I don't know about you, but I was very moved by Captain Tom's story last year. Whilst in lockdown, news of his exploits and the money raised for NHS charities was a beacon of hope in dark times. And I was very sad when I heard he had died. But oh, what a life he lived!
In honour of him, ordinary people have been asked to do 100 of something to raise money for charity. My friend Deborah is doing 100 portraits this weekend. I am in awe of her ability and her commitment. And then I got to thinking what I could do. Since sewing is my thing, I'm going to make 100 things out of fabric over the next few days.
Obviously, time is tight as these things need to be done over the next few days and sewing things takes longer than it looks, so these things are likely to be mostly small items, but I'm going to do my best to make a variety of things by hand and by machine using what materials and threads I have to hand and see what comes out of it. I imagine there will be a bit of embroidery, some eco makeup wipes, a few shopping bags and cushion covers - that kind of thing.
If you'd like to sponsor me, you can do that here. I'm raising money for MagicMe who do fantastic work connecting the young and the old through art in London's East End. I think it's a worthy cause and I hope you do too. If you sponsor me and would like one of the items I make, please message me so I can organise getting it to you. Otherwise, the 100 things I make (provided they're good enough to use or sell!) will be donated to a local charity shop.
Please do consider donating and thanks in advance!
I'll post some of my creations over the weekend on Twitter and Instagram so you can follow how I'm doing. And if you want to see what other people are up to, check out the campaign hashtag #CaptainTom100