A Tale of Three Watches

I have three watches because a couple of times when I needed a battery, I just got a new watch instead, because the cost of having someone replace the battery was about the same as buying a new (inexpensive) watch. Then the cost of having someone replace the battery went up. Currently, the only place I know to get a watch battery charges $25.00! If you know me, you know I balk at that. After all, if you have a cell phone, you have a clock. But honestly, for me, pulling out a cell phone is just not the same as glancing at my wrist to keep track of time.

So...today, I looked up what kind of battery to get, and bought two packages of batteries. Each package had two batteries...and together they cost less than $15.00. I also watched a couple of videos about changing watch batteries!

I got one watch done successfully! I got stuck on the second one, and went ahead and opened the third. About that time, Ed got involved. Together, kind of taking turns and consulting with each other, we got all three watches working!

For less than $15 (with one battery left over for next time), I have three working watches, all at the same time. If memory serves me right, this is the first time we have changed watch batteries ourselves.

In case you should be inspired to try this at home, I'd like to add one thing: Before I started trying to open watches, I decided I was wiling to give them up. In other words, I wasn't going to be heartbroken if we weren't successful with one or more or even all of them, even if we broke them. Also, they were not expensive or precious watches, just very serviceable.

Attainable Sustainable by Kris Bordessa - A Book Review

This delightful National Geographic, coffee-table worthy book is chock-full of pictures and explanations, all written in a very readable, conversational style, as if the author is right there with us. She covers the how-to of many different topics, under the broader subjects: Eat, Make, Clean, Grow, Farm, Trek.

I am especially looking forward to trying the Easy Soft Flour Tortillas, Growing Sprouts, Starting Your Own Seedlings, and Transplanting Your Seedlings.

I was fascinated to see that she supplied instructions for making your own tuna can stove (like we did when I was a child in Girl Scouts). And there are even tips for building a fire. Already know how to build a fire and to thrive outdoors? How about raising chickens, rabbits, or goats? Or keeping bees? A myriad of different ways to live sustainably can be found in this book with advice for both novices and those who are more experienced.

My library carries the book. If yours does, too, it might be a good way to get a first look at the book, before you buy it as a Kindle edition or, even better, as a beautiful hardback coffee-table book.

What does Recycle Sewing Mean to You?

Here's what Recycle Sewing Means to Me

My Vision:

Maintain a wardrobe which is comfortable, suits my personal style, and is suitable to different occasions; and help my family to keep their clothing in optimal condition too; as well maintain household linens.   

 My Recycle Sewing Mission Statement:

I use 'recycle sewing' and careful buying strategies in order to economize on the purchase and maintenance of my clothing and household textiles; to minimize textile waste; and to contribute as little as possible to the support of exploitative practices in the fast fashion industry.

 My Recycle Sewing Strategies:

A simple, invisible mend is my best practice, when it is possible; and for me, it is vital in repairing business casual or dressy clothing, rather than using visible stitches or patches.

I may use visible stitches and patches with care and discretion on casual clothing; and whenever possible, I try to make it look decorative and/or intentional. In many cases, both darning and patching work well in conjunction with one another.

 A worn-out item can be used to repair another item, for example, I have used part of the back of a worn white dress shirt to make a patch to repair a large tear in a white bed sheet; or parts of one colorful casual shirt to patch and decorate a complementary casual shirt.  

 If the knees of a pair of pants or the elbows of a shirt or are beyond patching, I might cut them off and make it into shorts or a short-sleeved shirt. (This is a little trickier with sleeves than with pant legs because in shortening the sleeves, the amount cut off affects how they hang.) If an item of clothing no longer fits me, I will try to alter it, if I can do that simply.

 I save buttons and other trim and hardware when I assign a worn-out item to scraps or rags. The buttons can be used to replace lost buttons, to change out a whole set of buttons for a different look, or as decoration.

Slow Fashion, Slow Hobby:

 In keeping with slow fashion, and with this being my relaxing hobby, I try to work on only one project or two at a time. I do not follow a current trend of buying used clothing for the purpose of deconstructing it to use the fabric to make something new. Maybe, someday, I will sew clothing from scratch again as I did as a child, perhaps deconstructing something I no longer wear; but for now, my primary form of recycle sewing is to use what I have, wisely…or, occasionally, a bit whimsically. 

What does recycle sewing mean to you? Or are you just hearing about it recently?  When I am in the problem-solving stage, I often go to YouTube to see what people have done before me, and how. If you are interested in how you can do something, you can often find lots of ideas there, and even instructions.