Aprons and their Uses

We're going to be playing with shapes.

"Say what now?"

Well, that's technically what we're going to be doing, working with rectangles and a square. Depending on the need, maybe just rectangles. In other words, we're making a pattern for an apron.

Before we jump into that, let's go over the different jobs of aprons, a little bit of their history, and why I'm recommending you start using them and know how to make one.

History
We in the modern world haven't enjoyed mass produced clothing for all that long. At most, we've enjoyed clothing in its current form for only 60-70 years. Aprons, however, have existed for a very long time, with some of the earliest examples found with the Vikings. These are actually fairly accurate apron dresses, as some of the pieces from grave finds have been remarkably intact.

In some of the oldest professions in the world such at wood carving, leather working and blacksmithing, aprons are worn as means of protection for the person. (You can ask Firehand about that last one.) Made from leather or heavy duty fire-resistant fabrics, these are meant to protect you from sparks, a slipped carving knife, or accidentally gouging yourself with your awl.

In the simplest terms, the apron was created not long after clothing in order to keep said clothing clean for longer and protection it from damage and you from injury.

Types of Aprons
I think everyone still to this day has a fond memory of a grandmother and her apron.

• Waist Apron: Covers you from the waist down. Consists of a single piece (or multiple small pieces) shaped in a rectangle that cover the front of your legs and out to normally halfway across your hips.
• Bib Apron: If you work in retail or food service, this is the one that you will recognize. It covers you from the chest down. For most jobs, the basic bib apron is the pattern and style you're going to end up using the most. 
• Pinafore: An apron to keep the clothes of playing children clean back when the outdoors were our TVs and game systems. 
• Tabard: Another type of commonly found apron in today's world. 
• There are two or three others, however they're not relevant to this article. 

Who Wears Aprons?

• blacksmiths
• butchers
• armor and weapon makers
• cooks
• kitchen workers
• carvers
• welders
• furniture makers
• leather smiths 
• cobblers
• tailors
• jewelers
• metal forgers (not the same as blacksmiths)
• fishermen 
• clock makers
• homemakers
• tradesman
• most artisans 
• masons
• gardeners
• weavers
• spinners
• dyers

Have I made my point on this part? Aprons are useful tools.

There's an attitude that you will see pop up in discussions about This is an attitude that tends to make me reach for the cast iron frying pan and wooden spoons.

We are all far too used to the mass availability of materials, and it's made us less careful and less appreciative of our things like our jeans and shirts. There's an attitude of "Why should I have to take care of my clothing, or know how to fix it, or make new clothes, when I can just get new ones?"

Even a non-Hollywood SHTF situation will devastate or force a change in your wardrobe:

1. Being stranded out of town
2. Escaping a bad relationship
3. Theft 
4. Pregnancy
5. Severe illness that makes your weight go up or down drastically
6. Loss of home and belongings due to
• Fire
• Flood
• Volcanic eruptions (don't look at me like that! Close to 50% of the world population have to be ready for it. Just look at recent eruptions in Guatemala, Hawaii and Indonesia)
• Tornadoes
7. General Evacuation

Aprons are a way to extend the life of your clothes. It's the simplest garment in the history of the world, second only to the loin cloth. 

I've taken to using one as frequently as I can remember. When I'm cooking, washing dishes, or doing outside things, I'm wearing one. Now that I'm hand-washing our clothing, I need the clothes to stay cleaner longer than before. Heck, my first apron was crocheted. I still have it and still use it.

I started out with just a waist apron and realized I needed to turn it into a bib apron. I also have a regular fabric apron that I made a few mistakes with, one of which being a little too wide on the waist-covering part, overlapping by a good couple of inches in the back. I'm dealing with that because I manged to make it, and even with the mistakes I'm rather proud of myself for it. 

Making Your Own

1. Decide on what the apron is for ahead of time. This determines your materials and how much you'll need.
2. Do the opposite of what I did and measure your waist and hip area first  You'll be making your own ties or adding your own snaps to it, so knowing the dimensions will make cutting it to form easier. 
3. Take your time making it. You might find halfway through it''' work better as a waist apron than a bib, or vice versa.
4. Don't be afraid to upcycle a shirt or use scraps for it. (Unless you're making one for use with fire related activities -- I'm not sure how you'd be able to make a scrap leather apron)
5. If you go really crazy and knit or crochet one and make a bib apron, leave the straps around the neck as ties. That's the best thing I've found to deal with the stretching.

The most basic of patterns for an apron is this:

....that's a little too basic, isn't it?  Never fear, the link monster is here:

• How to Make an Apron from Shirts. Don't be afraid to upcycle or recycle an old button up shirt that someone in the household isn't wearing anymore. This is a great to get to the most of out that chunk of fabric.
• A Patchwork scrap waist apron.
• BBQ Apron from an recycled canvas shopping bag.
• Gathering Apron. I have to be honest, this one reminds me a lot of aprons from the 1700s and 1800s.
• Mobius Apron. I'm including this one because it's a nice-looking apron, but the actual process she uses for printing the pattern isn't very economical.  It needs a lot of printing paper, so if you can eyeball the pattern, you might be better off.
• Cross Back Apron. This one is similar to the mobius above it, and both are not for beginners. For those of you who are more experienced sewers, this is up your alley.
• Garden Apron . A simple waist apron with pockets. 
• One version of a Viking Apron Dress. Just for hoots and giggles. 
• Sewn Egg Gathering Apron.
• Crocheted Egg Apron.

The number of cheap patterns from all pattern makers for under 5-6 bucks is rather large. If you decide to go with more of a tabard style, try looking for patterns under the secondary term of "Smock ".

Cheap Gear Review: Ozark Trail Pocket Knife

As many of you are aware, I like cheap gear. I also like knives, and I think I may have found an excellent combination of the two.

There is a brand of products called Ozark Trail, meant to compete with national brands on an “Okay quality, good price” basis. One of the things that they sell is actually called the Ozark Trail Everyday Carry Rivet Knife. Aside from the name (EDC knife), I find myself drawn to it by the price: $4.99 on Amazon as of this writing. It's cheap enough that you can hand them out as stocking stuffers, or to a teenager headed to scout camp, or to a co-worker, and not sweat the price.

https://tinyurl.com/y9dy3hx8

The knife is a liner-lock folder with a three-inch tanto tip and rear serrations. The four-inch handle is made of plastic. While it doesn't seem much to speak of, this review has actually been six months in the making and I am actually very impressed with this knife.

Use and Abuse
Things I have done to this knife:

• I have run it through the dishwasher several times. No rust spots.
• It has been left to soak overnight, which turned into a week. No rust spots.
• I have used it to pry up staples from a tarp that was improperly attached to a wood frame.
• I have used it to pry car parts apart from each other when working on my car. It wasn't the best tool, but the knife did not break, bend, deform, etc.
• I have used the tip to make fairly precise cuts on paper, including cutting painter's tape in order to mask things off for air brushing. While it is not as precise as a razor, it actually seems to hold a tip better than my Cold Steel Black Sable.
• It survived drops from my roof to the concrete (multiple times) and from my roof to the asphalt of the street with no ill effects. The blade didn’t even come out when it hit the ground, and there was no damage beyond scratches on the handle.
• I have used it to cook, just because I could. It does in fact cut tomatoes, but it should be sharpened beforehand if you have been using it, and it is a little too small to cut them easily.

Now for the big one:

Surviving a Teenage Boy
I gave one of these (not the one that I have tested myself) to my 14 year-old nephew to take to scout camp and told him that he needed to test it to its limits and that I would replace this if it broke.

He has cut rope, whittled wood, carved his initials into a chunk of soapstone, hammered tent stakes, used it for eating, scraped the crud off the bottom of a cast iron pan, opened cans of food, cut up old bike tires, and generally been a teenage boy with it. Aside from needing to be sharpened (which has mostly consisted on running the end of it through a Lansky Blade Medic), I have had to do no real maintenance on it. The frame has not cracked and the blade has not bent, chipped, or broken.

Drawback
The one thing I have against this knife? The liner lock spring is quite stiff, and for someone with low hand or grip strength, it can be difficult to close one-handed. The liner lock is in fact stiff enough that it causes difficulty opening it for the first while that you own it, due to the friction on the blade itself, until it breaks in.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5
It doesn't keep an edge as well as my Benchmade, or my Kershaw, or my other very nice knives, nor does it have some of the features I like (glass breaker, seatbelt cutter, etc.) but it costs nowhere near as much, and is about 80% as nice. I completely recommend it as an inexpensive EDC knife that, if it goes missing or breaks, you will not cry over.

Good luck, and don’t forget to practice.

Building a Potato Garden Box, part 2

How to construct a potato bed from wooden pallets.

Tool A Longs

Almost three years ago I wrote a product review for the emergency rations that I found at a local Wal-Mart. They're produced by Ultimate Survival Technology (UST) and are still available through many stores, but recently I found another line of “survival” items that they produce and decided to test a few of them.

UST Tool A Longs

There are 36 different designs in this product line. I saw about 10 of them in a clearance aisle at a local home supply store and picked up four whose looks I liked. Once I got home and looked them up, I wished the store would've had a few of the other designs, but I found a few that I liked.

Designed to be hung by the included carabiner (very flimsy) from a pack or bag, the somewhat whimsical designs are decorative and some of the tools are actually usable. None of the designs have a blade of any kind so they are all TSA-safe to travel with. Here are the ones I picked up (pictures are from the maker's page).

Spork

Similar to the sporks that I reviewed here, the function is fairly simple: a stainless steel tool that will let your eat without using your fingers. This one has a functional bottle opener (B) and flat screwdriver (A) built in to the design, as well as a questionable can opener(D). The can opener works, but the design only allows a 1/8^th inch cut per cycle, so it's going to take a while to get a can open. The tool only weighs an once (30g) and is functional, so it may have a place in your kit.

Trout

A stamped-steel fish with 8 functions, 5 of which are useful or usable. The screwdrivers (D, F) and hex wrenches (B) work, the prying point (A) is strong enough to open a paint can, and the ruler (C) is accurate. However, the butterfly wrench (H) is designed for use with wing-nuts and is too small for most of the common sizes, the can opener (E) is completely useless due to the rear dorsal fin of the fish shape blocking the cutter from being able to actually penetrate the lid of a can, and the cord cutter (G) isn't sharp enough to cut anything I tried it on.

Sasquatch

I liked the look of this one and most of it actually works. Of the 8 tools in the design, 5 of them are usable. The flat screwdriver (E), ruler (D), hex wrenches (A), bottle opener (C), and can opener (H) all work quite well. The can opener actually surprised me at how well it worked, opening a steel can of fruit quite easily. The Phillips screwdriver (F) suffers from the same problem as the can opener on the trout design with another piece of the tool blocks its use (the other foot of the Sasquatch in this case). The butterfly wrench (G) is again too small for use, and the cord cutter (C) is dull.

Bass

With 10 tools on this one, it's the most ambitious of the batch I bought. Two flat screwdrivers (B, E), a Phillips screwdriver (D), a bottle opener (H), and a ruler (J) are the most useful of the choices. The fish scaler (A) is quite small and I'd rather use a camp knife to remove scales before cooking a fish. The cord cutter (C) is dull and the butterfly wrench (F) is too narrow for use. I'm undecided on the pick (I) and fish hook sharpener (G), as I haven't had a good chance to test them yet.

There's also a hidden tool that the maker doesn't point out: the end of the ruler/scaler has a notch in it which could be used as a hook remover quite easily. The trick to removing a hook after a fish has swallowed it to the point where you can't reach it is to wrap the line once around a hook remover and gently push on the remover, following the line to the hook. Once you have found the hook, twist the remover until it sits in the bend of the hook, push in just enough to dislodge the barbs of the hook and gently pull out the hook and remover at the same time.

Closing Thoughts

I don't understand the addition of butterfly/wing-nut wrenches on so many of the stamped-steel multi-tools on the market. I don't see wing-nuts in use very often, so I don't see the need for a wrench for them. The cord cutters could probably be sharpened with a round ceramic rod or a piece of emery paper wrapped around a small rod, making them useful. The functions blocked by the design of the tools is just poor planning on the part of the designers.

Normally I include links to Amazon for each of the items I review, because we get a few pennies when you purchase anything using our referral links and Amazon usually has fair prices. Their prices are close to MSRP, but Amazon only has a half-dozen of the designs listed, so I skipped the links. The maker has a list of“where to buy” on their webpage. Keep an eye out for them; they seem to be made of good steel and most of the functions actually work.

Prudent Prepping: Pantry Check

The dust has settled and the First 72 Hours have passed. Follow along as I build a long term plan via Prudent Prepping.

I am financially unable to transition to foods that have a very long shelf life, so normal grocery items are what are on my shelf and in my "Buckets of Holding" emergency gear. I've mentioned in many posts that the products in my pantry get rotated out before the Sell By date (even if we all know that does not affect quality) and I give them to my Food Bank, which is need of donations right now.

In With Some New
This is a one-for-one swap of the listed items. The next scheduled time for checking the other things in my stores is October/November.

Pacific Roasted Red Pepper & Tomato Soup

 Soup in a box, in a box!

You need to try this soup. It tastes wonderful, it comes in a really handy size, and it's easy to pack.

• Roasted red pepper and tomato creamy soup 
• Gluten-free 
• USDA organic 

This soup is almost worth the Sam's Club membership by itself, it's that good.



Trader Joe's Macaroni

1 lb Pasta

I'm on a budget, so if I can find a good value at a trendy place, I take advantage of it. Pasta is pretty much pasta, and Joe's has as low a price as anyone else here. It's a 1 lb package of macaroni, so what else is there to say?

Here's what I've always wondered:  How can this be sold for a buck after being manufactured and then shipped from Italy? What's the difference between this and similar brands selling for twice the price? Maybe someone can explain it to me.









Trader Giotto's Three Cheese Sauce

Really tasty!

There are several different sauces on the shelves there but this is my current favorite. Once again, this is priced within pennies of the national brands found in Sams's Club or Costco, and I can buy a jar at a time instead of a three pack. One jar over one pound of pasta works for me.

 No one in my current group has any food sensitivities, so wheat, nuts and dairy are not an issue.










Quaker Instant Oatmeal Variety 52 Pack 

Oatmeal

I eat oatmeal for breakfast at least twice a week, just not the instant variety. I take this in my lunch box for the mornings I get hungry at my coffee break and a doughnut doesn't sound good.

I know, the added sugar in the flavored varieties makes this nutritionally similar to a donut, but I like to think the oats balance things out!






Everything is dated at least one year out, with the pasta listed as good until 2021! Nothing will stay in the buckets that long, since I pull from them fairly regularly to save myself a trip to the store. Doing this means I've got to stay on top of the inventory -- which is simple, since I'm doing the pulling so I know which bucket is now short.

There's also a paper inside each bucket listing what is in each one. This is not a problem now as the member of the group with dietary restrictions moved and I don't need to worry as much about stomach issues.

Later this year I plan to start moving to some freeze-dried meals and doing some more product taste tests.

The Takeaway

• I have to buy what I need for the money available each month. Sometimes that is not much, and other times a little more.
• Check your shopping lists for the month. Having a membership to Costco could potentially save you cash if  you are buying the same items every trip to the store.

The Recap

• Eight 1lb packages of pasta from Trader Joe's at $0.99 each: total of $7.92
• Eight jars of pasta Sauce also from Joe's at $2.49 each: total of $19.92
• Two cases (24 total) Tomato Basil Soup from Sam's Club: $11.98 ea for a total of $23.96
• One case (52 count) Quaker Instant Oatmeal also from Sam's:  $9.87

Just a reminder: if you plan on buying anything through Amazon, please consider using our referral link. When you do, a portion of the sale comes back here to help keep this site running!

If you have comments, suggestions or corrections, please post them so we all can learn. And remember, Some Is Always Better Than None!

NOTE: All items tested were purchased by me. No products have been loaned in exchange for a favorable review. Any items sent to me for T&E will be listed as such. Suck it Feds.

Product Review: Washing Wand

Around January, my husband and I found out that we could finally buy our first home next year. I immediately went into "Where can we save money so that we can pay off everything possible between now and then?" mode.

One of those areas was laundry. We were spending upwards of $40 a month going to a laundromat. $40 plus the amount of time taken away from my husband's job because we only have one vehicle plus the extra miles on the vehicle equals me deciding I was going to do laundry the old-fashioned way (by hand) but with a modern twist.

The Washing Wand
Enter this doodad. It was an initial investment of $8 (I got it on sale) and the amount added to the water bill by doing laundry in the tub at home was $12. That's half of what we were spending per month at the laundromat, which means the Washing Wand has already paid for itself in the first month of use.

I know it looks like a toilet plunger, but it's better:

• I don't have to worry about someone forgetting there's one for the toilet and one specifically for laundry only. 
• It's designed to agitate water, not un-plug a toilet, so it agitates better than a plunger. 

Tips and Tricks

1. Let your laundry soak in the soapy water for five to ten minutes. 
2. Dump that water and replenish it with fresh, then agitate it for 40 motions (think 'churning butter') or two minutes, whichever is longer.
3. You may have to rinse twice, depending on how dirty the stuff was.

Q&A

Can it handle sheets and blankets? 
It can, if you have a large tub to let them soak in. You might have to work harder to get them clean, though. 

Has it proven to get the clothes clean?

Yes.

Would I trust it with the crocheted stuff I do for Jade Rose?

I haven't tried that yet, and am a little apprehensive about it.  Do you blame me?

My Rating: 7.5 out of 10

Pros:

• There's no "ick factor" of using a toilet plunger
• It gets things clean
• It breaks down easily for storage/transportation
• It's inexpensive

Cons:

• It's exhausting to use if you're out of shape.
• It's a bit hard on your hands if you're not used to gripping something for long periods of time.
• The cup could use a couple more holes added to it to aid in the agitation of the water.

I recommend this product.

Cheap Gear Review: Document Bags

I don’t know about you, but when I find myself opening a bug-out or get-home bag, I have a small problem. In fact, I have a lot of small problems: all the pieces that float to the bottom of the bag and are impossible to find quickly. Do you take allergy pills? Good luck finding that tiny bottle in less than five minutes, and if you (like me) are already itchy and miserable when you are looking for them, five minutes is a miserable thing.

Modular and Fast
My solution to this dilemma is a document bag. These bag are designed to hold receipts, passports, boarding passes, etc and are small, inexpensive, fairly durable, and easily labeled.Their modular nature allows you to identify, locate and retrieve them quickly and easily; a snake bite is something that you'll need to treat in a hurry and is a very different emergency than a burn.

For quick identification, I use a small description tag with the contents written on the back, or a title written on it with a paint pen, depending on the bag.

Example: “Medical” on the front in a large easy to read font, with “Inhaler, Epipen, painkiller (Advil), painkiller (Tylenol), Allergy medication (Zyrtec), Allergy medication (Allegra), bandaids, tiger balm, finger pulse oximeter.

I also have bags with my oral hygiene supplies, my computer cables, extra batteries etc. This gives me a full packing list of everything that I am supposed to have in it, which makes it easy to tell if I am missing something.

I Recommend

https://amzn.to/2KkEORf

This is the exact model that I use, a Husky-brand 12-inch bag. I like this style because I can connect a carabiner to the tab and clip it to my backpack, MOLLE webbing, hooks, and occasionally even a random twig. I recommend a cheap model, like these.

I've been using these document bags as sorters for over a year now and have yet to have one of them fail or rip, and I've even run them through the washing machine. I do not recommend the dryer for them, though, since the model I use is actually a plastic-based canvas and I had worries about it melting. I haven't put one through the dishwasher yet, although I will try to correct this.

https://amzn.to/2yJ3em1

If you are budget minded, you can get three bags of varying sizes for half the price of the Husky.

My Rating: 5/5

I highly recommend these bags. It saves me a lot of time and hassle to use them, and I can transport them between bags. My BoB is wonderful, but sometimes I need only one component from it, and these bags give me the freedom to take what I need and leave the rest behind.

Keep your powder dry, and don’t forget to practice.