Shoestring workshop

I ran a workshop sometime ago and forgot to blog till  just now. How tardy of me. The workshop was with Shoestring magazine and held at the Soup Kitchen, Manchester which also stocks threadsandletters. I'm quite into how writing is structured by what it is actually written on so if you look at the pictures you can see I brought these luggage tags for the attendees of the workshop to write on. The exercise was to use words all on the theme of clocks! Yes clocks. Because you see when I went to the Clock makers musuem in London, (Which is very very small) I collected lots of lovely words to do with time. Here are a few... cyclodial cheeks, pendulum, horoligical, beat escapement. I then used these words to theme the workshop.

Some people drew pictures as well to go with their poems and some people drew around the outside of the luggage tags like one of Lewis Carroll's serpent poems!

...and I drew a silly picture of an elf and a fishing rod.

A Railway Journey

Craftivism : Craft and Activism, incorporating elements of craft to expose exploitation.

“I don’t get it, but I get it, if you know what I mean”

A passing father’s response to the stitch-in picnic at Piccadilly train station run, by the Craftivist collective on Sunday April 11^th.

Rebecca Aimée Lanyon Willmott (me) of Craftivism Manchester and Kelly Joseph of Didsbury Green Threads came together to plan the Manchester Crafting a Train of Bunting project. On April 11^th this event mirrored train stations across the country, where fellow craftivists stitched, sipped tea and picnicked in peaceful protest against the proposed 31% rise in train fares over the next 4 years. The bunting panels were then fashioned into a petition-train which was taken on a Fair Fare Railway Adventure on Saturday 16^th by direct action group, Climate Rush. Check out the video here: Craftivism Film April.  It was  hand delivered to Philip Hammond MP (Minister for Transport) by direct action group

On the Sunday Manchester Craftivists were armed with needles, threads, train biscuits and tea pots, cup and saucers borrowed from tea boutique Sugar Junction. With these tools they were ready to picnic at Piccadilly.

There were security issues to think of when throwing a picnic in the middle of the station, such overcrowding and protesting in a public space.  But the craftivists decided to throw their cheesecloth picnic blankets under Departures nevertheless. Security immediately gained an interest in the indoor picnic set-up and told the craftivists at first not to give out any flyers. They let us distribute after they were informed the event was in fact a peaceful protest.

“You’re just having a pretty picnic, you’re not harming anyone.” Remarked Duke of National Rail in response to our pop up picnic as he took a train shaped vegan cookie from the cake stand.

After laying out the picnic, Craftivism and Green Thread regulars popped up soon after as the stitch- in protesters enjoyed a warm afternoon, sipping tea and stitching under the departures. Members of the public were fascinated by the stitch-in and happily took a Fair fares Now card to voice their concerns over the rise in train fares.

Security even asked when the Craftivists would be returning for another Piccadilly picnic.

Mother's Day

  Lighthouse card and twee by the sea poem.

Dragonfly embroidery on pillowcase

Park Shenanigans

Stroppy Lily

Picnic Lily

Zine Fair at The Art Corner, Manchester 12th February 2011

dooodles---

Threads and Letters book-zine first appearance at the Art Corner Zine fair with The Shrieking Violet fanzine was a splendid welcome to my new self-publication.

 

 

Vicky's lighthouse bookmark---

button bookmark on thread binding---

bat puppetry---

a little look at the button article---

Rebecca Aimée Lanyon Willmott is a self publisher, poet, storyteller and textile artist.
A love of storytelling and stitching, is what inspired me to create my publication, Threads and Letters. Handcrafted on cotton paper, it has a traditional book theme throughout reflected in the fonts and framing reminiscent of the first Victorian illustrated magazines. Its contents include: articles on the button collection at Platt Hall, Gallery of Costume, Manchester, embroidery as puppet illustration, activist textiles and patterned poetry. 

The fanzine is accompanied by free delicious vegan cakes, lighthouse bookmarks and illustration prints by artist Vicky Willmott  and embroidery prints by Rebecca Aimée Lanyon Willmott.We wish to share our love for storytelling, stitching and sketching in a traditional but fun format of book-zines and illustration.

Threads and Letters is printed on card and cotton paper and bound with thread and buttons. It is sold at fanzine fairs and Good Grief fanzine and self publication store

Indie Tracks embroidered back pack

 

Hey! Look at this neat bag I made for Indie Tracks in the summer! It collected smiles and button badges on the sunny train weekend. How about making your own at Craftivism Manchester this month! We shall be making an embroidering tote bags a plenty.

An afternoon puppet play

 

Scribbled on the tube of summer 2010 on my way to a puppetry workshop as part of the puppet festival at Central school of speech and drama.

Embroidery illustration (First peek at embroidered puppet)

Oh it seems ever so far away.

Well we best get started, if we want to go home for tea, batty.