Saturday 17 December 2016

Time to declutter...maybe not!

Despite plans to visit our Farmers' Market and the new Toowoomba Backyard Gardeners' Market this morning, when the day dawned hot and sunny that shook my resolve and instead I opted for a day of pottering. Isn't that what people of my vintage do? No? Oh well, perhaps I will start a trend :-) Unfortunately the gardeners' market is on the third Saturday of the month which is the same Saturday as our Simple Living Toowoomba workshops but ours only run from February to November so I really shouldn't have missed the opportunity to go today. Perhaps next month ... not that January is likely to be any cooler. However, in an effort to not procrastinate the whole day I decided to start doing some decluttering starting with the patterns.




 When my granddaughters were little I used to sew clothes for them so gathered quite an assortment of patterns.



 These were very popular patterns at the time as the ruffle plants were becoming the latest fashion for babies and toddlers although I think I probably worn them back in the late 1940s. LOL! Fashions come and go and come back again don't they? However, since the girls have grown up a bit and are now at school they aren't quite as easy to please as they now have their own ideas about what they want to wear and what feels comfortable and, as I am not living nearby and can try clothes I make on them and get them to pick out patterns (if you can even buy them where they live) I thought I may as well give them away or donate them to an Op Shop.

However......we now have a new baby arriving in July and this will be the first winter baby as all the others were born when it was really hot. At this stage it isn't known if it is a little boy or girl so I guess it may not be a good idea to declutter these patterns after all just in case it is a girl. The girls are wanting another girl and their almost two year old brother is too young to know what is going on so time will tell but God knows what He will bless the family with.





Apart from children's patterns there are only a couple of others I have bought or picked up from the Op Shop, both of which haven't been used as yet but the intention is there.




Last but not least is my latest purchase. Now I haven't sewn any clothes for myself for years and years but we are having a Sew Along next year on the Down to Earth forums which will be run by one of our very talented ladies there and she has chosen an easy pattern which both beginners and those more experienced at sewing can use to make a top. So if you would like to join in next year and haven't joined the forums, then why not make it your New Year's resolution and register. We would love to have you and you would be most welcome. 

I am not sure what fabric to use but I want to use up something in my stash. I picked up a roll of seersucker fabric for next to nothing at an Op Shop years ago and used some of it in the Rag Quilts I made for my granddaughters a while back but still have a lot left over. So I was thinking perhaps PJs  might be on the cards although I have never made any in my life before. 

Before I go and do something constructive, has anyone had problems with Pinterest lately?  First off I was just getting boxes with no photos showing on my PC but there was no problem with my iPad. Then I couldn't access it on my iPad and still can't but it is back up on my PC. I had a look at the Pinterest Facebook page and people were complaining about the same thing happening but it seemed to be happening in certain countries and not others so I was wondering if any of my readers have had the same problem. It makes you realise how much time you actually spend on Pinterest when it isn't working. LOL!

Have a wonderful weekend everyone and I hope your Christmas preparations are going well.





12 comments:

  1. Chel those patterns look adorable. I'm in the same boat as you, with the grandchildren a long distance away, and the little dress I made for Isla two years ago was pronounced as "huge" when it arrived in the post. I still don't think it's ever been worn, so it's put me off sewing for them. I do especially love the last pattern that you showed, for a top. I love wearing those loose fitting sleeveless tops during the heat of summer, but are hard to find. And as for changing your mind about going out today, you certainly are allowed to do that! ;-)

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    1. Sally, I just can't cope with the hot weather any more. However, it has just been raining and has cooled down somewhat thankfully. I hear you about the sewing.

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  2. Love all the patterns, and I too love the ladies top you will be making. Please don't forget to post a photo of the finished item. I'm with you Nanna Chel, I was supposed to go to the markets, but the heat put me off. I'm now hoping to go to the PCYC ones tomorrow, but we will see. Stay cool and enjoy the holidays, thanks for sharing. Guida

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    1. Guida, you could always join us on the forum for the Sew Along. You could make a top in between making up your first batch of soap next year :-)

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  3. You have a lovely lot of patterns Chel and it must be a bit difficult to decide which ones to declutter. I bought patterns when my niece's daughter was first born 7 years ago and it's about time I used some of them...😉

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    1. I hate to say that I haven't even used a couple of them, Maria. I keep telling myself I will make some clothes for disadvantaged children but never get around to doing it.

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  4. Anything 1940's style is worth money these days - pop the 1940sstyle patterns on eBay with a vintage style tag and see what happens.

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  5. Chel - I am really looking forward to the sew-a-long early next year. It will be good to see how different everyone interprets that pattern......pyjamas, tops, dresses. I was having extreme difficulties with Pinterest for nearly a week (no pictures on ipad or PC) but this was back in November on the Thanksgiving/Black Friday weekend which is why it took so long to fix I was told. I am not having any issues at present though.

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  6. Hi Nanna Chel! I can over for a visit from the DTE forums :) I agree it's hard to part with patterns. I have culled mine down to one shoe box now, but I still have pangs of regret about getting rid of some of them. And my (adult) daughters were very cranky with me for doing getting rid of them. I have bought a couple of Japanese sewing books and the patterns make up really well as long as you know what you're doing and don't need to rely too heavily on the instructions. The good thing is they don't take up much room on the shelf.

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  7. All the patterns that I had for my children were passed on to Mum so she could use them as other Grandchildren arrived. Now that my Granddaughter has arrived all these patterns have been returned to me. I have used all the little girl patterns so far. I'm so grateful Mum hung onto them.
    I love the look of that top you are going to make. Loose, cool and pretty. It certainly is rather warm this summer. I could quite happily move to Tasmania right now. I can see that pattern being made up several times.
    If there's the chance of more babies, hang onto the patterns. They cost too much to have to replace.

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  8. I never throw patterns away as I have mixed and matched parts of one to another. Love that collar, need a pretty sleeve type thing. I am certainly not the best de-clutter cheerleader!

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  9. I love seersucker it is such a cool fabric. I just did a quick google on the word seersucker, just because when I was younger I used to wonder why it was called so. Apparently it is corruption of a Persian word shiroshaker that means milk and sugar.

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