Eltham community quilters group started by post on Facebook

Mmebers of the Eltham quilting group working on their projects,

A new community group has started in Eltham with a focus on quilting.

Founding member Sue Wapp says she had just moved to Eltham and wanted to get to know her new community. She joined a Facebook page for Eltham people and posted a question asking if there were any keen quilters in the town.

The positive response led her to decide to host a quilting group at her home on Bridge Street, and she was delighted with the turnout at their first meeting last week.

"Communities need to have different things happening to make them a nice place to be and to get people bonding. Communities grow from communicating and bonding. Ideas and knowledge are shared and people never need to be isolated."

Sue provided the light refreshments as well as plenty of tables for people to work at and a range of quilting tools as well as a cutting table and ironing board. She was joined by six other keen fabric crafters, who brought their fabric, wool and even sewing machines to the meeting.

The quilting work a member of the Eltham quilting club is producing,

Sue says the group will meet fortnightly in future.

"Everyone really enjoyed the company, we all met new people and shared our skills and knowledge with each other."

Sue has been quilting for 18 months and says it is a rewarding hobby.

"I enjoy creating something. It is a very rewarding pastime. I enjoy the colour, design, and challenge of quilting."

Sue was creating library bags out of materials supplied by Enviroschools.

"These bags give people an alternative to plastic bags and are called Boomerang bags, which can be used and returned to the library." Sue says she wants to encourage people who don't have these skills to come along and learn.

"Our group is happy to teach anyone the skills. A member of our group taught two ladies who were keen to crochet last week."

The youngest member, Dannielle Clark, says the group is a chance to meet new people and bond over mutual interests.

"I love the vibe we have going. The passing of knowledge gained onto others. Moving forward I would love to see more people coming in to learn a new skill."

Dannielle has been quilting for eight years and crocheting and knitting for more than 10 years. She is happy to teach anyone who wants to learn to sew, knit or crochet, regardless of age, gender or skill level.

■ The next quilting group meeting is on June 26, 10am to 3pm at 129 Bridge street, Eltham.