Homespun living

Is there any other way?

I live on a small Scottish island with only two charity shops but I am a regular visitor. You can usually find me rummaging in the fabric basket looking for gems to upcycle. I am, however, quite fussy. If I could choose one type of fabric to find it would be Barkcloth. In its original form it was made from stripping the inside of bark from trees found in the South Pacific region of the world. It exploded commercially post the second world war when it began a manufacturing life in the US. It was especially popular in the UK in the 1950s and early 1960s. So when I came across a large remnant in the charity shop I let out a small squeal followed by a tiny dance. A stunning floral design typical of this era of bold colours and design.

It was crying out to be used and the rose design led me to my kitchen herb and dried flowers cupboard and soon I was mixing a rose geranium blend to make wee scented pillows.

There is a real ‘throw back’ quality to this creative project. Fabric from another era and dried petals from my summer blooms last year. I am a huge fan of the ‘homespun’ culture that is frugal and clever in equal measure. Homespun is a much underrated approach to living however it has played an essential part in our world during world wars and in recessions. I would like us to adopt it forever as a way of creating our homes and the clothes on our backs. My late grandmother, Ella, was born before the start of the 20th century and lived through two world wars. She was a seamstress and in her spare time she made blankets. After the end of the first world war there was a sale of military blankets and she bought a job lot and found scraps of fabric to stitch onto them to make homspun quilts. I have inherited a few of them and continue to restore them as necessary. During lockdown I ran a project called 52 Stitched Stories where we stitched a postcard every week for a year. We had an exhibition at the Barony Centre in West Kilbride. I stitched my postcards onto one of my grandmother’s blankets and it was one of the most magical and humbling projects I have ever completed.

So, back in my studio I created my scented pillows and added in a wee handmade journal with an eco printed cover using leaves from my garden.

My next homespun project is my grandmother’s apron which I found recently. It too needs a repair so I will be making some embroidered patches to add on to the fragile fabric and see if I can prolong its life a wee bit more. There is something incredibly soothing about a homespun approach to life and I feel very blessed to have had the very best of teachers. Ella Stevenson was an remarkable woman and I named my daughter Molly Ella after her. I can clearly see my grandmother in my daughter. Joyful. xx

P.S. You can find my Etsy store HERE if you are interested. x