It begins!

Today marks the beginning of a new project!

This project looks at applying textiles skills to a community based concept. We have three options to choose from, each involving a different client and real like project brief. I'm quite excited about this brief as I haven't worked to a live brief which has involved consultation with a client as of yet and I feel the community aspect will make the project incredibly rewarding as we will be making a difference within the wider community.

I'm currently deciding which project I would like to apply for, I have quickly cooked up some potential ideas for each brief so I can try to establish which is right for me, these are shown below.

Textile Thinking and the Penistone Line Partnership

The Penistone Line Partnership is a voluntary organisation which raises awareness of the railway within the local community. This brief asks us to use our textile thinking and consider how our practice may help promote community involvement and enhance people's experience of the Penistone Line journey while challenging us to work in response to the site itself.

There are two potential avenues for this brief:

Le tour France - Yorkshire Grand Départ
This requires a permanent or temporary piece to be created for display to coincide with the second stage of the Tour de France as this passes by one of the stations along the A616 in July 2014. This would allow the piece to reach a large audience providing a rare opportunity to showcase our work while also working to the brief and promoting awareness of the Penistone Line.

Initial Ideas:

- creating a 'welcome' display for tourists. This could involve interaction with groups within the community e.g. local schools, clubs etc. and the final display could be inspired by the heritage of the Penistone Line.
- a section of the Penistone Line could be cycled and recorded using a video camera. This would provide primary research showing what the cyclists completing the Tour de France would see while passing through. This could then be developed into a installation piece allowing tourists to see the Penistone Line from the cyclists perspective, marrying the event with it's environment. Community groups could help create the final piece in hands on workshops.

Mount Pleasant School
This avenue for the Penistone Line brief asks us to work in Mount Pleasant Primary School developing the student's understanding of their local history through our textiles practice.

Initial Ideas:

- headphones could be plugged in around the train which tell stories about historic landmarks which can be seen from the train window.
- a kids pack could be given to children riding the Penistone Line with activities relating to historic landmarks such as mills etc. which can be seen from the train window.
- treasure hunt - this could be themed with the local history or the Tour de France and be run during off-peak times in order to encourage families to ride the train during quieter periods i.e. after school until tea time. This would assist the Penistone Line with their aims to get trains running more frequently which can only be achieved if customer volume during off-peak periods is improved.

Archival Interventions: Lee Mills Knitting and Crochet Archive

This brief asks us to visit Lee Mills and work with the vast collection of knitted and crocheted items archived there. It would involve researching and categorising the items. Due to my limited knowledge of knitting and crochet this brief could help me improve my understanding of this area of textiles.

Initial Ideas:

- work towards some sort of exhibition by showcasing the work, perhaps in a timeline form so visitors can see the way knitting has evolved over the last century.
- investigate creating a publication of some sort which would generate publicity for the archive. Magazines such as Selvedge could be approached as they reach a large audience who have keen interest in textiles.
- generate a online archive allowing individuals who are interested in the collection but may not have the means to see it in person to access it. A newsletter option could be created so those interested in this area could keep up to date with new arrivals to the archive.
- re-vamp the website. It could be made much more modern and showcase the archive in a informative and interesting way. A email newsletter could also be integrated within this in order to encourage repeat visits to the website by promoting new items or development which would maintain public interest and hopefully generate more visits to the site itself.
- groups from the wider community could be invited to Lee Mills and their reactions to the collection could be recorded. This may work well with elderly groups as the collection may cause them to reminisce about knitting and crochet they had, or completed when they were younger.

Innovations in Giving - Beyond the Sleeping Bag: Home Starter Packs

Since 2010 the University have been developing The Sleeping Bag Project. This has involved students using textile thinking to create innovative ways to personalise a sleeping bag to be given to someone in need of warmth and shelter over winter. Abandoned sleeping bags were salvaged from places such as Leeds Festival, washed and craft skills were considered and applied in response to direct interaction with individuals seeking refuge in homeless shelters.

Beyond the Sleeping bag: Home Starter Pack is a  development of this project which aims to work with individuals who have experienced homelessness and are about to move into their first home. Home started packs are given out to these individuals as they move into their first home and contain all the basics which they will needs for example; washing up liquid, dusters, towels and bedding. This project aims to create a item which is included within the pack, not as a necessity, but as a item of sentimental value which considers emotion, aesthetics and spiritual values we bestow upon objects.

Initial Ideas:

- engage with the wider community to involve various groups (e.g. schools, clubs) in the project and generate a real sense of community and comradely within the items.
-soft furnishings could be created such as cushions, blankets and bean bags as these are often associated with comfort within the home and could hold sentimental value while being aesthetically pleasing and adding something decorative to a room.
- a decorative wall piece which includes hooks for keys, the keys will be a object of great value to the individual as they will not have had keys to their own home for a extended period of time, or possibly ever. A item which is decorative and celebrates the first set of keys would hold a lot of sentimental value and show a sense of pride in the new home. Key rings could be made to match this with strong emphasis on craft showcasing how important this item, which many of us take for granted, is.
- worry dolls could be made and given in the packs. They are placed under pillows and believed to take our worries away while we sleep, this might be a nice idea to encourage security within the home.
- posters and a webpage could be created to promote the work of Inn Churches and showcase the work they do with Home Starter Packs. This could be used to encourage volunteers to create items and send them into the charity for inclusion within the packs, thus involving a much wider community and encouraging the use of textile craft for a community based project.