Refashion

 Hello I hope you are all well, I am just recovering as I have been ill again! I am really starting to think that working in school is hazardous to my health because of what I pick up there. So now I am feeling a bit more human I have just done something I have been meaning to do for ages and that is put some videos on you tube.  I have done a few for Minerva that won't be live until later in the year, but I wanted to do it for myself too focusing on using up scraps and refashioning etc. 

I want to show how you can sew for very little which is what I have always tried to do and had to do when I first started as a teenager.  Hopefully these will be helpful to people who don't have money to spare for fabric and patterns but want to get sewing. 

 Hopefully you will have a look, like, subscribe and comment as a newbie I have only three views so far and they are family. I have uploaded one on how to make a t-shirt from two old ones here...

T Shirt Refashion, Thrifty Sewing Tips - YouTube

So they were using two old t-shirts that used to belong to my boys when they were younger but quite baggy and a couple of holes at the bottom.  It made a little fitted one for me I like the effect at the sides.

Then I used a shirt a mans large one from a charity shop and a maxi dress a friend gave me to make a shirt dress with a few details.  I am really happy with how they  both look but still not comfortable in front of the camera filming. If you watch and have time please leave a comment I would love to know what you think, or do you have any filming tips for me?

Shirt to Shirt dress Refashion, Frugal Sewing - YouTube

I don't know how often I will do this but initially I thought I would do a few to get things going, I have no idea how people get views as there is so much on there.

Part of doing this is also getting over my fear of it, I made the banner ages ago, made another video and filmed it the wrong way and just generally worried about negative feedback. So I am over that and as I don't much energy for much else at the minute I thought it is now or never!

Have a lovely week everyone, back soon.

Thinking Frugally

 Hello I hope you are all well and having a good week, I have had a busy day so far despite it being my day off and I have been thinking about how I use my time and also how I intend to use it in the future to enjoy it and also to spend less. 

 Now I am not a big spender and I have never been one of those, I left school at sixteen and although I have always worked I have never been a big earner.  However I think because of this I have always been very good at making my money go far and in many ways this is better than earning a lot as people can fall into that trap of always thinking that they have to impress or have the latest things.

I am thinking about this more this week due to a few things that are going on, now I cut my hours a few years ago so I don't work Fridays anymore and for the most part I do like my job, however there are times when things change and it does get you thinking.  Being an employee means that another person can change your job at the drop of a hat, or they can affect what you do, how you do it or just bring some negativity to your day that is completely out of your control.  Now I am fine currently but I have a couple of friends and colleagues that are going through something like this right now.  People get you in their sights for some reason and decide that is it.  

So all this has got me thinking more about independence and how we use our time and money, I have always tried to do as much of what I can myself, pay off anything and keep costs low so that if ever I did feel the need to stop what I am doing I will have the choice to do so.  I cut and colour my own hair and cut all my family's hair, make my own clothes, decorate, cook and pretty much DIY whatever I can and may husband does all the things I can't do.  

I am always busy and have a lot of hobbies all of which are low cost and in many ways save  me money, I have no desire to work long hours to buy over priced stuff to impress other people. There are times when people seem shocked that I don't want to work full time anymore (I did from age 16 until a few years ago) and how I can afford that.  It is that I spend so little and that is all there is to it, my hobbies create rather than consume and I think if you can switch your thinking around to that then you are on to something.  Our big purchase of the last few years was a used caravan but we intend to holiday in that for years to come so it was a means to an end and not just an object.

This morning I made some GF bread just a small loaf as it was an experiment, it was along the lines of soda bread and had no yeast.  I buy Schar and it does go right through me to pay so much for it, the loaf is tiny, often has a large air hole running through the already tiny slices and sometimes like this last week it tastes dry!  I do not want to pay £2.49 for a dry tiny loaf, so I am either going to master this now or just go without.  My little loaf was pretty good, I have a few slices, I just used half and half gram flour, plain gf flour, flaxseed in water, soy yogurt, soy milk and baking powder. There is no point making a big loaf as they don't keep and only me eating it anyway.

I then did some sewing and made a bag for my Etsy shop with supplies I already have in...

I really enjoy making these, it is relaxing and any I don't sell will either be used  me or gifted I don't want this to become a chore. I sometimes read articles or listen to podcasts that suggest I should do all kinds of things to get my Etsy store noticed and I think no, it will stop being something I love if I go down that route.  I have a little splurge on making them every now and then if I have given a few away for birthdays and sold a couple but other than that it is when I want.

Shortly I will be waking my dogs and when I get back doing some pilates from workouts on you tube.  I don't go to the gym as it is not for me and I know a lot of people love it and that's great if you do and also worth your money if you enjoy it.  I like the freedom to exercise when I want for free and also to be able to do it wearing whatever I want so no need for fancy leggings.  I did have a swim membership for a number of years that was well used but shortly before our local pool closed it had started to get very busy and the crowding  made it less enjoyable.  I didn't really want to go and have to struggle to swim across the pool without getting kicked in the face.  There seemed to be a few people who swam there who thought they didn't need to look where they were going and would crash straight into you head down and then look at you like you were in the wrong! Not a relaxing experience plus it had fell into disrepair so the changing rooms were a bit smelly a times.

 We also have bikes that we go out on together whenever the weather is good at the weekend so this is a day out when we do that, we have found some really lovely routes all direct form out house and you certainly see more from a bike.  

I am still reading Tidelands that I bought form the charity shop for 75p but I get most of my books from the library.  I enjoy reading both online in the form of blogs and books fiction and non-fiction.  Most of what I do costs nothing or very little, our biggest expense is meals out with friends very occasionally.  We have had two quite recently due to a family birthday and seeing some family properly for the first time this last year!  So those things I will happily pay for.

My garden has been keeping me busy too and I have passed on a few plants, I have so many plants from the seed collecting that I did last autumn that it is again mainly free.

I did buy the alliums last autumn with a discount from Farmer Gracie, I do have a lot of things that just look leafy at the moment but I remember from last year they all start flowering so I have to be patient.  The big alliums have gone over now but the other varieties are blooming.  I am not a great gardener just someone who enjoys trying I have to keep checking things on my plant app because I am not always sure what things are but if you like what is growing then keep it, that is what I think.

Well that is all for today, hope that wasn't too much of a ramble for you. Back soon. 

Summer Sewing

 Hello, there has been a bit of summer sewing this week, make those summer clothes and wear them quick while the sun is shining that is what I say. Well we have had a couple of meals out so a reason to get dressed up right there, disappointingly the food has not been good both times.  You try and do your bit to boost the local economy and then feel like it was a bit of a waste when the food is terrible. It is not cheap to eat out it is a treat so that was a shame.

Anyway it is done now so onto the sewing so the first item I made for a minerva post so the fabric was gifted to me.   It is Art Gallery Fabrics damask in coral.  If you want to  have a look at the full post have a look on the minerva site.  The colours are a bit different to what I usually go for as I didn't think I could wear a light pink, this one is just on the side of coral so a bit better I think.

The fit of this pattern worked out really well and I like the shape of the dress  It is called the Sienna dress and you can also make it sleeveless, the pattern was passed onto me from a friend some time ago, she got it with a magazine and it wasn't her style so a free dress all round!

It did feel a little dressed up to go to a pub for meal but when else are we supposed to wear all these lovely clothes we make? I think these days most people go out in jeans so some of us are always going to feel overdressed but as a dressmaker I want to wear mine.  Does anyone else feel the same?

One of the other dresses I wore for a birthday celebration night out for a family member is going to be in a content video for minerva so I will not share that.  I did finish this purple blouse that I partially shared a few weeks ago, I have not worn it yet though.

So this was the one where I played around with an existing pattern a little bit, I don't personally think we need new patterns for every style of top most can be made from just one good fitting one.  I have all those burda magazines now from that year subscription and I can look through them and think that there are pretty much the same patterns in almost all of them with just a little twist.  

I am lucky that I have had quite a few patterns passed onto to me so that I can play around with them and there is always the case that other people like to see something made form a pattern as they might not have the confidence to make clothes without.

How do you fall on this subject? Would you rather work with a pattern, make your own or have a go at hacking a few staple ones?  It would be interesting to know.

 I often see a lot of clothes  on instagram  where people are buying the latest indie patterns and it might be something as  basic as a t-shirt and they are twenty pounds a pattern!  That is not cheap if you are just starting out and learning to sew, in the beginning you need to keep costs low I think so you can experiment and make mistakes.  You don't want expensive patterns and fabric to practice on, maybe go and have a look in the charity shops for patterns you may have to look in a few over a few weeks and ask the ladies at the counter tooo if they have any in the back.  Ask friends, I know I passed a couple of easy ones onto a lady at work who has just started sewing  and a few years ago I was showing someone at lunch time how to make a dress. (over a few days of course!)

Sewing can be made into a very expensive hobby when years ago it was something people did to keep costs low, you can still do it on the cheap now but I suppose it is just a case of not getting sucked into buying all the latest trends.  

We were suppose to be away in the caravan this weekend but that hasn't happened because our electric

packed up after the van had had a wash!  You know like when you wash the car and then it won't start well it was a bit like that.  Some part has gone in a unit so we have had to take it to try and be fixed, I hope it can be repaired or it will be more expensive to replace the whole thing.  I think they make things now so it is very difficult to repair them, years ago people could replace parts on things but now every thing is sealed inside so you can't get at it. Even taking a picture to send the electrician was tricky as the unit was sealed, our neighbor came and helped as he is a gas fitter but also does some electrics and he got inside so we could take the images. It feels as though everything is set up to throw away and not repair, so sad. 

So as we couldn't get way in that we went to North Yorkshire yesterday for the day to see some family who have just bought a static caravan up there.  It is near Leybourne, we had a good walk and a potter around the village so all was not lost.  We also had a walk over to the caravan site that we will be staying on later in the year and it look like a really nice one.  The lady who owns it came out and had a chat with us so I am looking forward to that providing our van is fixed.   The sun made an appearance a few times but it was mostly overcast that didn't matter though as it stayed dry.

Well I hope you are all having a good week, back soon.