Hoop! There it is!

Last year, the Blackwater Patchwork and Craft Group successfully obtained a Regional Arts Development Fund (RADF) grant for $1,740. With this grant, they organised to bring a qualified tutor to run 2 Deerfield embroidery workshops.

The Deerfield technique uses blue and white colours using traditional crewel approaches, with a combination of multiple stitch techniques.

The Blackwater Patchwork Group treasurer, Mary Anderson, said that RADF gave the club the possibility to explore workshops.

‘The workshops were great social occasions,’ Ms Anderson said

‘Both members of our group, and new people alike, enjoyed the workshops and some even became new members of our group,’ she continued.

‘The first workshop taught us new embroidery techniques and showed off some equipment that has helped us work steadily and faster. The Quick-grip for the hoop was a great example of that,’ she said.

At the second workshop a month later, attendees took what they made from the first session, and turned it into a finished product.

‘Some of us applied the embroidery on a needle case, and others used it for a handbag,’ she said.

‘While the workshop showed us new skills, it was good promotion for the club as well. We had people attend from Bluff, Dingo, Capella and Blackwater. Lots of new faces and new friends,’ she said.

The Blackwater Patchwork and Craft group is open to anyone, and they meet every Monday morning at 9.30 am at the Uniting Church Hall in Blackwater.

Are you part of a group that could benefit from running a workshop like this? Keep an eye out for when the next round of grants will open here.

If you would like to join the Blackwater Patchwork and Craft Group, head to their Facebook group here.

If you have any enquiries, please contact council on 1300 242 686.