Sun Bleaching – Yup, It Still Works

Posted on July 25, 2012 by Tasha

One of the things I love about having this blog is that it encourages me to do my homework. I know that I hang clothes out in the sun to bleach them, and that it works, but what’s the history of doing this? Isn’t it how they used to bleach linen? Hmm . . .

Those of you who have been reading this blog for a while may have noticed that I promised more about this soon, in a post about hanging laundry, um, quite a while ago. I’ve seen a couple of other bloggers mention a mild curse around promising something “soon”, now I see what they mean!

The good news is that in the meantime I did some more hands-on research, and some more reading. I read part of a fascinating book called World Textiles: A Concise History by Mary Schoeser. As near as I can figure, bleaching by (at least in part) laying things in the sun goes back at least as far as ancient Egypt. That makes sense to me, especially if early cultures were also trying to find dyes that would withstand fading in the sun. For the more recent history, after much guessing at search terms, I finally found this post on Root Simple, which linked me to this page on Old & Interesting. If you’re curious, do click, both these sites are tantalizingly full of interesting stuff!

While I was doing this research I mentioned my ideas about this post to my mom. She told me that when we were kids, she would always hang our cloth diapers outside to dry, which got them back to a reasonable whiteness. In fact, one of my aunts (the one who has always liked her household very neat and clean) was visiting and commented that she wanted my cousins diapers to look like ours!

It’s been my experience that when trying to keep things white, it’s the sun that helps the most. Pre-treating stains helps a little, oxygen bleach helps a little, but the thing that gets collars, underarms, and kitchen towels back to presentable is to hang them in the sun. I’m limited in what I’ll put in our laundry as far as chemical bleach, partly by my inclination, and partly because our washer empties right into the back yard, and has done since it was put in in the 70’s. But on recent road trip I tried out chlorine bleach at a laundromat, following the instructions on the package. I admit I’m pleased to say it made much less difference than my usual sun routine! Now if only I could do it while we’re traveling (I can see it now, the truck streaking down the highway with shirts flapping against the sides). I have been known to bring clothes on our visits home, so I could get them back to white before venturing out again!

My method is pretty darn simple, I hang things that need bleaching with the stained parts getting as much direct sunlight as possible. Sometimes I lay clothes on the ground or bushes – old school bleaching ground style, especially if they’re particularly yellowed. But most of the time I hang them on the line, in some funny arrangement with clothes pins like the picture at the top. I’ll leave the whites out all afternoon, occasionally moving them if needed as the sun shifts, and spraying the stained parts with a mist of water, which really seems to help as they dry again (chemically why? I have no idea – I didn’t do THAT much research).

I also tried out lemon juice, not part of my normal routine but suggested by a couple of sources I found. I mixed it with a little water and dipped in the stained areas, then hung out the shirt as usual. It didn’t seem to do more than just misting with water on underarm stains. BUT, out of curiosity I also dabbed it on this really stubborn light orangey spot which lots and lots of regular washing and sun exposure, plus extra scrubbing, stain remover, even chlorine bleach pen had faded but not erased. Voilà! Totally gone. So now I have added lemon juice to my stain removing tools.

Oh, I should mention that if your clothes are stiff and/or wrinkled in weird places after this treatment, you can throw them in the dryer for just a couple of minutes with a wet cloth, or iron them, or mist the wrinkled places with water and hang them on a hanger and let them dry.

Lynda Barry has this line in her wonderful book Picture This where she writes “IT STILL WORKS”. I think about this all the time, all the time, not just about laundry (or about making books by stapling paper together, which is what she means). Just because humans invent something new (like chlorine bleach) does that make the old way somehow not work? Nope, in fact, it doesn’t even mean that the old way might not still be better.

Preserving Watermelon, or what I took on our Trip to Michigan

Posted on July 17, 2012 by Tasha

This last month or so was the first time in a long time I got to really settle in at home in the summer. To me, one thing that settling in means is buying a lot of fresh food, and cooking it up. Plums just appeared at my farmer’s market a few weeks ago, and my husband loves watermelon. Plus, I was testing out recipes for raspberry jam, in advance of picking black raspberries as they come into season at my friend’s secret raspberry picking spot. So, I found myself about to leave town, in the phase known as “eat the fridge,” with a bowlful of plums, 3/4 of a fairly good orange watermelon, part of a jar of jam, etc.

At first this really bummed me out because I cannot stand to waste food, I pride myself on planning so that we’ll eat everything, and it seemed like a bit much to just chow down.

Then I got to thinking, isn’t this the original reason for preserved foods, because you can’t eat everything while it’s fresh? The plums we’re pretty easy, canned into a delicious compote (more about that later).

Watermelon, though? A quick search produced this article on The Hip Girls Guide to Homemaking and this one on Mother Earth News. I basically followed their advice. Cutting the watermelon into quarters longways definitely made it easier to slice it thinly, and to take out lots of seeds, although more appeared as it dried. The flavor of these was actually really good, Bryan likened it to watermelon mixed with butternut squash. I’m still on the fence about whether it was good enough to do again, mainly because it took forever in my oven, where forever is about 5 hours at 170° F, the lowest setting. After letting it dry overnight, I had to heat it up again because cooled, it was stuck irrevocably to the broiler pan I used as a drying rack. By the time it reached the “not tacky” stage recommended in Mother Earth News, it was a struggle to get it off the pan, even warm, without leaving about half behind. The top photo has the most picturesque shreds. If you happen to have a dehydrator though, it’s a no-brainer, you should definitely try some watermelon.

The thing that I’m most happy about this whole escapade though, was instead of seeing all the food we had as something that had to go before we left, I started thinking of it more like an ongoing process, that tied the food to our trip and to our return. After I started thinking this way, I bought a loaf of bread, used part of it to finish up the jam, took part of it with us, and froze part to eat when we come back. I’m looking forward to some French toast with plum preserves!

I’ve also been inspired to think about unconventional road food this summer by Kimberley’s series on The Year in Food. As we sat on the plane, eating fresh bread, carrots & cheese (the last ones left in the fridge, washed and/or sliced and packed to go) and shreds of dried watermelon, I was a happy camper. Having my own food, especially interesting food, definitely takes away some of the sardine can/cattle drive feeling of flying these days.

As I type this, we are getting ready to head over and set up for the Ann Arbor Art Fair, in 103° weather. The dried watermelon is all gone, finished up at the last show. But writing this post and thinking about our food adventures is putting me in a good mood, hopefully one that will last!

Creative Retreat Projects

Posted on July 5, 2012 by Tasha

So, I thought I would share a few of the projects we made this year at my fabulous family and friends retreat. Each year all the women in our little circle get together and create and share and cook and eat, and magic happens. Not like spells and potions (unless you count margaritas!), but a real feeling of this time being more than the sum of its parts, allowing us creative expressions that it can be so hard to find in everyday life.

This year thanks to the generous donation of time and effort by a friend of my aunt’s, we got to try encaustic, an ancient technique of painting with wax that I have admired in the work of some of our art show friends for some time. I was so excited to try it out, and impressed by how everyone jumped in and made art. Really, playing with warm wax is pretty irresistible.

We also got to make lip balm (beeswax again!) and flavor it ourselves with oils. Plus knitting, screen printing, a field trip and making envelopes!

Even if you don’t have your annual craft retreat put together (yet!), one thing I find keeps me sane all year round is just a little creative time every day. I started setting aside an hour a day for sewing in college, and I was really shocked how much more I got done. Now I work on creative projects a lot of the time, but I found that I still need a little bit of the day that’s just for me, that I can spend however I want, regardless of whether the product will ever make money or even appear on this blog. Even 20 or 30 minutes when I’m busy, to just put my brain on a different track, leaves me refreshed and thinking outside the box again.

What do you think? How do you structure your creative break time?

(PS There’s still time (until tomorrow morning) to win a Fiddleheads hat.)

Unplugging for a Week of Creativity

Posted on June 19, 2012 by Tasha

One of my favorite weeks of the whole year starts tomorrow. It’s a time when the ladies of my family and friends get together and let our creativity loose. We learn new skills, cook and eat good food, and generally have a blast hanging out together.

I’m giving myself permission to unplug for this week, ignore my laptop entirely if I choose to, and just dive in to the experience.

I’ll be happy to share more about the event when I get back. See you in about a week!

A New Month, A New Challenge – Spark Your Summer

Posted on June 11, 2012 by Tasha

The thing I love about setting a particular goal or participating in a challenge is that it can push me to take something I am vaguely thinking about doing and make it something I am actually doing and concretely thinking about.

I loved participating in Me Made May’12 this last month. I was surprised by how much pride and self-sufficiency I felt wearing at least one me-made garment every day, even though I didn’t make anything new for the challenge! It also got me thinking about what I really wear and how I want my style to evolve. Although I’m not sure I would want to spend as much time thinking about my wardrobe all the time as I did in May, it really pushed me to better define my style (see this post), to figure out what I really need to make (pants!), and to meet some other sewers/thinkers/bloggers, all of which has been wonderful. In another unexpected spillover, after MMM ended I found myself coming up with new combinations of my not-self-made clothes to better fit my style – bonus!

So when my new friend Alessa, along with Ali and Sarah, announced a new challenge for June, I was pretty much in at the word go. Plus, this one is a little less involved, you just sew one special garment in June, something you’d like to wear all summer. It’s good timing for me, since I have fabric I batik dyed last summer that’s supposed to become a dress in time for a special event which starts June 20! I’ll be making my self-drafted sundress, with a few modifications from the first one. And, I’ll be home late tonight!! One thing I have really missed during MMM is my studio – sewing starts tomorrow!

Again, it seems to me that there’s no reason you have to sew to set yourself a helpful challenge for this month. What about a cooking one? An art one? What are your broader goals and how can you set a specific goal to help you get there? What would you like to do more of? Why not set aside a specific amount of time for that every week? Whatever you decide to do, I’d be willing to bet you’ll get some unexpected lovely side effects.

Take the Slow Road

Posted on June 7, 2012 by Tasha

When we’re cruising by on some interstate, all of America looks like a continuous chain of fast food and gas stations, and a background of changing landscapes.

Give me half a chance, though, a day or two when we don’t have to be somewhere in a particular hurry, and I will immediately choose the smaller highways, where speed is limited, giving you the added bonus of actually seeing the quirky shops, restaurants, and farm stands as they pass by.

The America we get nostalgic for is still out there; the lovely independent restaurants (Luisa’s Cafe in Harbert, MI was particularly good), the shops with hand painted signs you won’t find anywhere else, the local color and flavors that make each region unique (like this antique van? limo? parked at a fruit stand a little further up the Red Arrow Highway).

And then again, nothing makes me happier to be living in our current, fresh-food-abundant era than a taste of genuine 1950’s throwback road food.

It’s out there, go find it!

Home is in the Details

Posted on May 29, 2012 by Tasha

In the last week or so, our travels have shifted from camping and/or hotels to staying with a series of generous friends, family and extended family hosts.

I have been thinking a lot about what makes a place seem homey. It’s the clean soft mismatched towels, the live plants, the smell of good food that’s been cooked, mixed with soap and lotion and a thousand other things that a hotel can’t replicate. This feeling of home is so welcoming at the same time that it makes me homesick for our own little place.

One great thing about traveling is that it reminds me of all the things I should never take for granted; like ice, hot showers, and that smell of home.

Personal Style, Me-Made-May, and How the World Sees Us

Posted on May 23, 2012 by Tasha

Oh, never mind the fashion. When one has a style of one’s own, it is always twenty times better.

~Margaret Oliphant

I’m so excited about this post, because I’ve recruited some awesome fellow participants in Me-Made-May’12 to share their photos and their thoughts about personal style with us! I was so inspired by clicking through the Flickr group and checking out everyone’s photos, and by the thought-provoking comments they sent me!

I’ll start with my own style, which is definitely still a work in progress.

When I first started making my own clothes, quite a few years ago now, I chose what appealed to me most, (if you don’t want to know how much of a nerd I really am, please skip to the next paragraph) which was mainly historical styles. If no one cared what I wore, I could happily wear long skirts, petticoats, 1940’s style dresses, etc. every day for the rest of my life.

But what I wear does affect how people see me, and how seriously they take me. Sometimes what I’d like to wear doesn’t broadcast the message that I’d like people to get when they see me.

I still love historical clothes, and wear lots of long skirts in the winter, but now I look for ways to incorporate silhouettes I love with more timeless, modern designs and details. I’d like what I wear to say, “I am unique, interesting, capable, beautiful, feminine, grounded, elegant.” As I said, it’s a work in progress.

My first new friend for this project is Alessa. I love the playful element her outfits have. Check out her lovely blog of her handmade adventures by clicking any of her photos, or here!

She says:

I wouldn’t know to put a name to it, but there’s definitely a trend there. I think pretty and comfy sum it up best. I like dresses, because they are less constricting than jeans and I guess I also don’t like to be part of the “uniform” (jeans and t-shirt) wearing masses. Also, they make my stumpy legs look longer. 😉 A lot of people put labels like “nice” and “cute” on me, which I guess I generally am, and which is also reflected in a large part of my wardrobe. I like that I can also dress up to other facets of my personality, though, like “girlishly nerdy” (skirts and sciency graphic tees) and “playfully sexy” (that would be a black polka-dot dress with a red belt, red lipstick and a bowler hat).

Next is Oona. I love how much body language is in her photos. If you need a laugh in your day, you MUST read her blog!

She says:

i’d say my style is schizophrenic, vivacious, and a bit colorblind. i like to think i make other peeps smile when they see me, especially strangers. as a whole i don’t feel we dress up anymore, and peeps seem to take happy note of bright colors and thoughtful (if clashing) ensembles.

Finally here’s Sallie. I love how sleek and put together her outfits are! There’s lots more pictures and witty comments about the outfits on her blog.

She says:

I think personal style is really complicated because it involves a certain amount of self-awareness. Sometimes the things we love, sadly, don’t love us back. For me this translates into my love for vintage, an unrequited love that I think I’ve finally given up on. But the great thing about fashion and making your own garments is that the possibilities are endless. So instead I’ve focused on more modern looks that make me feel lady-like and put together. I like my clothes to fit well and to maybe have a touch of drama – like playing with texture, color or volume/structure. I think other people see me as someone who always looks laid back, but still elegant, and maybe a touch prissy – I’m taking this from compliments and comments I’ve received over the years (and I just asked my husband and thats what he said! haha!).

I can’t help feeling like I don’t have much to add here! These ladies have summed it up and given me a lot to think about.

One last thing I will say, I know many of us who sew (or make anything else for that matter) do it at least partly so we can have just what we want, what’s not available anywhere else. It’s a great feeling when you can be creative, and make something that you’re proud of, something that broadcasts the message you want to send.

So, how does the world see you? What would you like your style to say?

Me-Made-May Thoughts So Far, and my Cartoon Summer Wardrobe

Posted on May 16, 2012 by Tasha

Ok, I realize that it’s the middle of Me Made May, and I haven’t said anything about it! I have been thinking about it a lot though, and keeping a daily log of what I wear and my thoughts. So far I have met my goal of wearing one me-made article every day, and on only one day has underwear counted. (I have one sundress, not a me-made, that I wear when it’s just too hot to wear anything else.)

I wanted to make some kind of visual record so you could see what I’m thinking about for this project. I loved Tilly’s photo collage of her me-made wardrobe, although photographing mine during several days of camping didn’t seem very practical. But one of my goals for this summer is to draw more, a perfect activity for unplugged time. Then I saw the book Information Graphics on Brain Pickings, and was inspired to make my own graphic for Me Made May.

The space we have in the truck for clothes is quite limited. Every year I try to pack less, leaving out the things I don’t end up wearing much, but a little more of the most versatile, the things I can wear a lot of different ways and the things I know I wear all the time. This also leaves me with a small enough wardrobe that my drawing project seemed practical.

I circled the clothes I made in yellow. Somehow, this didn’t seem to represent the amount of effort that it feels like goes into what I wear. So I circled things I had dyed or otherwise substantially altered in green. Due to the careful selection of these clothes discussed above, there are only a few things here that I haven’t worn a lot. I circled them in blue. All four of these I included this season as a change from wearing mostly the same clothes I did at art shows last year – too much of that and it starts to feel like a uniform, which makes me start to hate even clothes I really like. Still it looks like I have a little tweaking to do to make these pieces fit, and a couple of them may not fit in my summer wardrobe.

I was surprised to see how many tops I had in relation to pants and skirts, especially since I have been thinking I need to make some more. I even have one about half done at home, based on the shiny top but in a linen fabric more suitable for every day. Then I remembered that all three of my me-made tank tops are not exactly spring chickens, in fact, they are getting to the only-suitable-for-camping stage. I circled everything that is wearing out in red. After that, I does look like I could use a couple more basic tops, and sundresses, I live in those when it’s warm and it would be great to have a couple more.

One of my favorite things about a challenge like Me Made May is that it asks us to take a look at what we are really using and what we need. For example, you can tell that pants that fit are the hardest thing for me to find ready-to-wear. And making my own is still a journey, every time I wear those grey ones I think about what’s wrong with them, but I also get inspired to make better ones this fall! In fact, with the cool weather we’ve been having so the past week or so, I’ve renewed my vow to make pants I like.

I’ve thought a lot the past few weeks about how what we wear is a compromise between what we’d ideally like to wear, what’s available (due to funds and time), and circumstances like the weather, what we have to wear to work, etc.

What do you think?

What’s in your closet? What do you need, and what do you have but don’t wear?

Technical Delays in a Beautiful Place

Posted on May 14, 2012 by Tasha

After a heroic effort involving all my laptop power and a rainy, foggy day in a huge lovely park with (as far as I know) only one wifi location, the post I have been working on is still “coming soon.”

In the meantime, please enjoy these pictures of Shenandoah National Park. It’s totally beautiful here, the trees are still leafing out and various flowers are blooming on the forest floor. Perhaps they will inspire an unplugged moment in your day!