Anna Demb

Laura K wrote:I have been thinking about these for what feels like forever but never got around to building them anywhere that I lived. Then my parents moved to Maine, and one time I was visiting them and saw them in their windows! I don't know if they came with the house (not the kind of thing my dad would build, but maybe...), but it was cool to see them being used "in the wild"!

Other than being a little delicate, I love that you can still see out the windows. My head continue to swirl with modifications (usually more complicated and more expensive, but maybe not much) -- solid plastic or plexiglas panels, one that I would like to hinge so that I can still open one of the two windows it would cover......

They are the perfect Kreg jig project!

Yes indeed. Have to say, although delicate, they are also really lightweight, which makes them so easy to handle and use. Just have to avoid bumping them into corners of things when we switch them in and out fall and spring. And if that happens, we've been known to mend them with packing tape.
Also, tightening up the plastic film with a hairdryer is so entertaining.

Here's a little more about DIY window inserts/interior storm windows. We made some for our 1893 Maine house back in 2010, and they are only now needing some new film and weatherstripping. The cost was about $6 a window. At that time, we also insulated the attic and basement, but the window inserts felt like the biggest improvement in comfort, keeping out drafts and chill while allowing the sun in and our view out. What a great investment! With the 2 layers of film, together with the window glass, we get 3 layers with 2 air pockets, like the expensive windows used in passive houses.

You can just push them in and pull them out, so they are easy to change out in fall and spring, or when you need some fresh air in the winter.

Also, they're easy and fun to make if you have a drill and/or screwdriver, a handsaw, a square, and a hair dryer.

Here's a link to directions on how to make them from the man who, it seems, invented them:
http://www.midcoastgreencollaborative.org/Documents/storm_pamphlet.pdf

I haven't had any problem washing rayon with my regular colored wash (hot/cold, fast spin). And though I don't usually iron my clothes, I do iron for sewing, and I have never melted rayon fabric ironing it, even when at a slightly higher temperature than recommended. If I shake it hard before hanging to dry, wrinkles are not usually a problem. Some rayon clothes I've made have lasted longer than 10 years under these conditions. I also like to use rayon clothes from the thrift store to make new ones for myself, and these have lasted for years too without any special treatment.

And I really like to wear rayon because it's so cool and soft.

That being said, if you're buying it new, there are issues with deforestation, and also the chemicals used to make rayon can be poisonous depending on the process. Here's a pretty good article going into the details of how it's made sustainably and safely or the opposite:

https://impactful.ninja/how-sustainable-are-rayon-fabrics/

There are some kinds of old rayon that stain easily and probably fall apart easily too, but what I've encountered in recent decades doesn't have these problems. So my feelings are, rebuilt or refashion from second-hand rayon and fling caution to the wind!

I grow hops in coastal Maine on an arbor we built of metal conduit and hog wire, the ends of the conduit slipped over rebar pounded into the ground. Pretty inexpensive and fairly simple to build if you have a pipe bender. The hops want to grow straight up, so I have to toss them over the top as they get taller. We also grow schisandra and a grape vine on this arbor and sometimes runner beans and squash!

The climate here is somewhat similar to Scotland so they may do well where you are too.

The hops are really pretty, especially when the flowers are hanging down. We use them mostly for tea since we don't brew beer (yet)—I'm interested to try eating the new shoots.

They do spread, but I don't find them anywhere I haven't planted them. I think we've had them about 8 years.

I wouldn't recommend growing them up trees. I originally planted them near some young trees, and they can strangle them and pull them down. So we moved them to the arbor. May not be a problem with mature trees, but you'd have a lot of trouble getting the hops harvest.

I bet they wern't wearing a bra. But to fix it, maybe shorten the dress a little and use the cut-off to make the bottom of the armhole higher. I think I have done that.

Elena Wulf wrote:Here's one.  Please ignore the wet spot

One idea with less trouble than gores could be to slit the sides of the skirt, and insert rectangular panel into each side to make more room for walking without changing the drape. So what you would do is
1. cut a rectangular piece of cloth the length of the skirt and as wide as you'd like to expand the circumference of the skirt. For example, 1 foot on each side for a total of 2 feet wider.
2. sew each side of the rectangle to the corresponding side of the skirt, leaving a big flap in the middle under the armpits.
3, fold each rectangle to make a pleat on each side of the skirt—half to the back and half to the front might be best, but you could try folding the whole rectangle to to the front, or to the back.
4. sew the top edge of the folded pleat to the top edge of the skirt.
(5. you could also insert a pocket into the seam if you wanted to.)

Then maybe either make darts in the bodice for shaping, with a mini-pleat in the skirt under each dart, or maybe just put in an elastic at the seam between bodice and skirt.

Attached are pictures, from outside & inside, of something similar I did with just one retangle to make more room for movement in the back of a shirt.

Anne, if the elasticized part is all stretched out and useless, but it's too much work to rip all the stitching out, how about sewing a band/strip-of-fabric to the inside of the waist band and putting a wide piece of elastic through that? You can get wide elastic that's woven to not fold up. or you could make 2 or more channels in your new band and put in several narrow pieces of elastic.

I too have trouble direct seeding but make soil blocks for my seed starting. No paper, no plastic, just a tray with sides to hold the soil blocks so I can bottom water the seedlings and keep them from drying out too fast. The blocks air-prune the seedlings and minimize or eliminate transplanting shock.
Here are soil blockers from Johnny's Seeds.
https://www.johnnyseeds.com/tools-supplies/seed-starting-supplies/soil-blocking/hand-held-5-soil-blocker-7001.html

I just skimmed through my downloaded copy—thank you for this wonderful book. I really appreciate the extensive detailed explanations of every aspect of the home cheesemaking process and and the questions that arise when we novices try to make cheese. I'm fortunate to have access to raw milk and really look forward to experimenting with your recipes, information, and advice.