Recycling and a few memories to boot

My family for many years has been a family that has re-used and re-purposed items as we have gone along.  I am from that kind of a background where nothing was wasted and often things were re-purposed.  Green before "Green" became in vogue was actually a thing on many kinds of levels for my family.  A result of the lack of items in War time and the fact that my grandparents had a smallholding with a very large vegetable garden; two identical plots only difference was that one was left fallow one year and the other grown on and visa versa.

My Nan's Kitchen Table Drawer

Nan was a great one for recycling things.  She had a drawer in her small utility kitchen table which housed pieces of useful string (when you are a gardener you always need things like this), paper bags of any description, re-washed polythene bags that used to be washed out and hung on the washing line as you do and then once dry stored in the kitchen table drawer for further use.  Anything like this that could be re-used was and served many different purposes.  The best thing was that it was making use of items that came your way without having to spend any extra pennies.  Therefore an incidence of saving the pennies to look after the pounds.

A use for Recycling Zip Lock Bags

Currently I am in a position where I have recently bought some new clothes which have arrived in zip lock bags.  I am always loathe to dispose of items like this especially when they can be re-used and re-used.  I have a carrier bag full of them.  

My intention is to re-use them of course, and as I am tackling the back bedroom and have many UFO projects I thought that quite a few of them could be used up as project bags for my unfinished items, which will keep all the elements of the project and indeed the project itself together so that I do not lose anything.  Easily stackable in a poly box as well, so kept all together and then withdrawn when ready to work.  It is going to be very busy this Winter on the crafting front.

I save things like this as it was the way I was bought up.  We recycled anything we could mostly because of the pennies when I was growing up. Our family although not worse off in the greater scheme of things (indeed wealthy to a lot) on a practical basis could not afford to go to the shops very often to buy new stuff.  

Hand Knits serve a Purpose

As a result a lot of our clothes were homemade.  My Nan used to knit for us.  Indeed every year for year's the gentlemen of the family always received a pair of hand-knitted wool socks that she had knitted in-between doing everything else she had to do. My Mum was always knitting, sewing or altering things so that we always had decent clothes.  Later on she knitted every member of our family an Aran jacket/jumper each.  I still have mine-well worn and a bit battered but it is snug on a cold winter day.

The hand knits were always snuggly and warm but we always had lovely thick woollen sweaters for the winter months. 

Recycling Clothes through the Family

Clothes were recycled through the family from older cousins on Dad's side, and indeed were passed on to us and then through the family to my Mum's side of the family.  Were worn and loved many times and served a very practical purpose of being dressed decently and warmly. Usually at a birthday or Christmas we would receive something new - so we had new clothing as well normally from my grandparents' and my Aunty and Uncle as we used to receive so many toys from other family members and ever being practical and helpful any considered purchase had to prove its worth.

The Clippie Rug - Recycling Fabric/Knitted items

In the corner of her tiny kitchen my Nan had a Rayburn Fire Range Cooker that did sterling service for over 60 years and which to me represented the heart of the kitchen. In the end it was condemned because parts were not available at that particular time.  I remember being dressed of a morning in front of  the Rayburn as a little one and of my Nan's homemade bread and all the lovely food she used to create on it.   In front of the Rayburn Nan always had a homemade Clippie Rug which was always worked during the winter months and then when finished which often took a few months to accomplish.  My Nan used to work in later years as a company called Tanya Knitwear who made cardigans and jumpers for all the big exclusive Department stores such as M & S.  Nan used to bring home and use all the machine scraps for creating her Clippie Rugs, which were warm underfoot and although simple designs used to look stunning.  Yet again another practical purpose.  Something I want to have a go at in due course.  To date I have the Hessian, my Nan's Clippie hook and my own.  Perhaps that will happen in due course. We will see.

Patchwork

This is something that I do not think my Nan or my Mum ever did.  However it is something that I am endlessly fascinated with. I love Patchwork it has a special place in my heart.  Now I am retired this is also on the list to do properly.  Whenever the urge for me to have a go happens, I usually have not been able to find some element of the project.  I am stuck at the moment as I have been unable to find my electric sewing machine cable.  I think I may have to send for a new one at this rate as the projects are piling up and I am getting frustrated at not being able to get on and tidy up more bags with projects in and then repurpose any left over fabric with other projects.

Leftover Fabric

Is nearly always kept as there is so much you can do with it.  I have sorted out several bags of fabric leftovers predominantly for patchwork.  However there are bags of shiny fabric which have been reserved for making Christmas decorations with the addition of embellishment either by bead work, button work or embroidery.  There are some larger pieces which are ideal for lining homemade waistcoats and have been kept for this purpose.

There are also scraps for turning into jam jar covers, and wax wraps as well as bowl covers.  Making jars of homemade preserves presentable for gifting and also pretty up everyday kitchen items.

A Memory or Two

I always remember my Mum knitted me a little twin set suit when I was small in a lovely pale blue colour. I loved that little suit, it had a Rever collar jacket with double buttons and a knitted pleated skirt. She knitted herself a matching suit, but in a dark early boucle style wool in a Navy blue with a fleck in it. Like my Dad's Mum, my Mum always had something on her knitting needles.  It was her main hobby but it proved ever practical. Poor Mum suffered with weight issues when we were younger so when she grew out of the suit, rather than waste the very good quality wool, she pulled it down, re-skeined it and then hand-washed it.  It was then re-knitted into a jacket for herself.  However, as a teenager I came across some of the left over yarn and I knitted myself a scarf with it.  Still have this.  It is funny how some memories just stick or an item evokes a memory.

Equally my grandparents used to go to Scotland a lot on holiday.  They used to bring back Scottish plaid material every so often that would be made up into an outfit with the aid of a Seamstress in the village (due to time constraints) - you can only do what you can do.  I remember that the material Nan came back with for me after one particular sojourn was a purpley pink with a gold stripe in it.  It was made into a little kilt skirt with a pin and a little V neck top with the rest of the fabric which was left over and then my Mum found some gold coloured wool and knitted me a little jumper to go underneath.  So very much a family effort for a little outfit for me.  The beauty of these types of creation is that so much love and effort used to go into providing the elements for the creation whether that be in thought or deed or getting someone else to make things up because of time constraints.  That is why it makes me cross when people do not appreciate homemade creations because so much love goes into every part of that item.  Things do not have to be perfect.

Perception

Once upon a time when I was growing up, it was considered not the done thing to buy clothes secondhand or indeed make them yourself.  My Mum particularly felt this criticism as she had grown up in a household of 10 children.  During the War years her father had been in the Royal Artillery and was based down in London where he found himself a lady friend.  Granddad was then demobbed but he did not come home.  My Mum was about 11 years old at the time, and the youngest was about a month old.  My Grandmother had no idea of this at all.  The routine was that he used to send money home for the family whilst he was in London which paid the rent and provided food for the family.  This was just after the War had finished.  The money was paid via the Post Office and the first my Grandmother knew there was a problem was when the went to collect the money and was told that there was none for her and would not be anymore as he had been "demobbed".  Not only was this heartbreaking for my Grandmother but it posed a whole range of problems that the family as a whole never really recovered from.  It was only due to my Great Grandmother lending my Grandmother the rent (and then paying it back) when it became due that kept a roof over their heads.  Things like clothes vouchers had to be sold on to feed the family so what bit of clothing they did have was made to last and passed on to other family members as well.  There is a lot more to it than that, but my Mum was always conscious that things had happened to them through no fault of their own and always felt "inadequate" as a result. 

I on the other hand these days will buy secondhand, especially if I am saving pennies.  Not all things though.  I am a bit picky however I have found many a lovely thing as a result.  I think if it helps you and your circumstances that is really all that matters.

The other day for instance I nipped into the Charity shop and found a cream coloured soup urn minus its lid and ladle.  It stood there lonely on the shelf for the princely sum of £2.50.  It came home with me.  What am I going to do with it you ask.  It is being upcycled into a vase. By taping a sellotape gridwork on the cavity to the soup urn, I will then be able to turn it into a very large vase for flowers.  The beauty of this is that if the gridwork starts to get a little messy, you just take off the old tape, give it a good clean and then re-string it with the tape. Next year I hope to have my own Flower Cutting garden and this will be ideal used as a vase.  I also own two very large plant holders in cream.  They were bought from M & S several years ago and each one holds about three plants each.  The colouring of the urn, which is a cream colour goes very well with the flower planters.  They will therefore go beautifully together.

Recently I also sourced a navy blue Tureen; yet again without a lid.  It was a Cloverleaf Tureen and if it had had its lid would have been worth a pretty penny.  I am using this as a fruit bowl on one of my Dressers.  If you look carefully at something  you can always find a  useful or alternative use for it.  Saves wasting something that is still very practical.

Tonight for tea we have had Minute Steak and fried onion sandwiches.  They have gone down very well.  Followed by beautiful fresh English Strawberries from the Farm and served with cream.

I have three pussy cats that are coming every night for a feed at the moment.  I think two are definitely strays, the third one I think just takes advantage of the fact that there is grub in the offing.  Am keeping an eye on the two who I think are strays.  They seem to be filling out a little bit, although the grey one is very skinny.  He lets me fuss him and I think he comes as much for a fuss as anything else.  A proper little gentleman.  The other is a black Persian, very scruffy though very like my Poppy cat that I had.  Absolutely terrified but will come for the food if I step backwards. They are left meat, a few biscuits and plenty of water further down the garden out of the way.  Will see how they get on.  Unfortunately I cannot take in any more cats because of the situation with Missy and with Mischief.  Cats are though a favourite pet of mine.

Hope everyone has a lovely evening.

Catch you soon.

Pattypan

x