Christmas

Coming back into the studio this year I had the real need to work into the large amount of stock fabrics and yarns I’ve collected over the years as space – both physical and mental felt stretched. These self imposed constraints have resulted in a new focus on working with stock fabrics I’d previously not used and also re-working into familiar fabrics which has resulted in lots of new avenues of work opening up which I’m really pleased with.

The 100 % recycled baubles are incredibly satisfying to make for a few reasons. For a long time I just didn’t know how I was going to use the ever-growing collection of the smallest offcuts  - I just knew as a maker trying to work in a mindful, sustainable way that I didn’t want to throw them away.

The smaller the scraps, the trickier it is to use them. But through play and working on some more sculptural pieces like the keyrings and fiddlehead pots, I found a way of turning these scraps into really beautiful objects. To have found a way to use the smallest, trickiest of offcuts within my work is such a great feeling and I’m looking forward to pushing this process further and see where it takes me.

The gift bags and bows are both fabrics I’ve had for a long time, just waiting patiently on the shelf for the right idea to roll around. The red and white striped cotton cloth was woven locally at a mill that is sadly no longer running.  A one-off roll of dead-stock fabric, the simple stripe and colours lend itself perfectly to timeless Christmas decorations. Our household is totally sold on the idea of re-usable gift bags due the ease and speed in which you can ‘wrap’ a pile of gifts - no more late nights wrapping gifts for us!

The cloth used for the bows and ribbon is one of the most beautiful clothes I’ve ever worked with. Woven locally, it’s a dense woollen cloth in the truest, richest red that evokes a timeless Christmas mood.  The fabrics qualities lends itself so well to holding the structure shape of the bows and I love that’s its another decoration which can be used year after year in different ways.

I am so pleased with these small festive additions to our collections, using new fabrics in unexpected ways. I’ve always loved the ritual of unpacking treasured Christmas decorations and dressing the house with twinkling lights at the darkest time of the year.

I love that these objects are kept so carefully and passed on through the generations too, often with a little something special added each year to the tissue wrapped box of memories.