Category Archives: Sewing

Four Fabulous Days

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I have had the most glorious 4 days at home.  Friday was a well-earned day off followed by a long weekend.  Most weekends I am left with the feeling of wanting a couple more days to try to catch my tail.  I would not say I have done everything but I do have a degree of satisfaction that I have made some progress beyond the basics of washing and meal preparation.  The best part is that I have worked steadily but not frantically for some of the time as well as simply doing nothing at other times.

Here is a snapshot of what I achieved:

Washing and ironing – the first 3 days were brilliantly sunny with a breeze so all of the washing was done and dried which left me with a pile of ironing.  I tackled this with enthusiasm since I was armed with a new iron as well as the ironing board cover that I made on Friday.

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Shopping – most weekends I buy enough fruit and vegetables for the week as well as a few things from Aldi and Saturday was no exception.  However, I also drove a bit further to go to Morayfield so that I could stock up at Simply Good, where I buy all of the flours, dried fruit, seeds, nuts and legumes that I use.  I do this every 4months or so.  Spotlight is nearby so I took the opportunity to have a look and found the fabric to recover the mattress for the day bed.

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Decluttering/recycling – as we change and re-arrange furniture there is often some to move along to someone else who can use it.  This weekend I listed 4 outdoor chairs and a large pine chest of drawers on our local Buy, Swap, Sell Facebook page and they have now gone to new homes.  I also tidied and sorted the shelves in the wardrobe in the sewing/spare room and put a few things in a bag to go to the op shop.

Gardening – when I was at the market buying fruit and vegetables, I noticed a neighbouring stall selling seedlings.  I bought and planted out basil, beetroot and capsicum seedlings.  GMan mulched the shrub we cut down a few weeks ago and planted out several native trees and shrubs.

Outdoors – we have taken a few more steps towards finishing our outdoor living area on the verandah.  The newly painted table is back in position as is the day bed, albeit without the mattress yet.  I spent a good portion of today cleaning up the large concreted area under the house.  This is a lovely cool area in summer and I am trying to make it more useable.  I sorted and stacked various building materials so that they are in a logical order and easily accessible.

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What a shame that I have to go to work tomorrow – there is so much more that I could do here at home.

I will some more details of some of the things I have mentioned tonight in upcoming posts this week.

Buying for a Bed

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It is 4.5 years since I wrote this post about covering the mattress on an old bed to use as a day bed on the verandah.

Unfortunately, it did not quite turn out as I had planned for a couple of reasons.  Firstly, the cat thought I had made it for him and proceeded to lie on it regularly and blanket the entire surface with grey fur.  Secondly, I realised that it was directly accessible to anyone entering our property and I would not feel secure being asleep there.

The second issue has been addressed somewhat by having a lockable gate installed.

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However, the problem of the cat remains.  I have considered this for some time now and decided that the best option was to have fabric on one side and vinyl on the other.  I will keep it vinyl side up generally so that any cat fur can be easily wiped off but turn it over to the fabric side when I (or anyone else wants to lie or sit on the bed.

Since the original post, we have painted the bed frame in a dark grey (the same colour as the surround of the gate in the photo above).  Additionally, the outdoor table is now red.

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I had an idea that I could incorporate these colours into my new plans for the bed.  So, today when I was shopping I went to Spotlight and was surprised and delighted to find exactly what I was looking for.

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The plain black vinyl will be for the cat while the stripe fabric which was described as ‘outdoor canvas’ will be perfect for the fabric side.  I should have enough left to make a couple of cushions, too.

I was really pleased to find exactly what I had imagined and I am looking forward to getting it made and ready to use.

No Repairs Today

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While I am prepared to have a go at repairing almost anything, there are some things that only have one destination at the end of their life and that includes small electrical appliances such as irons.

I was almost finished the ironing on Sunday when I realised that the iron did not seem to maintaining its heat. On closer inspection I discovered that it was not on and that we had lost power on one circuit.  A bit of judicious testing revealed that the iron was malfunctioning and tripping the circuit breaker.

So, the old iron has been discarded and I bought a new one on Monday.

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I expect that when I do not have business attire to launder for both of us that my ironing pile will decrease significantly but for the moment an iron is absolutely essential.

Now, I just need to find time to make a new cover for the ironing board as this one is now worn out.  It is actually close to 2 years since I wrote a blog post about the fact that it was about to wear out.

I really must do something about it this weekend.  The new iron deserves a new cover on the board!

 

A Frugal Mindset – 6

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I am coming to the end of this short series and today’s gem is all about DIY.

While GMan and I do quite a few things ourselves, I think it is important to understand your limitations.  There is no saving in attempting to do something yourself and ending up creating more of a mess that will incur a greater cost to have it fixed up.

We happily and effectively do our own gardening, sewing, cooking, landscaping, chopping firewood, cleaning solar panels, painting, tiling and some furniture restoration.  Things that we do not attempt are cutting our hair, computer repairs, car maintenance or anything electrical.

6. Frugal people embrace the idea of “do it yourself.” If something needs doing frugal people first consider whether they can do it themselves. No need to pay someone for convenience if you could do it yourself with just a bit of sweat equity. And those that are more content in their frugality actually enjoy that process. They like learning new things, and feeling self-sufficient without having to rely on someone else to do it for them.

Question to ask yourself: Why am I paying for that service or product? Could I get good enough results myself by learning something new, or spending a bit more time on the task?

What do you do yourself?  Or not?

A Frugal Mindset – 4

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Number 4 in the frugal series appears to be at odds with frugality until you think it through.  It is all about quality and this is something I regularly take into account.  I find that in many instances, paying a bit more for a quality item does reap rewards in the long-term.  This applies to appliances, equipment, clothing and a range of other things.

4. Frugal people are not afraid to spend more on big expenses if it saves them money in the long run. This one may seem counterintuitive  to the point I just made above, about how frugal people are known as penny pinchers. But truly frugal people, as opposed to just tightwads, know when it is the time to pinch your pennies and the time you need to pull out your wallet and spend a bit more upfront to save money in the long run. An example of this is choosing a more reliable, slightly more expensive brand of lawn equipment. Ultimately this machinery will, statistically speaking, last longer and cost less in repair costs, making it better to plunk down a few extra dollars up front to reap the savings long-term.

Question to ask yourself: Don’t just ask yourself, when making a purchase, how much does this cost me now? Instead, also have follow up questions which include how long do I want or need this to last, and how much can I afford in repairs or maintenance?

It is all about quality and this is something I regularly take into account.  I find that in many instances, paying a bit more for a quality item does reap rewards in the long-term.  This applies to appliances, equipment, clothing and a range of other things.

Here is an example:  This Canterbury rugby top was bought in 1999 and has been worn every year since.  It is a favourite and gets plenty of wear.  I noticed today that the collar is beginning to show signs of wear so I will either turn the collar or replace it.  The colour has faded somewhat and the is a small area which I mended many years ago just below the logo.  None of that stops me wearing this top which has lasted much longer (and will continue for years yet) than cheaper ones.

I am also aware of the environmental cost of constantly replacing cheap items and would prefer to buy something that is going to have a longer useful life and consequently a smaller environmental footprint.

Somewhere Different

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We have been to Melbourne for a couple of days.  The reason was to visit our daughter and celebrate her birthday.  However, I managed to sneak in a spot of shopping.

Last year I got rid of my knee-high black boots as the heel was simply higher than what I was comfortable wearing.  I had been debating for some time about replacing them and I finally found a pair that I was happy would suit my needs.

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I wore them for most of the past two days, including quite a bit of walking and they are very comfortable.  I am really pleased with my purchase and expect they will last me quite a few years.

My other purchase was at a small, independent fabric shop in the northern suburb of Ivanhoe.  There were lots of beautiful winter fabrics but I bought a piece of linen to make something for myself next summer – probably a blouse of some description.

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I fell in love with the colour and pattern of this piece and am sure it will make a gorgeous garment.

 

Luxury of a Long Weekend

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Thank you for your kind words after my last post and patience while I collect my thoughts.

This morning I woke and lay in bed contemplating the unusual situation of 3 days at home (it is a long weekend here in Queensland) and no commitments.  That is right – nothing, nobody, nowhere.  We had no plans.

Don’t get me wrong.  I love catching up with family and friends, entertaining and going places but it is such a novelty not to have anything planned.

The weather is cool and humid with showers of rain threatening.

GMan and I began by taking the outdoor table downstairs to clean it in preparation for painting.  Next, we have cleaned all of the concreted area under the house – swept, vacuumed and cleaned with the high-pressure water spray.

After using the outdoor vacuum cleaner GMan discovered that the filter bag was falling to bits.

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I decided that I could make a new one which appears to have been a success.

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Here it is attached to the lid of the vacuum cleaner.

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There are lots of other things we can work on and there will be more about those in upcoming posts.

I hope you are having a safe and relaxing weekend wherever you are.

The Importance of Ironing

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I know many of you will not read this post and others will shake their heads in disbelief at the title but please bear with me.

Ironing is an aspect of homemaking that seems to be almost universally hated but there is a valuable aspect to the task.  I have mentioned before about the importance of taking care of what you own to get the maximum use from it and thus reduce the overall carbon footprint of any item.  This applies to clothes and keeping your clothes in good repair makes good economic and environmental sense.

Taking the time to check each garment while you are ironing can identify problems before they become too extensive to repair.  My previous post about my black linen top highlights this point.  I noticed they fraying at the hem and have repaired this by using a wide satin stitch (zig zag) along the edge that had frayed.  I have checked the remainder of the hem edge and cannot see any signs of similar problems, however, I will keep a close eye on it in the future.

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The mend is not invisible but reasonably well-disguised so I am happy to continue to wear this top.

Today when I was ironing I discovered 2 other issues.  The first was one of GMan’s business shirts.  There was a small yellow stain on the back near the armhole and I have no idea of the origin.  It is about the size of a 20c piece and not terribly noticeable as it is a dark checked shirt.  However, I have soaked the shirt in the hope that the stain will come out.

The other discovery was another minor mending job.  I have a pair of white trousers with a centre back zip and a few stitches of the seam had broken just below the zip.  This is not a huge issue at the moment but could be if I wore them and split the seam further.  I repaired the seam and they are as good as new.  This is a classic example of the saying “A stitch in time saves nine”.  It could also save me from a potentially embarrassing and costly situation if I had to rush out and make an emergency purchase.

Obviously, I do not iron everything but hanging out washing or folding clothes I also take time to make sure they are in good order and ready to be worn.

Disappointed

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I was doing the ironing today and one of the items I ironed was a black linen top that I bought in Melbourne when we were on holidays in December.

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I noticed that there seemed to be a small segment of frayed fabric on the bottom edge.  On closer inspection I discovered that that bottom has a facing rather than a turned hem and the fabric had been trimmed too close to the stitching leaving next to no seam allowance.

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Thanks to my spreadsheet tracking what I wear, I know that I have worn it 4 times.  This is not a $5 top and I am really disappointed that this has happened.

I could toss it in the bag to go to the op shop but I have decided to take responsibility and mend it.

My first thought was to align the edges and zig zag it together using a fairly short stitch.  This would be far from invisible but fairly effective.  The section in question is on the bottom edge at the back of the garment.  Alternatively, I could unpick the topstitching to access the section from the inside and restitch it.  My concern with this approach is that it could create a noticeable dip in the edge.

How would you approach this mending task?

 

 

Taking Responsibility

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I stumbled upon this article online today.  It is about a study showing the correlation between age, gender, race and political ideology to belief in the reality of climate change and the impact caused by humans.  The content did not surprise me greatly, however, I was bitterly disappointed by the following couple of paragraphs towards the end of the article.

“But accepting climate change did not necessarily make you greener, at least in your home life, the study also found.

While those who accept human’s role in climate changes were more likely to take more public action, such as signing petitions or joining demonstrations, that was not necessarily replicated in private action, such as cutting energy use at home and using public transport over the car.”

I find this very sad indeed and downright depressing.  It is yet another example of the overwhelming apathy which so many people display.  Everybody wants ‘something to be done’ but expect that it is the responsibility of someone else, usually the government, the mythical ‘they’ or in the case of climate change, the global community or, at the very least, another country.

Australia may be a small player in the global sandpit in terms of population but we create far more than our share of mess when it comes to environmental vandalism.  Yet, our governments consistently drag the chain when it comes to making real changes that will tackle climate change and benefit the planet.  Sadly, government policy by all parties seems to be limited to the interval between the present time and the next election.  This is not limited to addressing climate change but policy in general.

In the absence of clear government action, the driver of change must come from each and every one of us.  Remember the saying, “mighty oaks from little acorns grow”.  We can and should all play our part in changing everyday habits.  Addressing the problem of climate change is not just about legislation, coal mines and power stations.  It is about each one of us doing our bit.

Can’t afford solar panels?  Live too far from public transport?  Organic food is too expensive?  This does not mean that you cannot make a significant contribution by reducing your carbon footprint.  In fact, many of the actions you can take to save money will also save the planet.

Buy second-hand – clothes, furniture, tools, toys
Do not waste anything – use up leftover food, finish the last shampoo in the bottle
Consider re-usable alternatives – cloth serviettes instead of paper, lidded containers instead of plastic wrap, refillable drink bottles instead of bottled water

These are just a few examples.

What have you done to reduce your carbon footprint?