Life changes a day at a time

Sometimes I think that life is like a garden - seeds are planted, over time they grow and it seems that suddenly you have a garden full of plants and flowers .... some expected and some you didn't know you'd planted.

Like a garden, things in our life change daily but often it's not until we sit down and think about everything we realise how many changes we have had in our lives. For me the past few months have been a time of new developing new friendships, finding a new church, reconnecting with old friends, going to a new craft group and starting a new job.

I would never have thought a posting on the Melbourne Freecycle Cafe for information about an Alpha group followed by an offer of some potatoes would have led to the forming of new friendships and finding a new church but little did I know that a question posted on the 15th January was going to lead to such a big change in my life. It was from these postings that I met Andrea and after a few emails back and forth about the church she went to, I was invited to tea and met her husband, Richard, their daughter Siobhan, and some of their friends.

In addition to the emails back and forth I was also given the church's website to look at. This is where I was amazed to see the face of a man I met at a school christian program when I was about 15 years old at school in Bendigo. This man, Harley gave me a booklet with his name on the back. I had never forgotten him even though I had not seen him since that day. I'd kept the booklet all these years.

The co-incidences continued as it turned out that Harley is the brother of Dave, one of the directors of 'OI' the 'church/sect' I had left 18 months before after going there for 37 years. One long chapter of my life ended talking to one brother and a new chapter began with talking to the other brother.

I made a big decision and went to my first meeting at Truth & Liberation Concern (TLC) on the 1 February 2009. After leaving behind 37 years of my life - my friends, beliefs and all the things I was used to I am now rebuilding new friendships, discovering what I believe and enjoying life again.

As well as starting new friendships the past few months has also been a time of re-establishing some old friendships. Through Facebook I have meet up with people who have also left OI. We are all at different stages of rebuilding our lives and it has been so valuable being able to talk to other people who have been through the same experiences.

Since going to TLC I have also started to go to the craft group Brink. It's run by TLC but is very much open to the community. People go there to knit, sew, paint or just to meet other people. I love going and spending a couple of hours a week on sewing my quilts, knitting and meeting new people.

Tomorrow I start another new chapter in my life. I will be starting a new job as a part time (2 days a week) bookkeeper for a computer retail store in Ringwood. Things with my boss in my current job aren't going very well. He suffers depression and has gone away on a 'holiday' leaving his family and business behind. It's been hard to say that I can't and don't want to work for this guy anymore but for my own health it's been a decision I've had to make. Until he comes back and a decision is made about the viability of the business I'll continue working there for one afternoon a week.

The past 3 months have been full of so many changes - I'm looking forward to seeing what the days, weeks and months ahead hold for me.

Sewing up blankets for Chicks with Sticks

Just before Christmas last year I was thinking about things that I could volunteer to do in the community. I looked at a lot of different things such as dog walking for elderly people, helping deliver meals on wheels, providing administrative support for different organisation, and driving people to appointments. There were so many things that I would have been qualified to do and would have loved doing but everything required someone who was really able to guarantee that they would be able to take a person to an appointment, walk their dog or deliver meals. I felt that with my various illnesses I was not able to guarantee that I would always be available when required.
A few weeks after thinking that there really wasn't something that I could do a lady posted a request on a cafe website that I use asking for people to sew knitted squares into blankets.

I felt excited as this was something I could do and it was a way of doing some kind of volunteer work for the community.

I sent an email to the lady offering to sew up the knitted squares into blankets. My offer was accepted and I was given two huge garbage bags full of knitted squares. Some squares are big and some are small. The squares were to be sewn into a size to fit on the top of a single bed.

The lady was a member of a group called 'Chicks with Sticks' which knit blankets and sets of hats, gloves and scarves for homeless people and people in nursing homes. The group meets every week but as I work I haven't been to a meeting yet.

Chicks with Sticks website:
http://www.freewebs.com/chickswithstickseasternsuburbs/index.htm

I've now made four blankets from the larger squares. I tried to sew the squares together but have found that it was easier and neater to crochet the edges together and then crochet around the edge of the blankets to finish them off.

I'm enjoying making the blankets knowing that they will be used by people who need them and am so pleased that I have found some kind of volunteer work that I can do from home.

Putting together the smaller squares will be more of a challenge. I'm looking forward to seeing what I can do with them.

Three little 'Settler girl' cardigan's finished

Yesterday I finished knitting Olivia's cardigan to match Sarah and Hannah's. I've never knitted the same pattern three times in a row and have really enjoyed knitting these cardigans for my great nieces.

As I still have Sarah and Hannah's cardigans here from the exhibition I decided to take a photo of all three together. I think the girls will look really cute in their matching cardigans.


The pattern is called 'Settler girl motif' and is one of my favourite patterns. I've knitted this pattern for different little girls over the years so with these three cardigans finished I've now knitted it 7 times.

I've enjoyed knitting the cardigans for the girls and hope they enjoy wearing them.

The Exhibition launch - 12th February 2009

On the 12th February I went to the launch of the exhibition, DVD and book. It was a great night and amazing to see the work of all the ladies who participated in the project. We were all presented with a copy of the DVD and a book which was signed by the authors Enza Gandolfo and Marty Grace. The exhibition ran from the 11th to 27th February 2009.

It was special having my mother, my sister Sue and her husband John, my niece Melanie and great nephew Lachlan and two friends from TAFE come to the opening with me.

It felt surreal seeing my craft work in glass cases and the quilt, my penguin and Jim's Bowl of Roses hanging on the walls. The curator did a great job presenting every one's craft.

On the last day of the exhibition some of the ladies were able to meet together for drinks and we're planning on catching up again in about a months time. Even though we had not meet each other before the opening night it was like we had a bond in our craft work that drew us together.

Participating in the project has been a wonderful experience and I'm so glad I was chosen to be part of it.

The book

Description taken from the Vulgar Press Website

" Enza Gandolfo and Marty Grace
It keeps me sane: Women, craft, wellbeing
$29.95
9780977504787 (pbk.)

This book is has its origins in the The Everyday Creativity of Women Craftmakers, a narrative research project exploring the roles and meanings of craftmaking in women’s lives. This research aims to document and communicate contemporary women’s stories of their engagement with craftwork; and to explore the links that women perceive between their engagement in craftmaking and their wellbeing. The research was funded by Victoria University and Spotlight Pty Ltd, a large Australian retailer of fabrics, wool and craft supplies.

In the book we explore the meaning of craft and craftmaking to women and the key themes that have emerged from the research including: creative and self expression, wellbeing, community and intergenerational links and pleasure and passion for the craft itself. There are 15 individual women and one group highlighted in the book with images of their craftwork and their stories and ideas about the meaning of craft to them."

The DVD - ...it keeps me sane...

The DVD which runs for around 15 minutes was filmed by Daniel O'Brien abd Monica Liu and shows extracts of the interviews conducted with the ladies who participated in the project by Marty Grace and Enza Gandolfo.

The DVD focuses on how we view craft, what it means to us and the role it plays in out lives.

The thing that stands out the most in the DVD is how we all have different crafts that we are interested in we all do it for the same reason.

The DVD will be used as a training tool by the lecturers at the Victoria University.


My craft hanging in the gallery

Here's a small video of some photos from the exhibition..




Pages of me in the book..
(just click on photos to enlarge them)