Mar 242021
 

Our Craft Group

Our Craft Group meets each Friday afternoon at the Hurstbridge Bowling Club. The leader of the group is Cheryl Winstanley.

Aug 142022
 

Orphaned and rejected lambs have apparently been feeling the cold this winter so the knitters of our Craft Group have been helping out by providing hand knitted jumpers to keep them warm. The left hand photo shows some of these jumpers (photo credit: Annie Kietzmann, who is our contact with the organising group) and the right hand photo illustrates how they are worn.

  

Dec 042021
 

Our Craft Group spent lockdown knitting teddy bears for a charity that provides the soft toys to traumatised children. They are called trauma teddies. The batch pictured were collected by Leanne Wilson, Social Connections Officer from Nillumbik Council, when lockdown ended.

As Leanne said, “It was lovely to meet you the other week when I collected the trauma teddies. I believe the last batch of teddies were distributed to children arriving from Afghanistan, so definitely a good cause. Please pass on our thanks to all the wonderful people knitting these teddies.

Jan 262020
 

We have a wide range of interests, working together in a happy and friendly atmosphere. Our craft projects have used different media such as knitting, crochet, embroidery, quilting and bead work.

Over time, we have contributed knitted baby clothing to the Austin Hospital and crotchet knee blankets to aged care centres. We recently contributed around 100 sewn mittens to koalas affected by the bushfires.

Our social get togethers have included lunches, movies, tennis and, most recently, a day trip to Williamstown by train.

The craft class is a fun, interactive session working on both group activities and individual projects.

We look forward to sharing coffee, cake and conversations at each class.

Koala mittens Knitted doll Mixed media display
Jul 012018
 

Each Friday afternoon, members of the Craft Group meet at the Hurstbridge Bowling club for a few hours of industrious and convivial activity during which craft skills, techniques and handy hints are shared and practised. The members create beautifully crafted articles, most of which are donated to local charities. The group makes cushions and crochets or knits outfits for babies – bootees, bonnets and cardigans – which are sold at the Austin Hospital Gift shop to raise money for the purchase of hospital equipment. Small, brightly coloured knitted sets of caps and jumpers are made and donated to a charity that works in Myanmar.

Apart from the donated articles, the group members regularly add spare change to a collection tin and the contents are forwarded to the Children’s Hospital. Members also share patterns and ideas to make; for example: oven mitts, delightful stuffed toy bears (hanging bears), intricate embroidery work, and handy carry bags made from recycling jeans.

The warm and welcoming atmosphere of this group is enhanced by the afternoon cuppa and cake during which the members claim they ‘knit, stitch and chat’. They claim they don’t do anything that rhymes with ‘stitch’!