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Abstract

Photograph of slippers crocheted by Marjorie Bligh from used pantyhose.
When crocheting used pantyhose, Marjorie would use the sheerer fabric in the legs for her fine work, but she still found a use for the thicker, more elastic waist sections, fashioning them into slippers, rugs and other more hard-wearing items.(Danielle Wood).
In the 1980s and 1990s, as Marjorie faced the challenge of adjusting to an increasingly throwaway society, her thrifty ways attained new dimensions. These hats are crafted from recycled pantyhose, plastic bags from Chickenfeed (yellow and black) and plastic bags from Coles (red and white). (Danielle Wood).
“Marjorie Bligh is Tasmania’s queen of the household scene. Often referred to as “Australia’s Mrs Beeton” or “Tasmania’s Mrs Beeton”, she was born Marjorie Pearsall, in 1917, in the Tasmanian midlands township of Ross. In her self-styled career as a housewife superstar, she married three times and produced six books on cooking, home economics, craft, history and gardening. She published her signature household manual under all three of her married names: Marjorie Blackwell, Marjorie Cooper and Marjorie Bligh. A pioneer recycler, Marjorie has for several decades been renowned for her spirited campaign against useful resources being poured into landfill. Famous for never wasting a thing, she has converted thousands of used pantyhose and plastic shopping bags into reusable items. It has long been rumoured that Marjorie was an inspiration for Barry Humphries’ Dame Edna Everage.
Marjorie lives in Devonport in a house that incorporates a small museum where she displays her handcrafts, scrapbooks and other treasures. She is 94 years old.” [Danielle Wood 2011]

Item Type:	Image
Authors/Creators:	Bligh, Marjorie Alfreda Willis
Keywords:	marjorie, bligh, tasmania, housewife, superstar, Devonport, Campbell Town, Ross, domestic, cook, crafts, handicrafts, home, hints, handy, home-made, recycled, re-used, knitting, crochet, sewing, pantyhose, stockings, slippers
Collections:	Photograph Collection > Marjorie Bligh Collection Photograph Collection
Additional Information:	Photographs taken by Gillian Ward from exhibition 'Housewife Superstar', Morris Miller Library, November - December 2011.
Item Statistics:	View statistics for this item

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