rosemary schmidt

love this idea!
how bout turning the inner knee pocket upside down with the small flap at the bottom merely to hold the extra padding in and under the larger pocket area that holds the padding in place at the knee? You wouldn't need any closures and your feet would not catch!

I recycle everything possible.
Plastic jars that food comes in gets washed and re used to store beans, rice etc. (I make sure they are made of food safe plastic)
Plastic mesh that onions come in get put in a box for future use. They can hold dryer lint and hung from a tree for the birds to line their nests for example, or they can hold a handful of candy with a ribbon around them for tree ornaments or basket fillers on holidays. No end to the ideas for them.
I am currently on my 7th year of sheepskin boots that I have worn the soles down to leaky holes on them but the tops are still oh so warm! I just went to my local hardware store and bought some very flexible caulking and re-soled my shoes. I have done this three times so far and it works just fine.
I purchase long dresses from thrift shops and they serve as foils against the wind during the winter when I wear warm sweats under them along with these boots. Rarely does anyone know I am wearing sweats under these dresses but I get to be very comfy at almost no cost.
Thrift shops for the win I say!

This is a really nice way to make a buttonhole. It would take a lot longer but wow what a difference! Since the advent of sewing machines you dont get a lot of info on hand sewing but this buttonhole can be hand sewn.
https://www.threadsmagazine.com/2015/05/26/how-to-sew-a-bound-buttonhole

while we are on this subject, I want to know if there is a specific wool that won't, when worn next to my skin, cause me to itch. I am fair, which may be part of the issue but how do all those who wear wool every single day and it's touching their skin, do it?
Boy o boy I would love to be able to incorporate wool into my wardrobe.

I thought not but also thought 'why not start here?'
Get some kind of direction as to where if it is at all possible.
So yeah you steered me in a good direction!
Thanks!

I am 76 and have 15 acres, most of it wooded. This idea feels daunting to me, some of you have posted some great ideas but boy o boy keeping unwanted city managers noses out of it is a big deal to me. I don't want to break laws but also I don't want someone else butting in on how I live regarding city big shots.. Does anyone else have this issue and if so how do you manage it?

Also I want to build a root cellar/tornado safe spot on my land,  I want to keep it hidden so that thieves don't have a clue. I may live in it until things are safe which means there are probably some laws I must follow. So would this fit in the pep thingy? If so how, I'd love some help or even some kind of viable exchange if someone wanted to build it for me/with me to earn their badge/badges.

I also have a small spring fed creek that stays so cool even during the hottest part of the year because it is old and has eroded over the  century/decades down deeper than the land surrounding it. A spring house would be awesome if anyone is interested in doing that here.

There is a spot in the woods where we have camped, very rudimentary and walk in over a creek bridge, it could be available.
I would definitely purchase insurance to cover if this became a reality.

I'm not sure if this belongs here since, initially, its a one off. Who knows, it could blossom into more! Let me know if not.

I buy my clothes at thrift stores, Just take your time and examine every piece. I get compliments all the time for what I am wearing when I go to town. I have two conventional looking outfits I wear when I need to go to town but when I am at home I have 'graduated to long dresses. Short or no sleeves for summer and then I put long sleeved T's and sweat pants/ski pants under them for winter. I work outside in these dresses and yes sometimes the skirts are an issue but mostly they are not.

It gets fairly cold for me here and I am going to make a couple of fleece slips to go under the dresses for next year. I've been thinking about the construction of them and am excited because I will essentially have a 'blanket' under my dress! The top part will be sleeveless like a t-shirt and then all the way down to the hem it will widen out in a bell shape. I've been considering taking out the side stitching half way up my calf of a few of my dresses to allow for the full skirted slip. If they are not warm enough, I can add ruffles for an extra layer. I'd decided I didn't want sleeves on these slips because I want the ability to 'peel off' if I get too hot, so layers of short jackets, sweaters on top of the dress will be good for that. In the summer, the dresses are without all this fuss and are light and breezy. I'm also going to put some pockets on a couple of them, they sure do come in handy.


Another trick I discovered to make a wonderful outfit was to find a short dress that I liked and layer it over a long skirt. I did that for a formal dinner and no one knew it was what it really was... In my case the skirt was very full, one of those from back when it was popular to wear wrinkled things right out of your suitcase. It was solid black and I found a dress that was straight up and down but had all kinds of colors in it and a pleasing design.

I know you said you don't sew, but it might be possible to barter with someone who does. Choose something you are good at and offer that for sewing.

It's a fairy tale so what the dress is made of can be anything regardless of weather.
Can wool be supple enough to get the drape you see in the skirt she is holding in one hand?

Rebecca Desnos at rebeccadesnos.com is also a great resource.

I have a lowes nearby but you can probably ask any large company like that. On occasion I will ask the guy in charge for some of their empty plastic pots that they stack up on the side. They usually let me have as many as I want including any trays they might have that hold all the pots. Great way to recycle.