My Justice Journey

A lengthy gap - the covid pandemic has not been good for my creativity! And this post is not fashion-related - but it is textiles!

I recently joined a local group which sews re-usable sanitary kits to go to various parts of the majority world to be issued to girls in order to help them stay in education. Unfortunately too many girls drop out when puberty occurs as it is just too much hassle to cope with limited or no resources. The picture shows the shields which will have poppers attached so these attach round knickers and then liners can be inserted into the pockets at each end. All is supplied in a drawstring bag, which also contains a waterproof sachet for carrying dirty items, 2 pairs of knickers, soap and an information card about hygiene. 

We meet each month and it has been good for me, trying to emerge from the pandemic, to have people to whom I am accountable and deadlines to complete my allocated sewing, now that I have met the standards required.

I am going to post a shorter article about this as part of the Methodist Church in Britain's #MyJusticeJourney project.

I can't actually remember when my involvement with justice issues began - I was certainly a member of CND and the Tax Justice campaign in my teens and twenties, but this has grown - as is demonstrated by my commitments to climate justice, fair trade and attempting to be socially and environmentally responsible, including in clothing.

My Micah t-shirts enable people (including me!) to wear our commitment to do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with God.

Styling the items - 3

I had intended to do several posts this week of various outfits - but the lockdown has had a demotivating effect. So today is the last day - and three quick pictures of some of the other options, I have worn.


The People Tree black jumper with SKFK skirt and a chunky necklace and the black jumper with Monkee Genes jeans. I confess to cheating and counting a waistcoat as an accessory rather than an item of clothing, to make a change!


Then the other outfit is the Nomads print shirt with the SKFK skirt. I think I have worn this combination at different times with both red and blue tights.

It's been interesting - and I still like all the items, but am looking forward to a bit more choice again! Easter Sunday can have something bright!

Keeping up with washing has been the hardest - though I do now wonder if more generally we wash items more than we need to.

If anyone would still like to sponsor me, then please do go to Lent Clothing Fast. Thank you!

Styling the items - 2

It has been interesting to discover that my black overshirt is sufficiently long to wear as a dress - though that has meant I can't wear it with my SKFK skirt as it would show underneath! But it has been fun to style it with scarves and tights that match, or pick out a colour in the scarf - such as the green wavy lines in the turquoise one bought for my by a friend with words of comfort on it.






And today my red scarf-necklace came out to be worn with red tights.









Early on in the challenge was a meal out in a very classy restaurant for my husband's birthday so I decided my Chinese silk jacket counted as outerwear (which is unlimited) for this purpose!

Styling the items - 1

I am actually into the last week of the challenge - and have generally had much less need to worry about shoes with being confined to home! My slippers are a bit dog-chewed so I shan't be sharing them, but do have a look at The Small Home.

I'll put up some of the 'looks' during this last week, so to start with the Nomads print shirt and Monkee Genes jeans. Nomads have recently been showing some of their looks pictured in this way - so I stole the idea from them!

Here they are matched with my red Conker shoes, which I have had for years and a 'skinny stitch belt' from Elvis and Kresse which I was chuffed to have found in a sale. The latter is made from recycled fire hose and wears really well - no sign of the surface rubbing or marking with the buckle as tends to have happened with my leather belts.

Items 4, 5 and 6

So to the tops - and a choice of three.

Firstly I chose a People Tree black roll-neck top, as this goes with everything, and could be worn under a shirt as an extra layer - though I haven't needed to do that yet!



Then I chose a print shirt from Nomads containing colours that would work with all the 'bottoms'. It is still available in their sale! And finally a black overshirt that also originally came from People Tree.

Item 3

I nearly gave up last week: being at work meant needing to wash clothes and shower on my return to remove risk of carrying Coronavirus. However I ironed a short the following morning so am persevering.

While I do enjoy my 6 pieces, I think it will be nice to choose something different to wear for Easter Day! In my initial planning I decided that wearing only one 'bottom' for work was difficult, due to the risk in winter of trying to get that item washed during non-work days, so added a second item - my bright red corduroy Thought pinafore dress. A lovely happy piece of clothing!

Originating in Australia as Braintree, the company moved to England in 2002; the name change followed in 2017. Still a small business - about 30 people share the vision that contemporary fashion and sustainability go hand in hand.

Item 2

A number of previous bloggers undertaking the  6 items for 6 weeks challenge talked of choosing black items as these mix and match easily.

I was not sure I'd enjoy wearing black for 6 weeks - even with purple hair! However one item I did choose was my 'more interesting than straight black' SkunkFunk skirt.

A Spanish company, Skunkfunk have recently rebranded as SKFK, with a strong ethical foundation. I came across them having bought a second-hand summer dress and doing some research, and have managed to buy a couple of skirts (including this one) from a UK online retailer, but as yet they have no shops here. I visited a store while in Barcelona and bought a couple of items - they have a strong commitment to timeless pieces but with interesting twists, such as the waist of this skirt.