2022 Fashion On The Ration Challenge

PipneyJane

Welcome @2Scratters, you will certainly find your soul-sisters here.  Please draw up a chair to the table in our virtual village hall and have a cup of tea and a slice of cake.  (Today’s is ginger.). Do you sew or knit?

Re your shirt from the 1980’s and you comment that quality is most cost effective, I totally agree.  Tomorrow, I’m going into the office and while I haven’t quite decided what to wear, my “job hunting suit” from 1999 is front runner.  If I recall correctly, it cost me £120 at the time, and my soon-to-be-manager-and-friend later told me that her first thought, when seeing me at the interview, was “Great suit!”.

Speaking of sewing, has anyone been watching Sewing Bee?  I find the skill levels disconcerting.

- Pip

2Scratters

@PipneyJane thanks for the welcome. I can do basic sewing and have a sewing machine but it is very shy and hides in the wardrobe for long periods of time. Needs to be teased out of there 
 I can knit basic again and have knitted an odd garment or 2 for DH in our early days. I am almost at the end of my wool stash which has been used up making simple crochet blankets and have donated them to Night shelter previously for the young adults. I have 2 left to finish which are both at different stages of size and am thinking of keeping them for us due to the current situation with utilities.
 I have some mohair up in the loft somewhere and need to find this as this is probably the last of any quantity of wool that will make a garment. 
I have now completed 2019 posts, so am working my way through and learning something each day. I will be practising the ethics and doing my 3 questions too. 
I am looking forward to the posts of how you all managed through lock down too - every day is a school day.
2 Scratters xx

Gem-gem

Cherryfudge said:

I hope he's okay @Gem-gem? Did you go to A&E?

Yes, DH went to A&E yesterday. He had a blood test that has said it is more than likely he has a clot. He is going back either tomorrow or Wednesday for a scan. They increased his blood thinning tablets. His leg/ foot is still very swollen, painful and his leg has changed colour.  I very gently rubbed cream into his leg and massaged his feet/ ankles to try and help his skin cope with the swelling and to try and reduce the swelling in his ankles and feet.  Very worrying times. 

PipneyJane

Gem-gem said:

Cherryfudge said:

I hope he's okay @Gem-gem? Did you go to A&E?

Yes, DH went to A&E yesterday. He had a blood test that has said it is more than likely he has a clot. He is going back either tomorrow or Wednesday for a scan. They increased his blood thinning tablets. His leg/ foot is still very swollen, painful and his leg has changed colour.  I very gently rubbed cream into his leg and massaged his feet/ ankles to try and help his skin cope with the swelling and to try and reduce the swelling in his ankles and feet.  Very worrying times. 

@Gem-gem, I did wonder about a blood clot - the symptoms you listed were consistent - but refrained from suggesting it because I knew that I didn’t have enough information to diagnose.  Fingers crossed that it resolves itself soon.

Big hugs to you both.

- Pip

Liverpool_Anne

@Gem-gem, I hope your OH gets sorted quickly, I think it's one of the most scary things to cope with. Big hugs 

maddiemay

@Gem-gem, keeping everything crossed that the medics get the scan done sooner rather than later. You must be so worried, if appropriate have a virtual hug. 

CAFCGirl

Much love to @Gem-gem and your OH. Virtual wishes of wellness and recovery (and speedy medical interventions where necessary)

MrsCD

@Gem-gem
So sorry to hear about your DH's problem.  This is one of the times where the NHS usually gets cracking quickly, so at least he will know if there is a blood clot or not. I had a similar issue a few weeks ago and had two scans in two weeks. Thankfully I'm ok,  I hope your DH is too.
Sending huge virtual hugs. You must be very worried.x

Cherryfudge

@Gem-gem , I had the same thought as @PipneyJane: I was taught to look for those symptoms as a warning of a possible blood clot but I'm not medically qualified so I didn't feel at ease suggesting it. However, your other half is in good hands now and hopefully you will soon have resolution.

I do think it's one of those things that benefits us to know about as people become more at risk so easily - immobility is a risk factor which is why they advise moving around on a long haul flight.

And on a completely different note, I'm knitting swatches for a new project. Brand new pattern and a reliable source but I've already gone down two sizes of needles and I'm still gaining half a centimetre per swatch. Could it be the yarn? It's a DK but not the recommended DK. I do tend to knit a bit loosely but I'm at the stage where my judgment is saying to go down another needle size and my conformist tendencies are saying 'but the rules say...!'

Laura_Elsewhere

@Cherryfudge - I would say always consider the needle size and yarn thickness as a "serving suggestion" and not as an absolute rule! 
Within any yarn category there are thinner and thicker ones, and sometimes you'll get the right stitch-count for "DK" using a thin Aran or a thick 4-ply, let alone with different needle sizes... 

The other thing to consider is - have you washed and dried your sample pieces, in the same way you will the finished thing, ideally a couple of times, and also leave the sample pieces to relax for a day or two after washing and drying? It's astonishing how much variation you can get...

I never used to bother with knitting test pieces, but now I do them for just about everything I make apart from socks where I tend to use yarns I'm already familiar with. 

I'm knitting a cardigan just now in a Rowan wool I've never used before so definitely needs test pieces - I used a couple of different needle sizes, and I also added a strand of cobweb-weight merino - and for a DK yarn, what works best is using 5.5mm needles (with DK!) and adding that thread-fine strand of cobweb merino. It gives me 4.5 stitches and 6 rows per inch, if that helps...  

But everyone knits differently and crucially yarn is a LOT less standardised than you're led to believe...