October 2025 FInancial Roundup

This month was always going to be a tough one financially, as I had a few yearly bills coming up that needed to be paid, namely my yearly gym membership fee and the allotment membership fee. There was also a birthday gift in the family.

Overall, however, the month hasn't been too bad, but I do always find that I spend way more on groceries and household items than I expect every month. I've not been overstocking either, just buying what we need, when we need it, which is concerning, especially as there were 5 grocery shops this month, on account of my including the last shop of last month in this month's budget, due to running out of money towards the end of last month.

As might be expected, I have almost run out of money before the last grocery shop has been carried out this month, but I do still have £40 left to go towards the final shop, the remainder just had to come out of next month's budget. It's not ideal, but it's not the end of the world either. I don't think my budget of £450 per month for food and household items is actually enough now, as I always seem to spend much more than £100 each week. This month, for example, I spent over £600 on these two categories combined. All I can do is to keep doing my best to stay within the budget, regardless of external circumstances, such as inflation and shrinkflation, that are more and more visible virtually every week. 

I could, of course, have budgeted better and not spent £30 in the charity shops and £20 at the Knit & Stitch show, but I needed a bit of light relief during the month and I am slowly getting a handle on my thrift shopping. It's just taking a little time to get it fully under control. I don't think I could ever go completely cold turkey on it.

The expected bills and birthday gifts got paid for. The allotment fee didn't go up this year, which was good news, so that was £35 paid out, but my gym fee did go up to £48, which was around a 10% increase on last year.

It wasn't all doom and gloom this month though. My birthday was a high point in the month and having a day out with LB at the Knit & Stitch show, going out for a meal with OH and receiving the gift of an overlocker from OH made it a lovely birthday. I didn't really need anything else. I've got so much stuff. It will, however, come in very useful to make my own clothes going forward.  We also won a £10 Amazon voucher too, for our work on the allotment plot, so that was a positive.

The main thing is, that I got through a challenging month financially, relatively unscathed. I'm slowly getting used to reducing my spending habits and being very selective how I spend my money. I feel like I'm making progress and learning to manage better on my new more restricted income, so it's all good.

I did do a bit of Xmas shopping this month, buying a few items for LB that were on her list. I've still got more to buy, when she can think of things she needs/wants, but I've still got a separate budget for that this year, which has been a lifesaver in my current circumstances. I'm so glad that I put money away every month towards it, as you never can tell what is going to happen in the future and it helped give me the option of walking away from a job that I was no longer enjoying and taking some time out. 

I haven't really bought much for OH yet, save for some hamper items and a few small bits, but there's time yet. Hopefully, I'll get all the gift buying done by the end of next month, so I won't be running round in the silly season and can enjoy the lead in to Xmas.

Other than Xmas shopping next month, I haven't got any other bills on the horizon. I will probably pick up a few more Xmas food bits to spread the cost, but other than that it will be business as usual and with it being just a 4 (1/2!) week grocery shop month, it may be easier to stick within budget. I hope so anyway.

How was October for you?

A Boot Transformation

The other evening, for some reason, the YouTube algorithm sent some videos my way by a guy named Cobbler G. Now I love a good cobbler and have taken favourite shoes to be re-heeled numerous times over the years, so my curiosity was roused and I decided to watch one of his videos on the subject of restoring some Loake boots that the owner couldn't get repaired elsewhere.

Well, one video led to another and then came a pair of boots that were in a very sorry state and had never been cleaned or conditioned the whole time they'd been owned. It was when the cobbler got out the saddle soap that I had a lightbulb moment, with regard to some favourite boots of mine, that in recent years have fallen into disrepair.

The boots in question, are a pair of leather ASOS Chelsea boots that I bought years ago, not sure how many, but I've had them a good while and they are super comfortable and a classic design that never really goes out of fashion. I've worn them a lot, but in the last two years they got relegated to work boots, probably because they were so comfortable and when you're on your feet for 5,6,7 hours, you need comfortable footwear.

The nature of the job I was doing in retail, meant that I often had to get down on my knees and tidy or re-stock low shelves, and as a consequence the toes of the boots got very scratched and worn, making them look very scruffy. 

I'd more or less resigned myself to the fact that they were on their last legs and would probably be relegated to wearing at the allotment or something until they fell apart. I'd even replaced them with some non-leather boots in the same style, but I just don't reach for them. They're just not as comfortable as my faithful old friends. 

I felt guilty, as I haven't really looked after them in recent years, the best I did was to give them a wipe over with some leather wipes, which didn't really do much for them but clean off the dirt. Here's a picture of what they looked like at the start:

Anyway, back to the videos. After watching them, I decided that maybe I could actually keep these boots in circulation if I gave them a proper polish. We have a shoe cleaning kit, but it had been relegated to the back of a cupboard in the kitchen and hadn't seen the light of day for a good few years, so I dragged it out to see what we had in there. It's a reasonably extensive kit, with lots of brushes, polishes, suede cleaners/brushes, shoelaces and shoe stretching sprays. Here's a picture of it:

I dug out some Dales Dubbin in black and immediately set to cleaning my boots. I rubbed lots of the stuff in with a cloth, paying most attention to the toes.

To be honest, this polish, out of all of the ones we had still looked okay, some of them looked pretty dried up, but I think they may still be usable. 

It was a very nostalgic process. I can remember polishing my shoes a lot as a child, it's just what we were taught to do. Our parents couldn't afford to be buying new shoes all the time, unless we grew out of them, of course and they were made to last in those days. No cheap fast fashion then. 

I also remember regularly visiting the little cobbler's shop in the centre of the village where we lived. I loved it in there. I loved the smell, the tickets and the tools and the shoes waiting to be collected. It was like a little magic cave. It's so sad that there are so few of these guys around these days. I made a point of searching on Google for the nearest traditional cobbler to where I live in London, as the one I used to go to closed down during Covid and never re-opened. At least I now know where to go, when I need some shoes re-heeling.

Back to the task in hand, after rubbing on the polish, this is how they looked:

They already looked so much better, like there was life left in them yet.  I left them for a while to dry a bit and then went in with a medium firm shoe brush to take off most of the excess polish. This was followed up with a soft brush and then finally a buff with a cloth to reveal the final result:

I was so happy with how they turned out.  They're not like new or anything and if you look closely, you can still see scuffing and scratches, but they are so much more presentable. They won't last forever, sadly, as the soles will eventually go and they're not the sort that can be replaced, I don't think, but even if I get another couple of years out of them I'll be happy.

There was then just one more thing left to do, which was to put some inner soles in them, as the original inner soles were wearing thin. I had some that I could cut to size and insert and then the transformation was finished. It felt like a job well done. 

It's funny how you get out of old habits of looking after things when life gets busy, but it brings so much satisfaction when you resume them again and get to keep things going for as long as possible.

I might see if there's anymore shoes I can work magic on.

Something New, A Prize and Finally Getting To Grips With My Overlocker

This week started with my trying something new. I decided to go along to a Qi Gong/Tai Chi class that was being run locally. I'd never done either discipline before and was interested to see if I would like it. I had to cycle there, as it was taking place in a studio in a local park a couple of miles away. Unfortunately, it was raining on Monday morning, so I got a bit wet riding there.

The class itself was interesting in the sense that it was something completely new to me. However, I'm not sure it's for me, to be honest.  I enjoyed it well enough, but I'm just not sure I want to go back.

After cycling back home, I got changed and headed out to do the weekly shop. It was a bit of disaster, as heading out so late meant that I got snarled up in lots of traffic and couldn't even get to my usual Lidl store. The traffic was so bad that I took a detour, which was equally as bad, if not worse and I ended up going to a different store instead.

I bumped into an ex-colleague from my old job whilst out shopping, which was unexpected. It was nice to see her, but it made me realise how over that workplace I am. I'm definitely not sorry that I'm not working there this Xmas.

On Tuesday, I'd made sure to book early to get into my usual class at the gym. I enjoyed the class and then on the way home, I stopped off at a local shop to collect a parcel, an item that I had ordered on Vinted. I rarely use Vinted, usually only when I want to find an item that I've seen that I really like, but not in my size and then I try to find it in my size on Vinted in order to purchase it. In this instance, I bought a dress that I already have in a different colour and that I really love and enjoy wearing. 

When I got it home, I realised that it was the same size as the one I have. It was listed as a size up, which I was looking forward to, as since putting on some weight the other one has got a little snug. Anyway, it fits and is wearable, but I was a little disappointed. I just need to alter the sleeves, which I did with the original dress when I bought it.

I decided to tackle the ironing basket on Tuesday afternoon. It had gradually been building up again. I only really fill it with towels, tea towels, pillow cases and clothing that gets especially creased when washed. At least in the Autumn/Winter it's not too hot to iron. I always watch a bit of TV as I do it. On this occasion, I decided to watch the Netflix series about Victoria Beckham, which is in 3 parts. I managed to watch all three parts and still didn't finish the ironing, there's still towels to iron, but they shouldn't take too long.

Wednesday morning, I got up and decided to tidy round a bit upstairs, putting away some laundry and other items. I then decided to cut out the wadding for a second gilet. I bought cotton wadding this time and have never used it before, for my quilts I've always used synthetic wadding, old woollen blankets or duvets for wadding. I bought a couple of metres, but could have managed with just one metre. The second metre will come in handy for something, maybe even another gilet or even a jacket at some point. Once I'd cut it out, it was ready for all the layers to be basted together for quilting. I'm looking forward to getting started on this project.

I decided to go for a walk in the afternoon, as it was a lovely day and it was due to rain heavily all Thursday, so I took the chance whilst I could. I went on a slightly different route, which made it a bit more interesting and managed over 8000 steps, which is better than sitting on my bottom.

I also started some online Xmas shopping today, as LB had given me a few ideas of things she wanted for Xmas this year.  I ordered a couple of them more or less straight away, seeing as I have the budget set aside.

OH was working on the roof on Wednesday, doing some pointing on the chimneys and replacing a couple of tiles. He's rented a scaffold tower to paint the end of the house, as the scaffolding wasn't put up there. It was due to be delivered later this week. Once this end has been done, it will be finished.  I'm looking forward to all the scaffolding coming down, as it does block a lot of light in the kitchen. It will happen eventually, I just need to be patient. 

After  almost a full year of builders working on neighbours' houses on both sides and OH working on our house and garden, I'm looking forward to things gradually getting back to normal and getting back our privacy and peace. It will be worth the upheaval though, as OH's hard work has transformed both our house and garden at the back.

On Thursday, I returned to the gym. I dropped into a local charity shop on the way home and bought one item of clothing, a sewing pattern and a book which looks like an interesting read. 

When I got home, OH's scaffolding tower had been delivered and I got an email from Amazon containing a voucher. Apparently, we'd won a prize for The Keenest Gardeners on our allotment site this year, which was a surprise. They've re-named the prize from being The Best Plot for some reason, not sure why. I'm not complaining anyway. It has been added to OH's Amazon account, seeing as he did most of the gardening.

I did a bit of sewing in the afternoon, starting on another alteration project. It's going okay, but may take a little while. Most of what I did today was unpicking, to be able to proceed with it. I'll post about it in another alterations post at some point.

Later, OH and I continued watching this week's Celebrity Traitors, which is becoming more annoying by the day. I won't say why, as it may be a spoiler for someone, but it's quite frustrating to watch. We're also watching Riot Women on Iplayer, which airs on Sunday evenings. It's very watchable, with quite a few well known British actors in it.

I had a day at home all day Friday, which was lovely. I was able to continue with an alteration project. I had a late start though, as I didn't sleep well. What I was hoping would be a productive day turned out not to be, but life is like that sometimes.

Saturday was more productive. I went out to the gym first thing, which was okay. I wasn't feeling it, but I needed the exercise.

After lunch, I finally got my new overlocker out and set about re-threading it, which seemed pretty straightforward, until it became unthreaded again and I had to start from scratch. Of course, I didn't follow the instructions, thinking it was simpler than it was, only to spend a frustrating hour being unsuccessful. Eventually, I got the instructions out and it turned out that you had to thread the different threads in a particular order. Once I did that, it worked and I could continue with my dungaree dresses, which I managed to finally finish. This felt super satisfying. It was a learning curve, but in a good way in the end.

OH spent the day working on the back of the house and made good progress. Hopefully, I'll be able to post soon about the results, once he's finished and the scaffolding comes down.

Sunday was a busy day at home. It was nice to get the extra hour to lie in. It actually made the day feel really long. I've posted separately about what I got up to.

Recent Sewing Makes

I've been a busy bee lately, in terms of sewing that is, as I seem to have finally got my sewing mojo back, which I'm very thankful for. There was a basket of projects waiting to be tackled. All things I've promised myself I would do when I got the time, and I have no excuse on that count these days.

The first project I tackled was a quilted gilet. I was influenced to make it after buying this gilet from Primark a while back. It looked like a very simple construction.

I have made it in a similar style, but have quilted it differently and it is made with this cotton poplin print fabric.

You can see from the above photo that I quilted it in vertical lines, which were quite close together.  The spots on the fabric helped me to keep them as straight as I could, but there was the odd wobble here and there.

It took a week to finish it, as I stitched the binding on by hand, which was quite time consuming. I used a vintage dress that I cut up to make the binding and tie at the front. I had already removed the buttons from the dress and was going to use it to make a pattern for a quilted vest, but didn't in the end. It wasn't really donateable in it's current state and would have probably ended up in the rag bag, so I decided to cut it up and use the fabric which was a kind of crepey polyester. It worked well enough and I'm pretty happy with the outcome.

Here's a picture of the finished gilet:

I didn't put pockets on the front, but I did stitch a pocket on the inside, big enough to hold my phone when I'm out and about, so I don't have to keep getting it in and out of my handbag. It worked perfectly for this purpose. I found the gilet really comfortable and easy to wear and hopefully I'll get good wear out of it.  I may make another in a different fabric, as I don't always want to wear a coat, especially in the early autumn/late spring, when a bodywarmer type jacket comes in very useful.

The next project that I attempted was to make another dungaree dress. I made this black cotton one back in May, but needed to create a new pattern from it, as I'd lent mine to someone at the sewing class. I eventually got around to making a new paper pattern. I used squared pattern paper that I had in my stash for just this purpose. It was really easy to make and only took half an hour. I then cut the pieces out of two fabrics that I want to make this dress from.

I started to make the first one with this khaki camo cotton fabric that I bought from a local fabric warehouse for £4 per metre. I'd bought myself a twin needle for this project and set about making it. I was making really good progress until the needle just fell apart. The little plastic bridge that holds the two needles together split in two and is irrepairable, so I had to order another one on eBay to continue with the project. 

I only had the front pockets left to sew on with the twin needle, the rest I could get away with using a single needle, so I continued to do what I could until I got to the point of not being able to get any further and then waited for the new needle to arrive. I bought a different brand, hoping it might be stronger and will last for completing both of the dresses and longer if possible, we'll just have to see how that goes. The space between the needles was a bit narrower on the new needle, but I'm hoping it won't be too noticeable. It's the best I could do anyway.

A few days later, the new needle arrived and I continued with the project, sewing on the front pockets. I did make a bit of a mess of this on my first attempt and a lot of unpicking was required. I decided that sewing around corners with the double needle wasn't for me, so on the front pockets I just sewed each seam individually which was much easier.

I managed to get the camo dress to a point where I couldn't do much more on it without needing to overlock the internal seams. To do this I needed to re-thread my new overlocker, which OH bought me for my birthday and I just kept putting it off thinking it was going to be very difficult.

As a diversion, I began work on the second dress, which I made with this red floral needlecord fabric.

I had about 3 metres of it and it had been in my stash for years. I couldn't think of anything else that I might make with it, so this project seemed like a good option. I again worked on this dress until I only had to overlock the internal seams and then hem it, so that both items were at the same stage.  This meant that I couldn't put off tackling the overlocker any longer and finally got it out of the box and attempted to rethread it with black thread.

The overlocker had come ready threaded, but with white thread and not much of it. Luckily, I had already bought black overlocker reels, as it's the colour I tend to use most when I'm making clothing.

Anyway, I was eventually able to do the overlocking that I needed to do, then I could hem both dresses and finally finish them. Here's a couple of pictures of the finished dresses:

The Camo print

and the Floral Needlecord

I decided to photograph them on the mannekin, as it gives a much more realistic idea of how they look on.  I'm now looking forward to getting the chance to wear them out and about this Autumn/Winter.

I've got a few more dressmaking projects in mind following on from these ones, one of which I've already started and a couple more alteration projects too. I'll keep you posted with progress.

A Productive Sunday

With the clocks going back on Sunday, I gained an hour in bed which was a treat, so I woke up feeling quite refreshed. Whilst lying in bed, and having finished my dungaree dresses, I felt inspired to delve into my scrap basket again and maybe do another scrap project, so I got the basket out and had a good sort through the fabrics.

I was looking for specific fabrics to use to make fabric yarn for weaving. I needed long strippy bits, approximately 3 cm in width to make into a kind of bias binding, which is then stitched into yarn to form balls of fabric yarn.

I pulled out lots of plain fabrics to begin with, as I wasn't sure how different prints would look once woven and as this is my first foray into weaving I decided to play safe to begin with. I can always weave some prints in as I go along, to create some contrast and pattern.

I had various fabric scraps that I could use, which  were a combination of linen, cotton, polycotton and more synthetic fibres. They were mainly darks, but I did pull out a few lighter tones too.

After breakfast, I sat down at my sewing machine and began to sew all the different pieces together to make long lengths. I took a break for lunch and continued until 3pm. It took me until then to just prepare the fabric strips. I chopped up all the trimmings and bits of thread to go in my bag to use as stuffing and then called it a day.  

The next stage, will be to fold the strips like bias binding and then stitch them together to form the yarn, but that will be a job for another day.  Who new that the prep for this would take so long?

After putting my sewing machine away, I decided to catch up with a few jobs around the kitchen. The great thing about Sunday evenings is that the fridge is always virtually empty:

This is always very satisfying, to see that we eat virtually everything we buy and waste very little. In addition, it gives me the opportunity to clean the fridge ready for the week's grocery shopping to go in the next day. There was still food in it, mainly salad, vegetables and a few other bits. There was plenty of jam and pickled beetroot made from allotment harvests, but you can't live on bread and jam alone! (Well, you can if you really need to I guess)

Anyway, I then proceeded to clean out the freezer too. It had been a long time since I'd done it properly, and it wasn't that full, which made it much easier. It was a good opportunity to see exactly what we had in there. I pulled out the last two packs of gooseberries and blackcurrants from the allotment and later made them into one more large Kilner jar of jam. This helped to provide space for Xmas food to go in as I buy it over the next couple of months. There were already a few Xmas purchases in there. It looked so much better once it was done.

I didn't stop there. I took a look in the pantry cupboard. It's definitely not as full as it usually is. I've been using things and not replacing them, as I don't currently have the budget to overstock. I just buy what we need, as we need it at the moment. There's still plenty in there, such as lots of tins of soup and veg and fruit. I need to start using these up. The soups might be nice to have for lunch now the weather has turned colder. I used to take them to work, hence why there's so many.

The grey box, I used to fill with pasta and other dry goods, but it had very little in it, so I decided to put all my Xmas food purchases in there. Here's a picture of what I've bought so far:

Not a huge amount as yet, but it all helps to spread the cost in the lead up. I was shocked at how much the mini mince pies were the last time I saw them in Lidl - £3.50 for 9. It seemed a lot to me. I've got some shortcrust pastry in the freezer and half a jar of mincemeat from last year which is still good, so I'll definitely be making my own.

The last thing I did, whilst the jam was on the hob, was to make another apple crumble using the apples we got from OH's mum.  There's still enough for one more crumble before they run out completely. Please excuse that I took out a spoonful to taste it. I put cinnamon in it for the first time and wanted to see how it tasted.

It felt good to get all these jobs done and use up some food we have sitting around. I now just need to figure out how to make banana cake, as I've got lots of overripe bananas in the freezer that need using. I'll keep you posted with how that goes, as I've never made it before, but if anyone has a recipe, please let me know it.

A Theatre Visit, More Sewing, A Doggie Visitor and A Meet Up with Family Members in the City

This week started with a visit to the doctors on Monday morning for a blood test. My dose of thyroid medication has been increased recently and it was just a check to see if my levels have improved. I was in and out within 5 minutes and then headed off out of town to do the weekly shop.

When I got back, my replacement double needle had arrived, so I spent the afternooon sewing on one of the front pockets to the dungaree dress I'd started last week. I made a real hash of it though. Sewing around corners with a double needle is a nightmare. I've decided it's not for me. Instead I chose to sew each side of the pockets separately and managed to eventually make it good, but then had to make supper. OH and I needed to head out to a local theatre where LB works, to see their current production, which was very good. It was set in Kingston, Jamaica and was a kind of Reggae musical production, which included great songs and excellent performances.  We were very grateful to get comp tickets on account of LB working there.

LB was working that evening in another part of the theatre, so we waited for her to finish and then we all came home together on the bus afterwards, which was nice. It was a busy day though and I was glad to eventually get home and just chill for a while before bed. 

Mid week was quiet and uneventful this week. I couldn't get into my usual class at the gym on Tuesday, so stayed home instead and did a bit more sewing. I did a 10,000+ step walk on Wednesday, which I enjoyed and then I was back at the gym on Thursday. OH, meanwhile, has continued with the exterior decorating and has nearly finished the side return, but ran out of paint later in the week and had to order some more.  We have both been enjoying watching the first series of Celebrity Traitors, which is amusing and annoying in equal measure.

On Friday, I spent most of the day sewing, so that I could the progress the two dungaree dresses to a point where they're almost finished. I now more or less just need to overlock the internal seams to neaten them off and then hem both dresses and they'll be finished. It shouldn't take long, once I can put my mind to re-threading my new overlocker.

I also decided to cut out the fabric pieces to make another quilted gilet, as I really enjoyed making the first one. I couldn't really continue with it until I'd purchased some wadding for it, so ended up at a bit of an impasse for now.  Other than the wadding, everything I will be using for this project will be from my stash again, in an attempt to use up more of it.

Saturday morning, I was back at the free gym session. Annoyingly, more and more machines are out of order in the gym at the moment, and I don't see them getting repaired anytime soon, as the gym is closing for refurbishment at the end of the year. It's a pity, as a couple of the machines are ones I use regularly. I'll just have to make do with using other ones instead.

Across the road from the gym is a fabric shop, so I called in on the way home and bought a couple of metres of cotton wadding for the gilet. I probably bought more than I needed, but I didn't want to find myself short. It will come in useful for something. I just need to put it on a cold wash before I start to use it.

On Saturday afternoon, we looked after the neighbour's dog for a few hours as they were going out until late. We're always happy to have him round. He's such a sweetie.

Sunday, we had to be up early to head out into the City and meet up with OH's sister and her husband, who had spent the weekend in London and were having breakfast at the top of the Walkie Talkie building in the city. It was their last day here, so we met up with them afterwards and spent a few hours with them exploring the City of London, which was thankfully quite quiet on a Sunday morning. OH booked us tickets to visit the Roman Mithraeum Temple, which was unearthed on the site of the new Bloomberg building in the city and has been made into a small museum. It was an interesting experience and fascinating to see the many almost 2000 year old Roman items they unearthed on the dig, some of which are pictured here:

We then headed to Kings Cross station, so that they could catch their train home and we explored a bit of Coal Drops Yard, which I haven't really visited before. It was interesting to see how they've developed this area behind Kings Cross Station in recent years. I enjoyed my first look in Sostrene Grene, a store that I've been meaning to visit for a while, but I didn't buy anything on this occasion. Maybe next time.

A varied week this week, although it was slow at times, but that's no bad thing really. Life doesn't always have to be lived in the fast lane.

How was your week?

This Week - W/E 12th October 2025

This last week got off to a good start. I went out to do the weekly shop on Monday and got quite a few yellow stickered bargains. I ended up buying 12 baking potatoes for 60p, which was a steal. I baked some of them up and put them in the freezer to make quick easy meals on nights when we help ourselves because one or other of us is out or busy. I also got some reduced price fruit and baked goods, the latter of which I usually freeze and it keeps me in breakfasts.

I did make a very quick visit to the charity shop whilst out, but I only went to look at the books. I'm looking for a few specific books at the moment, and they often have a good selection in there and sell them at 2 for £1. Anyway, I didn't see the ones I wanted, but did buy a couple of others, one was this sewing book, which has a few ideas that I may try, to use up more of my stash. For 50p it was a good addition to my sewing/crafting library, as I'm always on the hunt for inspiration.

I also bought these stickers for £1 that I may use for an advent calendar this Xmas.

I wore my new gilet out whilst doing the weekly shop. I really like it. It's snug and not unflattering and kept me warm without the need of a coat. I may even make another in another fabric from my stash at some point, although it did take quite a bit of work, as I sewed most of the binding on by hand. It was an enjoyable make though.

OH spent most of this week working on painting the outside of the house at the back. There was a bit more work than he expected, as some of the windows needed more work than he had realised, which meant quite a lot of prep work to do before he could actually start painting. He is covering the outside walls with a new base coat that should help to cover up dings in the plaster work and make it look more even. I'm excited to see how it turns out.  He is also replacing all the guttering. Luckily, the weather stayed good to help him in his endeavours. I'll create a post about the results when the work is done. 

Later in the week, I finally got around to re-creating the pattern for the dungaree dress I made earlier this year. I used some squared pattern making paper that I had in my stash, which was good, as it needed using. I'm intending to make it in two different fabrics, one a khaki camo print, the other a floral needlecord. I got both lots of fabric pieces cut out ready to get sewing them together. I've got my new double needle ready to use on this project and hopefully I'll have my overlocker to use too very shortly, so that I get a good finish. 

I went for an 8000 step walk on Wednesday. It was raining very lightly intermittently, but I enjoyed getting out and getting some fresh air. I'm trying to keep moving and also keep an eye on my eating habits at the moment. I've been very slack and have been snacking way too much, causing more weight to go back on. I need to get it down, but I'm not dieting, it's too restrictive.

Thursday, I went to the gym and then when I got back I spent the remainder of the day sewing. I started work on a dungaree dress, more of which I have documented in a separate post. I spent a total of 5 hours working on it. I made sure to go to bed at a reasonable time, as LB and I had a big day ahead of us on Friday, as we were heading to the Knit and Stitch show for the day, you may have already seen the post I did on this visit.

Saturday started with a gym visit and then I spent the rest of the day at home pottering and tinkering with the idea of some new sewing projects. I chose some fabric to make another quilted vest and cut some pieces ready for another small project. OH meanwhile, spent the day painting the outside of the house at the back and made quite a bit of progress. He's down to the ground floor level now, which is good. It's starting to look great.

OH and I went out on Saturday night for a meal at a local Turkish restaurant. LB was working so couldn't come with us unfortunately.

Sunday was a lovely day pottering at home, doing a bit of fabric sorting, dealing with laundry and more pottering. It's been a lovely relaxing birthday weekend. 

I finally received my new overlocker, which came ready threaded. It is currently still in it's box, as I need to thread some new bobbins of black thread onto it, but I need to be in the right frame of mind to work that one out.

I hope you've had a good week.

A Birthday Treat

This weekend, I was celebrating my birthday and I didn't really want a physical present from LB, instead, I asked her to buy us tickets to this year's Knit and Stitch show, which was taking place at Alexandra Palace in North London. As she now enjoys crochet, she was happy to come along with me for a special Mother/Daughter day out.

I have been to this show in the past, probably 10 or more years ago, with a friend, but it was nice to have the opportunity to go with LB, now that she seems more interested in crafting and we were both looking forward to going.

OH dropped us off in North London on his way to a meeting and we caught a bus direct to Alexandra Palace, which sits on the top of a hill with great views of Central London in the distance. The bus dropped us off right outside the door of the exhibition which was perfect.

We began our visit as we walked in with a look at some amazing work displayed in the foyer. I took a few pictures of some my favourite pieces of work:

You think you are pretty crafty, but when you see this type of work, you know you are just a complete amateur. It's very inspiring though.

After a toilet stop, we headed into the main hall, where the main exhibitors have their stands. We knew we were in trouble as soon as we set foot inside.

I had gone with the intention of not spending too much money, mainly due to the fact that I'm no longer working and have a much reduced income and I wasn't really interested in buying fabric, as I already have so much in my stash that I need to use. It was tempting though. I was particularly drawn to a diverse range of denim fabrics, as I have a project in mind, but one of the main stalls selling denim wouldn't sell less than 1m lengths and I didn't want that much of each of the couple of denim fabrics I liked, so I walked on.

I did buy a 1/4 metre scrap of this olive green denim for £3 at another stall, as I thought it was an unusual colour, but this was the only fabric I bought all day.

My most expensive purchase for me, was this black genuine sheepskin, which was being sold for £10. I love it and intend to drape it over an armchair rather than use it as a rug, to avoid getting it dirty. It should be cosy to sit on this winter, and it was such a great price.

I did spend a little more than this on an Xmas present for LB, but this came out of a set aside budget. She wanted this Pokemon crochet book, so I was happy to oblige.

I also bought this lovely gingko wooden stamp. I love this ancient genus of tree and I am thinking of using it to print on brown paper to make pretty wrapping paper or just small prints. This cost £7.

My only other purchase was this set of two waistcoat buckles for £0.99, which I bought with another future project in mind.

I think I was quite restrained, trust me, it could have been a lot worse.

After walking around the main stalls, we stopped off at the main stage to watch the end of a fashion show where all the clothing had been created by teenagers.  Their creativity was amazing. We then saw another catwalk show of garments made by everyday sewists, although some were very experienced and made some amazing garments. I also picked up a free copy of November's Prima magazine, which was a treat for me as I never buy magazines these days. I'll enjoy reading that at some point.

After watching the catwalk shows we headed to the picnic area for me to eat my packed lunch and have a sit down. (Yes, I took lunch with me, unlike LB who purchased hers at the show. Frugal habits die hard)

We then made our way around the second hall of smaller more niche artisan stalls. We didn't purchase anything else though. I think we were all shopped out by this point. Luckily, half of this hall was laid out to exhibit the works of other textile artists and we saw some amazing work to finish off our visit. Here are another few pictures of some of the works I found particularly interesting.

By the time we'd wandered through all of the galleries, we were tired and ready to go home. We could have stayed for more catwalk shows, but were suffering from crafting overwhelm and were happy to just get the bus home.  The show was really good and I would recommend a visit, but it gets very busy. It's good to see that stitch, wool and other crafts are thriving though, and long may they continue to do so.

Weaving, Making Fabric Yarn and Rabbit Holes

This week, I fell down a new to me rabbit hole on YouTube. I happened upon a couple of interesting videos about weaving rugs from unwanted garments, that were really useful and inspirational. Both videos were on the same channel called Lena Brit Artist and in them she shows how she made a genius large weaving loom using an IKEA clothes hanging rail and from this she wove two very beautiful rugs, one made from unwanted clothing and the other from unwanted denim jeans.

The process she used to create the yarn for weaving inspired me to dig out some fabric yarn that I'd cut up maybe 10 years ago from old black cotton jersey t-shirts. I'd tried knitting them into a small rug or table mat, but had then lost one of the needles, so couldn't continue with it. I ended up unravelling the whole thing and winding it into a ball for later use, which of course never happened. Fast forward 10 years to today.

Having seen how Lena stitched the fabric strips together using a zig zag stitch, this inspired me to get out the ball of yarn. I had attached the strips by just knotting them together which left big knots which stuck out of the knitting. I decided to go back and try to unpick the knots and re-attach the fabric strips by stitching them together. It took a while to do, but eventually I made a new neater ball of yarn from the original one.  I also ended up trimming the strips in places too, as where I'd snaked them to create one long piece of yarn from a t-shirt, there were extra bits of fabric where I'd turned the corner, so these got trimmed off to create a smooth ball of yarn. The offcuts were then chopped up to go into my bags of tiny scraps to use for stuffing. Nothing goes to waste.

Here's the big ball of yarn once it was stitched together and rewound. It's all ready to knit into something useful. I'll keep you posted with regard to what I make from it.

In the middle of carrying out this task, I headed off to a class at the gym. On the way home, I dropped into my local RSPCA shop, as I like to pay them an occasional visit and they often have interesting craft items for sale and today was no different. 

I bought this set of bag bases for crochet or knitting, which I will try to make use of.  LB may also be able to use one or two for crochet projects. They cost £5 for 7 bases in different shapes and colours and they all have little metal feet on them. I'll just see what I can do with them.

I also bought a ball of purple jute string for £1, which might come in useful when I eventually do attempt some weaving on this small children's loom I bought a few years ago from our local table top sale. I am yet to use it, but I finally removed the original strings on it ready to re-string it and do some actual weaving. I have a plan to use up more of my fabric scraps to make yarn and weave it into a very small rug or mat.  I'll keep you posted with any weaving I do finally get around to doing.

Do you ever fall down a YouTube/crafting rabbit hole?

15 Small Acts of Rebellion

I decided to do a little post entitled as above, as it occurred to me that many of the things I do on a regular basis, could be considered small acts of rebellion against the onslaught of consumerism that we now face on a daily basis, so here goes:

1. If I don't splash out and pay full price for everything I buy, I consider this an act of rebellion. Frugality and being careful how I spend my money helps me live within my means and even be able to put some money into savings.
2. If I refuse to buy the latest gadget or thing that everyone is raving about on social media, this too is a form of rebellion. I don't let paid influencers persuade me that I need a Stanley cup or the latest dodad to live a happy, fulfilled life.
3. If I stay home, repair, make or sew things using the fabric stash I have at home, keep out of the shops and spend less money (although not lately), this is an act of rebellion to me.
4. If I avoid other people's drama, trying to live a peaceful and contented life, as much as I can, this is another act of rebellion. Life is way too short.
5. If I feel confident enough in myself to say no and not to be sucked into overconsumption to line the pockets of large corporations, buying the things they try to persuade us we need, this is an act of rebellion. There will always be something new that they try to flog us, by making us feel inadequate as we are.
6. If I use the same washing machine, TV, hair dryer, or drive the same car for 10 or more years and refuse to replace it with newer technology the minute it comes out, this is a form of rebellion. The world is full enough of discarded electricals/technology.
7. If I'm resourceful, partly self-sufficient (via an allotment), enjoy my life and indulge my creativity without venturing to big box stores on a regular basis or making demands of the powers that be, this is another act of rebellion.
8. If I go to a car boot sale or charity shop and buy clothing that I need, crafting/gifting supplies, plants to grow food from, and give my money to individuals/charities rather than 'the man', this is also an act of rebellion. Not everyone wants to hoard wealth for themselves or destroy our planet overproducing and selling unnecessary items.  Many people just want to earn a little more to get by or do something positive in the world.
9. Renting an allotment to grow our own food and foraging for free fruit or plants to fertilise the allotment with is another from of rebellion we engage in and it brings us a lot of pleasure.  Knowing where some of our food comes from, watching it grow, without chemical intervention, preserving it or freezing it, making the most of it and having the audacity not to solely rely on corporations for our food, fosters a feeling of independence and autonomy, and that feels good.
10. Growing a garden, filled with plants I love outside my back door and where I can feed the birds and squirrels and create a beautiful space (eventually) that is a joy to sit in, this is another act of rebellion. It's also an escape from the constant doom mongering on social media and by the powers that be, designed to grind us down on a daily basis.
11. If I put money aside for a rainy day, so that I'm not solely reliant on an employer or the government, this is also an act of rebellion. So much so, that the government now want to make this more difficult for me and make me pay more tax on it, but it won't stop me. I'll continue to find ways to secure my future, despite their efforts to prevent me doing so.
12. If I refuse to give up my car, despite the efforts of my local council to make driving at all where I live, even when necessary and reasonable, as difficult as possible, this is another form of rebellion I engage in. We have to hang on to our personal freedoms for as long as we possibly can.
13. When I choose to go to the gym and exercise regularly to try to keep myself healthy and fit and out of the doctor's surgery, this too is an act of rebellion. Taking control of my own health and wellbeing for as long as I can is something that I will continue to do on a daily basis.
14. If, when I do my weekly shop, I sometimes buy a few things for the foodbank, because I'm lucky enough to be able to afford to, that is also an act of rebellion. I'm rebelling against those who never seem to have enough wealth, whilst ordinary people struggle to pay for the basics on a weekly basis. If I can help them, I'm happy to, for as long as I can afford to.
15. When I read a book or watch a video that educates me about the real state of the world or the economy, that to me is rebellion. I'm refusing to be manipulated and bottlefed bogus ideology and fake news that don't actually benefit me or anyone save the richest minorities in our society.

We all need little acts of rebellion in our lives. They are what keep us humble and human. They make life worth living and we must continue to engage in them for as long as we can. If nothing else, in a world that feels chaotic, they give us something to strive for and a reason to get out of bed in the morning. Besides, if we didn't bother to rebel, we would just be like robots and soon there will be enough of these taking over jobs and activities that were previously done by humans, if we let them, that is.

What are your small acts of rebellion in this crazy world?

A Very Chilled Week - W/E 5th October 2025

This week has been a super chilled one. It felt a bit strange once our visitors had left. I'd spent so much time last week preparing for their visit getting the house clean, I almost didn't know what to do with myself for a couple of days at the beginning of the week.

I didn't go to the gym or classes this week, as my hip wasn't 100% and I didn't want to make it worse, so I just took myself off for a walk on a couple of days, to get plenty of steps in and get moving. It was nice to get outside while the weather was good and just get some fresh air.

By mid week, I finally got back to doing some sewing. I brought my sewing machine downstairs to the kitchen table and continued working on the quilted gilet I'd started a couple of months ago. I managed to get it finished this week.  All the materials for this make were already in my stash, so I didn't need to buy anything, making it a very frugal make. I'll post a picture in a separate sewing post.

On Friday, we had more scaffolding put up, ready for OH to paint the outside of the house at the back. Unfortunately, the weather turned very rainy and windy on Friday with Storm Amy sweeping in. I spent the day at my sewing machine, which was lovely. I decided to make a couple of scrappy rolls using up lots of fabric scraps. I've got a plan to use them in a project, but I probably need to make a few more before I put it all together. I'll post about it when I do.

On Friday evening, OH and I headed out to pick up some DIY materials for painting the outside of the house and then we went on to our local mall. I needed to pick up a parcel from M&S that I'd ordered (some slippers for OH), which I'd promised his mum I'd buy him from her, for his birthday back in May, but I hadn't been able to get them in his size until now.

In addition, we needed to go to John Lewis for OH to buy an overlocker for my birthday/Christmas present. I decided that it was the only thing I really needed this year and it should come in very useful now that I've started making my own clothes again. It will give things a much better finish. I'm excited to start using it, which won't be for another week or so. I mananged to get 5% off, using My John Lewis membership, which saved OH around £12 and is not to be sniffed at.

We had supper out whilst at the mall, but were glad to come home and chill afterwards, as it is just too overwhelming when we go there. Too many people, too much noise and too much stuff waiting to be bought. I sound old and cranky, perhaps I am, but it's my idea of torture these days.

On Saturday, I finally ventured back into the gym with OH, for the free over 50's gym session. My hip was almost better, but I took it easy, so as not to aggravate it. The rest of the day was spent sorting through fabric scraps, one of my favourite occupations, sifting out more pieces for my latest scrappy project.

OH spent the afternoon on the scaffolding and on the roof, doing some repairs before he starts painting the outside of the house. There's always more to do than you think, but at least we should be watertight now before winter sets in.

We've started watching a couple of new series on both Netflix and Paramount+. The House of Guinness is on Netflix and is definitely worth a watch, as is Landman on Paramount+, another Taylor Sheridan series about the Oil industry in Texas, USA.

Sunday morning, I had a lie in and read a couple of chapters of my current book, which is always a win for me, as I rarely pick up a book these days, despite having more time. I then spent an hour getting all of my winter clothes out of storage. We still get the odd warm day here and there, but stormy season has begun and the weather is definitely much cooler. A couple of items got donated, but not many.

I spent Sunday finally finishing off the gilet and tidying up the scraps from the project, ready to move onto the next one. Not sure what it is going to be yet, possibly another dungaree dress, once I've recreated the paper pattern for it. I also made some more scrappy rolls.

Later, OH and I went down to the allotment to harvest the last of the raspberries and beetroot. I also deadheaded the dahlias that are still flowering well. The plot now just needs weeding and digging over and the soil needs conditioning over the winter. I'll enjoy going down there to do this over the next few weeks.

Our week ended with us all watching the third of the Hunger Games films on Paramount+ with snacks! It was a nice way to end the week.

I hope your week has been a chilled one too.

Monthly Clothing Purchases - September 2025

I didn't really expect to continue with these posts after leaving work, but the habit of buying second hand clothes hasn't really abated, as it is too ingrained a habit. I paid a visit to my favouite out of town charity shop at the beginning of the month and bought this 100% cotton dress for £5.  I  subsequently made a post about how I turned this into a tiered skirt and I'm very happy with it's transformation.

On the same visit, I also bought this 100% cotton khaki blouse for £3. This will be good to wear under a dungaree dress now the weather is gettting cooler. I do prefer it buttoned to the top, so it will possibly also look good worn under a sweater vest . In any case, it was too nice to leave behind for the quality and price and I've got quite a few khaki items in my wardrobe that I can wear it with.

I then bought an item at an Essex car boot sale I went to in September. Almost as soon as I bought it, I regretted it, as I hadn't tried it on and I was convinced it might be too tight and unflattering, despite it being one size fits all. Anyway, when I got back to the car I tried it on and was pleasantly surprised to find that it fitted reasonably loosely and wasn't as unflattering as I imagined. 

It was new and cost £5 and is made of a soft cotton sweatshirt material, so I think it will be comfortable to wear, even if only for around the house. It combines two of my favourite styles: animal prints and dungarees. What's not to love. Also, when out and about in Whitby whilst we were away in September, I saw the exact same item priced at £24.99, so maybe I did get a bargain here.

Talking of our visit to Yorkshire this month, I did indulge in a bit of thrifting whilst there, which was a bit self-indulgent, but I had some time to kill when OH was cycling and used it to explore the charity shops in Malton, near where we were staying one night.

I bought three items in the charity shops there. 

The first was this denim style blouse for £6.50, which is from M&S originally. I like the frilly collar and cuffs and will enjoy wearing this under a sweater or knitted vest this autumn. 

The second item was this red leopard print layered skirt by George at ASDA. It is 100% cotton, was new with tags and cost £5. I really like it though. I didn't actually spend money on this, as I used a gift voucher I got from work to pay for it, which helped the budget. 

The third item I bought was this long denim skirt by Nutmeg at Morrison's for £3. I found it hard to leave it behind at this price. This will look great with long chunky sweaters and boots this winter and I've wanted one for a while, so I was happy to bring this home with me at such a good price.

I made another clothing purchase at a car boot sale in Yorkshire, before we came back to London. It was a black cotton vest for £1. I wear these a lot in the summer under dresses and with other outfits, so I'm always happy to add another one to my wardrobe if it's a good price.

Finally, I spent £6 at the Jumble trail the other week on two items. One was this cotton summer dress for £3 which is nice and flowy and I'll hopefully get some wear out of it next year.

The other was this cotton Zara top, which I also paid £3 for, but have since altered it by removing the sleeves, so I'm using a picture of the transformed version here.

In total then, I spent £34.50 on clothes this month, which is more than I expected to, but it is an improvement on recent monthly spending totals, so I'm slowly making progress.