Laundry room: Help wanted

With my poor old Singer on the blink...I turn my mind to other things :)

How do you wash the items to make? Many of us use store bought powders or liquids, many of which are harmful to the environment (full of phosphates) and not so good on our skins.

When my daughter was small I washed all her clothing in Lux flakes, these do require warm/hot water, so not so practical - unless you melt them first. Using Lux flakes had two benefits - soft, fluffy nappies (yes I used folded cloth nappies) and her eczema was kept at bay.

Fast forward a few years, I'm working at the Public Library, and a lady called Wendyl Nissen writes a book called 'Domestic goddess on a budget...' and then, 'A Home Companion: My Year of Living Like My Grandmother'.....in other words, being a domestic goddess, which appeals to the part of me that likes to nest and embark on homely type projects.

This is her laundry 'goop' recipe:

1/2 Bar of Castile or vegetable based or Sunlight soap, grated.
1.5 litres of water
1/2 washing soda
50g Borax
1 litre of HOTwater
and
5 litres of HOT water

Place the grated soap in a saucepan with the first quantity of water and heat on low until the soap has dissolved. Stir in the washing soda and borax. Stir for a few minutes until thickened and remove from heat. (Apparently if you use the castile or vegetable soap it won't thicken straight away - it will overnight.)
Add 1 litre of hot water to a bucket. Add the soap mixture and mix well. Fill the bucket with another 5 litres of HOT water and mix again.
It's at this point that you can add essential oil to the mix - if you like a scent.
I used 20 drops of Lavender oil, but you could try Tea tree or Eucalyptus if you like. These oils also have anti-bacterial and ant-fungal properties.

I used about 1/2 a cup of the goop per wash, but I think it's just a matter of experimenting with your first few.

Hot tip:
Buy a bucket with a lid, this saves decanting into bottles, because it is pretty thick when it sets.
If you find that the liquid is not quite lifting stains, increase the borax - particularly if you are married to a mechanic like I am :)

for more tips visit: http://www.wendylsgreengoddess.co.nz/

Something people may not want to talk about....Menstrual products

So, I work with a lovely lady who has decided to try going as Plastic-free as she can for a year (Try googling Non-Plastic Maori). I follow both her blog and her facebook page, and as a result I have really started to become a lot more aware of our plastic waste and where it ends up.
Being a pad user - as opposed to a tampon user - I have in the past, resorted to using sterile rags; Two reasons - I had run out of disposables and or I occasionally developed an allergy to the pads themselves.

I did a bit of my own investigations on the net and found a link to another blog with full instructions, plus pattern, for making your own. http://sewgreen.blogspot.co.nz/2007/05/cloth-pads.html

Fortunately I had purchased squares of brightly coloured flannel at the Salvation Army last year - really cheap, and I still hadn't found a use for them.

 Now I just have to make the inserts before 'that time of the month rolls around' :P

Winter threads

 I made these two winter 2013....The dress looks alot nicer on...and the coat I love!!!

                                 

Well here we go...

I must say, I'm not the best blogger in the world. I think the idea of blogging seemed great to start off with...but where do I find the time? So, this year I am going to make a concerted effort to keep this journal going and interesting.

A few weeks back I purchased a skirt from Savemart in Napier (another one of my passions!!) It is constructed with two side panels and then the centre front and back panels are pleated with a contrasting fabric....so this is my version. One thing I hate when sewing is zips -  even though I have been sewing for years, I still hate them with a passion.

I made a dress last summer, that I managed to take a photo of, but I have a thing about my arms so I am yet to wear it!

Sewing room

This is a snippet of my sewing room...once my camera is up and running again, I will post more pics.

Long time no see...

This is a dress I made up in January, it's a Vogue pattern. The last time I used the pattern, I was a size 10, and when i made it up to a 10 it was a little tight in the midriff; This time I extended the pattern to a 12, and as you can see, it's still a little tight. I just loved the fabric...I will make it a goal dress, i need to lose a stone or two :)

Booties

Here are a pair of wee booties I finished a month ago...I have a new nephew so I will have to make some slightly more masculine ones!