rockpool candy

Alternative Fete

Stuck in London and craving a bit o' the countreeeeee, my lovers? Well, this weekend, the Southbank is being transformed into a village fete. I'm not sure if there will be hoopla and throwing sponges at the vicar, but, as a Dooorset gurl myself, I'll certainly be there, along with my very talented friend, Julie-Anne of Curious Tales. (Seamstress of my famous corset and bustle.)

My fibre movement, Let Me Ease Your Day, will feature, and I'll be hawking my spinning batts and Curious Tales' will be selling her fab designer clothing.

For full details, read the press release below.

See you there,

x

Watch this Space Festival, National Theatre, South Bank, London SE1

Saturday 26th September: 12pm - 7pm

Sunday 27th September: 12pm - 3pm 

 

For the second year in a row, innovative live art and performance company, Home live art, presents a riotous weekend of artist’s, craft and produce stalls, performances and participatory activities which re-interpret the traditional village fete for the urban environment of the National Theatre.

At 12pm each day the Fete will be opened by a special Guest Star from the National Theatre….

 

Saturday will revolve around a vibrant stage programme - including a mass ukulele jam, contemporary barn dance, participatory skipping & hoola hooping and a spectacular bird of prey demonstration – alongside a wealth of fun, participatory fete based games and interactions that bring our traditional craft making practices into the 21st Century. The Legendary Miss Amy Lame invites you to make a pom pom for peace, while you can brush up on your knitting, sewing and craft skills with The Make Lounge, I Knit London and Rockpool Candy, as well as play fete games with The Society of Wonders and sample beautiful cupcakes and herbal teas. There will also be handmade toys and crafts using recycled and found fabrics.

 

Sunday's lunchtime programme will mark the seasonal move towards Autumn and Harvest with a series of innovative food and horticulture projects where visitors can share in the art of preparing, cooking and tasting to the sounds of anarchic Balkan beats from the Transsiberian March Band, ending with the fabulous School of Dance, where the audience can learn the Samba alongside the legendary Miss High Leg Kick and Boogaloo Stu.

Food artist Prudence Statie will be sculpting in chocolate, whilst Sharon Baker invites you to vote for your favourite bread breast bun, alongside cup cakes, home made jams & preserves, and innovative food interactions from performance company Curious and artists Lisa Cheung, Miche Fabre Lewin and Sophie Herxheimer.

 

Participants: The Benoit Viellefon Band, Bo-Peep Kids, Blue Field, Chrissy Cromer, Curious Tales, Cut a Shine, The Dulwich Ukulele Club, Golden Co-operative, The Hawk Experience, Hedgerow Provender, Miss High Leg Kick and Boogalou Stu's School of Dance, I Knit London, Lisa Cheung, Liz Bentley, The Make Lounge, MC Paul L Martin, Mary Mathieson, Miche Fabre Lewin, Peggy's Cupcakes, Pom Pom International (Amy Lame & Shane Waltener), Prudence Staite, Rock a Hula! Rockpool Candy, Roots & Shoots, Ros Badger, Sharon Baker, Simon Withers & Chris Jones, Skip Sisters, Skip Theatre, Society of Wonders, Sophie Herxheimer, Sugargrain, The Transsiberian March Band.

 

Notes:

home live art: ‘Home maybe where the heart is, but it is also where innovation takes root and thrives’ Lyn Gardner, The Guardian. Launched in 1999, home live art is a dynamic team of creative producers with a passion for presenting live art and performance work in site specific contexts. www.homeliveart.com

Watch this Space Festival is The National Theatre’s annual summer festival of outdoor theatre, circus, music, dance, comedy and film on the South bank from 1^st July until 27^th September. http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/wts

For further information or images please contact: home live art: Laura Godfrey-Isaacs laura@homeliveart.com, Tel. 07957 565336. National Theatre: Caroline Ansdell cansdell@nationaltheatre.org.uk Tel. 0207 452 3231

I Knit (Dirty) Weekend

So there's a credit crunch and the summer's been crappy.
But it's sparkly in my studio.
I'm carding batts ready for the adventurous spinners who visit my stall at I Knit Weekend.

There's a saucy 'Dirty Weekend' range with lace and silky rags carded in.

A Gold-Rimmed Teacup range - some of which come in a bundle with your own vintage bone china cup, saucer and plate. (Well, who doesn't like a mid afternoon treat whilst spinning?)

And a special VEGAN range - all non-animal fibre blends. Martha Stewart Blues is my favourite....

Don't worry - not everything is sparkly. I've got tonnes of tweedy blends and colourful squishiness packed ready to go-go.

And because we're all on tight budgets this year, I've made up some bundles of 2 or 3 different blends, so you can explore a few colourways for the same price as one ordinary-sized batt.

And on top of that, Let Me Ease Your Day will be in full swing, too. So join in and make a hat to gift in a random act of kindness.

Let count down commence!

LET ME EASE YOUR DAY - fibre movement has launched

Take an idea...

Put it in a public space for 2 hours...

Collect a group of people open of mind and generous of spirit...

Add a monster plushie and engage interested passers by....
 

And before you know it, you've pieces created for gifting...

Knitted glasses cases and bookmarks...

Pillows for rough sleepers....

And cushions for tired commuters...

Wall-hanging tea pockets for a hostel and warm scarves....

Ickle monster surprises....
 

And hoorah! People are running with the idea and are starting to...

for complete strangers.

They are easing someone's day...

Can our fibery ways begin to soothe some of the fractures in society? I very much hope so.

My heart-felt thanks to everyone who jumped on board. You all made the launch a wonderful time and I thank you for your time and energy. It will be testament to your initial involvement in the way this idea now spreads.

LET ME EASE YOUR DAY - fibre movement launch

In times of financial worry, charities suffer. The public pull in their purse strings and stop giving. When the living is easy, our money is often given to charity to ease our consciences, to allow us to carry on our day to day lives without having to interact with needy causes and to feel like we're doing something.
But I want society to be different.
As crafters we have skills that we can put to use and make a difference that is not dependent on the free change we have in our pockets.

6th July sees my LET ME EASE YOUR DAY project launch in Belfast. A movement that takes what can often been seen as a middle-class pass time, yarn bombing, and purposes it for the good by providing knitted, crocheted and sewn textiles to the people in our society who might just need a random act of kindness to ease their day.

It could be you.
You may be having a bad day.
You could be sleeping rough.
Your job may be in jeopardy.
You could be worried about your mortgage.
You could have lost your cat/your friend/your child.

All these things leave us feeling vunerable.

What if, during your day, you found a small item left for you by a stranger specifically to nurture you. It won't solve all your problems, but it may just put a glimmer of warmth in your chest.

Now, you may argue that LET ME EASE YOUR DAY is still a middle class reaction to human loneliness, but surely, as makers, it's a way that we can make a difference with textiles.

If you have the time to open your heart and fibre stash. If you have a piece of fabric that could be turned into napkins or a tablecloth for a pensioners' drop in centre, an old sleeping bag or tent that could be the warmth needed by a rough sleeper, a cushion that could provide comfort to someone on their commute, some yarn that could make socks or a hat to keep out the cold, then commit a random act of kindness. Be different. Click here to read the guidelines and rules for LET ME EASE YOUR DAY.

And come to events and meet MyTarPit's Monroe, the giant plushie helping us draw crowds on the street and putting humour into the project. Because textiles have power and doing something worthy doesn't mean piousness.

1st date: Belfast, 4:30pm 6th July. Outside Ulster Hall & what used to be Larry's Piano Bar, Bedford Street. Bring your fibre and needle (or hook) of choice. BE PART OF IT!