How to Make an Applique Draught Excluder

Brrrr, isn't it chilly?

Our flat was even colder than it should have been because there's a half inch hole below the front door and the carpet!

My finger can fit under the door!

The Boyfriend said I should make a draught excluder to block the gap. I don't usually like to admit when he's right (it goes to his head), but this time he had a point so I got to work!

I had an old pair of holey jeans waiting for just such a project. (Someone did this on Superscrimpers too, but I like mine better!) My Mum also gave me a book on how to applique, complete with some fabric scraps and Bondaweb. Perfect!

How to make an an applique draught excluder:

1. Cut a leg off an old pair of jeans, turn it inside out and sew along the cut edge to close it.

2. Design a pretty pattern. I drew some Cath Kidston-inspired flowers.

3. Trace your pattern onto the paper backing of fusible web (Bondaweb or similar).

4. Iron (I KNOW, IRON!) the fusible web onto the wrong side of the fabric for the design. Make sure you leave the paper on or your iron will be stuck to the fabric!

5. Cut out the design. Turn the jean leg the right way round.

6. Pull off the fusible web paper and position the design right side up on the jean leg. Iron to secure it place.

7. Using embroidery thread, sew each design piece into place. Two common ways to applique are running stitch (the yellow thread) or whip stitch (blue). 

8. Stuff the leg with whatever free padding you have knocking around. I used: lots of odd socks that The Boyfriend refuses to wear, the other leg of the jeans and had a clear out of old pants that I never wear! :)

9. To seal the draught excluder, I folded the opening like an envelope and secured with a few stitches in a dark thread. (This way I can easily unpick it and wash the contents if I have to).

Tell you what, this thing is amazing! You won't believe how much of a difference it makes!

Challenge Updates: Bills, No Spend and Christmas!

Christmas Completed by December

SFT asked whether everyone was winning at the Christmas Done by December challenge. Just to recap, my targets were to get Christmas gifts completely finished, to buy one Christmas decoration each, to finish my Advent calendar and to make some decorations to send to family members.

Well, here's how it stands now:

• Finish Christmas gifts - Over halfway! I started the month with just one person (my sister) crossed off my list. Halfway through, I now have nine more people crossed off (actually eleven if you split "the kids" category up!). I have ideas and half-presents for another five people, which just leaves a couple of very awkward people causing me trouble! (Looking at you, Dad!)
•  Buy a Christmas decoration - Complete! It is a bit of a family tradition of ours to visit Trelawney garden centre in Cornwall each year to marvel at the Christmas displays and get a bauble/Christmas decoration. Well, this year we went a bit earlier than usual and even let The Boyfriend tag along. I bought a beautiful glass bauble with hand-painted swirls, whilst The Boyfriend got a glass robin with mistletoe painted on its flanks!
• Finish Advent calendar - Nearly there! On Friday I posted part three of how to make an Advent calendar, but over the weekend I finished the stockings for part four too (will be posted on Friday!). Now I just have to sort out the numbers and bits and bobs to put inside them! :)
• Make Christmas decorations for family - Gathering materials! I am still in the early stages of this one! I want to post them at the start of December so I need to get cracking! I want to make star or heart fabric decorations from some leftover gingham. 

No Spend Week

Last  week I challenged myself to a No Spend Week, with the caveat that if I saw some good Christmas present deals I would be allowed to snap them up. I have to be honest guys, I failed the challenge. I managed five of seven days as No Spend.

I do have some excuses if you want to hear them? :) On Thursday I had to give a presentation about Physics in Biology. Now if you know anything about biologists, you'll know that they gave up physics as soon as they possibly could at school then ran away, avoiding all talk of the subject ever after! After a week of stressing about my presentation, on Thursday evening I did knowingly go to the pub with everyone else and have half a pint of lager!

My second excuse is slightly better; I bought some red card and red buttons to complete the Advent calendar and Christmas decorations respectively.

Still, overall most days were a success, right? :)



Lowering the Bills

Last month I wrote about how The Boyfriend and I planned on lowering our bills. Between 5th September and 5th October we spent £36.07 on energy (including £34.01 on electricity) and £26.55 on water. Following the plan of shorter showers and turning things off at the wall, I'm pleased to announce that between October and November (31 day period) we spent £34.15 on energy and £24.70 on water, a decrease of 5% and 7% respectively. 

I want to keep this up and hopefully report even lower costs next month! :)



SFT asked if we are winning. I think I have had some success in these challenges. How are you getting on? :)

The Great Heating Debate

How cold is too cold? There are so many posts at this time of year about either succumbing to the cold or sitting freezing your bum off! Which side of the fence do you fall on?

It's cold here. I live in Cornwall, so it's colder pretty much everywhere else in the UK, but hey, it's cold here too! We haven't had the heating on yet. It's getting impossible to dry clothes and I'm worried that the house is going to start going mouldy again! My dad and I are really trying hard to keep the electricity bill down this year and everyone's on board with it, but it was difficult to get to sleep last night as my face was freezing (I pulled the duvet over my head but I have to leave an air hole to breathe through)! I went to The Boyfriend's house yesterday and it was so toasty and warm inside! Jealous!

What do we think? Is it worth putting the heating on for an hour in the evening?

Will the Recession Save the World?

Humanity is destroying itself. We're lopping down forests, burning through fuel supplies and we're polluting the planet to a point where crops will start to fail. I don't personally believe humans as a species will last for another 1000 years, or even 500 years.

Yet there is still a glimmer of hope. We still have time to rectify the situation. To stabilise greenhouse gas levels at a safe level would cost 1% of the world's Gross Domestic Product (GDP), according to the Stern Review published in October 2006. The alternative is struggling to pay for failing ecosystem processes. Our planet is fantastic. It provides a huge range of habitats to support teeming millions of creatures and plants. We benefit from food, clean drinking water, pharmaceuticals from plants, regulated climate, pollination of crops, nutrient cycling, waste decomposition and disease control, not to mention all those processes we do not fully understand yet! If carbon emissions continue at the current rate we will lose some of the most vital things that Earth provides for us. The cost to the global economy will be 5-20% of the GDP, or 20 times more than the cost of acting now to prevent the loss.

Do people want to go green to save the planet? Can they be bothered? Until recently the answer was “no” in most cases.

The recession has been rubbish for everyone, with millions of people unemployed in the UK and a huge hike in the cost of living. In the news the other day they reported that people weren't planning to turn on their central heating until it gets colder because of the 18% rise in energy costs. As long as people are staying safe, surely this is a good thing! People feel that they should be able to walk round their home in shorts and a t-shirt, even in the middle of winter! By putting on a few extra layers instead of flicking on the heating you are saving yourself money as well as cutting down your carbon footprint. I'm currently writing this from the comfort of a blanket and shawl, with fluffy woolly socks keeping my toes toasty. A safe room temperature is about 16°C (61°F), which isn't warm but it's not uncomfortably cold (older people and young children may need a slightly higher temperature). If you're only going to be in one room (for example at night), just heat the one room instead of your entire house!

Another “benefit” of the recession is the ridiculous price of petrol/diesel. The cheapest prices in our area currently are 133.9 pence per litre for petrol and 138.9p/L for diesel. (It's quite harsh that Cornwall has some of the highest fuel prices in the country, yet some of the worst public transport and lowest wages to boot!) The days of going for a drive for something to do are over. A year ago, The Boyfriend and I would occasionally drive to the 24hr Tesco (~25 mile round trip) to get a DVD to watch, but lately we've said “ehhh.. fuel costs too much”! I'm sure a lot of people are reducing their weekly miles to save money, which has got to have a good impact on the environment!

The question is how much of a reduction will be enough? The Government has pledged to reduce carbon emissions by 12.5% by 2012 (from 1990 levels) and by 80% by 2050. Will we meet these targets, and will it be enough to stop global climate change from escalating?

The recession is causing people to live more frugally and environmentally friendly. Will the recession save the planet?