Picture: BROOKE LITTLEWOOD
A MILLICENT woman is on a mission to earn the town some world record glory with a splash of colour, needle and yarn and hundreds of gumboots.
As part of next year’s Geltwood Festival, Millicent community art and craft centre member Helen Joyce has founded the Geltwood Gumboot Challenge.
The challenge is a fresh and new addition to the festival’s calendar and will rely on the craftsmanship of interested Wattle Range residents of all skill levels.
Rules include the gumboot upper is covered using a yarn or fibre based craft, including crochet, quilting, applique, felting, knitting, embroidering, cross-stitching, macrame, weaving, tatting.
Single and damaged boots will be accepted.
In the lead-up to 2020’s world record attempt, Ms Joyce and a number of community members have been busy creating unique covers for over 100 gumboots.
Ms Joyce anticipates around 150 gumboots will be on display during this year’s Geltwood Festival not only to showcase the variety of works, but also as a way of encouraging others to jump on board the project.
She said that while the challenge may sound “silly” to some, it would provide a fun use for leftover wool and material, as well as aged and damaged gumboots.
“I was thinking about what I could do for the Geltwood Festival,” Ms Joyce said.
“Initially I came up with the idea of a yarn bomb garden, which I would start by decorating a pair of gumboots I had bought but had never worn.
“Then came the idea of breaking the record for the greatest number of covered gumboots in one place.”
Ms Joyce said she was seeking advice from the Guinness Book of World Records on the number of boot coverings needed to set a record and if it was a world record that could be set.
The Geltwood gumboot display will brighten one of the George Street shop fronts during the festival, giving it a splash of colour and a quirky design.
Some of the design covers already created include a tea-cup, sunbath, Jewish boot, peter rabbit and see no, speak no, hear no evil.
Free boots are available out the front of the Old Bank Building on George Street or at the library for people to collect, decorate and put towards the display and count.
Anyone wishing to contribute to the display should drop their covered gumboots in to the Millicent Public Library by March 30.
People are encouraged to continue contributing after the Geltwood festival and for the 2020 world record count.
