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2024 Fashion On The Ration Challenge
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Today I will mostly be wearing….
Blue - navy Viyella trousers bought from a charity shop about 5 years ago, a blue/teal spotty t-shirt again about 5 years old and navy trainers from John Lewis about 10 years old.Stash busting challenge 2025: 0/100 £0/£100 Fashion on the ration 2025: 0/665 -
Today I will mostly be wearing…
A pair of lightweight demin jeggings, not sure how old but certainly pre-covid, an apple green long sleeved top that I bought last year and a chocolate brown Rohan fleece jacket that I liberated from my mother's wardrobe when she moved into the nursing home - age completely unknown!Sealed Pot Challenge no 035.
Fashion on the Ration - 27.5/66 ( 5 - shoes, 1.5 - bra, 11.5 - 2 pairs of shoes and another bra, 5- t-shirt, 1.5 yet another bra!) 3 coupons swimming costume.6 -
Today I will mostly be wearing…
Ancient embroidered faded jeans, sadly past their best but beloved. A light sage green tee shirt that had long sleeves, of which a cuff was damaged by bleach so I made them three quarter length and it's been a wardrobe staple for years. (The undamaged end of the other sleeve was made into a scrunchie but I tend to forget I have that). A grey marl M&S jumper from a charity shop a few weeks ago. The bleach-damaged Skechers that I wear to keep the identical non-damaged pair nice!
It's been a baby sitting and cleaning day, can you tell?I think a bit of sunshine is good for frugal living. (Cranky40)
The sun's been out and I think I’m solar powered (Onebrokelady)
Fashion on the Ration 2025: Fabric 2, men's socks 3, Duvet 7.5, 2 t-shirts 10, men's socks 3, uniform top 0, hat 0, shoes 5 = 30.5/68
2024: Trainers 5, dress 7, slippers 5, 2 prs socks (gift) 2, 3 prs white socks 3, t-shirts x 2 10, 6 prs socks: mostly gifts 6, duvet set 7.5 = 45.5/68 coupons
20.5 coupons used in 2020. 62.5 used in 2021. 94.5 remaining as of 21/3/225 -
@PipneyJane - I find Sewing Bee difficult to enjoy on many levels, but the biggest problem for me is the frustration.They make a big drama out of, eg, people struggling to get a zip sewn in neatly… but they could so easily then have a little pre-recorded segment with Patrick explaining how to sew in a zip, and giving a couple of useful tips… thus keeping the contrived drama they seem to require, ie the contestants struggling to do something, but at the same time helping viewers to find it easier next time…2025 remaining: 37 coupons from 66:
January (29): winter boots, green trainers, canvas swimming-shoes (15); t-shirt x2 (8); 3m cotton twill (6);
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2025 second-hand acquisitions (no coupons): None thus far
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2025 needlework- *Reverse-couponing*:11 coupons :
January: teddybear-lined velvet jacket (11) & hat (0); velvet sleep-mask (0);6 -
Laura_Elsewhere said:@PipneyJane - I find Sewing Bee difficult to enjoy on many levels, but the biggest problem for me is the frustration.They make a big drama out of, eg, people struggling to get a zip sewn in neatly… but they could so easily then have a little pre-recorded segment with Patrick explaining how to sew in a zip, and giving a couple of useful tips… thus keeping the contrived drama they seem to require, ie the contestants struggling to do something, but at the same time helping viewers to find it easier next time…
Also, on some of the challenges, they don’t seem to award points for competence. I was very frustrated when, this week, they challenged the competitors to make a different garment out of up to 3 t-shirts. Someone turned out a beautifully made skirt. It fitted the brief perfectly, BUT because it wasn’t flashy, it was placed second last!
- Pip"Be the type of woman that when you get out of bed in the morning, the devil says 'Oh crap. She's up.'
It ain’t what you do, it’s the way that you do it - that’s what gets results!
2025 Fashion on the Ration Challenge 66 coupons - 39.5 spent.
4 - Thermal Socks from L!dl
4 - 1 pair "combinations" (Merino wool thermal top & leggings)
6 - Ukraine Forever Tartan Ruana wrap
22 - yarn
1.5 - sports bra
2 - leather wallet6 -
I’ve never watched Sewing Bee. I have ‘a thing’ about watching programmes or series that might inspire me to garden, or paint, or craft because I then don’t have time and I end up frustrated! But now I have a bit more time, should I? I can see there are 80 episodes on iPlayer.
In other news, I got one set of dinky wooden DPNs through airport security, coming out. I managed a first swatch on the plane but didn’t get gauge. I stupidly brought some of the yarn out as a skein, got it a bit tangled, and had to improvise a way to untangle and wind it in the hotel - back of chair plus my electric toothbrush handle as nostepinne….I then stupidly looked at a diagram about long tail cast on, instead of letting muscle memory take over. I expect the guy in the pool bar has me down as ‘foul mouthed knitting woman who drinks Aperol’. I’ll probably frog the first glove when I’ve made the second, as they’re quick once I get going.
I’ve been listening to some knitting podcasts, a little nugget: knitting was popular in England and Germany in WW2 because it was possible to knit in blackout conditions.Fashion on the Ration
2024 - 43/66 coupons used, carry forward 23
2025 - 62/899 -
I agree about Sewing Bee and I seem to remember when it first started (with May Martin and Patrick) there was more explanation and more emphasis on technique. However, I do still enjoy watching it - it could take over several hours of your life @Sarahspangles! It might be worth watching the first series, I love the lady who won that and she turned out some immaculate garments.Well done on managing to get your knitting sorted out on holiday!Life is mainly froth and bubble: two things stand like stone. Kindness in another’s trouble, courage in your own.5
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Sarahspangles said:I’ve never watched Sewing Bee. I have ‘a thing’ about watching programmes or series that might inspire me to garden, or paint, or craft because I then don’t have time and I end up frustrated! But now I have a bit more time, should I? I can see there are 80 episodes on iPlayer.
In other news, I got one set of dinky wooden DPNs through airport security, coming out. I managed a first swatch on the plane but didn’t get gauge. I stupidly brought some of the yarn out as a skein, got it a bit tangled, and had to improvise a way to untangle and wind it in the hotel - back of chair plus my electric toothbrush handle as nostepinne….I then stupidly looked at a diagram about long tail cast on, instead of letting muscle memory take over. I expect the guy in the pool bar has me down as ‘foul mouthed knitting woman who drinks Aperol’. I’ll probably frog the first glove when I’ve made the second, as they’re quick once I get going.
I’ve been listening to some knitting podcasts, a little nugget: knitting was popular in England and Germany in WW2 because it was possible to knit in blackout conditions.
Ooohhh…. Which knitting podcasts, please @Saraspangles? I listen to several and am always on the look out for another. (Cast On, Caithness Craft Collective, The Knitmore Girls, Cogknitive - all the others I used to listen to have gone silent.)
Does anyone know of a frugality podcast that is worth listening to?
Glad to hear you got to knit on the plane. You aren’t the first knitter to fall foul of a hank of yarn - I’ve seen photos of passengers using their knees to hold the hank open, while balling it up with their hands. Thinking of which…. a useful skill to learn is how to wind a centre-pull ball with your hands. I don’t remember where I saw how to do it but this video seems comprehensive.
Hope you are having a lovely holiday.
Talking of knitting, my current handbag knitting project has bitten me. I’m knitting afterthought heel socks, with contrasting heels and toes, using the remains of ball of wool from which I have already knitted a pair of socks. I have 37 grams* of the main colourway which, it turns out, isn’t enough to knit two 60 round legs and 53 round feet. On the second sock, I’ve started the foot after leg round 42, so I’ll have to frog back there and reknit the first sock. However, to ensure they match exactly, I’ll frog the contrast toe of sock one - thank heavens I didn’t do the heel - and then rip back 18 rounds, ball that up and knit it. Only when I know on which round of the foot that I run out of the main colourway, will I redo the first sock. Who knows? I may even get to the point that I’ll have to reknit the current (second) sock, so that I can make the leg longer.
- Pip
* Theoretically, 37g should be enough. I’ve just weighed a full pair that I knitted in WYS Signature Sock, again with contrasting heels and toes and they weigh 54g. They were knitted with a 54 round leg."Be the type of woman that when you get out of bed in the morning, the devil says 'Oh crap. She's up.'
It ain’t what you do, it’s the way that you do it - that’s what gets results!
2025 Fashion on the Ration Challenge 66 coupons - 39.5 spent.
4 - Thermal Socks from L!dl
4 - 1 pair "combinations" (Merino wool thermal top & leggings)
6 - Ukraine Forever Tartan Ruana wrap
22 - yarn
1.5 - sports bra
2 - leather wallet5 -
I've finally caught up on Sewing Bee and I enjoyed it, as did DH! My dislike is when presenters' personal preferences are taken into account - so Esme doesn't like brown but does like bows, and people play to this (a bit like adding copious amounts of alcohol to cakes on the Bake-off, because Pru likes it).
Sorry Esme, you may be far above me in your knowledge and experience, but I like brown and I don't like bows.
It can be a bit of an eye-opener too. I feel the makeover is the weakest aspect, because really making over something requires time and trouble, and possibly hand sewing techniques that can't be showcased in a time-limited, tension-centred programme. Patrick has an active interest in sustainable clothing, and I like that he's promoting the ethos, but the sort of makeover challenges they present are wasteful of fabric, and unlikely ever to be worn again... but did you see the no-waste garment made out of a white embroidered tablecloth?! It was just gorgeous, especially as it was made with the time constraints they have. Until I saw that, I had been against the remaking of someone's long hours of embroidery to make a garment that may only be worn for a few hours, but this really showed the potential. I'm still never going to cut up an old tablecloth (unless, just possibly, I come across a damaged one) because I like them just as they are and you can't put that back once it's gone.
If they want to make a realistic contribution to textile waste, why not replace the (parody of) recycling fabrics with a repair challenge?
And while I'm on the soap box, I'm just back from a few days in Rome, where we saw some outstanding art. There was excellent commentary alongside each piece, too, so it got me thinking: apparently way back in the past there wasn't the intellectual division between art and craft that we have nowadays. One of the things that medieval painters did so well was to show off the fabrics of the time, which are generally background to the subject of the painting - yet these fabrics were works of art in themselves. Of course, we have very little of them, because painting, architecture and sculpture last a lot longer than fabrics. There were a couple of pieces in the Vatican Museum though that could possibly have been made 1500 or so years ago. They were basic tunics from a reliquary - so they could have been older than that. One was silk and one was linen - and I happened to be wearing a linen top (cheap, modern) so I was able to compare the weight of the fabrics. The antique linen was possibly heavier, more densely woven - but the threads were a similar weight to what I was wearing, which has to have been machine made. They had been mended - one of the mends was quite rough - and the silk one looked as though it had once been embroidered. Of all those amazing clothes portrayed in old paintings, not a trace remains, but what must those fabrics have been like, made for the rich people of an era of incredibly high skills?
I think a bit of sunshine is good for frugal living. (Cranky40)
The sun's been out and I think I’m solar powered (Onebrokelady)
Fashion on the Ration 2025: Fabric 2, men's socks 3, Duvet 7.5, 2 t-shirts 10, men's socks 3, uniform top 0, hat 0, shoes 5 = 30.5/68
2024: Trainers 5, dress 7, slippers 5, 2 prs socks (gift) 2, 3 prs white socks 3, t-shirts x 2 10, 6 prs socks: mostly gifts 6, duvet set 7.5 = 45.5/68 coupons
20.5 coupons used in 2020. 62.5 used in 2021. 94.5 remaining as of 21/3/226 -
PipneyJane said:Sarahspangles said:
I’ve been listening to some knitting podcasts, a little nugget: knitting was popular in England and Germany in WW2 because it was possible to knit in blackout conditions.
Glad to hear you got to knit on the plane. You aren’t the first knitter to fall foul of a hank of yarn - I’ve seen photos of passengers using their knees to hold the hank open, while balling it up with their hands. Thinking of which…. a useful skill to learn is how to wind a centre-pull ball with your hands. I don’t remember where I saw how to do it but this video seems comprehensive.
One of the podcasts is with Cornelia Hamilton who sounds like she wears her skein as a sarong! But she doesn’t knit in public….Fashion on the Ration
2024 - 43/66 coupons used, carry forward 23
2025 - 62/894
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