I remember (many, many, many moons ago) being set a coursework assignment for my Maths GCSE. Which I passed despite my greatest attempts not to. The task was to write a formula that could be used to work out bunting length requirements at church fetes. I never quite accepted why I needed to be able to work that out? Anyway. Fast forward several years (and I do mean a significant number) and my house is decked in an ever-growing flurry (?) array (?), whatever the collective term is, of homemade bunting. I know it's not particuarly edgy, nor even pretty (I never quite achieve true prettiness) (probably because I aspire too much towards edginess... goodness, such extremes to be caught somewhere in the middle of), but each little flag is made up from a salvaged fabric or texture that has a memory associated with it (is that too cheesy?). There is the fabric that my mother made my dolls house (Sindy) curtains from, the material from a skirt in my childhood dressing up box, the wiggly white paper that I used to present my final major degree project in, scraps from little daughter's outgrown stripey tights... even a page from the Habitat catalogue that I spent hours dreaming over when I bought my first house...
The bunting can't keep expanding forever though. It just can't... think of the dust! So I've been gathering fabrics to make a quilt. The same sort of things... my favourite polka dot shirt, which is now to worn out to wear anymore (some great memories associated with that one!), lovely outgrown bits and bobs, again, from little (but growing) daughter, some fabrics from an old much-loved student project... Have not really got very far at all. I don't really even know how to make a quilt. But the fabric is mounting up, cut into triangles, ready for when I am brave enough (or stupid enough) to begin...
Bunting sketch: Tomorrow, or maybe the day after, I'll layer this sketch with glass and wire and frits. It might look terrible (more than likely), but on the other hand it might just work out...
Oh that's sounds like a wonderful thing to do. Good luck with the quilt. :)
ReplyDeleteI love this idea of using fabrics and personal ephemera to make something else. I've got a bag full of my children's lovely cast-offs and one day I'll sit and make a memory quilt.....
ReplyDeleteI think the collective noun must be a 'parade' of bunting! xx
oh how I love bunting! and using fabrics with memories is a lovely way to make a quilt, I'm in the middle of making a shirt quilt. your glass is really beautiful I'm mesmorised by the colours and layers.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely idea, I've a few of my twos favourite clothes in boxes that i'm keeping for making something special one day, but your bunting has so many more memories in it that, its a record of your life. What was the formula by the way ;-)
ReplyDeleteSally x