More curtains (and clothes)

Another day . . . and another pair of curtains to alter =:o.  Do our children think I have nothing better to do with my time?  Or that I have so much time on my hands they keep finding me more things to do?  Only joking, I'm always very happy to be asked to help with sewing related projects.  However, yet again I find myself having to deal with badly made 'sale' curtains; it's on these occasions, when I have to deconstruct something to alter it, that I realise just how poorly some items have been made.  These particular curtains are attractive and 'in trend', but they are so thin even with a lining that they must still let light through and certainly not keep heat in.  Basically they are for decoration only rather than being functional.  Anyway, I am currently unpicking said curtains and I'll try to do the necessary alteration over the next week - it's the next job on the list so I shall give it my full attention - and no doubt mutter a bit more about shoddy workmanship in the process.  I have told the youngsters that next time curtains are required, it's either a charity shop buy or I make them from scratch!

I'm still pondering over the state of my wardrobe, after the grand clothing sort out I had earlier in the week.  Having gone through every item of clothing I possess I gradually came to the conclusion that whilst I am fortunate to have enough clothes to wear, not much actually goes together.  I have T-shirts and tops that go with jeans (then again, I guess most tops go with jeans), but I have a skirt that goes with nothing at all, trousers that I can't match to anything, lots of colours but very little neutral, and so on.  There is, I have come to the conclusion, no plan or order to my clothing, and I will readily admit how much I need order in my life.  I buy clothes rarely (I think I bought just one pair of jeans and one long-sleeved T-shirt last year, both from a charity shop, and swimwear for Spain), I tend to shop for clothes spontaneously rather than with any kind of plan in mind, and I can see now that I don't really give much thought as to how any new item will fit in with the rest of my clothes.  There's a lot of colour going on, too.  I love bright colours but perhaps I don't need quite so many of them ;-)  It has become clear to me now just why I used to stand in front of a wardrobe of clothes and simply not know what to wear if I had to go out somewhere particular.

I've had a look through some capsule wardrobe blogs and I think this is the way to go for me.  And then yesterday evening I watched the second episode of The Great British Sewing Bee and had a light-bulb moment.  I can't afford to buy a new wardrobe of clothes - and I couldn't justify that sort of spending anyway - but I can make clothes myself, to fit me.  Also, I can't rush something like this, I need to take my time.  So, one step at a time.  I think I may start with colour - base colours, neutrals and reduce the number of brights/accents.  Sounds easy when I write it down.  I have a feeling it may not be quite that simple!  

Replacement bag handles and the start of a wardrobe declutter

Well into February, and I'm doing my best to stay focussed on my New Year 'intentions'.  It's all slowed down a little since the initial, and somewhat frenetic 'I've got to get everything done' attitude I had at the beginning of January, but I'm feeling quite positive about the steady progress I am making.  I think I realised quite early on that I need to be adaptable and not get stressed out when things take a deviation from the path I think they should be on; generally speaking, it all pans out in the end.  Life, as they say, is for living, not for worrying unnecessarily.  'Go with the flow' is becoming one of my mantras.

One more project has been ticked of the list.  A very useful bag began to show signs of wear and tear last year - the covering on the handles began to peel off - and it looked quite unsightly.  The bag is really handy for overnight travelling, or for day trips as it easily accommodates flask and sarnies, knitting or a book, so I was keen to mend it if I could.  

Various stages of handle making

I originally thought I could just recover the handles but on closer inspection I decided it would be just as easy to make new handles from scratch.  Everything I used came from my stash - thick cord, fabric to cover, threads - and I'm pleased with the result.  The bag is now good for a while longer.

This week I have finally begun the grand wardrobe declutter; I just had to take a deep breath and go for it.  Armed with paper and pen, I listed all my clothes, drawer by drawer, box by box and rail by rail.  When you actually start to write every item down individually, the list becomes frighteningly long but I think it was a worthwhile place to start.  I've now re-ordered everything into categories (ie trousers, jumpers T-shirts etc) which sounds a little pedantic but I have a need for order ;-)

So, I discovered that I have no less than 96 items of clothing, not including underwear, sleepwear, swimwear and accessories (scarves and belts).  Included in those 96 items are three items of clothing I wear solely for my volly work, and 11 items of clothing for walking (base layers, trousers).  

Almost immediately I could see things which needed to go, and in the first cull I am parting company with 3 pairs of white sports socks (there was a time, several years ago, when I was at the gym almost everyday), one pair of jogging bottoms which I wore for the renovations and are covered in paint, 3 pairs of shorts which will be used for gardening this summer, and 15 items of perfectly good clothing which I simply no longer wear.  These will go to a charity shop.  I'll check all these items and wash them before passing them on.

So that's the first stage completed.  Inventory and initial cull.  There were no items I had forgotten I owned and actually none that had me horrified to look at.  What I do have, however, is a number of clothes that don't fit properly.  I have lost quite a bit of weight over the past couple of years - not intentionally, I may add, but due probably to a change in lifestyle, being much more active, several months of house renovation, and some major stress issues - and consequently there are clothes which I still like but which are now too big.  Whilst it may be tempting to just go out and buy a whole wardrobe of new clothes that do fit, my frugal nature will look for an alternative.  I'm sure some of these clothes can be altered so I think that may be my next step.

This whole process is going to take some time.  I don't want to rush and make mistakes.  I've been looking online at the idea of capsule wardrobes and I can definitely see the benefits of clothes that work together; it makes a lot of sense.  At the moment I have a random selection of clothes bought/acquired without any overall plan as to how they might fit together.  That's the problem, and I think it will be fun sorting it out.

Sunday in the sun

It was a beautiful day yesterday; crisp, dry, clear and sunny so N and I took ourselves off for a walk.  Through the town, along the esplanade, back through the outskirts and home via the scenic route.  About 5 miles in total, and it was lovely.

Model yacht racing on the boating lake

The view across the Solent to Portsmouth - the Spinaker Tower on the left

A few boats in the marina

Glossy ivy leaves and clusters of black berries

Shadows on the footpath

More shadows - me and my DB - the water in the creek was still and crystal clear

A sure sign of Spring - snowdrops

Five miles is a pleasant stroll for us these days, it doesn't leave us puffed out needing to put our feet up for the rest of the day ;-) .  We're both a lot fitter than we used to be - I think living out of town and having a 3-mile round trip there and back is pretty beneficial for our health.  And walking allows you to see the small things that flash past when you are in a car.  I'm going to start photographing some of these 'small things' on future walks, if nothing else, it makes me pay attention to what is around me.  

Oh, and the birdsong yesterday was wonderful.

Not on the list

Brrr, still cold here with temperatures hovering a couple of degrees above freezing during the day; no snow here, although when I drove to my voluntary job Friday morning I was really surprised to find a dusting of snow just a few miles away.  We're trying to get out if we can, even if it's just a walk into town and back.

I'm making great efforts to tackle this pile of projects in the sewing room but I seem to be adding more than making any inroads.  So yesterday I made a cover for my newly-acquired hot water bottle (since the electric blanket gave up on us we have been sharing a bottle - very cosy but not so practical!).  Road-tested last night and deemed a resounding success.  But not on the list.

Also not on the list was N's thermal gloves.  He's had them a few years and they are just so warm (having borrowed them, I can testify to this).  However, the glove cuffs are worse for wear and tear - the velcro fastening has caught and pulled the fabric badly and they really did look a mess.  I had a look at them and decided that if the damaged cuffs were removed, I could make some replacement cuffs in ribbed knitting.  So N sat and unpicked the old cuffs and I sat beside him knitting some new ones - how's that for teamwork?!  I sewed them on this morning and we're both very pleased with the finished result.  If I hadn't been able to do that, those gloves would have been thrown away; as it is, there is plenty of wear left in them so a few pounds saved with little effort.  

More meals from the freezer today - a portion of veg stew, one pot of beef rogan josh (both home-made) and some spare rice; at least it hasn't gone to waste.  To eke out the remaining frozen vegetables, N decided to investigate the carrots that he sowed back in the autumn. We didn't bother thinning them out and to be honest we had almost forgotten them. However, all is not lost - N came back with more than enough carrots for dinner tomorrow. A little pale but the taste is fantastic.  Nothing to beat home-grown veg.

I managed to catch up with the Sewing Bee this evening, and as usual I'm itching to do some dressmaking.  And I will do, just not quite yet.  The 'project pile' is still too big, but I am working on it ;))

Planning, sorting, and resting

Yesterday morning N took an inventory of what was left in the freezer.  Then we sat down and worked out what meals could be rustled up from the list and after a bit of pondering, we managed another ten meals and we haven't even started on tins in the store cupboard.  We are wondering if we could actually get through to the end of February without a major food shop - I think N is looking at it as a bit of a challenge!  This evening's meal wasn't on the list at all because we had forgotten about the turkey I picked off the bones a couple of days ago and which was still in the fridge.  That became a fricasee of sorts, served with the last of the linguine, and very tasty it was.  

One of the projects I have on the go this year is creating a new quilt from an old pieced top, and it involves unpicked hundreds of hand-stitched hexagons.  I've been trying to do a little every day, but I have been aware just recently that my shoulder is beginning to ache.  After a very restless night when turning over was incredibly painful, I've come to the conclusion that RSI has set in again so the unpicking is now on hold until I have rested my shoulder properly.  Instead, I sorted all the hexagons into the various patterns.

Another session of clearing out, especially paperwork, in my sewing den today; I'm trying to be quite ruthless and quite a bit is heading off to the recycling bin or charity shops.  Order is gradually being achieved.  It would be easy just to put some more cupboards or shelves in the room but I need to keep things down to a minimum.  The pile of things to do (aka projects) is steadily growing; I added two more to the list just this afternoon =:o .  It's as well I like to be busy.

It snowed!

Not quite the blizzards and snow drifts of the US, or even north England and Scotland, but it snowed here overnight:

A few more flurries before breakfast but by 10am it had all but disappeared.  Never mind, it has snowed.

So what's been happening here, snow aside?  Yesterday we had a radiator installed in the bedroom/conversion and all connected up to the existing heating system.  It makes sense, short-term and long-term - it really has been like a fridge in that room since Christmas.  All the radiators are fitted with thermostatic valves so we can turn the temperatures down in individual rooms and only heat the rooms we use.  This morning, however, we did have the luxury of the heating on most of the morning (well, it was snowing ;)  ) and it was lovely to have the warmth.  N made an interesting observation a couple of days ago; he commented on the fact that in the winter, many people go on holiday to sunny destinations to get away from the cold, but instead of spending maybe £1/2000 going abroad, for perhaps £100 on the fuel bill they could simply have the heating on more at home.  It's certainly a thought.

The work in the spare bedroom was an opportunity for us to have another sort-out of odds and ends in the garage store, and we have recycled a load of bottles, and found new homes for electric cables.  Another two storage boxes have been emptied and I may be able to use them to tidy up the chaos in the sewing room.  We had a box of spare light bulbs and in the process of sorting through them we discovered that three of them didn't even work so they have now been disposed of.  It may be slow progress, and only a little at a time, but it all helps.

In between all of this, I did manage to do the Monday cleaning chores.  

This was the state of the vacuum head - threads all twisted round the roller, dust in every nook and cranny, and on the black cogs (top centre in the picture above) you can just about make out a tack that had managed to embed itself in the plastic.   It must have been hoovered up during all the renovations last year - I had wondered what the odd noise was!  Now it's all been thoroughly cleaned out, it all works a treat.

We've been feeling the benefits of the new quilt on our bed; goodness, it makes such a difference on these cold nights.  I had planned to start machine quilting it this week but I think that's unlikely now, plans seem to be 'fluid' just at the moment and I am adopting a flexible approach to each day.  Yes, I like to have some organisation to my days, but nothing so rigid that it can't adapt and change as needed.  Things still get done, just not necessarily when I thought they would.  

We're still working our way through the freezer, although there isn't too much left now, and N came up with a 'leftovers' meal this evening, using up some bits in the fridge.  Very tasty it was, too.  Nothing goes to waste here and N's talents in the kitchen save us pounds.  A lot of it is having the confidence of knowing what ingredients go together and of creating something out of whatever is available in the cupboard, fridge and freezer and not relying on convenience foods.  Our meals may not have gourmet names created by celebrity chefs, but they are tasty, nutritious, filling and made from scratch using fresh food wherever possible.  I am thankful every day that my lovely other half not only enjoys cooking, but keeps us so well fed.    

Full tilt into February

Hmm, interesting.  This post went to Drafts rather than Publish last night.  Let's try again.  This was from yesterday . . . 


Today has been a full and productive day of pottering in the house.  Both of us have cheerfully got on with things that needed to be done, a few things that we wanted to do and a couple of things that cropped up as we went along, but what was so good was that we were both perfectly happy and content to get on and do them.  The day has passed with each of us busy, creative in various ways, enjoying a bit of quiet as and when, and satisfied with jobs achieved.  One thing we haven't been is bored!

N has plaster-boarded two walls in the garage store, partly to use up some oddments of board left over from the conversion, and also to make good a wall we feel could be put to good use with some shelving/storage; it's all about making the most of the space we have.  In order to do this, however, he has had to move everything out of the storeroom and into the house (again) and it is now piled up waiting, I suspect, for a bit of a declutter again.  It's a never-ending process, this decluttering business, but after several months in the new house we are finding things which are no longer required or not going to be used, so they're on their way out.  We are also vigilant about what 'extras' come into the house (ie acquisitions of one sort or another) and between the two processes, we can keep 'stuff' to an acceptable level.  As we have recently begun to discuss the option of moving and down-sizing at some point in the future (and maybe the not-so-distant future) we don't want to have to pack up any more stuff than is necessary.  The decluttering continues.

My lovely DIY-ing other half has also fitted some storage clips in the airing cupboard so we now have somewhere to store the vacuum tools.  Just one more little job off the list.

Another apron day for me - I think I may need to make myself a few more aprons just to ring the changes - washing (another breezy day to make the most of), ironing, and cleaning/sorting out the cupboard under the sink.  One or two bits thrown out (dried-up shoe polish no longer fit for purpose), cleaning rags organised, and bottles rearranged.  Always satisfying.

I boiled up the chicken bones that were in the freezer, and stripped the little bits of meat off, it all adds up.  Tomorrow we'll make a chicken soup for lunch for a couple of days.

I made a paper pattern from a well-loved fleece polo-neck jumper - I find it so comfy and warm in this cold weather - and I have seen some suitable fleece fabric locally.  I think I shall make this one of my sewing projects for February.  I've continued unpicking hexagons for a future quilting project, done a quick repair on a pair of jeans, and caught up with some paperwork.  As usual, as I'm pottering around, other things spring to mind and I've taken to jotting them down on a notepad so I don't forget them.  Then, when I have a spare moment or two, a quick look at that list will remind me and I can make the time to get deal with them.

This cold weather is really playing havoc with my hands - they are so rough and dry - so I am going to watch 'Last Tango' and give them a soaking in moisturising mitts to see if that will help at all.  I'm going through hand cream like it's going out of fashion!