The ClothCache project

Making little bundles of cloth, found objects and plant materials and leaving them hidden as I go about the place.

Can you spot the bundle? 

Leaving the imprint of my boots on the cloth

I nearly took this one, but it seemed so at home, it didn't seem right. So I dunked it in a puddle and replaced it.

Back into its home in the hollow oak it went

There is a bundle in the stonework of this beautiful bridge

Can you see it?

There it is

I found this one in plain sight last week - the work of Storm Doris. I tucked it back among the foliage at the base of the Tuppence Tree

Those I have placed to date are places I go regularly so as I pass, I can check on them. I say they are hidden, but I have posted their locations on Instagram and invited others to take them if they pass. And leave bundles of their own. Or not. My bundles are little gifts. Perhaps even to myself one day, perhaps not. They are all natural materials so if they remain, they will gently biodegrade as time passes. I will continue to plant my bundles and see what grows from them. What fruit they may bear.

If the inspiration takes you, why not leave bundles of your own? If you are an Instagrammer, you could #clothcache and perhaps one day I may retrieve one of yours.

ClothCache Part Two

When I went back to retrieve my bundle, I could see from a distance that the large rock I had covered it with  had moved.


  As I got closer, scrambling over the  rocks, I could see the end of the bundle sticking out.

And I could see marks... good marks



















I wanted to open it on the spot, but I took it home and waited a week. It smelt of the sea and the marks grew stronger.

Opening it was an event. If you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen the video. Here are some close ups.

These sea mordanted cloths will definitely become a 'thing'. They haven't yet told me exactly what they are destined to be. That part of the story has not yet been written. But this whole happening has inspired my ClothCache project, more about that tomorrow...

ClothCache Part One

My project. Making little bundles of windfalls and ploughshares and leaving them for Mother Nature to work her magic. The greatest of collaborations but exceedingly one-sided. All I do is wrap and bind. Then wait.

The first bundle was on a beach in Wales a month or so ago. The beach is beautiful, None more so have I seen...

I filled my bundle of silk and cotton with gathered treasures and wrapped it tightly around a piece of ash wood left across my path. Then I buried it under a boulder and weighted it down with rocks and hoped that Old Father Neptune would not steal it from me. And I left it there. For Ten Turns of the Tide...

Going in circles

When I walk, I like to do a circuit. I don't like to go so far then turn back. I have been known to walk miles further than intended to find a river crossing, so I didn't have to turn back. I like to go in circles. 

I sent someone a gift recently, a thank you for help and advice given freely and generously through cyberspace about a new (to me) technique. A woman I have never met. And today she sent a gift back. They say what goes around, comes around. Perhaps more appropriate, you reap what you sew (sic). Gifts going in circles? The best kind...

And when I stitch, I like to make circles. My free machine quilting often features bubbles (pimples?)...

That's How the Light Gets In

now my hand stitching is infected with circles (spots?).

How many different ways can I make a circle with stitch and cloth?

Do you like to go in circles? Even if it makes you dizzy sometimes? k3n x

Workspace

I rearranged and tidied my workspace this week. I can't work unless I am organised. There is enough chaos in my mind without adding to it in my external world. So many ideas, it's hard to focus. What I do know is that my least favourite question to be asked when showing someone a piece of work is 'what's it FOR?' I want to answer, 'it just IS'! xx

Reviving the blog

Just seeing if it can become a habit... Less structure, more random ramblings may suit me better. Here are some pictures, telling a thousand words... 😉

Slow stitch on eco prints

Applique and couching on repurposed denim

Tea dyed some vintage scraps, don't yet know what for. 

Added some stitch to 3 little petal pots

Fabulous landscape quilt

Hi all, this is Maggie's quilt who did my landscape workshop at Barrington Patchwork in July.