Make Do and Mend was a pamphlet issued by the British Ministry of Information in the midst of WWII. My father was of this era and he was a clever craftsman who could turn hand to most trades. A college tutor for most of his life, he was a patient and quiet man who rarely raised his voice. His trade was plumbing but our whole home has his stamp on it. All the bedrooms have built in wardrobes hand built by him, with the walls papered and decorate by my father. Many a broken toy or bike was mended in his exceptionally tidy workshop.
I definitely inherited his crafting ways and the need to mend and reuse rather than throw and buy new. Our living room is an example. Curtains which originally fitted our old house bay windows still had a good deal of life left in them when we moved to our new home, and I still liked the pattern and colours. There was a problem, they did’t fit. For the front window the curtains were too long, for the patio doors they were too short. What to do. First the easy bit, take the long curtains up. Secondly, to make the second set longer I bought contrasting fabric and added a block of colour to the bottom of the curtains, plus I extended the lining by adding a further length of lining. Sorted.
There is nothing more satisfying than taking on a challenge, working your way through with a little imagination and determination.
What will your next challenging project be? Have fun with it.
Terri
Jay Dog Designs 