Fall is upon us once again and the days are rapidly getting shorter, wetter, windier, colder. I've been noticing how much darker it is when I get up in the morning and how much earlier I need to turn on lights in the evening, and can't help being reminded that winter is just around the corner. The thing I love about fall though, besides brisk days and bringing out the woollens, is that sense of a fresh start that I always feel so much more in September than in January.
This fall I've been taking stock - of wants vs. needs, sustainable vs. unsustainable, intention vs. action.
In a general sense, I want to give more, need less, and spend my time and money on the things that really matter to me. More specifically, I want to buy less and buy more consciously. I'm hardly a spendthrift to begin with, but I know I can do better when it comes to the cycle of cheap, fast, and disposable that's so easy to get sucked into. And I want to make more - I used to sew my own clothes way back when and I'd like to get back to doing more of that too.
That's why Karen Templar's Slow Fashion October project over at Fringe Association couldn't have come at a better time. Karen is hosting a month of, well, consciousness-raising is sort of the way I see it, to help us think and talk about sustainability and what it means to us. Anyone can participate in any way they want to, but Karen has provided some helpful prompts to explore a different theme during each week in October.
So to begin, a little bit about me: My name is Maria and I'm a crocheter. I learned to crochet at 12, taught by my grandmother's neighbour. I studied fashion design at college and worked as film and TV costumer for a decade and a half before taking a "proper" day job. In that time, I've always found time to make - for myself, for friends, and sometimes for strangers. Oh, and I live in Iceland, the land of the lopapeysa, where it is nearly always sweater weather! I don't have a particular project in mind for this slow fashion month (I already have a few things on the go), but I have made a pledge to myself to wear something handmade every day this month. And I'm going to get my sewing machine fixed!