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.