2024 Fashion On The Ration Challenge

Laura_Elsewhere

@Cherryfudge, one of the good thgings about the vinegar-rinsing is that it helps rinse out any build-up of detergent which makes wool or cashmere less soft and also can be quite a nasty skin-irritant. 

You can also get a bottle of glycerine from the chemist, and add a little of that (trial and error, I'm afraid!) to a basic of clean, tepid water, swirl very well to mix, and then dunk the clean-damp jumper in that, and don't rinse. The glycerine will just soften it a little. 

Definitely avoid fabric softeners, which are really awful for virtually all purposes except adding a synthetic chemical stink to your laundry! They really are not good for woollens or cashmere. 

Cherryfudge

Laura_Elsewhere said:

@Cherryfudge, one of the good thgings about the vinegar-rinsing is that it helps rinse out any build-up of detergent which makes wool or cashmere less soft and also can be quite a nasty skin-irritant. 

Thanks.

I was actually wondering if the vinegar is responsible for the softness? It's beautiful.

Was it you who once recommended a few drops of baby oil for woollens? I've done that occasionally (not with cashmere) and it seems to work on actual wool, though I'm a bit cautious as it's a mineral oil - if I can use coconut oil on my hair, maybe I could use that on wool, and smell like sun cream?

I might well try the glycerine on the part-cashmere jumper to see if it works on a cotton mix. I had put the decrease in texture down to wear and tear but maybe it's some sort of build up.

PipneyJane

Hi All

I’ve been playing yarn chicken.  Finally finished the sleeves on my jumper, knitting them two-at-a-time from the one 100g ball of WYS Signature Sock.  Guess how much yarn was left? 



Less than 1 gram!



I now have 23 grams with which to knit the collar, sew it on and sew on the sleeve heads.  That includes my swatch.  (There is another ball kicking around, from a different dye lot, but I’d rather not use it.)

- Pip


PS:  Is anyone else having problems re-sizing photos?  I can’t shrink these two down, despite my best attempts.  They always come out huge.

Cherryfudge

I've seen mention elsewhere of it being difficult or impossible to resize photos on the forum as it currently is. I suppose they could be resized before being uploaded, which is something I need to try before I next have something to show, but I've had no luck so far.

That's such a close call on the wool, @PipneyJane! Would it help to use the yarn from the other batch in the collar as I assume the stitches will run the other way and thus any variation might be assumed to be the different way the light catches them? As a last resort you could consider edging the collar with a  contrast, but on the other hand, yarn chicken is soooo tempting when you are so close, and who knows? You might just pull it off!

PollyWollyDoodle

Wow - that’s a really good game of ‘yarn chicken’! 

alicef

That is a lovely stitch pattern @PipneyJane; I'm very impressed by your yarn chicken! 

I have the opposite - the yardage I have for the rib of my stranded Fyne pattern is short - I should have read up on other knitters' Ravelry project notes before I cast on.  Drat, drat,drat.

I can still source the yarn online and dye lot shouldn't be a problem, as the waistband is done, so the ribbing left is neck & armholes.  But I can't abide paying postage costs for a single ball and I don't want to be sucked into buying MORE WOOL.  

diminua

Five coupons gone on a pair of shoes - olive green, flattish mary janes (I can't wear complete flats, not enough of the sole of my foot seems to be in contact with the shoe and I end up trying to grip with my toes). Moulded sole unfortunately so when it goes it goes, but they will do for work and the weekend which is what I wanted.
At the moment though I'm still living my life in winter boots and often my winter coat too. 

boultdj

4 new tops bought in the sale, so 20 coupons used, total now at 23 use.

PipneyJane

Afternoon All.  Thank you for your help with the Village Easter Egg Hunt - the children loved it! It’s cold outside so do take a seat around the fire.  Cup of tea?  There’s a pile of hot cross buns to toast and Mr Good from the dairy farm has donated some butter…  

How’re you doing on your coupon spends?  I note that @Diminua and @boultdj reported yesterday. Even though I know the reason is because I’ve been really, really ill, part of me is surprised that I’ve got 1/4 into the year and not spent any coupons yet.  However, I do have a confession to make:  towards the end of last year, possibly after I’d spent all my coupons, I did stock up on jeans and trainers.  I went mad on the M&S website and bought 3 pairs of thermal jeans and 3 pairs of regular ones, both in my favourite “skinny jeans” style.  I have a vague memory of declaring those in November - I remember a discussion about thermal jeans - I think that’s what took me over the limit.  What I know I didn’t declare are the two pairs of ASICS trainers purchased in the end-of-year sales.  I had to go up half a shoe size to get the waterproof, suede finished ones, so hopefully they won’t be too big/floppy to run in, but I’ve learned the hard way that nothing is worse than splashing through a puddle, in the middle of winter, in a pair of non-waterproof “runners”.   (NB:  My current in-use trainers are already one size larger than my high heels.)  Flash Harry made a lot of money out of me in December… < hang head in shame >

Monday’s chemotherapy left me quite shattered for a couple of days.  I have managed to do my squats, press-ups and crunches, but haven’t done a walk since Tuesday.  Yesterday, I could happily have slept most of the day.  However, this morning I was so much better that DH has deserted me for two days, to go play board games with his mates.  It’s his first break since I went into hospital in January.  He’s taken loads of hand sanitizer and multiple filter masks with him.  

While he’s away, my plan is to do the things I’ve been putting off or can’t do when he’s here: catch up on podcasts (I want to knock 20 from the queue);  sew-up/finish off the WIPs that are fully knitted but have been lurking unfinished for years; find and sew on the various buttons missing from my clothes; mend the 3 pairs of socks that DH has worn through recently (he has really tough soles on his feet).

 Re the latter, I managed to finish the repair to one pair of socks yesterday, sewing on knitted patches.  These are socks that I knitted in 2019 and, even with his cut-like-iron soles, I’m disappointed that they didn’t survive considerably longer. I went with knitting patches then sewing, rather than my usual knitted-on patches because the soles of the socks were so felted that it was too difficult to pick individual stitches from which to knit up the patch.  (There are instructions somewhere on my blog for the latter technique.). Anyway, hopefully, you’ll be able to see the patches in this photo:

 

The edges will soften down after the first wash-and-wear or two.  These were the first pair of his socks to fail in years, but he’s killed at least two more since then, so I’ve started nagging him to use the pumice stone.

(I’ve solved the photo problem!  Once you go to select the photo from your library - on the screen that has loads of photos showing to be selected -  at the bottom is a button called “Options”.  Click on that and it will give you a choice of photo sizes.)

- Pip

Cherryfudge

In no particular order, @PipneyJane:

It's great you're feeling better! While I've not had chemo, I understand it can wipe you out but you sound as though you are coming back with a bounce.
Thanks for solving the photo problem.
Those are very neat sock repairs.
I vote we let you off the extra spending last year - perhaps it counts as medical expenses or something?
Don't overdo the catching up jobs.  
Excuse me turning my back while I butter these hot cross buns... they smell wonderful.

I fetched some bags of clothing out of the loft yesterday, mostly summer stuff that's been put away over winter, but also a couple of small bags that had been lost ages ago and which I now don't know what to do with. (I'm struggling with the grammar of that sentence. Should it be '...and with which I know not what to do'?)

Among the many found things was a beaded satin skirt that I'd abandoned because a shaped edge has come undone and I would rather save it than cut it off, but I don't know how to do it. It's in the ironing pile now so I might post a picture later and hope the village comes up with something I can manage, even though it won't be done yet as I'm also trying to sort out a family feast for tomorrow.