2025 Fashion On The Ration Challenge

MrsCD

Gem-gem said:

@Laura_Elsewhere well done on - clearing out 17kg is a great achievement. Shame it doesn't give you 17 coupons. 

The baby blanket is beautiful @Liverpool_Anne the stitches look so even. 

Ditto from me...couldn't have said it better myself! Well done Laura, and lovely knitting, Anne!

pixtotts

@Laura_Elsewhere I'm so so sorry to hear it effected your sleep! But you have done such a good job. I have to admit I'm not sure if it's lucky or unfortunate but even threadbare, maybe not socks, but probably because my nanny used to steal your socks off your feet and throw them in the fire if they were looking tired . But other threadbare clothing I can excuse as keeping for work, I only ruin things with paint anyway. The only way I find letting things go easy is if I can sell them on, if they are going for someone new to enjoy it's much easier for me, but then thats never the favourites is it. 



I have a pair of trousers sold to report so I'm up 1 coupon to 21 .... but then I have also bought a pair of replacement trousers so I'm down 6 ..... Oops... In my defence they are a literal replacement for the ones I sold same trousers different colour and were £19 reduced from £39 and from a company where I know the quality is excellent and when I've slimmed out of them I should be able to sell them on for near the same amount as I paid. But that doesn't help here or with wardrobe space!

Anyway finishing on 15 / 21 coupons    
(I decided to only allow myself 20 and gain coupons for selling on, the idea isn't that I replace everything I sell though!) 

Cherryfudge

@Laura_Elsewhere, that's indeed a huge achievement, and I know just what you mean about the effect on you. It hadn't occurred to me that the difficulty with decision-making is part of autism but of course that makes perfect sense - as does the resulting need for recovery time. It's rather like having the radar set to too high a sensitivity so everything gets picked up - all the sensory stuff, all the 'what ifs'. I guess those same things that are so overwhelming in our complex lives are also an advantage if they save us or other from some situation, but it's huge.

I get occasional days when I can 'see clearly' and make decisions, but they are rare - perhaps once a year? Otherwise, I progress by tiny increments.

Gem-gem

Well I thought that I would get past January before I bought anything and then one of my favourite clothes shops offered me 20% off their new stock plus I need trousers. Furthermore, i'm soon to hunting for that yellow thing in the sky. The day time temperature is going to be around 21 degrees (hurrah!). I bought one pair of navy trousers and one navy and white striped cotton jumper. I could have bought another pair of trousers and at least one dress but resisted temptation 🙄
6+5= 11 coupons
66-11=55 coupons left. 

wit40iwtwan

Went to sock knitting club and bought a ball of yarn as I decided to do two at a time (TAAT) socks lesson and the boudoir sock pattern that is paid for in 2024. 1 coupon used but I can finally understand the process of TAAT!! No more single socks for me! 

PipneyJane

Good afternoon everyone.  Are you warm enough? I’ve been hunting hot water bottles, without success.  Mr Lidler promised he’d have some - no sign of them in the two stores I visited.  However, there’s hot tea in the big thermos.  Hope it’s strong enough/weak enough for you.  It gets cold so fast if I leave it in the teapot, that I transferred it as soon as it had brewed.

@pixtotts - Welcome back!  

@Laura_Elsewhere 17kg of stuff.  I appreciate it is difficult.  You deserve a hug and a pat on the back.

@Liverpool_Anne beautiful baby blanket.  It looks really warm and cozy,

@wit40iwtwan Are you knitting heel-flap socks, short-row-heeled socks or afterthought socks?  I’d think the latter would be easiest, but I really don’t know, since I’ve never tried two-at-a-time socks.  When you’ve got the technique down pat, please share!  Also, please remind me of all the initials in your name.  I know that it starts When I Turn 40 I Will but I can’t remember the rest.

Who asked the question re leggings? @laura_lau was it you?   If you look at the notes on the first post, leggings count as 2 coupons BUT you can trade in a “free stockings coupon” for a pair of leggings.  (Apologies for the delay in getting back to you.  It’s been quite a week.  DH’s best friend had a heart attack on Wednesday.  His eldest sister phoned me, so I ended up on trying not to cry on the M25, while I drove down to Kent to be with him, on delegated sister duties.  All good now.  They inserted a stent and he was discharged yesterday into the care of one of his real sisters.  We spent the day with them yesterday.)

- Pip


ETA:  Yes, of course, I’m now knitting DHBF a pair of socks.

laura_lau

@PipneyJane so sorry to hear about that, but very happy to hear he’s back home now and in good hands! Wishing him all the best and a speedy recovery.

thank you for your answer on the leggings, haven’t bought them yet, so the info is still very valid! I’m not sure I understand the principle of the “free stocking coupon”, I will go back to the first post and have another read as soon as I’ve posted this reply.

i also have never attempted two socks at a time, @wit40iwtwan how are you getting along? And indeed I also want to know how does it work! I am a bit ambivalent about knitting socks, sometimes I am very into it, and sometimes I can’t even think of doing it. I currently have a pair of socks, which use West Yorkshire spinners pre-patterned Christmas yarn, started 2 (actually it might even be 3) years ago, and I haven’t gone beyond the first 3 cm of the leg… Also, I was wondering, would that be applicable to sleeves too? I am currently doing the 2x2 rib of the first sleeve of the poncho with sleeves for my aunt and it’s taking forever, I am already dreading having to even start doing the second sleeve, but if I could do two at a time it might be better.

Since I have been knitting exclusively on the poncho for the past week, I have decided to dedicate 1hour a day working on it, and then to move on to something more interesting for the rest of the evening, as I can see this is going to take a while and I am afraid it will make me lose my knitting mojo! In this way I hope to see still enough progress every day, but at least I can still enjoy other things.

PollyWollyDoodle

I’m intrigued by the two-at once socks, more info please @wit40iwtwan.  

I know there’s a description in War and Peace of the elderly aunt who used to knit two socks one inside the other, I’ve never been able to get my head round that!  

PipneyJane

laura_lau said:

@PipneyJane so sorry to hear about that, but very happy to hear he’s back home now and in good hands! Wishing him all the best and a speedy recovery

Thank you @laura_lau .  He’s a lot stronger than he was and my DH is going to spend the next couple of nights with him, to keep an eye on him.  (DH will “WFH” tomorrow.)

i also have never attempted two socks at a time, @wit40iwtwan how are you getting along? And indeed I also want to know how does it work! I am a bit ambivalent about knitting socks, sometimes I am very into it, and sometimes I can’t even think of doing it. I currently have a pair of socks, which use West Yorkshire spinners pre-patterned Christmas yarn, started 2 (actually it might even be 3) years ago, and I haven’t gone beyond the first 3 cm of the leg… Also, I was wondering, would that be applicable to sleeves too? I am currently doing the 2x2 rib of the first sleeve of the poncho with sleeves for my aunt and it’s taking forever, I am already dreading having to even start doing the second sleeve, but if I could do two at a time it might be better.

Two at a time sleeves are relatively easy.  Firstly, even if you are knitting them flat, you need long circular needles, at least a metre long.  You also need two balls of yarn, which I’ll call A and B.  With the smaller sized needle, cast on your first sleeve with ball A.  Scoot it down the needle cable a bit and then cast on your second sleeve with ball B.  Dangle a row counter from a stitch-marker ring,  prior to the last stitch on the second sleeve, like this:



This will tell you that, when you get back to it, you’ve definitely knitted on both sleeves.  Now start knitting, first on sleeve 2 with yarn B and then on sleeve 1 with yarn A.  When you get to the end of sleeve 1, turn your knitting clockwise and work back.  When you get back to the row marker and the end of sleeve 2, turn your knitting anti-clockwise and continue.

(By switching the direction you turn your work, you prevent the two yarns getting tightly twisted around each other.)

If you want to knit the sleeves in the round, use magic loop:  

1. Work your first three rows flat, in the rib specified in the pattern. 
2. Make sure that your knitting isn’t twisted, half way along each sleeve, pull out a loop of circular needle cable, so that the sleeve effectively folds in half and the needles are at the front, facing towards you..  Clip a safety-pin or a removable stitch marker onto each loop.
3. One sleeve will have the yarn dangling at the back - that’s the one you join up first.  Scoot half the stitches onto your left hand needle, pull that yarn under the needle, tension it in your normal way and start ribbing, knitting the knit stitches and purling the purl ones as they appear.
4. When you get to the first loop, slide your newly worked stitches from your right hand needle down onto the cable and ensure there is enough clearance to make a loop.  Turn your knitting so that the other portion of sleeve faces you.  Transfer the safety pin onto the new loop.  Scoot the second lot of stitches onto your left hand needle and continue ribbing.
5. When you get to the end of the first sleeve, work steps 3 and 4 with the second sleeve.
6. Repeat steps 3 to 5,  until the sleeves are the required length to the underarm - changing needles, stitch patterns, working increases, etc, as specified in the pattern  - then go back to knitting flat.

Hope the above is clear.  

- Pip

Liverpool_Anne

Hi all, I am 1/4 of the way through the green baby blanket 😁, due on St Patrick's day so I think it will be done on time. I did have to get some white yarn for the next one but it is what it is 😁.

@PipneyJane those instructions are very good but I have to admit it still blows my mind 😂. I really like working on circular needles but I am not proficient with magic loops. This is something I am going to have to have a go at just to see if I can do it 😁. I will try it out on 2 scarfs using some odd balls of yarn and see how I get on 😁.

Take care everyone