I’m really excited to be, in a very small way, part of of this amazing piece of art history by creating one patchwork square (of many) for a quilt which will be displayed on the plinth to celebrate women in the East Midlands.

The ‘Plinther’ who came up with the idea is Hazel Ellerby-Sansom who will take her place on the plinth on Wednesday 12th August at 3pm. She will display the quilt whilst reading out a message for each square. After its time on the fourth plinth the quilt will travel around art galleries in the East Midlands and will finally be auctioned off with the proceeds going to charity. Details of art galleries, dates of auction etc are still to be confirmed as this will be an ongoing project.

Myself and my fellow crafters at the Stitched Up craft group in Nottingham will also be helping Hazel sew the quilt together, ready for its long journey.

The Fourth Plinth project began on 6th July and will end on 14th October 2009. You can watch the footage 24/7 online at www.oneandother.co.uk. Its very addictive!

I haven’t decided on my quilt square design yet but I’ll keep you updated. There will be more news over at our Stitched Up website soon too: www.stitched-up.org.uk

Hazel is looking for women in the East Midlands (it really does need to be the East Midlands only please) to contribute a square for the patchwork. It needs to be approx 10 inch x 10 inch (26cm x 26cm) of any design with a short message attached. Please send completed squares to Hazel Ellerby-Sansom, 17a Fisher Lane, Bingham, Nottinghamshire, NG13 8BQ

The ‘Spirograph‘ shapes in the design are just right for a couple of reasons. First of all they remind me of a pattern in a skirt (well, its actually a top but will blossom into a pretty skirt soon) that I bought from the Mind charity shop a couple of weeks ago. Secondly, when I was a kid, making pictures with the Spirograph had the same effect on me as putting gorgeous colours and shapes together in other mediums such as fabric and thread.

Buying from charity shops is going to be a big part of my learning and making and this soon-to-be skirt from top transformation is just the flavour of what this journey is about. Creating a sustainable style means putting just as much thought into the sourcing of materials as it is about learning how to use them.

If you’re wondering what on earth this blog is about then pop over to the About page. Come back soon to find out how the top / skirt customisation goes…