Group Reports

BLACKTOWN

Our Group was pleased to meet in person again after months of Zoom meetings. During lockdown some improvements have been made to the area surrounding our meeting hall which will give us more flexibility for meetings and workshops. We are currently formulating our workshop plan for 2022. In December we held our annual Christmas competition - congratulations to the winners! - and enjoyed morning tea.

Many of our members participate in a weekly charity knitting/crochet group at Blacktown Library, which contributed to the recent yarn bombing of Blacktown to raise awareness of the problem of domestic violence; and also created an amazing Christmas banner for the Max Webber Library. Members of our Group have finished several Wrap with Love blankets in the last couple of months, and a few of us have already started on our FibreFest shawls! Katherine Flanagan, Secretary

BLUE MOUNTAINS

The final quarter of the year had us meeting in person again in our new meeting location at the Glenbrook Bowling Club. It has been wonderful to see people face-to-face and to see the creativity of our members in person instead of through a screen.

Our November AGM saw us farewell Elizabeth Le Breton, Yvonne Cookson and Jan Perry from the committee. They’ve truly done an exceptional job steering us through the pandemic and keeping us connected as a group. The new committee members have some big shoes to fill but are excited for the challenge and the year ahead!

In December we took full advantage of our new venue with a Christmas lunch organised by Jan Marshall and Fran McDaid, who have clearly missed their calling in event planning. We also exchanged gifts in our traditional one-skein swap, where gifts are handmade using a single skein of yarn in a Secret Santa style exchange, and our one-skein challenge competition. Congratulations to our challenge winners Mavis Bilinge, Ruth Buchannan, and Susan Stephens. We enjoyed seeing the gifts and other projects, both complete and works in progress, in our Show and Tell.

With so many fibre events on the horizon this year, we can’t wait to share as many of them as possible with our members! The Blue Mountain’s Guilders wish all a safe and fun 2022. Luke Shilson-Hughes, Secretary

CAPITAL REGION (formerly

Queanbeyan) The Capital Region group ended 2021 in style with our traditional Christmas meeting. We have a wonderfully extravagant afternoon tea and a celebration of what we have achieved in the past year. Early in the year we set crafting goals and in December we have our last check-in, to see how we all progressed. Some of our members' 2021 goals were 'finish three cardigans', 'knit a top down garment', 'knit a pattern as it is written' and 'remember to change needle size'. We are very generous with the chocolate rewards for those who have set goals for themselves, whether they have achieved them or not.

In January, we set ourselves some new goals for 2022 and spent a bit of time talking about our plans for the year ahead. These include a bus trip to FibreFest and a lead role in the Royal Canberra Show's craft pavilion. We have taken on management of the knitting section and Fran Browne (our convenor) is the head steward. Much planning is underway and this includes knitting pieces to match the craft pavilion theme of 'High Tea'. We're using some Jean Greenhowe patterns for cakes and biscuits to create a really fun display. Viv Haley brought her cakes, biscuits and even a knitted sausage roll along to the January meeting. Teresa Morey, Secretary

Capital Region - cakes for high tea

CLARENCE VALLEY

Our last meeting in December was our Christmas lunch at the Crown Hotel overlooking the river which was on the rise. Because of all the rain we received our meetings have been a bit light on members as some couldn't attend due to road closures.

We hope this year will be better and we can get lots of knitting done. Looking forward to getting back and catching up with knitting friends. Helen Ada, Publicity

Well, it’s been another quiet three months without a face-to-face meeting since we meet in a small room at the church.

Our crochet group is small, very casual and prefers not to have Zoom meetings, so we stay in contact with a few emails occasionally. When we do catch up again, I know everyone will just want to chat and have a big Show and Tell. Not much to tell from the other members so here's a bit from me this time.

I’ve been lucky enough to go away a few times, once up to the Blue Mountains at the end of November, visiting a few yarn shops and buying some beautiful things. I’ve even started crocheting the FibreFest cowl with some of it.

Then over Christmas I went away again for a few weeks. I took a huge bag of different projects to do (just in case I ran out) but only got to finish off knitting another pair of socks. And being January I’ve started another Temperature Blanket.

This is a photo of last winter's project that I finished off in September in the Outback. I have always loved fringing and fine details on things and the fringing on this rug took hours but I’m pleased with the finished item. Di Scaysbrook, Convenor

Crochet Turramurra - temperature blanket

EPPING

A most enjoyable festive meeting was held by the Epping group in December, for our Christmas luncheon. We knitted and chattered and now there seems to be lots of items each meeting for Show and Tell as our members return to face-to-face meetings. Shirley Gregory, Publicity

EPPING CROCHET

When we returned from the lockdown, we had a lovely Show and Tell. On show were two complete and two almost complete project bags that can dangle from your wrist while you are crocheting. Other items included mittens, shawls, baby items and blankets. We are all looking forward to a year that does not include Covid interruptions and that sees us all safe at the end of the year. We look forward to resuming meetings in February and learning new skills as we work on bigger projects this year. Anne Moore, Publicity

Epping - Christmas meeting

Epping Crochet - wrist bags

GOULBURN

Meetings are slowly getting back to normal and we had our AGM in November. Bev Artiss was elected as our new Convenor. Workshops are

being planned e.g. crocheted string bags and special card decorations for the 2022 Goulburn Show.

Lots of talent was evident in our Show and Tell section of our November meeting including a wonderful purple cardigan in 5-ply Bendigo Wool; 3-ply (doubled) ripple check jumper; handbags; shawl with magic squares and checks; socks; hot water bottle cover (stranded garter stitch); vest as a thank you; crocheted shopping and vegie bags; intricate shawl in the round; beanies for charities; snood for a rescue dog; crocheted reading blanket for grandson in bright colours; garter stitch throw – just wonderful! Why did I list the above items made by members? Well, it just shows what a talented bunch this group is and always ready to share their talents.

We now have our own postcards designed by Lauren Shinfield (including the photographs) for members to share with friends and for distribution at Shows. Full group details are on the reverse side.

New members always welcome! Wendy Allen,Acting Publicity Officer

INNER CITY

Our Convenor, Secretary and Treasurer were re-elected at the AGM in November, and we had another 'real' meeting in December, our last at Redfern Town Hall. We will be meeting in Alexandria, when we next meet in person. January's meeting was online, and we reviewed some of the 2021 knitting goals of those present, and discussed 2022 aspirations and plans. There are always techniques to learn or brush up, and we will again be trying to present some of the mostrequested.

We had a mini-KAL group of Stephen West aficionados present their work at our December meeting: it was spectacular! Margaret Harradine, Secretary

INNER WEST

The Inner West Group is hoping to resume our meetings at Camperdown Commons on Monday 21 February. Meetings are held on the third Monday of the month at 10.30 a.m.

We are looking to hold some interesting workshops. Creative darning for those of us who cannot bear to part with our favourite garment that is in need of a repair. Jane (from Skein Sisters) will speak on various aspects of crochet and MaryHelen on Fair Isle knitting. Some of these workshops were deferred from last year. Notice will be given as to when these workshops will take place.

Keep well and happy knitting Judy Lawler, Secretary

KATOOMBA

Katoomba Group has had an excellent time since our last report. We held our first mini workshop where our Convenor Ronah Tuite showed us how to make a crocodile crochet coat hanger cover. It was lovely to learn a new skill and see Ronah’s examples. Our meetings have lately been small and friendly affairs where we have been catching up on each other's knit and crochet projects and those always interesting works-in-progress. We are of course, hoping that as time passes and Covid again diminishes that more of our members will be able to join us. We have now turned our minds to FibreFest in March and are planning our trip to attend as a group. Which pattern will you be making for FibreFest? will be the refrain for February. Margaret Hardwick, Convenor

Katoomba - crocodile crochet hangers

KIAMA

The Kiama Group met face-to-face in November, the first time since June. This included our AGM and we maintained the same Committee as in 2021. Congratulations and thank you to Anne Phillips, Convenor, Thea Blanch, Treasurer and Jean Shelley, Secretary. As you can imagine, there was quite a big Show and Tell and it was great to see what members have been working on during lockdown. It would seem some 'stashes' have been reduced considerably.

Our 20th Anniversary falls in February, however, due to the current situation we hope to celebrate with a tea later in the year and look forward to some of the original members attending. Jean Shelley, Secretary

KU-RING-GAI

The Group was able to meet in October and for our last meeting of the year in November.

It was wonderful to meet faceto-face and to share our projects,

friendships and ideas - a reminder of how powerful Guild Groups can be in offering support, friendship and pleasure in shared activities.

At each meeting we had amazing and inspiring Show and Tell. At the November meeting, the rugs made from squares and mattress-stitched together after a workshop, were displayed prior to presentation to the Guild.

We ended the year with a Christmas morning tea and lunch and with hopes of a brighter 2022. Gayle Parker, Convenor

MACARTHUR

The Macarthur members met up on 27 November 2021 for a combined AGM and Christmas lunch at a local Italian restaurant.

Current convenor Alex Vainauskas and secretary Delia Sidler both stood aside from their respective roles after three years. The group thanked them for keeping our group connected, informed and safe especially during the last two years of this pandemic mayhem - phone calls, visits and newsletters were much appreciated by us all.

Our new convenor Janice Ferrett has previously held roles in our group so takes on the convenor's role with a wealth of experience. Her passion and dedication will both serve us brilliantly into 2022.

Janice will be assisted by a relative newcomer to our group Kathleen Wall as secretary. We welcome Kathleen and thank them both for taking on these roles. Alyssa will continue for one more year as our trusty treasurer.

Hopefully our lesson plan for 2022 will start to happen in February with knitted and crocheted scrumbling taught by one of our members, Sue. Hopefully a creative way to kick off 2022. Janice Ferrett, Convenor

MAITLAND

Things have been quiet … again. We just started back in the swing of face-to-face meetings and once again Covid put a stop to those plans. Thank goodness for knitting and crochet as that remains the constant in our lives. Members have been busy working on all kinds of projects from the large to the small. We are also grateful for the reprieve from the traditional hot weather over the last few months as I for one have enjoyed finishing a garment or two.

We are looking forward to 2022 as we start to make our tentative plans for outings and visits. We wish everyone a Happy (crafty) New Year! Cynthia Mulholland, Treasurer

MID NORTH COAST

Our September meeting was via Zoom and we shared and discussed our favourite podcasts, blogs, vlogs and YouTube channels. In October we were able to meet face-to-face at the Port Macquarie Library again and Show and Tell focused on our lockdown projects. Our final meeting for the year in November was our AGM held at the library. Current office bearers were happy to continue in their roles as there were no other nominations and a draft program for 2022 was discussed. A small group of members met for a Christmas gathering in early December to round off the year. Chris Durward, Convenor

MUDGEE

At our December meeting we held a workshop on making Nupps; very interesting in trying the different ways that you can make Nupps and incorporate them into your knitting.

At our December meeting members contributed Christmas fare to an afternoon tea. This was our last get together for 2021 and it was an enjoyable and relaxed afternoon.

The Group has not as yet planned a program for the coming year; we will do some planning at the February meeting. Hopefully by then all our members will be fully vaccinated as well as having had their booster dose.

Members continue to knit for charity and we recently sent a bag of beanies to the Seamen’s Mission in Newcastle.

We are looking forward to being able to attend FibreFest in March, it of course will be very dependent on the Covid situation. In the meantime, we will continue to knit and crochet and try to learn new techniques.

If any Guild members are in Mudgee, please feel free to join us at the Lions Shed in the Showground on the third Saturday of the month. A belated Happy New Year and Best Wishes for the year. Barbara Gow, Convenor

NEWCASTLE

The Newcastle Group was fortunate to be able to hold our annual Christmas lunch in early December prior to the latest Covid outbreak. Many members attended and enjoyed knitting and crocheting with friends. Thanks to Kate for organising a very challenging trivia. It was a positive end to the year. Katherine Heinrich, Convenor

NORTHERN TABLELANDS

Our group had a productive last quarter with several members completing their own projects that they had been working on during the year and also adding to our items for our group entry at our local show. Our final meeting for 2021 was a Christmas dinner accompanied by fabulous homemade and knitting-oriented Christmas crackers, and a good supply

of chocolate while we made some decorations.

Due to prevailing Covid restrictions, we resorted to Zoom again for our first meeting this year. This was very productive in taking stock of our group's local show entry pieces and trying to finalise our display requirements for the show which will be held in early March. Our second meeting this month falls on Australia Day so we will wear Oz colours. Ingrid Chaku, Secretary

Northern Tablelands

PITTWATER

No report received

SOUTHERN

In December, the Southern group was able to have a small Christmas gathering with morning tea. Beryl Mercieca, our life member, sent in a huge parcel of hand knitted babywear for the premmie and new babies born at St George Hospital. Carolyn Rose Schellenberger brought in her latest Christmas baubles designed by Arne & Carlos – they will have looked wonderful on her Christmas tree!

With COVID lurking, attendance was not as high as usual but we have still been connecting through email and our Facebook group. We have a few new members on the list and we hope we can meet them in 2022 – our first meeting back will be on February 5. Abbey Bongers, Convenor

SOUTHERN HIGHLANDS

Since the AGM, we have been monitoring attendance and preference of our members. Covid has affected this group quite badly. To this end, we are looking at changing our meeting place and maybe the day of our monthly meeting. Plans are in progress this month for some changes to suit the remaining members. Robynn Ross, Convenor

THE ENTRANCE

It’s the beginning of a brand-new year with lots of possibilities. Our first meeting is scheduled for the first Saturday in February at a new venue. Due to Covid restrictions we will continue to meet at the Halekulani Bowls Club, Budgewoi.

We celebrated our Christmas meeting on December 4 and enjoyed a delicious two-course meal at the Halle. Members also enjoyed a few activities to celebrate. Secret Santa and a guessing competition, some games and Show and Tell made our meeting a fun place to be. Prue was unable to attend as her new grandson was born in Melbourne and Nana duties took priority!

Our group held our AGM and our committee members will remain the same for the next twelve months. Our committee will be meeting in the next week to discuss our plans for the coming year. FibreFest will be an event not to be missed. We will be looking into getting a bus for our members this year, Covid-willing.

We have welcomed some new members and look forward to social chit-chats this year. Our committee are gathering our thoughts on workshops and activities for the year. We look forward to continuing our support of We Care Connect (our local charity), and our garments to support children in war affected areas. Prue Smee and Sue Page, Coconvenors

WEST RYDE

We had a small group meet in November, our first back since lockdown, and held our AGM, where a new convenor and treasurer were appointed. The group had a nice Christmas Party at the West Ryde Hotel in December, replacing our meeting for the month. In light of recent Covid conditions we cancelled our January meeting, and will re-assess for February. We may look at park meet-ups or Zoom as alternatives. Beth Clothier, Convenor

WOY WOY

It was great to see our members face-toface for our Christmas party with lucky door prizes after four months meeting online. As usual, members brought along a variety of their inspiring projects for Show and Tell. Like many others, we're looking forward to life returning to normal very soon. Ruth Herman, Convenor