Threading needles, socialising, drinking tea - it's a crafty way to unify migrants and
help them feel at home. Joanna Davies reports.
Multicoloured thread spills from large boxes at one end of the table. Stacked in a corner, sheets of painted fabric are in different stages of completion. Some bearing outlines are waiting for colour while others are carefully textured with embroidered patterns.
The people sitting around the table thread needles and stitch while drinking tea and talking about the week's happenings.
Beginners start off with a basic running stitch. Experienced sewers turn tiny French knots into flower patterns. Though it's not just older women who take part.
Raeburn House's Connecting Communities Through Stitch sessions introduce migrants to each other, give them somewhere to meet and to practise their English.
Miranda Lin, who moved to the North Shore from Taiwan four years ago, has attended them since February. "It's a great project for migrant people because we can learn about New Zealand culture and learn English. I'm very interested in embroidery and I'm still learning as I go," she says.
For Ms Lin, it's also an opportunity to see other parts of the region she lives in, as the group meets at a different centre each week.
The 18 pieces the group are embroidering depict the different cultures of the people who live in Auckland.
Con Anderson, who has embroidered most of her life, says the piece the group is working on is unconventional.
"People think of making cloths with crinoline ladies and doilies, but there's much more to it," she says, as she points out tulips on one piece. "It just shows what you can do with a plain running stitch to make the images stand out."
Joan Hamilton, who's co-ordinating the project, says it's far more than a sewing class.
"We're trying to knock out social isolation amongst migrants and breaking down the barriers to integration. Stitching is a universal language and it's giving support to people."
Ms Hamilton hopes the embroidery work will be completed in May next year.
"We want to get the pieces professionally framed and hopefully take them around the city. These panels are about Aucklanders and we want to gift them to the region. I hope that ... they can be hung somewhere prominent for everyone to enjoy."
Sew much fun
The Stitch project takes place every Monday at the Norman King building in Northcote between 11am and 4pm, and at a different place every Thursday. Call Joan on 486 8952 or email: joan@raeburnhouse.org.nz to find out about other locations and times.
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