Mend and Make Well is an ongoing, participatory artwork about the material items we cherish that tell the stories of our lives.
All are invited to bring or mail items in need of mending. Jessica mends, photographs and records the the personal stories – a favorite memory, experience or emotion captured in cloth. She teaches and shares historic traditions of fabric craftsmanship and repair, sustainability and conservation to the public. She sets up her mending station at festivals, parks, exhibitions and other community locations, where she mends items for free, using traditional machine and hand sewing, darning, knitting and crochet techniques. As this is an ongoing project, new submissions are always welcome, if you have an item in need of repair, please contact me.
Residencies January – April, 2019 – School of the Arts, McMaster University artist in residence
Jessica Vellenga – Mom’s Handknit Socks -Growing up, my Mom always knit my brother, Dad and I sweaters, socks, toques and mittens to keep us warm during the winter. As an adult, when I moved to the Yukon, I asked my Mom for knitted socks, which she kindly gave me for Christmas. They kept me warm, reminded me of home and rekindled my appreciation for knitting, a skill I was learning to keep busy in the long winter nights. I quickly wore through them, and every other winter she would knit me more. Though these were clearly well used, I couldn’t bear to part with them and chose to mend them instead. These socks were the beginning of Mend and Make Well. Their story is simple, of love and knitting, but it prompted the artwork and storytelling, knowing that others would also have stories to tell, that our clothing are material memoirs.
Nancy Oakley – Knitted Blanket – My name is Nancy Oakley. I am a public historian and non-profit manager. I currently run the education program at the Willowbank School of Restoration Arts–a private college that trains students in heritage conservation. My item in need of repair is a knitted blanket lovingly made by my grandmother. It is a large, cream-coloured knitted blanket, featuring a repeating heart-shaped pattern. It is comfortable, and cosy–wrapping up into it is like my grandma giving me a hug. I kept it because it has supreme sentimental value. My grandma made all of her grandkids blankets when we left home for the first time. The blanket has a few holes in it made by my pet rabbit, who is very cute but also has a chewing problem. My grandmother gave me this blanket when I first left home to go to university, over fifteen years ago. It is a cherished belonging that has followed me from my undergrad dorm room, through numerous apartments and houses. The blanket is versatile, and has been used on my bed, cosied up on my living room couch, or provided warmth for guests. Above all, this blanket has helped transform all the places I’ve lived from just a house, to a home, and has helped me feel connected with my family even when I am far away from them. This blanket makes me feel cosy and warm–it is a paragon of comfort! The blanket is a reminder of my family, as well as the many places I’ve lived and the people I’ve lived with. The blanket reminds me of the trepidation I had when I first moved from my small town to a big city to attend university. It reminds me of the excitement of graduating and moving into a house with a real job after graduating. It makes me ponder what future memories I’ll have with the blanket as I think about starting a family of my own. The blanket makes me think about time, love and care. The blanket is essentially an heirloom that my grandma has gifted me–I think about how much time and care she put into making it for me. It also makes me think of the responsibility I have towards caring for this blanket, which is more special than one bought from Walmart that you can just throw into the washing machine without thought or care. I have hand washed this blanket several times in my bathtub over the years. I remember how upset I was to find out that my pet bunny had chewed holes in it one day when I left them both out together.
Callie Archer – Irish Woven Suit – My name is Callie Archer. I’m a visual artist who recycles clothing in natural fabrics. I found a small holey woven blanket and bought it second hand. The repairs to this blanket had been lovingly overcast subtly with fine matching wool in some spots. My neighbour was a dressmaker who had worked at Hermes in Paris after leaving Romania. She worked with this ancient heavy Donegal tweed cleverly using the part that had not been repaired to replicate pants and a vest . She used an old cotton Marilyn Brooks outfit I’d worn for years and bought second hand. She lined the outfit with silk pajamas I’d gotten at a garage sale . The inside edge of the vest needs a few stitches of fine wool and a few other spots are a bit worn . I love it. The wool is rough. It fits loosely. I feel the history of the garment is so special. I have never seen anything like it. I visited Donegal last year and searched high and low for something comparable. The hues are from natural dyes. teal blue/green, browns, off-white and a tad of orange. I feel I’m wearing a piece of history when I wear it. Folks love it or hate it. Who cares. I want to preserve it.
Shelly Archibald – Linen handkerchiefs – My name is Shelley Archibald and I’m the Community Librarian for Technology at Burlington Public Library. I serged 3 handkerchiefs for my father for father’s day, but didn’t know how to incorporate the tail ends. I wanted it to look professional, so I had put off doing it myself – even when it made me late for Fathers Day! The handkerchiefs are made from grey handkerchief linen. It took far longer to cut than to serge because the material was a little slippery. I have access to a laser cutter and the next time I make them, I’m just going to laser cut the squares so they’re perfect. I made the gift because my father always complains that he has everything he needs (which he does) and that he doesn’t like waste. He is a master maker himself – he built our house, did the electrical work, builds canoes, fixes appliances, and even does some plumbing. The one type of gift he does like and values is if it’s practical and if we’ve done it ourselves. My dad uses handkerchiefs all the time, so I like the idea that he will be using ones that I’ve made for him. I know he genuinely appreciates the thought. My dad is 80 years old and I’d like to give him as many handmade gifts as I can while I still have him around.
Nancy Mazetti – Cotton Sweater – My name is Nancy Mazzetti. I am a middle aged woman but a young weaver. This is my security sweater. She feels like a hug from a parent. She is 100% cotton. I purchased her at the “one of a kind” craft show and sale in Toronto 21 years ago (1996) hand knit, you could also buy the sweater as a kit to knit. At that time I wasn’t the fibre fanatic I am becoming. I was a production manager in a design studio. But the sweater! Simple. Perfect. She is worn out. I can afford new sweaters. In fact, I have tried to find her replacement many times, purchasing sweater after sweater, but never one right enough. I get teased about this sweater. She has been in rough shape for some time. I am never embarrassed with the teasing. With mend and make well I have been shown how to give her just a little more time. I have darned a small hole and a very talented friend has mended the cuff. That friend described the fibre as “like dust”.
Leanne Graham – Grandma’s Knitted Blanket – My name is Leanne Graham, I am a novice crafter and have a deep appreciation for all items hand made. I am a bustling career woman commuting to/from Hamilton to Toronto daily and find my crafting is often unfortunately neglected. I brought an afghan to Jessica which the panels had separated over time. The panels were clothes-pinned together in preparation for being repaired, but it was a task never completed. This afghan was crocheted by my late grandmother. She was an avid crocheter and would complete a new afghan every winter. She enjoyed crocheting in the early morning while my grandfather was snoozing away. This spring, 2017, we have been working to clear out my grandparents home as my grandfather transitions into a retirement home. This was one of the many afghans we found throughout the house. I remember my grandmother sitting by the fire in their basement with this around her shoulders. She was a believer in keeping a cold home and wrapping yourself up, something I have adopted from my years living with them. In the last winter of her life, 2011, she was too sick to take on any projects and I suspect this is why this afghan was never mended. I’m so happy Jessica has been able to mend this item for me. I can now wear it myself in the cool winters at home and think of my grandmother. She was an amazing woman and I am so grateful to have mementos such as this to serve as daily reminder of her and all she was to me when she was still here.
Heather Horton – Wool Shirt – In 2008 I traveled for the first time to Fairbanks Alaska, go to hiking with a friend. I bought this wool layer to wear in the cool evenings as even August is cool up in the North sometimes. After we hiked 20 miles along a trail out near Denali national park we set up our camp and it was during the campfire that evening that an ember landed on my sweater and quickly burned a hole through it. That trip was so very memorable as it was my first foray into hiking and camping…I’ve been hooked ever since. I also fell in love with the North after that trip and subsequently moved to the Yukon a few years later for a year and a half. Great memories…
Alida Munro – Lace Tablecloth – The table cloth was purchased in Toronto in the early months d 1980’s by my mother. Robin was a well known smart shopper, so it was more than certainly on sale. It was only bough out for special occasion dinners, like Easter and thanksgiving. It traveled to Vancouver, our families city of origin, and continued its function of the special occasion table cloth. It matched very well with our family’s home country decor and went through many cranberry/gravy/wine stains! I then inherited the beautiful crochet cloth in 2006, when Robin passed, and it has continued its tradition of being present at our family’s dinner tables! I had started to see a few snags and wear and tear and magically Jessica came along and offered a fix. It was perfect- good as new. Our family lace tablecloth was over 30years old and looked brand new. My mother would have been proud.
Laura Owhehand Kerkhoff – Andrew’s T-Shirts – My brother’s hugs were some of the best; they were warm, enveloping, and full of love, even when his depression left him feeling empty. Four years ago, he lost the battle against his depression and I’ve been longing for those hugs ever since. When I wear his shirts now, it is the closest I come to that feeling of being enveloped in his arms, and with these tailored tee-shirts, I’ll be able to experience that feeling often.
Jennifer Earle – Knitted Blanket – The piece that I brought to Mend and Make well was an antique white summer counterpane, made up of knitted squares joined together and finished with a border. This piece arrived at my mother’s home as part of an inheritance when I was child. The story I remember or have manufactured is this: My mother had a surprise call from a lawyer settling the estate of a woman in Wroxeter, Ontario. We will call her Maggie Knox. She was a relative of my maternal grandmother. In planning the distribution of her worldly goods she had made up lists and labels and as mother was the closest female relative certain meaningful things were to pass down the matrilineal line to her. We received this handmade coverlet along with a flax spinning wheel, arrow back chair (perfect height for spinning), a pine flat-to- the-wall, a pine blanket box (carved with J. Knox), a pine rope bedstead, a woven wool jacquard coverlet, an early Bible, antique clothing which included bloomers, nightgowns, other clothing and two 1860’s silk wedding dresses worn by relatives. There were early pieces of household china, one a plate with a picture of Queen Caroline. All the latter had a piece of brown paper with an X pasted on the back. Today, I live with many of these pieces, the labels still on the back of the plates. As a child, the coverlet was used on my bed, and the spinning wheel sat in my room. I sat in the arrow back chair many hours while sewing on mother’s Singer. Regarding the knitted cotton coverlet: the knitted structure used created tension points within the squares and at the joining of corners. Over time and through wear and washings, the thread at these junctures were frail or broken in some spots. The coverlet is really fairly heavy, and no doubt due to shrinkage, the knitted stitches are very dense. It would be difficult to knit so tightly. It is still ‘white’, but a worn white. Since the death of my mother many decades ago, the coverlet has not seen active duty, but has lived in the linen closet. Our mends were done to stabilize the piece. Consultations with a knitter have determined that it must have been knitted with 5 fine steel knitting needles, in squares, and then joined with a mattress stitch. The border was knit in sections and applied because circular needles had not yet been invented. The knitting needles of the day could only hold a finite number of stitches. Research shows that there are many vintage patterns dating to the turn of the 19th Century that contain similar elements. It seems often they were associated with wedding or anniversaries. I do not know the age of the piece, nor the original maker, but obviously it was a work of dedication and love. It must have taken time to knit more than 200 squares, partial squares, border and then assemble. Why have I kept it? There is the romance of family ties however distant and the mystery of its origin and purpose. There is remembrance of the strength of women, the bonds between them, their work, and lives that of which we know so little. There is the responsibility: this was considered important enough to be passed on. What can we do with treasured items of the past? What to do now? Perplexed.
Mend and Make Well is an ongoing, participatory artwork about the material items we cherish that tell the stories of our lives.
All are invited to bring or mail items in need of mending. Jessica mends, photographs and records the the personal stories – a favorite memory, experience or emotion captured in cloth. She teaches and shares historic traditions of fabric craftsmanship and repair, sustainability and conservation to the public. She sets up her mending station at festivals, parks, exhibitions and other community locations, where she mends items for free, using traditional machine and hand sewing, darning, knitting and crochet techniques. As this is an ongoing project, new submissions are always welcome, if you have an item in need of repair, please contact me.
Mend & Make Well storytelling suggestions for clothing or items in need of repair. Participants are welcome to use the storytelling questions below share their stories. Or write their own story.
Please introduce yourself, what is your name, what do you do? What is your item in need of repair? Describe what the item looks like, how does it feel, what is the texture, what is the style, it’s fit? How was it made? Where is it from? Where did you get it? Was it a gift?
Did it belong to someone else, and what is your relationship to them?
How do you feel when you wear it? Why have you kept it? What needs to be mended? How did the damage to the item happen? What is the history of the item? What happened to you when you wore it? What memories does it hold? What do you think of when you see or wear it?.
