2024 Fashion On The Ration Challenge

Nelliegrace

Very dainty @Laura_Elsewhere. Your lavender is ahead of my large Munstead bushes, which are just showing colour.
I fill vases with lavender to dry in all of the rooms, and buckets of it which, when dry, get upended onto a large trug to rub off the flower heads.
Like Granny, I put fresh bowls of lavender upstairs every year, and stir it up regularly for the calming perfume. 
I shall tie some lavender in old hankies with ribbon to go in the chest of drawers with my clean sock and undies. 

I am expecting some more coupon-free, vintage hankies from eB. £4.99 won this bundle. There is a silk George VI Coronation handkerchiefs, and the Osman ones look like Utility quality, perhaps just later? I must get on with my talk for WI. 

PipneyJane

Laura_Elsewhere said:

@PipneyJane, brilliant that you've found your tweed! Whose genius suggestion was that? It was a good idea, anyway!
The exact ribbon needed for lavender bottles varies depending on size of lavender flower-head and length of stem! I only had small lavender so probably used not mnuch over a foot to make little ones, six inches in full- but if you're luckier and have larger, longer-stemmed lavender then you mgiht need 18" or more. 
I'm not completely sure French lavender will work- just keep an eye on it, as it tends to be fatter with more moisture compared to English lavender varieties which tend to be more compact with more oil. It's possible the French lavender heads tightly packed may just go mouldy... 

@maryb - that sounds like a brilliant plan! I have been trying to find time and energy to butcher a few good-quality second-hand shirts too- a lovely coral pure-linen M&S shirt which has tight upper-sleeves that actually limit my ability to put things away in top cupboards, and a collar slightly too large so it crumples a lot... 

It was @Liverpool_Anne’s suggestion, @ Laura_Elsewhere.  (Thanks again, Liverpool_Anne.)

- Pip

Cherryfudge

I'm delighted you have a match, @PipneyJane! It's a beautiful fabric and I foresee you making some classic pieces.

CapricornLass

That's the nice thing about proper tweed.  It doesn't really date, and lasts.

Liverpool_Anne

Hi all,

@PipneyJane glad you were able to get a match and dare I suggest you ask if they could possibly supply you with a piece of the trim . If they make it they might be happy to sell you what you need, if they don't make it they might be happy to tell you where they source it. .

@Laura_Elsewhere lovely lavender things, as soon as I can get my hands on some lavender I will be giving that a try , lavender is one of my favourite smells and I use the essential oil on a little piece of cloth to help me sleep

@Nelliegrace love those hankies and what a bargain

I am still working on recrocheting the yarn from the moth attacked blanket but it will have to go on the back burner for a while as I need to crack on with the baby blanket for friend's son and fiance as I will start to stress about it if I leave it much longer

Take care everyone

maryb

I have what I thought was a slightly unusual issue.  My left foot has gone up a whole size.  But apparently it’s not that unusual for the ligaments to soften, the arches to flatten and your feet to spread as you get older.  I knew about it happening in pregnancy but not old age.  Irritating as it means none of my shoes fit - the big toe is right at the end and being pressed on quite painfully.  Even more irritating is the fact it has only happened to the left foot so there is a whole size difference which means I can’t easily just buy a bigger size

But I was in town today and looked in Clark’s.  The stock on the shelves is looking more and more spread out.  Reminds me of Wilko when it was limping (see what I did there?) towards disaster.  Clark’s has already been “rescued” once and is now owned by private equity (Chinese)  They don’t tend to throw good money after bad.  So I wondered whether to buy while I can.  They had a pair of fairly classic courts with a block heel not too high.  I’d looked at them previously but all the reviews said they were very narrow and tight.  So this time I decided to try them on in a bigger size.  They fit the bigger foot pretty well but they are too big on the smaller foot.  I bought them anyway and will try them on at home with an insole.  If that works then I will just need a pair of flats to wear with jeans.  I might be able to get those from Hotter but it’s a bit hit and miss whether their shoes fit me.  I could sob when I think of all the shoes I can no longer wear languishing in the bottom of the wardrobe 

Anyway, the point of this ramble is it got me thinking about how many women must have suffered with painful feet in 1942.  I know they tended to produce a lot more variety of sizes and widths at one time but wartime restrictions must have meant there was a lot less choice.  Imagine spending 5 of your precious coupons on a pair of shoes which turned out to be seriously uncomfortable and knowing you were stuck with them and had to wear them every day probably all year round.  I remember seeing the 1940s House and the mother complained about corns - makes sense

Laura_Elsewhere

@maryb, feet often do get a bit bigger with age, for various reasons- but it's less common for it to happen only to one foot, and a whole size in difference- next time you are passing a good pharmacist or if you have a GP you can get appts with, can I suggest you just get someone trained to have a look? There are a fair few conditions that can have a symptom of one foot getting quite a bit bigger due to fluid building up inside the tissues, and if it is that then it would just be good to get it confirmed that it's one of the fairly harmless things and not something a bit more serious like heart problems!  

(I learnt a lot about it when Mr E suddenly had one leg get bigger...! His is harmless, but the symptom of one leg or one foot getting bigger without you being aware until suddenly it's noticeable, that *can* indicate other stuff...)

Laura_Elsewhere

As for 1940s shoes- I think the biggest difference from now is that properly-made leather shoes start off very stiff, and have to be "worn in" around the house for days, even a couple of weeks- the result of that is that the leather softens and moulds itself to your foot, so you actually end up with shoes that are a perfect fit for each of your feet. 

Even when I was little, in the 1970s, I remember having to wear-in my school shoes around the house before terms started, and both my parents doing the same with their shoes. 

We've all become accustomed very rapidly to putting up with shoes that don't fit us properly and don't last and can't be re-soled or re-heeled... 

And we pay FAR more in replacing them!  

Cherryfudge

@maryb, there are details online of various companies who cater for people with 1.5 or 2 sizes difference between their feet. I know that's more than you're currently experiencing but if you delve deeply you may find a compromise in going up half a size more?

PipneyJane

Laura_Elsewhere said:

@maryb, feet often do get a bit bigger with age, for various reasons- but it's less common for it to happen only to one foot, and a whole size in difference- next time you are passing a good pharmacist or if you have a GP you can get appts with, can I suggest you just get someone trained to have a look? There are a fair few conditions that can have a symptom of one foot getting quite a bit bigger due to fluid building up inside the tissues, and if it is that then it would just be good to get it confirmed that it's one of the fairly harmless things and not something a bit more serious like heart problems!  

(I learnt a lot about it when Mr E suddenly had one leg get bigger...! His is harmless, but the symptom of one leg or one foot getting bigger without you being aware until suddenly it's noticeable, that *can* indicate other stuff...)

Very good advice, @Laura_Elsewhere.  

@maryb, as Cherryfudge suggested, have a look online for shops that sell shoes for odd feet.  I know I saw one, when I was on holiday recently, but I can’t tell you whether it was in Rochester, Canterbury or Whitstable, or what it was called.  I do remember they had a display in store for odd-sized feet.

HTH

- Pip


PS:  Sadly, @Liverpool_Anne, the jacket was not made by Harris Tweed, only the main fabric.  (Don’t know who made it, but a hidden label says “Made in Portugal.)