Sewing in the summerhouse

Hello. The days are whizzing by, it will be Spring before we know it. Today was like a summers day in the summerhouse. It was lovely to sit and stitch. Heidi joined me, and so did Rocky too. It's warmer in here than it is in the house. 

I am making some even smaller flags for a new bunting, started it this morning at the crafty club. Numbers were a bit thin on the ground, only five of us turned up. Still, it was nice to have some decent conversations without everyone talking at once. The less people there are means I can join in because I can hear what's being said.

After the sun went down over the houses, I went to the library. My friend Irene turned up, she handed a book to Stan which she didn't want. I didn't know that our library accepts donations of books. Apparently they will take books in any condition, and the ones they can't put on the library shelves are sold to a salvage company which will recycle the paper. I suppose with the cutbacks they have to make money in whichever way they can. Mind you, I do see places where they have wasted money as well, doing jobs which didn't seem necessary.

Annie asked a question on Wednesday.

I have tried to keep my heating off for as long as I can but have had to give in as we do not have an airing cupboard. My mother drummed it into us that all our clothes should be aired properly and not be put on damp. I have often wondered how you manage to keep you home from becoming damp with mildew etc. Looking at my hygrometer we have 70% humidity today. Is this a problem for you?

I don't have a problem with damp even though I am very frugal with my heating. I have the gas fire on at the moment, I give it half an hour in the living room I am sitting in, then turn it off. I won't put the central heating on until it is freezing, and even then it will be just for an hour. I don't have any mildew or mouldy walls. My house is brick built, about 60 years old, with a cavity wall, which is insulated. There is loft insulation. Occasionally when it is freezing I get condensation on the windows which I wipe off. 

All my internal doors are open, I don't close any of them, I like a flow of air through the whole house. There are ventilation bricks in some of the rooms, I have the back door open, and sometimes open a window in the kitchen or bathroom. this goes against what is generally advised, but it works for me. I don't know if damp is down to what the house is constructed of. 

My clothes hang in a wardrobe, Tshirts and sweatshirts are in a cupboard, and pants and socks are in drawers. They are not damp when I get them out and put them on. I have an airing cupboard which has bedding and towels in it, but the water is only heated when I have a bath. I personally think it is not important to air clothes before putting them on. as long as they are fully dry when you put them away. Mind you, if you do have a very damp house you might need to warm them first. 

I have no idea what the humidity is in my house, or what it should be, I don't have a hydrometer. That's as much as I can tell you. We never did the airing clothes thing when we were young. We didn't have central heating in the council house, and we couldn't afford to heat a tank of water so we didn't have many baths. The house I live in now is ex Council and very similar to that one. Our second house didn't have any hot water at all, no tank, and when we had a bath it was get the tin bath out and heat the water in pans on the gas stove. That was a very old terraced house and was prone to damp, mainly due to the steam in the kitchen. Thank goodness those days are long gone. 

Hope that has been of some use to you. You didn't say if your house was prone to damp, I'm assuming it is, that's why you put your heating on. Or do you put it on just to air your clothes? I don't know. Thanks for the question, I hope you get it sorted. 

Nearly bed time. Thanks for popping in. 
Toodle pip