First aid kit

We have a very small first aid kit for the caravan and I think we have only used it a couple of times. I cut myself on a knife while washing up and needed a band aid for a couple of days.

But embarking on a trip like we are going to do, we thought we may need some more things namely bandages and a bigger bag/kit whatever to put them in.

This is where re purposing comes in. When I tided/cleaned out the pantry, way in the back was a wooden box with two empty bottles in it, they held port but of course that was long gone. The box was a com memorable box from when the pay corp (Warren's Army crop was founded/formed) and we didn't feel ready to just throw it out. The bottles went out though!

Nice sturdy wooden box with a sliding lid.

First I painted it red. I had a tube of red paint that was in my sewing room, why? who knows but at least there was a use for it.

Then I covered some packing foam that we had keep "just in case." and put it in the sides and bottom, like the packing boxes in China, except I am not as good at doing that as they are and I didn't leave it in but I did leave the bottom one in to absorb any bumps along the way.

I have included a few more things that we might need and Warren wants me to buy some strapping bandages again just in case.

Make mend and reuse

On our last trip out in the caravan, we spent more time in the evenings sitting in the van on the seats because it was dark and cold earlier.

I found the seats got very hard very quickly and suggested that we buy some new foam for the seats. The van being a 1974 or 76 model and I am sure the seats have not been upgraded in all that time.

We took one cushion down to Clark Rubber to compare and also to see if they could supply it Yep they could and would cut it to size if we gave them the measurements.

The foam on the left is the old one and does look worse for wear As I have recovered the seats only last year, I wanted to be able to use the same materials and I didn't want to have to buy more so had to take the covers off carefully so that they could be reused. Luckily I had made them like a slip cover and had laced the back with strong cotton so that it would "give" when people sat on it, making it easy to remove.

The green foam on the right is the new stuff and I wanted to completely cover that before putting on the outer cover.

The one on the left has been covered, I used fabric that has been in my stash for several years. I actually bought this to make a skirt and jacket. It is a pale pink and I never wear that colour, probably one of the reasons it was still in my stash. It is gabardine so easy to work with but quite sturdy, very suitable for seats covers. To make it fit snugly, I sewed up three sides and with Warren we "dressed" the foam and then I hand sewed the ends closed. My fingers were quite sore for a couple of days after from pushing and pulling the needle through the material.

The one of the right is the final result. We now have four seats,three making up the lounge/dining area and one (the one above) will fill on top of a table if we ever want to make it into a double/single bed.

Before we did have three smaller pieces but they moved a fair bit but this one is made to fit. I did had to put a seam down the middle to get enough from the three to make one big cover.

Warren will use the old foam for practice at archery.