Cloth Pantyliners

If you’re squeamish about the female reproductive system, stop reading now. To make sure you don’t read more than you want to, here’s a photo of the moon I shot on my camera a few months ago. It was the first time I managed to take a photo that actually resembled the moon. If you want to read the rest of the post, I’ll meet you below the photo. 

  
Okay. 

For several years, I had an old brown flannel shirt in my sewing stash that I had planned on turning into cloth pantyliners. After at least 5 years of not making them, I used the fabric elsewhere. 

Although I use the keeper, I recently recognised that it was time to get a few fabric pantyliners for those very light (as well as very heavy) days. Looking on etsy, I saw a very wide range of handmade options but a few things bothered me about buying from there:

1. The fabrics were very light colours and…come on, you know how that will turn out.

2. The backing was always polyester fleece and I want as much of my wardrobe as possible to be compostables when I’m done.

3. I know people in real life who sew for a living and I wanted to keep my money more local. 

I got in touch with All That Is Braw, designer and maker of beautiful handmade children’s play wear and pajamas for the whole family. I asked if she would be up for a commission, discussed the size, shape, and design of what I wanted for the liners, and she made me these lovely things. They’re cotton and wool and perfect. 

  

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Last Minute Flower Barrette

We were due to leave for wedding #1 of the summer at 6pm. At 5:40pm, my wife started changing into the clothes she’d wear and I only had to pull my hair together. 

I planned on a bun that would withstand an evening of dancing. As I added the bobby pins I felt that something was missing and my thoughts landed on the flower that had fallen off the wreath, sitting forlorn on the stairs for the 3rd or 4th week. At 5:50pm, I dug out a barrette to sacrifice, my hot gluegun, dashed downstairs-grabbing the flower on the way down- pulled out a power converter  (my hot glue gun is ‘American’), plugged  the glue gun in and made myself a hairpiece. 

After my hair reached bun length, I should have known it was only a matter of time before I’d feel the need for a cardigan-matching flower for special occasions. 

 

Jewel-Toned Stripey Scarf

When Honey and I ran errands on Saturday, I saw this scarf in a charity shop window. I asked inside for the price, and before I even heard the ‘£2.99’, I knew I was taking it home. 

I washed the scarf on Sunday and couldn’t wait to iron before wearing it to work today.  The jewel tones means it will match nearly everything I wear. Yay. 

Planning My Next (Infinity) Dress

I outgrew my wedding dress a year or so ago and have been working with skirts since then. I don’t know when I’ll make/encounter my next dress, but this I know: it will need to have a full circle skirt (I’d compromise with a 3/4 circle) and be green. 

  

Updated Walking Trousers

My walking trousers were a very light colour: a pale sandy moving into grey. I was dyeing something else brown and chucked them into the wash. Even though they’re 100% polyester, they picked up a surprising amount of colour.

I love them more now that I feel that they’re ‘designed’ for playing in the dirt.

Forgotten Photo Friday: Arran Jumper

In November, Honey and I ran a craft stall for the day for my mother in law; we spent a lot of money at the other stalls!

We both left with new wool Arran jumpers made by Squiddly Bean. My jumper is a bit more teal than it looks here and it has become my winter uniform, getting use nearly every day.
We also brought home some plants, as we tend to do wherever we go…

New Skirt

In May, I realised that I no longer had a dressy bottom garment when needed. My formerly dressy-ish trousers had degraded into acceptably average and the modification to expand a skirt’s waistband only bought me a few extra weeks.
On a Friday night alone, I cranked up NPR and pulled this gorgeous teal wool knit from my stash. I was methodical about measuring, flattening the fabric many times and repinning, as my Mother-in-Law taught me as we began making my wedding dress. I made an infinity dress without the top half by omitting the straps and doing a yoga waistband for the band.

I followed the directions and used the stretchiest direction for the waist. Don’t do this. I had read many comments warning against this and heeded them when I made my wedding dress and wish I had remembered for the skirt. It’s nice for a casual day or event but, as I learned at a recent wedding, not the best waistband for a ceilidh outfit! The fabric is just a bit too heavy for that.
But oh, do I love circle skirts!

Wardrobe Modifications

Remember when I said I wouldn’t be buying any new clothes for the school year? Well, we’re going to have to call it a short university year! Although I thought I would have more than enough clothing to last me through the year, I didn’t count on both wearing through things and gaining weight. 

Not planning on gaining weight? Yeah, rookie mistake, I know. Considering my size has been stable for two years and I am in my mid 30s and had never been able to gain weight when I tried, I just didn’t think I could. I have slowly (and happily) crept up the scales since going gluten and dairy free last summer and imagine that I am now around the weight I would have been ages ago had my body been able to absorb the nutrients I was shoveling into it. My formerly loose clothing is now just on the other side of fitting. 

One pair of jeans were no longer tolerable to wear as they pinched my thighs (as far as I can tell, there is no internet hack for that!) so I was down to one pair with some stretch in them that grew with me. They’re on their last (two) legs though and I couldn’t wear them all week to work. In looking to replace them, I visited charity shop after charity shop: over 30 visits until I finally found a pair that fits well! For some reason, while I can find jeans that fit me somewhat easily in the US, I can almost never find jeans that accommodate certain curves here. In fact, after about two weeks of wearing my new jeans, I read the label and discovered they were made in the US. I haven’t taken a shot of them, but they’re just a dark wash pair of jeans that I hemmed using this technique. 

This skirt now has to sit so high up that the zip digs into my ribs all day. I was going to add a triangle of fabric in the zip area but the insert would have needed to be pretty wide and tall and would have been visible below any shirt. I pondered cutting it, raising it up, and adding elastic to the waist but the shaping is so nice in the lower back area I didn’t want to ruin it for someone else if I end up donating it. So I grabbed this skirt out one evening after work and tried it on. I yanked it off and knew immediately what I would do with it! Since it had a button, I could just make a button panel to add in without damaging the integrity of the design and giving myself a bit more (actual) breathing room. I was really proud of my buttonholing…  

and of the reclaimed comfort factor while knowing the modification will be hidden.

Girl Scout Camp Staff Tie

I have been invited to talk about the Girl Scouts USA at an upcoming Girl Guiding weekend. I was thrilled to be asked and then realised that I did not have a GS pin here with me, or even a world association pin. What’s a good Girl Scout to do to make sure she represents her home organisation? Use her resources wisely and head upstairs to see what fabric awaits in the ‘Arts and Crafts’ hall (aka room), and make what Girl Scout summer camp staff would recognise as a staff tie. 

  
Traditionally, someone else has to tie the friendship knot in the centre so I talked Honey through the process. Since I don’t have my membership pin in Scotland, I used the closest pin I could to hold its place. 

 

A Wardrobe Pledge

When playing on polyvore and trying to figure out my next Project 333 wardrobe, I realised that there were only a few things I owned but didn’t wear. I got rid of them and with that subtraction, choosing 33 items for 3 months would mean that I only boxed away a handful of items like a summer top or light cardigan.

That inspired me to stretch the season of everything I have: my summer top, for instance, gets an extra pop of colour when layered with a modern thermal.

With this challenge comes two realisations: I have more than enough outfits for a range of occasions, and I get the most excited/nostalgic for wardrobe changes in the fall and summer.
Inspiration × Realisation = I am pledging to not buy new clothes for the school year.