Skirt guards

Some time ago I decided I wanted to make a crocheted skirt guard for my vintage bicycle. I couldn't get hold of the yarn the pattern called for, and so I had to do a little bit of experimenting to get the size right. I also discovered that the slippery quality that made the yarn I had chose so pretty also made the ends escape even if I anchored them really well. I solved that with discreet use of fabric glue. The skirt guard had to have some sort of opening in the back half as well as the front to make it fit the bike. I rummaged around my button collection and found the coloured ones you see in the first picture. I stitched them on, and buttoned the skirt guard in place.

Here are some pictures of the new skirt guard:

Here's the skirt guard on the bike. Isn't she a beauty? She has no gears, but rides really well. And for the dark autumn evenings she has a dynamo operated front light. She also has a drum brake in the front, which apparently is fool proof, only lately the front wheel has started making odd, suffering squeaking sounds when I ride her. According to my cousin, who builds bikes for fun (I'm so impressed by that man, give him any practical sort if problem, be it electrical, bikes or what have you, and he manages to solve it), I need to remove the front wheel, open the drum brake, and check that everything is evenly positioned in there. I'm working up courage as we speak. It might take a while...

In Norway in the 1960's it was common to have skirt guards made of fabric. Usually oil cloth. I made one of these as well, and use it on my modern bike. I prefer to ride the modern bike on longer trips, as it's less likely to break down on me. I also made the matching padded seat cover. The shopping box at the back I got through ebay.

More Vintage Laundry

In the time passed since I did my first experiments last year on vintage laundry, I have continued testing on vintage dresses, and so far I have found that with regards to odours there are two major categories. Smells caused by bacteria (such as sweat), and smell caused by mildew and moulds. Of these two the former is by far the easiest to get rid of. In most cases all that is needed is to spray the garment with rubbing alcohol, let it dry, and repeat. Once dry again, wash the garment, and the smell is gone.

Mildew and mould, on the other hand, is more tricky. I first tried to spray the garments in vinegar water (half and half of white vinegar and water), and then launder, but that didn't help. I finally resorted to leaving the garment overnight in vinegar water. I rinsed the garment, and washed it with woolite. I then hung it out in the sun to dry, and now it's fine. But next time I see a smelly dress I really like I'll only get it if the price is right. At the moment I still have 2 more dresses in this category, one of them the dress you see in the below picture. It's made of silk taffeta and covered in hand painted net. This one will have to go to the dry cleaners, I think.

Yarn for the skirt guard!

I went shopping for yarn yesterday, and ended up getting something called Drops Muskat, which is a mercerised cotton. It has a lovely sheen to it, and I think it will make a very pretty skirt guard :)

Finally Improvement!

I am pleased and relieved to say that the arms are finally well on the way to recovery, thanks to this chap. I got his e-book on wrist tendinitis 10 days ago, and it was worth every cent.

Consequently I have been pondering what my first project will be, and I have decided to give a go at crocheting. This will not be done today or next week, but hopefully fairly soon. I'll be making these:

I have a very cute old bicycle from the 1960's, I think. It's a dark red/orange colour, and I'll be making my skirt guard in matching colours, so I can ride in style :)

Do's and Don'ts

I thought I'd share some of the experiences I have acquired in tendinitis land this last year, especially the do's and don'ts. First of all; rest. I have discovered that when the inflammation is at a peak, rest is essential. Pain killers and anti inflammatory medication might help with the pain, but my mistake always seemed to be believing in the results too quickly, using  my arms, and always without fail getting worse again. I've heard said that the very definition of lunacy is repeating one's actions expecting a different result, and having repeated this cycle again and again this fact started sinking in, and I finally decided trying something called manual therapy, primarily because my neck and shoulders also started to get sore and painful. The manual therapist have done wonders for my neck, shoulders and back these 4 times I've been to see him. Next week he'll have a look at my arms, so fingers crossed.

Vintage Skincare

For those of you who still pop by once in a while I am still recovering, very slowly but hopefully getting there. I am seeing something akin to a chiropractor/ physiotherapist/ acupuncturist and I hope he'll be able to sort out the arms eventually.

In the meantime I thought I'd share a rather wonderful discovery. I am one of those people who have been cursed with a very difficult skin type. Rashes, redness, spots; I've had them all, sometimes at once... This winter has been particularly cold (again), and about 2 months ago I was standing in front of the mirror cursing the cold and the dry skin it brought with it. I then remembered that my great aunt used Nivea Cream her entire life, and had the smoothest skin I've ever seen. I rummaged through the bathroom closet and found an old box, applied some, and I swear I saw improvement already the next day. I then decided to go all the way, and got cold cream and rose water. I use the cold cream as cleanser and moisturising mask, remove it with a moist towel ( to exfoliate the skin), apply the nivea cream, and follow with a cotton pad moistened with rose water to remove the stickiness. And my skin looks fab. It's smooth, soft and hydrated, and hardly a blemish in sight. All hale great aunt Gudrun :o)

Some laundry experiments

As my arms are slowly healing and I have had a self imposed sabbatical from blogging and sewing, I have spent some time experimenting with laundry techniques.

I managed to get hold of 2 beautiful dresses from the 1940's, both black. One made from silk crêpe and the other from wool crêpe. Both dresses smelled rather bad. The wool crêpe dress smelled of old sweat and musty awfulness, the silk dress had bad underarm odour. I am lucky enough to own a book from the 1930's which amongst other useful things also has a chapter on laundry and dry cleaning, and I decided to see if the tips listed in the book would work.

The book lists vinegar as the best solution on removing armpit stains. This did work on the salts which formed the stain, but the smell did not go away. In fact, the vinegar added a certain something to the existing smell which did nothing to improve it.

I then heard that rubbing alcohol might work, and decided to give it a try. So far I found that the alcohol kills just about any odour, be it sweat or the musty smell that sometimes clings to vintage garments. I have so far only tested alcohol on cotton, silk and wool, but it seems to work beautifully, and so far it looks as if the garments takes well to the treatment.

What I do is I use a spray can with alcohol to dampen the garments (or rather, I have my better half doing this part due to the wrists). Once the garment is dry it needs to be washed (I always hand was any garments pre dating 1950).

I also found that even though vintage wool crêpe shrinks, it can be returned to it's original size with some patience and an iron. Use a dry pressing cloth between the garment and the iron, and gently pull the garment into shape.