, what pattern are you using @CAFGGirl?
I've made a few cardis over the years, but I prefer my knitted ones. Let us know if yours is nice to wear. 

thriftwizard

Oh deary me, 205 posts missed... must try harder! Been somewhat busy... I will catch up sooner or later, but in the meantime I'll report a near miss! Rushing round sorting things out for a trip upcountry last week, where everything that could get in the way, did get in the way - my van's off the road thanks to an electrical problem, OH's car's tailgate was in imminent danger of actually falling off, we couldn't get a hire car to suit (automatic or semi-auto gearbox preferred, neither of us has driven manual for over 5 years) or for less than £500 for 5 days at short notice, had to find accommodation at short notice as we couldn't camp without the van, so on & so forth - I spotted a lovely dress in a shop window, with a neckline that I know suits me well. So I trotted in and tried it on... but the sleeves were all wrong, and I knew I wouldn't have time to alter them. As I walked away I realised that pretty though it was, and even quite good value, I simply didn't need it! There's nothing wrong with the (secondhand) dress I was planning to wear, and indeed I got a number of compliments on it.

All was sorted in the end; our local garage managed to find a part for OH's car so we could at least use the boot without danger of making the whole vehicle remarkably well-ventilated & not terribly secure. It's a different colour, but who's looking?! 835 miles later (don't laugh, @TwibbleDee, that's a long way for us Brits!) we're back safe & sound. And once again, I'll catch up in the end!

TwibbleDee

@thriftwizard 835 miles is a long way for us as well.  There's a reason we don't normally drive straight across the entire state.  

MrsCD

That dust storm looks horrendous. I'm surprised that anyone could see even a quarter of a mile in that! I'm assuming everyone just hides indoors until it passes over, and with 40-50 mph winds it doesn't take too long. 

TwibbleDee

MrsCD said:

That dust storm looks horrendous. I'm surprised that anyone could see even a quarter of a mile in that! I'm assuming everyone just hides indoors until it passes over, and with 40-50 mph winds it doesn't take too long. 

They pass by in about 1-2 hours normally.  I might have ridden home in one on a moped before.  This one, I was down in the basement of the building our offices are in temporarily and never heard a thing!

Cherryfudge

CAFCGirl said:

Coupon spend!

5 coupons on yarn. I think this is my first yarn purchase this year that wasn't business related and therefore a coupon spend.
I'm attempting to crochet a cardigan.
If its nice and I can complete the pattern without too many tears, I may invest in some nicer yarn for the next one, but for now this is the potentially wearable prototype   

Ooh, I'm crocheting too! Mine is a shawl and I've just started the second ball of yarn... I've never dared to do anything structured so I'll be interested in how you find it.

2Scratters said:

Hi Peeps,
out from lurking for now. I am sat on my laptop and can see in front of me a king size duvet cover and am making serious plans in my head of turning it into 2 dresses. Just need a pattern to work with. As it is patterned and plain on the other side no one would need to be any the wiser. I don't like it as its purpose either. Wish me luck.

2 Scratters xx

Good luck! That's another skill I'd simply love to have, but for now I'm building my yarn skills. Do you have a pattern in mind?

I have just bought a leather bag (small, white, cross-body) to use at DD's wedding, and I've ordered a purse as mine is starting the self-destruct. I did look for both second hand but didn't find what I wanted. I'm hoping that the leather will mean they last for years and eventually degrade completely apart from the trimmings. I don't think they cost any coupons.