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These jeans debuted last weekend on a road trip down to Richmond and Kirby Stephen, England.
They were originally a pair of mens “fashion” jeans, as evidenced by all the neatly arranged holes. A few weeks ago, two holes near the knee joined forces and i knew I had to patch these up before all the holes followed suit!
I trimmed the threads holding each hole ‘together’ so that the fabric would show through. Then, I took two large rectangles of fabric from my stash (we call it the Time Lord fabric since I think it looks like space and time travel…I used it to line a Tardis bag I crocheted a few years ago) and sewed them into the thigh areas, leaving several inches around the holes. I then turned them right side out to stitch boxes around each individual hole with a few zig-zag lines over top both fabric layers. Last, I made (what is supposed to be) a lotus flower applique and added it to the outside. I LOVE them! I am so proud of this refashion and know that they’re once more my party-jeans!
After trying the reach the boxes near the knees, I think I finally understand the idea of a free-arm sewing machine. It would have given me much more maneuverability!
Another completed project- which I handed in yesterday- is my first rough draft of my thesis! Still plenty of work to do on it but now, all my ideas are on paper in a structure that I think works!
I made this key fob for a friend’s 30th birthday. She’s a big fan of “Napoleon Dynamite” and that was her party’s theme, so I whipped this up. When I say “whipped”, I mean it almost whipped me. The letters were harder to embroider (using the machine’s button hole function) than I had expected and I had to rip several tricky letters out a few times (the Os and the Rs!), though I got better as I went along.
I made it to the same specifications as the frog key fob.
We’ve been continuing to de-clutter, including larger items. Our old cordless now only holds a charge for around 45 minutes which wasn’t good enough considering my family lives across the ocean and we catch up using longer blab sessions. It lived in the closet for about a month. While it was on our list of things to get rid of, charity shops here tend to be wary of electronics and I wasn’t sure about posting something with a half-life on freecycle. Luckily, a WANTED email came through and I was able to specify the charge it holds and a man happily took it off our hands. We also gladly gave away a learner’s aucoustic guitar requested on freecycle, and sent a disused (and in need of repair) bike back to recyke-a-bike. If you have a bike you no longer use, look for a local bike re-use scheme. It somehow feels better to donate a bike to a place that will fix it up in order to sell, than to a charity shop which will probably struggle to sell it.
I tried another batch of homemade laundry detergent using this tutorial/recipe. After the dry detergent didn’t work for our clothing/machine/regular cycle, I took a break from trying for a while. Around two weeks ago, I decided to whip up a batch of the liquid detergent and it works perfectly! Apparently, the type of water you have in your area, the individual machine cycles and some other things (can’t remember what!) can affect the outcome, so if one doesn’t work very well, try another. We have been using it constantly since then and the clothes come out of the machine smelling like fresh air! I only made about 1/6 of the amount when I made it due to space issues, but I am going to find a large tub very soon because we’re definitely switching.
I’ve been sewing a lot on my rare free time and am beginning to miss crocheting. I’ve been drawn to sewing tiny things for the quick results they yield, but definitely will be getting back to the good old yarn and hook very soon.
Here are a few interesting articles on the subject of material scavengers, the editorial responses on poverty and factory work, and a brief business article on what retailers will be doing to deal with decreased spending. The last article suggests that stores will be carrying less stock- including less colour or style variety in clothing. Perhaps after a few (“fashion”) seasons the monotony of being a cookie-cutter consumer will wear on shoppers and thrifting and creating clothing will become standard style protocol.
I just came across this article about a long-running Sewing and Crafts program in NYC. It is generally a heartwarming story of dedication…But I see it as a call to continue to teach people crafting and frugal skills.
Just before the winter holidays, some friends and I gathered for a craft day- to help one friend sew curtains, while we crocheted, knit socks, or hemmed jeans. For some reason, seeing my friends ‘bust out’ skills that I didn’t know they had made me incredibly proud. It reminded me to continue to teach whatever skills I can share, to whoever will learn.
I hope that in this time when everyone is fretting about the economy and seemingly endless articles run in the newspapers and magazines about revitalising what we already own, that we can shift our consumption culture back to appreciating quality and repair over disposable thrills.
Autumn starts almost hesitantly in Scotland. You cannot base its arrival on the beginning of the school year, for that is in August. You must scrutinize leaves all around town, noting the faint appearance of reds in a few. I would say that it is an early Autumn here compared what I’m used to, but mostly, it is a short one. The trees never seem to coordinate with one another and as one is reaching the early stages of colour, the next will have shed its coat entirely. One sure indicator, however, is the blackberries. Once they have ripened, you’ll be sure to smell the sweet decaying leaves and moist earth as nature tucks itself in for the winter.
During a study break today, I noticed that rain stopped and the sun was shining! Remembering the almost ripe berries I walked past last weekend, I decided that it was time to get outside. While I was afraid that I would be a few days late I was actually a few days before peak, with plenty more berries to ripen. For the past 3 blackberry harvests since moving here, I have made blackberry pie. Its such a delicious treat that for us acknowledges the end of Summer, that its hard to deviate from the growing tradition. Still, I have been thinking about trying out making jams…and if I have time, you’ll see the results! I don’t have a decent shot of the blackberries on the vine since it was amazingly windy when my hands were clean enough to handle the camera. One thing I love about picking blackberries- or actually, playing anywhere! – in Scotland, is that there is no poison ivy to worry about. I always find myself cautious when thinking about stepping further into the bushes for a better reach, only to remember with relief that there’s no poison ivy in the whole country!
I also spotted some rose-hips that I hadn’t noticed when picking blackberries last year and have some ideas in the works for when they’re ripe!
One food that I think of without fail every Fall, is acorns. In my parents’ house the whole front yard is carpeted in them and by the end of October, every step is accompanied by the dried crunching of the nuts underfoot. I have memories of my mom making acorn bread, and roast-acorn “coffee”…and when picking blackberries I found I was distracted by the desire to harvest acorns as well. Unfortunately, I can’t think of any oak trees in this town, let alone several. This weekend we’re planning on driving a bit north to check out some Historic Scotland sites, so I’ll keep my eyes open for a possible return trip later in the season.
While my mom is excellent at finding edibles in the U.S. (literally, the whole country- she’s well travelled) and she’s taught me basic PA foods, I’ve been timid about checking out Britain’s foods, since I can’t bring them to her for inspection. My fall stock-piling instincts are strong this week and I’ve decided to get more into it here. Playing around online I found some interesting websites for food in Britain.
Acorn ideas at these two websites. Wild foods and remedies at these two sites based in the U.K. Two extensive sites which deal with becoming self sufficient and a database of edible and medicinal plants.
Finally, an enthusiastic attempt at making vegetable kimchi which yielded mediocre pickled plants. I haven’t been able to get my hands on any bokchoy locally, and decided to try out the recipe before I found it and wasted it. Instead, I used garden vegetables -broccoli, cucumber and cabbage…along with purchased carrots. I should have ground some of the chili flakes up to give a deeper colour, and used more seasoning paste (ginger, garlic, oil, red pepper flakes, sesame seeds) and the end result, after fermenting for several days, just ended up tasting like ‘vinagery’ veggies that left a pleasing hot tingle on the lips. By the way, the cucumber turned out disgusting- too soft. For now, its not too bad eating it with some rice, and other flavours, but it is no where near as good as regular kimchi where I’m tempted to eat the whole jar at once!
Since I’ve started to include my non-textile based creations, I think I should probably change the blog tagline…So a change may be in the works!
There have been a few news articles in the past week that tie in to the reasons I’m keeping this blog. First, is the article on thrift shops and how they’re essential shopping for some – the writer tries to bridge the gap between fashion shoppers and the stereotype of thrift shops as selling unfashionable, worn out junk. If it doesn’t prompt more people to shop in thrift stores perhaps it will at least increase donations, based on the article’s mention of tax deductions. “For Many, Thrift Shops Are a Wardrobe Essential”
The second article talks about changing consumer habits (“Recession Diet Just One Way to Tighten Belt”), which hopefully in light of the third article (“Environmental Cost of Shipping Groceries Around the World”), will influence companies to listen. Still, I think more emphasis should also be placed on the packaging of foods. Tesco is touted as trying to switch to greener options, yet I cannot buy a simple cucumber in any British supermarket. I can receive real cucumbers from friends with allotments and gardens, but cannot purchase a cucumber in its Natural wrapping anywhere. On Friday, this fact came back to me when I examined half a British cucumber in a sealed plastic bag, or a whole Spanish cucumber shrink wrapped in plastic. Why can they not just trust us to wash the skin?…
…is the name of a BBC mini-programme which takes 6 young fashion conscious (obsessed) Brits to India to experience life in the garment industry. While it is half reality tv and half documentary, the programme explores the questions of working conditions, wages, and the lack of other options for some skilled workers trying to support their families. If you’re in the UK, give it a try on the BBC iplayer or on BBC3. It may not do much to change the majority of viewers, but a national corporation bringing these issues into general discussion is always a positive step. Here are some video clips from the website.
I just found this excellent article/blog post at True Stitches about a t-shirt’s ecological footprint. Its better researched and written than my work, so check it out!
These discarded pieces of clothing – perhaps even after years of love in some cases- are my current inspiration. In fact, I cleared through my wardrobe today, searching for items to mend and to assess everything. Interestingly, even after only a few weeks of thinking in a wardrobe refashion frame of mind, I got excited when I withdrew 3-4 garments from the closet. Usually, items like this get donated, or turn into wrag, for these said garments have not been seriously worn (perhaps as pajamas or around the house in a pinch) in serveral months if at all. However, I surged with excitement when realising they were now simply pieces of fabric full of potential for me to refashion! This is hopefully where their lifecycles will take further steps towards completion.
