The Crafty QCWA Ladies.

Well today I went to a QCWA craft morning in the CBD which is something I had been intending to do for some time. I really want to improve my crochet and knitting skills this year and knew that the crafty ladies down in the QCWA rooms are experts at handicraft and could help.

If you haven't heard of the QCWA here is some info I wrote in this post a while back:

Overseas readers may not have heard of the Country Women's Association before and might be wondering what it is. The Queensland Country Women's Association was formed in 1922 and is part of the umbrella organisation called the Country Women's Association of Australia which has branches in each state of Australia. In the beginning, to be eligible to become a member of the QCWA ,women had to derive their income from the land but that has changed over the years and now members come from across the state from both urban and rural areas with the objectives of supporting women and children, promoting friendship and understanding and to be active in the local community.

They offer a host of activities including dressmaking, public speaking, cookery, knitting and patchwork, handcraft, history groups and have social days and fundraising...to name a few. When my children were babies the QCWA rooms in the CBD had a Mother's Room where I could feed them and also could have a cuppa in a quiet space if they needed a sit-down and a nappy change. 

I was greeted at the door by a lovely lady called Ruby who asked for the princely sum of $3 to attend the class :-) She found one of the ladies who is a very skilled crocheter who sat down beside me to help me work though a pattern I had been hoping to make up for ages. More on that later.

Sitting on the other side of me was a lady who was completing a tablecloth her mum had started many decades ago and it dated back to 1937. The linen fabric was of such a high quality it was a pleasure just touching it. You don't see linen like that these days.

Sorry for the blurry photo but another ' new'  person like myself was reacquainting herself once again with macrame which she used to do back in the 1970s. Macrame is making a comeback apparently and like most crafts comes and goes.

I just love this bag that one of the ladies had been given by her daughter.

I was just amazed at this fine work ...

...and the beautiful doiley that was being produced..seemingly without effort.

Another really nice person at my table had made this beanie for a bub and the pattern was from the book Baby Crochet which looks like a lovely book for those who have a baby in their life.

She had been working on this gorgeous rug and finished it this morning apart from sewing in the ends.

I think she said she made the rug by crocheting ten treble and then ten chain and when she had it at the size she wanted she then 'plaited' the chains into each other with her fingers.She wasn't sure what the name of the stitch was but thought it was a Ladder stitch. I had never seen anything like that before...not being a crochet expert or anything remotely like that ... so I had a look on Pinterest for crochet Ladder stitch and it seems to be something like Jacob's Ladder Stitch. There is a Jacob's Ladder Dishcloth tutorial with a video that I also found so I might give this a try.

I made something which looks quick and easy but which wasn't all that quick and easy for me as it was a bit fiddly but I ended up finishing a Daisy Towel Holder. It is a bit wonky but I was quite pleased with it. I have found that my hand towels wear out before the crochet tops so with this towel holder you can just slip the hand towel through it. Then when the towel needs to go into the wash, take it out and replace it with a fresh one and the holder doesn't get the wear and tear of going through the washing machine all the time. Good idea eh? There are a few different patterns on this Pinterest page as well if you are keen to make one for yourself.

So it was a nice morning and the ladies were all friendly and helpful. If you have a CWA near you and have the time then do check out whether they have a craft morning. Our local one is having a three day craft school from the 16th to 18th March which will cost $15 and the crafts being taught are Cutwork, Lagartera, English Patchwork, Ric Rac Flowers and Tunisian Crochet. Doesn't that sound interesting?

If anyone from SE Queensland is reading this I hope you all stay safe over the coming two days as Cyclone Marcia crosses the coast. We have been warned that we might be in the firing line as well so hang on to your hats and your roof as well for that matter. I pray that the damage will be minimal.