Washing silk - the results

I hate buying anything which says dry clean only and normally buy washable items unless they are very cheap so that if I wore them once and then ruined them in the wash it would be no great loss financially.

I recently dyed a matching top and skirt. They were a dull grey-green. I decided to try just the top first, and tie-dye it. I did not like the new colour which was simply a darker grey-green. The top was too tight on the arms after washing.

So I wore the skirt. Then I looked at some cotton I had dyed navy blue and really liked the navy. I decided to dye the top, and try to stretch it - failing that cut the back vertically with pinking shears and wear it under a jacket.

Still fearful of spilling the colour or shrinking the skirt, I dyed the wider skirt hem to match the top, with a bit of tie-dyeing. As I progressed, it looked as though the skirt was shrinking faster than its lining. I pulled on the skirt to try to bring it below the lining.

Then I looked in Wikipedia at the article on silk and it said that silk shrinks 8% when washed, only 4% if dry cleaned, and can be steamed to expand again.
I pulled the fabric as I hung it on a hanger. I thought of wearing it as it dried, in the hope that my body would keep it stretched, like stretching shoes. I might have ended up encased in it unable to get out.

What's the worst that can happen? It shrinks and I have to cut it.

Find A Grave Tee-shirts, Caps, Bags and more

I looked up the grave of Crosse & Blackwell on Find A grave and then started searching and browsing through their pages.

I found this interesting link to their merchandise.
Their logo is a question mark on a gravestone.

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=storeChoices

The link takes you to the pages of Cafe Press.

What can you buy displaying a Union Jack? As a souvenir - or speech prop.

Union Jacks

Clothing
Hats.
Socks.
Teatowels.
Tee shirts for adults - men and women.
Tee shirts for children, babies, toddlers, teens.

Novelties
Cushions. Flags - ranging from tiny cake toppers, through hand-held flags, up to large ones to carry on stage to illustrate speeches or show in parades, to giant ones to hang on flagpoles for front gardens or outside hotels, tourist attractions and sports centres.
Phone covers. Posters.

Buy from where?
Kiosks on central London near stations such as Green Park which is on Piccaddilly towards Buckingham Palace.
Shops at motorway service stations.
Supermarkets, especially allied to seasonal events and one off celebrations.
Online.

Tips
If buying a tee-shirt, note whether it is cotton and washable for frequent use, or cheaper plastic or synthetic to wear once at a fancy dress party or event.

Which silk pillowcase?

I'm looking at silk pillowcases. You can get them in white, cream, red or black. Different qualities of silk. Or silk on one side, for the top, cheaper cotton underneath.

I've also looked at cushions. Cushions and pillows with embroidery look good but I find you need a flat surface under your face. So you could have the raised pattern on top during the day, turn over to the plain side at night. Or use the cushion or oversize pillow merely for decoration in the daytime, perhaps on top of a white cotton pillowcase on a second pillow.

Silk clothes, silk pillows - what sort of silk?

Glossary:

brocade - patterned thick silk used for upholstery

charmeuse - lighter than satin, one horizontal thread woven over three weft, creating shiny front and matt back, can be silk or synthetic, lighter weight than satin, often used for linings, too light for skirts because it clings to the body and is hard for amateurs to sew.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charmeuse

chiffon - ultra-thin, semi-see-through, wafts around, looks sexy and floaty, not suitable for rough wear nor sheets you will pull and kick in the night

crepe de Chine

Dupion - thick, used for upholstery

faux - French for false

habotai - light from 5 mom me to 12 momme, sheer, used for dress linings and silk painting, less expensive

Indian silk

Jacquard - threads weave in and out to make alternating matt and shiny to create a repeating picture or pattern, very common on tablecloths, napkins and upholstery

Jasmine

Jim Thomson - usually very heavy shiny silk, used for stiff jackets, expensive. You can buy it at the shop in his former home in Bangkok, the capital city of Thailand, also in Singapore in department stores and probably by mail order

momme quality/weight

mulberry - silk worms fed on mulberry leaves, so it's silk from silk worms

noil - rough thick silk with nobbly thread, soft in the sense of flexible, but not a flat surface, matt not shiny

Sand-washed silk, matt but very soft and fine or thin, feels and looks almost like suede

satin - a kind of weave with three weft or verticals, whilst the thread goes horizontally in and out, with the silk or false silk (e.g. polyester?) on top over three threads creating a smooth silky or shiny look on top, with a rougher matt look at the back

shantung

slub silk
http://vintagefashionguild.org/slub-textured-fabrics/

taffeta

Thai silk - Thick and can be shimmery with gold patterns such as the national symbol elephants, with different patterns used by different hill tribes.  Although much of the Thai so-called silk is synthetic it is so glamorous. You can see the different patterns at ebay stores online. Wraparound skirts are one size fits most and come with matching tops, sleeveless, short sleeved, long sleeved, upright Mandarin collar or Western collar, ladies blouse or gents shirt. Also similar cushions, purses, tablecloths and cloth. Scarves to match with fringed edges. Plain colour can be bought in markets such as Pat pong.

thread count

tussah

Explanations on the internet:
ebay

http://www.silkgifts.co.uk

wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charmeuse

http://www.wikihow.com/Determine-if-Silk-is-Genuine

http://www.lilysilk.com/uk/page/faq_page/identify-real-silk
Shows you how a lighted match affects real silk and synthetics.

http://www.feelingpampered.com/faqsonsilk.html

http://www.jacobsenrugs.com/silk-rug.htm

A real silk rug usually has a fringe made from the material of the rug extending, not an edging braid sewn on afterwards.

Cutprice coffee for machines, luxury at home

Nespresso
Great machines, great after ales service and huge range of coffee pods delivered fast.

If you are ordering in bulk for your home, a group of families, a club or business, you might like to do a calculation like this using current prices to check what you spend:

Coffee Pods

Nespresso 29 p
(stronger varieties 11 and 12 are 33p)
Lungo which make a longer coffee are 30p

Amazon
Cafepod £9.99/40 = 25.0p (-13.8%)
Caffesso £16.49/60 = 27.5p

Waitrose
Cafe Direct £18/40 = 45.0p (not our preferred flavour)
Smart £13.98/50 (not tried - see online reviews or judge for yourself)
Smart Decaff £14/60 = 23.3
Smart Roma £10.03/ 60 = 16.7 + £3.97 pp £14 = 23.3p

It all depends which brand you like and which deal you are getting.
For example, make up the price of your order and you might get free delivery.

See my posts on my travel blog on visiting vineyards.
Books by Angela Lansbury on lulu.com


A Nespresso machine label.

Our list to help us identify colour and strength in a hurry.

You can label the inside of the boxes if you keep them in the delivery carton.

I love the colours. Here's decaff in red capsule. 

Caffepod boxes look like you could re-use them for something - pencil holders on your desk?

It seems a shame to throw away the little foil wrappers. Maybe I could use the wrapper to carry just one chocolate, or a sugar lump, with me for a treat when travelling and eating out.

Also follow Angela Lansbury author on other blogs and Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube

Shopping In Garden Centres - Gardening gloves, Santas, Cookbooks

The Squires Garden Centres offer all sorts of goodies. They are already stocking Santas for Xmas and even gifts for next spring.

I can vouch for the Ispy books, at least the one on Trees which I use constantly when walking or on a day's outing as a passenger in a car. I think I'll go for birds next. 

I'm sure some little of big boys would like football cars or car badges. 

I loved the books, especially the tractor shaped book on the Tractor.

The cafe is popular with a queue at lunchtime.

You can book afternoon tea, £7.95 for one, £14.95 for two - but with a non-refundable £5 deposit.

Books and boot-scrapers.

Pets and fish to look at and maybe buy. If you need information on pets, their website has information on all sorts of pets such as rabbits. (But not chickens.)

Calendars and diaries for the Xmas stocking.

All kinds of j gardening gloves. I want thorn-free gloves for picking roses - must look next time.

Want a stop as well as a shop - disabled toilets.

For the keen gardener, a kneeling pad.

 For the husband who has everything, a copyable watering can.

If you can't get there, they send to catalogues and emails and offers. I got a pair of gardening gloves just for joining up and giving them my email. The last catalogue had a voucher for free bulbs to lure you in for a visit.

Their garden centres are in Stanmore, Twickenham, Windsor and other places. 

www.squiresgardencentre.co.uk

Bra sizes: band, cup, American, International, Australian

Bras on ebay come from countries around the world showing different measurements.

Here's a chart which covers International, French, Italian and Australian.

http://www.blooberry.com/bformfaq/sizeconversion.html


The next one covers American and European sizes:

http://www.sizeguide.net/bra-sizes.html

A good measuring guide for yourself:

http://www.wikihow.com/Measure-Your-Bra-Size

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brassiere_measurement