During the past few days my time has been consumed by some admin work I am doing for a local community group so it has not really been suitable material for a blog post.
However, today I got back to some serious mending and it was all about our dog. She is now nearly 4 years old and has lost many of her destructive tendencies but a few persist.
We bought her a small foam couch 12 months ago when we moved here and it had remained intact until a couple of days ago. She was in the sewing room in the sun when GMan discovered her latest antics. A significant piece of the fabric had been destroyed and there were several small pieces of foam being chewed off. I was not pleased at this apparent brain snap. Anyway, I have hand-stitched a decent-sized denim patch to cover the damaged area and I hope we do not have a repeat performance any time soon.
The other project was to revamp her bed which was definitely looking much the worse for wear.
That is actually the second version in almost exactly 2 years. You can read about the first one here.
It is just as well that my fabric stash includes a number of quite heavy upholstery fabric pieces so it was a simple matter of finding another suitable piece to make yet another new cover.
A couple of weeks ago I noticed that the sheets on our bed were beginning to look a bit threadbare. I have 4 sets of QS sheets which I rotate for our bed and also the guest bed. Naturally the ones on the guest bed don’t get a lot of use. They are top quality pure cotton sheets and have lasted very well. In fact, I could not remember when I had last bought sheets. After doing some detective work I discovered that they would have been one of the sets referred to in this post from June 2011. Over 12 years is not bad.
However, I was not quite ready to throw them out. The top edge of the top sheet was literally disintegrating so I removed it and replaced it with a strip from a KS sheet which I bought recently from the local op shop. I used some of it for the backing of a quilt but there was plenty left for other projects.
Then I turned my attention to the bottom sheet. This had 2 small splits amid a larger very worn area. You can see the splits on the wrong side after I had placed a patch on the right side.
I use double-side fusible interfacing to secure the patch before sewing it. This also helps to reinforce the worn area. I used a piece of very similar fabric for the patch.
I know it probably doesn’t look particularly comfortable, I will be able to place the sheet so that the patch is near the foot of my side of the bed and my feet barely reach that spot.
I don’t know how much these repairs will extend the life of these sheets but it was a relatively easy fix and a worthwhile one in my opinion.
The other two jobs were alterations rather than mending. I had bought both of these tops at op shops recently and while they are in very good condition the sleeves were too long for me and the grey striped one was much too long in the body. I have adjusted them for a better fit and they are ready for wearing during the cooler months.
I knew that the collar of my rugby top was wearing out but when I was folding the washing I noticed that it was really in need of some repairs. The top is 24 years old but still in surprisingly good condition apart from the collar. It has faded but is excellent quality so I decided to replace the collar.
Past generations would have simply unpicked the collar from the collar stand before turning and reapplying it. Because it was so worn I chose to make a new collar using some remnants of a hotel-quality bed sheet which is a super strong cotton fabric.
As I was unpicking the collar it became obvious that the collar stand was also worn-out as it began to disintegrate. The job became a little more extensive. I had the collar made and decided I could go no further until I had bought some heavy cotton tape to replace that which had been used for the collar stand. Then I realised that it was just two narrow strips of strong cotton fabric so I could make my own by using strips of the same fabric as I was using for the collar.
I carefully pinned the collar stand to the neckline of the top and then attached the collar. I ended up with a functional garment sporting a brand new collar and I expect that I will get plenty more wear from it yet.
Meanwhile, I have been doing some other deconstruction. Apart from my stash of new fabric pieces, I also have numerous garments, which I have acquired from various sources, that I am planning to reuse the fabric. Here are 3 that I have unpicked, washed and ironed in preparation for making into new garments.
The blue piece was a wrap skirt which I rescued from an op shop discard destined for landfill. It is 100% rayon and I hope to make a pair of loose, lightweight trousers. The green is quite a heavy cotton brocade which was a skirt that belonged to my mother. I plan to make a top with it. Finally, the black and white spotted fabric is also a 100% rayon op shop discard. It was a fairly short shift dress which I am going to refashion into a top.
There are many ways to step away from fast fashion. Invest in quality items where possible, buy secondhand items, take care of the clothes you have to make them last longer, mend/repair existing clothes to extend their life and repurpose existing fabric to create new items. Not all of of us can do all of these things but everyone can do at least some of them. Together we can honour the time and resources required to create fabric and garments by making a stand against fast fashion and the disastrous contribution it makes to landfill and pollution.
After writing this blog for over 12 years I sometimes wonder whether it has become a little stale or repetitive. However, I am reminded that there are new people popping in all the time so I will continue to share my activities here.
Since it is winter and I am struggling with a cold it is not a great time to be outdoors. There is plenty to do inside the house and most of it can be distilled down to cooking and sewing.
Cooking is essential for feeding ourselves and I try to build up a bit of a supply of meals as well as condiments. In the past few days I have made grapefruit marmalade (recipe here) from fruit which was in a giveaway box in the next block, a new batch of gluten-free pizza bases (recipe here), sourdough bread (GMan’s handiwork) as well as Eggplant Rolls and Pumpkin, Eggplant and Chickpea Curry. You can check our my vegetable curry recipe here.
The next blog post will be the full recipe for the Eggplant Rolls.
On the sewing front, I have completed a couple of mending jobs.
New elastic (salvaged from worn-out undies) to replace the elastic and drawstring in this pair of pyjama bottoms which were originally purchased 2 years ago from the $1 rack at the op shop.
This jacket is 11 years old and still in excellent condition but the zip had broken so I bought a new zip and replaced it.
I think that is the mending out of the way for the moment so I do need to set my mind to making a dress to wear to a family wedding in 7 weeks time. Watch this space as the saying goes.
One of the op shop buys I mentioned in my last post was a vest which had a broken front zip.
Yesterday I bought a new zip and my project for today was to replace the broken zip.
Replacing zips can be a bit of a challenge as they are generally inserted fairly early in the garment construction, therefore, it is a bit of a balancing act to deconstruct enough of the garment to allow the removal and replacement of the zip.
I have managed to achieve my goal reasonably successfully.
Is it perfect? No.
Is it good? Yes.
Am I happy with the result? Absolutely.
New zip inserted
Zipped up.
Wearing the finished garment.
The zip cost me $8.50 which was more than double what I paid for the vest but I still regard it as $12.50 well spent to have this addition to my wardrobe.
This pair of GMan’s work jeans already had one patch – I added another two.
I had managed to put a rip in the knee of a pair of my lightweight travel pants so they got the same treatment.
I us double-sided iron-on interfacing to fuse the patch to the inside of the garment before reinforcing it with a zigzag stitch.
I darned a hole in the cuff of a woollen jumper. Once again, this is some of GMan’s workwear as evidenced by the touches of paint.
I also mended holes in the toes of two pairs of socks but no photos.
Finally, I moved on to actually making something. This is not terribly exciting but I used part of an old sheet to make a cover for GMan’s Drizabone coat.
It has hung in the shed for many years with minimal wear but I imagine it will get much more use in the colder climate. Since it is oilskin, it is not ideal to have it hanging against other clothes so I made a slipcover for it.
Now that I feel I have pretty well cleared the decks, I can make a start on some ‘real’ sewing. The first project I have planned is to make some trackpants for GMan.
There are days when even I must admit defeat and today is one of them.
I have written before about a pair of shorts which I have modified and mended over a period of close to 30 years. You can read a bit more detail here.
Yesterday was the death knell for this much-loved garment. GMan and I went to the dump with a load of garden waste for a friend and I managed one final rip to my gardening shorts and I have to confess that they are now simply beyond any type of further repair.
If you are in any doubt here are some final photos before they go in the bin.
Front view.
Back view, including the final rip.
The inside showing multiple patches.
There is one more thing to do though. There is a perfectly good zip and button which can be salvaged.
I have a pair of jeans that were bought in 2012 and are becoming rather thin. This is particularly evident at the inner thighs and the tiny hole is becoming larger.
Although they are no longer my good jeans I still wear them regularly so decided to try my hand at patching them. I have patched jeans previously but usually with no consideration to the aesthetic as they were only for wearing in the garden. This time I was aiming for a better looking result.
This is what I had to work with.
2 patches cut from some denim offcuts.
Double-sided interfacing ironed onto the wrong side of the fabric patches.
Patches ironed onto the inside of the jeans.
Two rows of stitching around each patch to secure them.
I then turned the jeans to the outside and using a tight, wide zigzag stitch I stitched over the hole and the worst of the thin areas to reinforce them.
The view on the inside.
All finished.
Once they are washed these will be ready to wear again. After 9 years of consistent wear the jeans are getting a bit thin all over but I think I have extended the life for a bit. One or two years, perhaps? I don’t know but I do know that it was worth 20 minutes of my time and a small quantity of materials I had on hand to make these jeans wearable again.
I cannot imagine simply throwing out (to landfill) every item that ceases to function perfectly.
Mending is definitely a skill worth nurturing. Some mending jobs are relatively simple while others are a bit more complex. Replacing a trouser zip definitely falls into the latter category in my opinion. It is not one of my favourite tasks. However, there is enormous satisfaction at restoring an otherwise useless garment to a functional piece.
The first step is to carefully remove the existing zip. Replacing a zip is made more difficult by the fact that it is not the final step when the garment was originally constructed. Unpick as much stitching as required to insert the new zip.
One side pinned in place.
I stitched the first side and worked out how to place and stitch the other side.
Here is the final result with the fly folded back to show the zip. It was a previously salvaged zip from a worn-out garment and I was fortunate to find a reasonable colour match and the correct length.
I retired from full-time, paid employment in July 2019 so it is now 15 months since I was last in the office. My finishing date was pretty much decided at least 2 years prior to my retirement. I did not really contemplate gradually reducing my hours or other strategies to ease into retirement. This bemused many people who continually quizzed me as to what I was going to do when I retired. I did not really have a clear answer which made them even more convinced that I would return.
The last 15 months has been somewhat of a rollercoaster. 6 weeks after my final day in the office, we headed overseas for a much-anticipated 9 week holiday. It was an amazing adventure which we thoroughly enjoyed. Towards the end of the trip GMan and I independently came to the same conclusion – that we would have a break in 2020 and not go overseas. What a fortuitous decision that proved to be. We had previously considered travelling to Scandinavia this year.
Upon our return from overseas towards the end of October we had barely 2 months at home before setting off on a road trip to Victoria. We spent Christmas with family and then planned to visit areas in eastern Victoria and south-eastern NSW but the worst bushfires in living memory crushed that plan. We did manage to visit more family in Canberra and experienced the impact of the smoke first-hand. Not a pleasant experience.
Home again in early January and we imagined that 2020 would be a time to settle into a steady routine. Enter COVID19 and the world seemed to be completely upturned. We were very grateful for the space we had – house and large garden, a well-stocked pantry as well as a garden which supplied at least some of our food requirements, not having paid work to try to do from home or children to homeschool. We were unable to see or visit family and friends for several weeks but this was barely a minor inconvenience compared to what some people have had to endure.
In fact, COVID19 gave us the opportunity to focus on projects around our home. A quick scroll through previous blog posts provides a bit insight. Compost bays, a cold frame, more raised garden beds and finishing the pergola are some of the outdoor improvements. Meanwhile, I prepared meals made predominately from our homegrown produce as well as sewing and mending. Furniture restoration completed.
As restrictions were lifted we resumed some of our activities and interests outside the home. Which brings me to the essence of this blog post.
It is easy to become immersed in a particular interest or activity to exclusion of most others. Therefore, my goal is to identify broad categories and try to include a mix of activities/interests. It is probably not feasible to try to do this each day but I think that it is possible within the timeframe of a week.
After some thought, I have come up with a list of general categories which cover most of the things I do. Yours may be a little different.
Administration Appointments Community engagement Craft and creating Family Friends Garden/outdoor maintenance Garden/outdoor projects Health and fitness Homemaking – regular/frequent tasks Homemaking – seasonal/occasional tasks Planning Relaxation Socialising and entertaining Travel
Of course, some of these definitely overlap and some activities may even cover 3 categories. The list is in alphabetical order so that no-one can question my priorities. I do not envisage making specific lists but it certainly helps to keep things in perspective.
Finally, to those people who were convinced that I would not have enough to do in retirement – you were definitely wrong. My days are occupied, interesting and most of all, fulfilling.
organised castle 