Sew for a change - July results

This month I passed the challenge with ease, but considering the splurge of points it still seems a bit like a failure. I did not buy any crappy things that I didn't need though (trying to redeem myself). And to my defence (again) I have lost a fair bit of weight now that I finally stopped nursing my baby, and most of my clothes that I have made are too big or ill-fitting right now. I have way too little time to sew it all, so I found this spree a necessity actually.

Well, this was the challenge for the month:

1. Use less or no chemicals by using micro fiber cloths for dusting and polishing. Dry cloth or with tepid water will go a long way.

Easy peasy and something we usually do as a routine in our household. 

2. Choose a dish cloth made from durable material that can be used many times and can handle to be washed/boiled when it becomes smelly. Linnen and cotton are ideal. Sew or knit your own if you want!

We have done this for some time at home. We love the linnen ones from Växbo Lin - they are expensive, definitely, but they last for a looooooong time. We also use cotton ones that I have knitted from scrap yarn. They work fine too, but whereas linnen wears in, cotton wears out. Both of them can be thrown on the compost at the end of life. This month we stocked up on some for the new summer house too.

3. Exchange any cleaning "products" for natural sources for the month. Lemon, vinegar, baking soda and natural linseed soft soap will take care of any job, even windows. Wipe the window with newspaper for a streak free finish.

This has been particularly interesting this month since we had a whole house to clean. I mean really CLEAN. Dirt from god know when in all kinds of areas. I am happy to report that it worked out fine.

4. Again; use water with care and don't do dishes under running water. Do laundry carefully with only full loads and a earth friendly detergent.

No probs!

* Results *

A fresh star for me and some sweet 10 points, yes!! 

Now, let's enter the dark side of the moon... you better sit down, by the way.

My purchases:

• 6m cotton lawn (12p)
• 1,5m organic cotton jersey (1,5p)
• 1 pair of cotton shorts (4p)
• 1 pair of cotton leggings (5p)
• 2 long sleeved linnen shirts (8p)
• 2 cotton tank tops (8p - I count it as 4p each with is slightly less than a a short sleeved top)

Yikes! A whopping 38,5p - I cannot believe this! Well, at least we are over the hill for the year. I am dreading the winter with coats and heavy boots and things. I pray that last year's things will last one more round.

/Alexandra

Introducing our cottage!

After nurturing a life long dream of having my own cottage (well, my husband's too obviously) things finally fell into place! We have been on the lookout for a couple of years, carrying around our (long) checklist of "absolute musts" and "yes, please" and "absolutely no way in H" features. Then this place came along and we could not tick just some of boxes on the list - but ALL of them! How awesome is that?!?

We bought the place and requested to get to it asap, which happened to be as fast as only a week later. On two conditions from the seller;
1. That we'd accept to be given almost all their furniture and kitchenware, since there would be less time for them to move everything out
2. That they didn't have to clean the place properly, only the dirty areas like toilet, sinks and fridge.

For the first condition we could only say YEEEEEES!!!! It was perfectly nice looking furniture plus we love second hand stuff, plus it saved us both money, time and sweat.
For the second condition it wasn't really the same amount of exclamation marks after the Yes, but now at least I got to prove to everyone that natural cleaning can hack EVERYTHING. Yes, everything.

I'll soon be reporting the results of the cleaning month. I think you can guess whether I got a star or not. :) But you cannot guess how the point spending turned out. And right now, neither can I - I am to scared to do the math... I will though. Promise.


/Alexandra

Completed: yet another Rose Top

So needed a simple top that would work casually as well as  for business and the choice fell on Rose that I've made two times before. Simply because I didn't have time to trace another pattern. 

I did make 2 more changes other than the regular FBA (see tutorials): a swayback adjustment by correcting the tilt of the shoulder seam on the back piece and shortening the centre back: 

And I also changed the outer shape of the sleeve to a straight line.

This is the result. It took me no time and is close to perfect! Made from fine organic jersey.

Sorry about the dirty mirror :-)

/Alexandra

Star challenge #6 - The CLEANING month!

This month is about cleaning. Just think about all the chemicals that flood our homes in the attempt to make our homes cleaner. I do wonder if they are even close to achieving that - or if they just replace dirt with toxic, potentially fresh smelling, substances instead?

Really, cleaning does not need most of those harsh products even for the toughest jobs. Have you seen that program om TV with the two ladies cleaning up people's totally disgusting homes, with only products like baking soda, lemon and vinegar?? Don't believe it? Well, if not, then this is the month to try this out for yourself.

This month's challenge is to 
clean your home in a friendlier way!

*

Complete the following:

1. Use less or no chemicals by using micro fiber cloths for dusting and polishing. Dry cloth or with tepid water will go a long way.
2. Choose a dish cloth made from durable material that can be used many times and can handle to be washed/boiled when it becomes smelly. Linnen and cotton are ideal. Sew or knit your own if you want!
3. Exchange any cleaning "products" for natural sources for the month. Lemon, vinegar, baking soda and natural linseed soft soap will take care of any job, even windows. Wipe the window with newspaper for a streak free finish.
4. Again; use water with care and don't do dishes under running water. Do laundry carefully with only full loads and a earth friendly detergent.

If you manage this, you'll receive a star and 10 points.

Good luck!

Note! If you are a newcomer who wishes to jump on board the Sew for a change challenge, then you'll start with 40 points instead of 75. Check out all the rules here. Welcome!!!

/Alexandra

Sew for a change - June results

This month I failed, but I have to say it was a very close call. I so almost made it that if I think too long about it I may even give myself a star... So let's do this quickly.

1. Start by doing a food inventory. Get rid of (preferably through composting) any food that is not fit for eating any longer. Now, try to plan your dinners to use the food you have, before it goes bad.

Easy peasy and something we usually do as a routine in our household. We very rarely have things sitting around for any period of time.

2. Choose one week this month to be a completely vegetarian week. For the rest of the weeks you shall eat vego at least twice/week.

This one I failed. We ate a lot of vegetarian food this month, probably at least 4 days a week. Even the week I was away on a business conference I managed to go totally vegetarian - except for the very day I got home (when my sweet husband had cooked for me and didn't know it was supposed to be the vegetarian week).

3. Look into what is in season and choose vegetables and fruits accordingly. First choice is organic, second choice is local produce.

Check!

4. When it comes to the following 5, we ask you to buy organic or not at all: coffee, potatoes, grapes, bananas and cheese.

Check! (have done this for a long time)

5. For meat we want to limit the use of beef to once per week (except for the vego week, obviously, where it is zero). 

This was easier than I thought. We probably only had beef twice during the entire month. Beef is expensive and by eating a lot less it doesn't break the bank to buy the even more expensive (and absolutely delicious) organic beef instead. Win! 

6. Eat rice max once a week, unless you live in a part of the world where it is produced.

This also was easier than expected. The bulk of our carbs has come from pasta and potatoes (organic).

* Results *

No star for me and no 10 points, bo hoo!! 

But on the other hand - I haven't spent any points either!

So, YET another status quo month:

How about that?! Really, this is not bad at all when you think about it! Half of the year is gone and I still have 64,5 points, starting from 75! This sew for a change challenge really has got me to think carefully before making any purchases. Boring at times? Yes, absolutely. But the feeling inside is great. I am in control of my life and things don't own me! YEAH!

/Alexandra