From Waste to Wonderful November 22nd 2013

From Waste to Wonderful women's making co-op enjoyed another fruitful Friday creating and learning at the Hobart Women's Health Centre. Women from all walks of life, local and international, came together to talk, teach, learn and co-operate. 

Once again The Women's centre was a hive of activity as women chatted, sewing machines buzzed, knitting needles clattered and felt was squished in the sunshine.

Its clear to see this cooperative has quickly become a place of respite for the women who come along each week. Its a place where women from all walks of life can join with like-minded people, relax, learn and feel part of the community. Volunteers make sure to provide women with a safe and welcoming space to explore their creativity, meet new people and learn new skills. 

Last week we welcomed a new face, Gwen, who came to her first workshop at the Women's Health Centre. We were delighted to hear the workshop had such a positive impact for her. 

"I have only been in Tassie for 18 months and one of the first coffee places I went to ( and still go to) is the Raincheck lounge. I go there as much as I can and I have always said to myself that I should go in to the Women's centre and see what they do there. Well, the time finally came during struggles with personal issues. I was reminded of the woman's centre.  

Hanna politely greeted when I walked into the centre, then invited me into the room where a group of woman had gathered to make bags out of scraps of donated materials for the recycle market.  My Oma makes the best handbags and I love to learn new craft, so I thought , why not? 

Well, I have never felt or even dreamed of what it would be like to feel liberated as a woman.  It was a gentle calmness with kiddies and babies trotting around. Everyone was very welcoming. Annie and I spent most of the time together while she was teaching me and chatting away. Hanna showed me her skills, it was so beautiful to see someone so sharing and patient.  We shared lunch and I spoke to other ladies that had also been there that day. All of them relaxed and open to share.


When I woke up that day, I did not expect myself to meet so many woman and walk away feeling liberated.  Thank you to every one of the ladies and children that were there that day. You all made a difference in my life just by sharing. That was all it took for me to find another part of myself that had been dormant for so long.  I look forward to seeing those ladies again"

Welcome Gwen! We hope this co-op continues to give women like Gwen a space to feel safe, welcome and liberated! 

Gwen and Annie

Gwen and Annie 

Mothers are welcomed and treated to a space that allows for their little ones to explore and play while they work on their projects. Affection lavished on the little ones, by all the women at the Centre, makes for some beautiful moments.

We all thoroughly enjoy breaking for a meal together! This allows us time to swap stories and have a breather before continuing on with projects. Each week food is donated and cooked by generous volunteers. We eat, chat and get to know each other before getting back to work. 

Women make use of fabrics, wool and tools donated generously by The Resource Work Cooperative and Ourplace volunteers. Fabrics are lovingly and creatively reused or recycled and by the end of the day everyone has something to show for all their hard work. 

Beautiful colourful Patchwork

We're all looking forward to the next workshop this coming Friday, 29th November. All welcome! A huge thanks to all the volunteers and women who keep From Waste to Wonderful running. It couldn't be done without you! 

From Waste to Wonderful 15th November 2013

Another fantastic Friday at Ourplace!

From Waste to Wonderful once again welcomed women to the Ourplace Co-op for a skill sharing workshop at the Hobart Womens Health Centre.

Volunteers from Hobart and newly arrived refugee women from around the world came together to share their knowledge and skills - from knitting to sewing to felt making.

Many of the women who attend these workshops are newly arrived here in Hobart. Some have spent substantial amounts of time (some 20 years) in refugee camps awaiting processing to come to Australia. For them this workshop gives an opportunity to feel part of the community, to find friendships and support and an opportunity to practice English while creating beautiful and useful things. 

It was great to see the women arriving with their knitting tools and materials and getting stuck into projects. The wool was untangled and the sewing machines fired up. The place was buzzing with activity as these wonderful women from different backgrounds and cultures began sharing their skills and stories.

Kids were welcomed too! The toy corner was filled with the little ones drawing and building and warbling as their mothers busily worked on their creations. 

As well as sewing and knitting we were invited to join Rosi outside in the sunshine to learn how to turn wool into felt. What a treat! It was a very wet sudsy process so we were grateful for the warm sunny day.

For lunch we all gathered for a well deserved break and shared a meal of fresh baked veges and bread. We were also given the opportunity to taste a delicious spicy Ethiopian dish prepared by one of the women. Everything we ate today was donated and baked by the generous and awesome volunteers. 

After the meal it was back to creating and sharing of ideas and skills. Some of the most important skills being learned on the day were sewing machine threading and maintenance. It was great to see the women getting the one on one assistance with these things. Other skill sharing included pattern making, knitting advice and bag creating. 

From Waste to Wonderful's fabric supplies were generously donated by the Resource Work Co-operative (RWC). From these donations some wonderful creations and proud women have emerged. 

From Waste to Wonderful November 8th 2013

From Waste to Wonderful November 1st 2013

From Waste to Wonderful October 25th 2013