Monthly Archives: August 2014

Sew 223 – Recognising op-shop potential

Part of the pleasure of op-shopping is about ‘the find’. I got this beautiful hand-knit for a very good price ($7) – considering the cost of the wool and the time involved in knitting it.

I love its shape, character and warmth, but it didn’t look very exciting languishing on the hanger. I brought it home, washed it, put a few hand-stitches in the armholes where the yarn seemed to have stretched a little, then secured it at the front with a big pin. I teamed it with an op-shop-found wool skirt, which had a couple of small holes which I mended on the sewing machine. I love the irregular shape and colour tones of this wrap, and enjoy wearing it very much.

Continue reading →

Sew 222 – Upcycled pouch with purpose

We carry our life in our phones these days so need to hold them close to our chest – and what better way to do that than with an upcycled purpose-made phone pouch.

At the Ekka recently with my friend and colleague, author of award-winning The Australian Blue Ribbon Cookbook, Liz Harfull, we were wandering and chatting for a while before Liz realised she had mislaid her new beaut Samsung phone.

Fortunately we could easily back-track and locate it, on this occasion. Because of the Samsung’s features (including a great camera – I also have one and take all my photos with it), the phone is slightly larger than pocket-sized but still hard to find in a big carry-all bag. Continue reading →

Sew 221 – Coming full circle

Our journeys through life are all different, yet most are trying our best at being and doing, playing and working at the level of consciousness on which we’re operating. We look after hearth and home, support our family and friends, and reach out to career networks and opportunities.

This year I’ve come full circle. Like a homing pigeon – I’ve been out there and now I’m coming back to base. I’m applying everything I’ve learned through various career roles and professional development opportunities to create a homespun campaign to shift our thinking about what we wear. Continue reading →

Sew 220 – Spotted wool jumper-skirt

This upcycle came with a lucky charm because I won a raffle prize – a fantastic Amanda Salisbury photo, below – while attending the inspiring and informative Queensland Rural Regional and Remote Women‘s High Tea.

I met several new contacts and caught up with lots of old friends as we heard the amazing story of the Puglisi family’s winery at Stanthorpe.

Meanwhile the 365 upcycling continues with another jumper-skirt, this time refashioned from a men’s spotted wool jumper. I cut the sleeves off and opened them out before joining the cuffs together to become a butterfly-shaped shawl – with the inside facing out so the woven pattern is accentuated. I crocheted around the edge to secure and neaten. This is draped around the shoulders of an op shop wool jacket, from which shoulder pads were removed. Continue reading →

Sew 219 – Jumper-skirt for Ekka

The Rural Press Club breakfast is the opening event at the Ekka, Queensland’s annual show, and a great time to catch up with rural friends and associates from around the state.

Guest speaker this year was Jason Strong, CEO of Australian Agricultural Company – talking about beef of course – but I was seated with central Queensland cotton grower Charlie Wilson. As a former chair of Cotton Australia, Charlie has good insight into cotton production, how it sits in the textile world in relation to inputs (water and chemicals) required to grow the crop and the challenge from synthetic fibres. He runs a family enterprise producing about 4000 bales of cotton as well as organic beef and dryland cropping of wheat and chickpeas. Although he plans to grow organic wheat in future, he says it is not possible to grow fully organic cotton in Australia because of the insect pest problems. Continue reading →

Sew 218 – Creativity is taking risks

In the 21st century, society needs people who think creatively because as they step into life’s problems they are more able to find creative ways of dealing with them.

That’s a paraphrase of the Life at 9 life journey series on television last night, which was about creativity. It seems creativity is a predictor of success in every domain of life because it is problem-solving, divergent thinking of possible solutions when presented with a difficult issue.

As we grow up, we are often obliged to subvert our creativity, to conform and follow rules and the experts in this program suggested that our current education system’s emphasis on performance and getting the ‘right answer’ is squashing creative development. Continue reading →

Sew 217 – Shift thinking on textile waste

The funny thing about this Sew it Again project in which I set out to reduce my clothing stockpile is that I seem to be accumulating more! There is so much surplus clothing in the world, that people either give it away, donate to charities or dump it to reduce the burden it has become.

Because I see waste clothing as a resource, I’m spending this year coming up with ways individuals can reuse it and sharing them on this blog, at workshops and talks. Around the world, there are other thrifty, resource-savvy people reusing waste clothing too – just google upcycling or refashion. We are part of a DIY refashion revolution exploring more sustainable, mindful and resourceful ways of living.

When I reflect on progress to date, I’m excited that local government authorities are inviting me to demonstrate what can be done with old clothing – via the t-shirts reworked workshop last Sunday at Redcliffe City Council’s What’s Cooking in the Gardens event, and a similar activity planned for Brisbane City Council’s Green Heart Fair at Carindale on October 12. Continue reading →

Sew 216 – Reusing waste creatively

Clothing is third on the list of wasteful consumption after food and credit interest, according to The Australia Institute.

A TAI 2005 research paper says that while we ostensibly buy goods and services to meet needs, social and economic systems now depend on growing levels of consumer spending unconnected with any needs.

It says: “Consumer spending is everywhere praised as being ‘good for the economy’; indeed, in the long term, it is only consumer spending that keeps the economy growing, and economic growth is almost universally believed to be the most important contributor to national and personal well-being (Hamilton 2003). As a consequence, economic growth has become a dominant objective in itself, irrespective of the extent to which it contributes to improving social well-being.” Continue reading →

Sew 215 – Linking with like-mindeds

As I work my way through this Sew it Again year, I enjoy meeting people and starting a conversation about clothing – where it comes from, where it goes to, and what happens to it along the way.

There is significant community awareness of the disposable culture flowing from the cheap and seemingly endless supply. People are becoming more conscious of the negative environmental and social impacts of the clothing binge, in the same way they know about negative health impacts from over-consumption of cheap processed food, But doing something about it is another matter.

Items that are unique and locally handmade with heart are rare. They standout among the sameness of the mass-produced and are valued by conscious consumers. They’re doubly special if you take the time to learn the skills and make them yourself. Continue reading →

Sew 214 – T-shirts reworked

Hacktivism strikes me as a great term to describe the art of hacking into reject and cast-off clothing that is no longer loved, at the same time as making a statement about waste and exploitation that arises from contemporary fashion consumption habits. (That was until I googled it and found it’s more readily aligned with computer hacking.)

Anyway, this method of upcycling reflects the #scavengerstyle fashion political statement made by upcycler Karen Ellis whose 24/7 practice is wearing garments salvaged from the point of landfill in Victoria, Australia for the past five years.

Karen brought my attention to Otto von Busch and his >self_passage< research project that ‘explores how fashion can be used for empowerment, self-development and personal growth instead of being a phenomenon of top-down decrees and collective anxiety’. Continue reading →