Folksy competition - Upcycle Christmas

I have entered a competition organised by the lovely folks at Folksy. Upcycle Christmas. Selected Sue Ryder Care stores have offered to donate materials to be collected by Folksy members which will then be transformed into wonderful items to be placed in an auction to raise money for Sue Ryder Care and first prize will be a showcase for the winner(s) in the Sue Ryder shop in Camden Town, Parkway, London next year. Only selected stores were taking part in this so competitors are allowed to use any recycled materials from any source.

I do like to work with a brief, so I decided to follow the guidelines and visited Sue Ryder in Camden Town yesterday to collect some inspiration after my visit to the magical Museum Of Everything. It transpired that I had missed the deadline but the manager kindly brought out some bags of clothes for me to rummage through.

I chose a bright red patterned kimono and some pale linen trousers from the bag of odds and ends, and then I decided to look around the shop for more inspiration. I had already decided I wanted to make a piece of jewellery from old beads and textiles before I arrived at the store. I then found this beautiful dress handmade from the softest needlecord, the colour of dried blood with beautiful orange, green and white flowers with leg of mutton sleeves. I also purchased these pieces of jewellery.

I started sketching some ideas on the train journey home and today I carried on drawing at the Orthodontist while braces were fitted to my nearest and dearest.

The deadline for the competition is Saturday 5 December - eek!