A darned good idea

A repair café: a place where people gather in the spirit of Make do and Mend to repair items that would otherwise be discarded. Sounded like a jolly good idea to me, so off I went armed with some suitably holey socks which needed mending. I had put out an SOS on Facebook back in the summer last year and appealed for my likers to Save Our Socks. Some interesting ideas were generated however I have to admit that my favourite was, and still is, “Socko” the sock puppet. Seeing the potential in the holey toe section, Socko took shape with two eyes and a nose formed by squishing three small fingers through the holes. A caped crusader was then fashioned by sewing a swatch of fabric onto the sock. Much fun ensued and summer holiday boredom was averted for most of the day at least. Despite all the creative excitement, I did however think to myself that it was about time I learned how to actually mend socks and learn how to darn properly.

So I found myself at the local repair café and was instantly glad I’d made the effort. Chatting and sewing with like-minded people. Great! Wouldn’t say that about my darning efforts, but at least I’ve made a start on it. I was so absorbed in the whole experience that I hadn’t noticed how late it was getting. Sadly it was time to go, but on my way out I noticed the bikes being repaired and made a mental note of this for next time. My kind of place indeed. Looking forward to the next repair café session.