It was only after I took this op-shop find home that I identified it as a square shape adapted as a shawl by folding on the diagonal, buttoned at front and armholes hidden in the layer below.

I’m posting from Western Australia at the moment – having prepared a few weeks’ worth of upcycling ahead of time. My purpose in being here is to finalise my youngest brother Paul’s estate, after he died in an excavator accident a year ago. He’s left a few mysteries for me to solve – and one that remains outstanding is a single key attached to his Mercedes vehicle key which none of his friends know to what it belongs. We may never know. Life’s like that – uncertain, mysterious and ephemeral.

But the world is full of good people and there are many in WA helping me sort my brother’s things. Paul had a minimalist lifestyle, but there’s still a lot of goods, chattels and lose ends.   This experience is partly what sparked my year repurposing existing clothing, as a resourceful and mindful way of reusing and sorting my accumulated natural resources.

This shawl feels like wool, although I can’t be certain because there is no identifying label. Either way, I love the colour and felt it was worth rescuing. I recreated into an outfit by teaming with a black cotton knit skirt to which I added a random silk trim around the bottom.