Saturday, April 05, 2008

recycling and repurposing

In my never ending quest (or maybe now I can admit it is an obsession) for thick wool felt I have found a compromise which is just perfect. I have purchased a fair few wool blankets over the last few weeks and washed them at very high temperatures in the machine, then dried them (some in the tumble dryer, some naturally) and then ironed them. The result is this:I will be selling some of this in my shop as I have way too much of it here for me at the moment. I much prefer the idea of recycling or repurposing old things into new things. Blankets become felt, felt becomes monsters/brooches/softies which then become a much loved (I hope) object.

Speaking of recycling/repurposing - here are a couple of pics of something I treated myself to recently. This mini quilt was made by Syko using linen from a dress which she had bought but never worn:Apart from obviously being a lovely piece of art, it has also made use of an old piece of clothing which for me just has much more appeal. This is the kind of thing people used to do in the days before the throw away society we now live in.

We are all becoming more conscious of what we need to do to save our planet. At home we recycle quite a lot of household waste, we recycle our garden waste too, and we're seriously considering getting a compost bin for the garden to put our veggie peelings and the like in. As a designer/crafter I hope I'm also doing my bit with using repurposed fabrics and findings where I can. I don't really want to quote one of the big supermarket chains here, but in this case it is appropriate and very true that 'every little helps'.

6 comments:

Locket Pocket said...

Those blankets look gorgeous and I am seriously envious of your Syko mini-quilt! I love recycling my children's clothes into things that will last so much longer so I am all in favour of repurposing! Lucy x

Kitty said...

Couldn't agree more Monda - I too am a big fan of recycling. In fact just today I cut up a dress I bought in a charity shop because the fabric was 'just right' for something I'm doing.

Those blankets look gorgeous. Well done you.

x

Anonymous said...

Thats great monda, I love your blankets. I sppent a lot of time doing my degree using recycled fabrics, I think we all have to do our bit for the planet and if we can make a difference in any way that can only be a good thing. Love your syko picture too, it's beatiful.x

Mrs Moog said...

Your blankets are lovely - I never seem to find nice ones in my charity shop wanderings. I love using recycled fabrics and the remnants at my local Scrapstore. It horrifies me to think of fabric going to landfill.

I sorted out Minx's clothes today and have nabbed quite a few to go into my stash as they have such lovely fabrics and appliques.

I love your Syko quilt - her work is so beautiful and fresh :)

syko kajsa said...

I'm so happy that you enjoy your quilt! We are trying to recycle what we can in our household, I sell outgrown clothes at the fleamarket at least once a year and give the stuff that does not sell to charity. I like to combine new and old when I create, I think this often gives that "something" to a finished piece.

Those blankets are simply beautiful! Such a good idea to get quality wool for your crafts! I will have to look for blankets next time I go to the thrift store!

Happy crafting!

x

Anonymous said...

Can you please tel me where you got your blankets to felt...I am desperately looking for some to make children's toys with


Thankyou
Lucyx