You are currently browsing the monthly archive for August, 2008.
During my charity shop ventures in both the US and UK in July and August, I’ve found some exciting things. Not pictured, is a strawberry shortcake candle and several singlets/tank tops which I left at my parents’ house in the US.
For my sister’s bachelorette party in July, the girls all decorated shirts to wear on the night out. I tried to convince the others to chose another colour so it wouldn’t be obvious if the shirt was older. Black won out because its more uniform and I guess glamorous when decorated. I searched the charity shops- which in the US have rack after rack of anything imaginable, but didn’t find any appropriate black tanks. So I had to purchase one. Instead of going to Old Navy or some other store and getting one marketed towards women, I got three boy’s undershirts for the same price. And they’re all from the same general area of the world as well, so that couldn’t be a consideration. So, while I am disappointed that I had to break my 11-month streak of not purchasing anything new in the stores, I am quite glad that I only ‘caved’ because I had to in order to fulfill maid of honor duties and didn’t find something “perfect” in the shops which I convinced myself I needed.
As for the other items, I found three great pair of jeans, but only bought 2, since they’re for wearing to the department and office, and my regular messy jeans are just fine for the moment. I did feel a bit goofy when i realised that one of them was Calvin Klein- I wondered if people would think I was a fashion tool. However, I found the occasion for education when I wore them to the bachelorette party and my little sister surprisingly asked (after somehow identifying them based on staring at the front pocket and not seeing any written word) why I had Calvin Kleins. I said well, I got them for $5 at the charity shop. After mentioning my rule of not purchasing new things in stores, I think the rest of the girls (although my sister is a convert in principle) thought a bit differently about style and thrifting.
The “Don’t Let The Turkeys Get You Down” was an impulse buy. Looking for long sleeve t-shirts, I came across this great image and knew I wanted it as a reminder throughout this coming year while writing my thesis.
The bottom row comprises UK purchases over the past few weeks- two pillow cases I might make a wrap skirt with or a shirt. Orange 3/4 sleeve shirt which feels like a T, but looks a bit nicer. Long sleeve turquoise shirt for £1 even though it was brand-new! It still had the store tag on, fits great and adds much needed layers to my wardrobe. The cotton cabled teal sweater vest is another layering deal, which will match the green shirt I found the other day. Actually, I was wearing the green shirt when trying on the vest at the charity shop!
[HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAMA!]
I’ve finally made sourdough and am beyond thrilled that my first attempt yielded tangy, chewy and delicious bread!
Using the recipe from the Tightwad Gazette, I made the starter on Sunday. On monday I was antsy all day and eager to get started but managed to refrain from interrupting the fermentation process. The starter went into the fridge on Tuesday, I mixed up the dough on Wednesday and let it rise overnight. Thursday, after a punch-down and a 4 hour rise, I placed the loaves in the oven!
Due to the long rising times, this bread won’t be replacing our regular homemade bread for general use, but I’ll definitely be making it often for its “eat it all up at once” factor!
I’m very encouraged by this bread not only because it satisfies a huge craving, but because it signifies success with bacteria. So far, my three attempts at making yogurt have been unsuccessful, but I’ll continue to try! Also, since this bread uses a fermenting bacteria, my confidence is leaning towards finally trying to make some kimchi.
I’m pretty excited to have found the “blog this” option on flickr…too bad it won’t allow the blogging of several photos at once.
While we’re usually pretty good at making (aka stamping or drawing) cards when we need them, birthday cards are one of the ones where we sometimes slack off and purchase.
I recently went through a large stack of b-day cards that had been sitting around and revitalised them into new birthday greetings. It only took a bit of searching to find the right image and colour combination to fit each recipient.
For our nephew (the tiger card), I was excited about tying in the dinosaur stickers, with orange and black writing saying “We hope your 7th birthday is a ROARING good time!”.
Using old cards is obviously nothing new, but I’m so pleased with how they’re enlivened by a colourful envelope pairing. I think I might’ve even convinced my partner (the largest culprit of b-day card purchases) to try hard this year to stretch our creativity and Use What We Have.
With my craft piles of various kinds (yarn, fabric, trimmings, paper, etc!) overflowing, we’re going to try and craft the winter away, very much in the mindset of the popular blog tag “Use what you have”.
Irma Palfy Rapp (Child of Maria Nagy and Philip Palfy) was born in Austria on 25th December 1902, later immigrating to Philadelphia. She was the mother of my maternal grandfather. She crocheted this beauty in the 1940s for her vanity. There is a long runner and several squares to the set.
When I was home visiting my parents I photographed this and plan on washing and re-blocking or starching it on my next visit.
I love knowing that there’s crochet history in my family!
