This project has taken me on a personal journey, one of discovery and of a realisation that textiles accompanies me along the way. It has been about finding the narratives and memories that textile objects harbour, discovered through work with recycling yarn and knitting processes. Production has relied on repurposed or waste yarn, with the focus and intentional use in community initiatives and social projects of ‘gentle’ activism.
‘Craft Your Time Well’ is my attempt to incorporate the simple pleasure of making within our communities. William Morris’s statement “In sewing the seed of an art which is to be made by the people and for the people, as a happiness to the maker and the user”, seems to have a renewed resonance for today’s society. It seems, in these challenging times, there is a real need to find wellbeing through making and crafting for individual reflection, and to find new ways to craft together.
Image 1 Repurposed Yarn to Knitting Yarn
Image 2 Short pieces of yarn creates a soft fabric.
Image 3 Short pieces of yarn and wool manipulated with water, heat, agitation.
Image 4 Waste yarn results in material that is warm and comfortable.
Image 5 Waste yarn knitted by machine and hand. Suitable to use as knit or felted.
Image 6. Mittens are garments in demand by homeless people, warm and comfortable to wear.
Image 7. Community activity as a class, or as a socially engaged activity.
Image 8. Knit using tuck stitch to make a scarf with pockets to keep personal items safe and person warm.
Image 9. Hat and scarf made on machine using tuck stitch. Made using waste yarn from industry.
Image 10. Successfully created garments that are warm and comfortable to wear.