Week 1: Creating Comfort
Welcome to our first week of seasonal joy. This week is all about creating comfort, always important at this time of year, but especially so this year as we are confined to our homes and separated from family and friends. As EarthQuakers we are concerned not only about comfort for ourselves and each other but for the planet as a whole, so our ideas will focus on how we can create comfort for both people and planet.
Upcycle Monday
Q. What to do with a pair of trousers that can’t be donated to charity because of a stain or tear?
A. Make them into a useful and sturdy shopping bag !
Cut off a few inches below the crotch and split open.
Turn inside out
Pin and sew straight down the split seams and trim of excess.
Sew across the bottom.
Turn right side out.
Use an old tie to quickly make some handles.
(The cut off legs can also be split and joined to make a second bag)
CHECK OUT THIS LINK TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT CLOSING THE LOOP AND A CIRCULAR ECONOMY FOR THE FASHION INDUSTRY https://close-the-loop.be/en/phase/3/end-of-life
Repurpose Tuesday
What do you do with old unwanted clothes?
See what Volker Heine, aged 90, chose to do with special old buttons of his…..
I wonder what will you make or do with yours?
REPURPOSED NAIL POUCHES
Volker had two nail set pouches handmade but asked if the craftsperson could affix on two old buttons from a pair of super fashionable trousers that he wore in the 1960’s Inside each pouch placed a set of top quality nail and toe clippers. He gifted these to his two granddaughters.
LANDFILL FABRIC FACTS:
350,000 tonnes, that's around £140 million worth of used but still wearable clothing goes to landfill in the UK every year.
Sharing Wednesday
Keep things moving, keep things fresh, if you can’t make use of something perhaps someone else can!
A small group of women, who happened to be Quakers, began meeting together to make quilts 25 years ago, and carried on meeting every week. Guess how long their group carried on for?
20 years!
As one of the women became unable to make quilts anymore, she gifted her fabric to another lady in the group. This quilter then created a quilt from the first woman’s fabric and gifted it back to her for her birthday. What a beautiful example of a circular economy!
Above is a photo of the quilt made.
The same lady that gave her fabric away had something else precious folded and stored inside a drawer.
She had been given an antique quilt that was so large it needed a triple king size bed to put it on! As a result, it was kept tucked away, not seeing light of day, until an arty friend of hers began exhibiting antique quilts. Out it came and off it went to travel over the country and be seen by many people inspiring them along the way.
Here is a photo of the new gifted quilt “New for Old” and a family member enjoying it too!
I wonder, have you got things sitting in drawers unused? Might they be more used by others? How can you best share these things?
DEFINITION OF CIRCULAR ECONOMY:
The circular economy maximizes the reusability of products and resources, while minimizing value destruction. In other words, the goal is to retain the value of everything that is valuable and let nothing go to waste.
This attitude contrasts sharply with the current linear system, in which resources are turned into products that are destroyed at the end of their lives.
Thursday 12th November - Fix, mend and natter at 7pm
- Bring any items of clothing or equipment that needs fixing and sit down with Friends on Zoom to sew those buttons back on, cover up that hole with a patch, or whatever repair jobs you can find.
- An excuse to stop putting that little job off whilst having a sociable time and maybe even sharing some tips!