Redbridge crafts

Well after complaining las time about how hot it is we promptly get a turn in the weather. At least it was nice for the Garden party we held this week for the Wanstead group. Strawberries and cream and Pimms went down very well all round and there was a lot of fun had by all. I have just discovered a Knitting Reading Group called the knitterati which sounds fun – it all depends on their meeting nights not clashing with late working so I might find myself heading into central London each month to attend.

Yet another box of charity items went off last week and we are starting the build up to Christmas with a look at the possibility of doing shoeboxes for the elderly. A charity has decided that there are enough boxes going to children so what about people at the other end of their lives – they can suffer just as much neglect if they are poor and disabled. Go to the Loving Hands charity website for more details.

Goodbye until next time

Ever had the feeling that spring will never come? Still the groups are all going along nicely with new members at every meeting and we have dispatched parcels to the Redbridge Night Shelter and Loving hands charity. Lots of new projects are being started – my latest will be a costume to wear at the next Discworld event at Wincanton on May 1st – full Morris dancers kit in pink!

Meeting space at Wanstead will be at a premium for the next month as our usual space is booked by fee paying groups so we will be migrating round the building for a quiet corner – still if we are in the main part of the building it might lead to more members

In a library you can really get a distorted sense of the passing of time. When the three week issue date hits a bank holiday the computer says to itself “oh I have to give them an extra week”  over the Christmas period, of course, you get consecutive bank holidays so some lucky people have an extra fortnight to read their books. All of our groups in the libraries will be taking a break over the Christmas period and will restart in January. My own group in Wanstead will be the last to meet on 17th December.  The Keith Axon Centre group, Fulwell Cross and Ilford Groups all meet between 4th and 9th January and would welcome new members for the new year.

 My own projects are going well with only one scarf and the games board to finish before Christmas. After Christmas I have a couple of months costume making before the new reenactor season.

The new groups at Ilford and Wanstead are now affiliated with the Loving Hands charity organization. We hope to be able to produce lots of items for the charities supported by Loving Hands. We will be able to make a vast variety of  things from breasts for the breastfeeding campaign to burial robes for stillborn babies via blankets for pet rescue centres and hats for sailors.

 We would love to have more members for the Ilford group. The next meeting is Saturday 12th December 10am – 11.30am. A good antidote to the rush of Christmas Shopping have some peace and quiet to get on with your latest project. From 9th January we hope to meet fortnightly – watch this space.

Our other new group, at Wanstead, is expanding rapidly but, again, would like new members. The next meetings are 3rd and 17th December 2pm – 3.30pm at Wanstead Library.

Like most crafters I planned to do so much for Christmas and am now faced with the possibility of not finishing everything. I still have 4 embroidered lavender bags, One embroidered game board, 16 embroidered dice , one mediaeval badge and a crochet hat to finish by 25th December!! Aaargh!!!

I will let you know how I get on in a later blog