Skip to main content

Handmade Treasures and Good Causes


The annual Handmade Treasures Sale is over again ... it was a hot and hectic day, but I think we created a great atmosphere which lived up to the prior advertising as ‘stress free and non-commercial Christmas shopping for good causes – and free morning and afternoon tea included!” The work from all the contributing artists was stunning, and everyone who came commented on the quality of the work.



I was very fortunate to have made contact with the Hunter East Timor Sisters after I saw the movie ”Balibo” and we had beautiful hand woven tais to sell to support an educational scholarship for a young East Timorese woman.

Other money raised goes towards the purchase of a Rotary Shelter Box , temporary accommodation and emergency supplies in a “box” ready to be taken anywhere in the world where people are made homeless by natural disaster. Humanity Coffee and bilums (string bags from Papua New Guinea) were also on sale to supplement the funds for medical equipment at Goroka Hospital (Eastern Highlands, Papua New Guinea). Tonight, I am proud and happy to say we raised a substantial amount for all three very worthwhile projects . It has taken me hours today to do the bookwork and sort out the money for each artist and the packing up but I love hosting this event every year. Everyone benefits from this sale – the customers , the artists and people worldwide needing support.

Close to home, the outstanding success of last Thursday’s Hunter Homeless Connect Day is still being broadcast.

About 1500 people attended the day and participated in the services available – health checks of all kinds, swine flu vaccinations, birth certificate recovery, financial advice, housing and accommodation advice, haircuts, massages and facials, living skills and creative workshops, and of course our Rotary daily essentials bags- all for free. The 250 bags we provided didn’t really go very far – we needed many more, but the ones we distributed were gratefully received. Congratulations to our friend, Nicola, who was the coordinator for this amazing event – sad it is so needed, but happy we have been able to participate to make life just a tiny bit easier for those doing it tough in tough times.


And next week, I am temporarily going back to work for a couple of days in the Principal's Unit at Callaghan College ...for a rest!
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Thanks for reading my blog and please share your thoughts about my blog post by leaving a comment.Your comment won't appear immediately as comments are verified before publication in an effort to reduce the amount of spam appearing. Anonymous comments will not be published.

Popular posts from this blog

Bilby Infatuation

  Wrapped wire and fabric bilby sculpture : Wilma Simmons 2016  Over the years I have been fascinated with the plight of the bilby and it has inspired quite a few of my cloth creations... With long pinkish-coloured ears and silky, blue-grey fur, the Bilby has become Australia’s version of the Easter Bunny. Unlike the rabbit, bilby numbers are falling rapidly. There were originally two species but the Greater Bilby is now commonly referred to simply as ‘the Bilby’ as the Lesser Bilby (Macrotis leucura) is thought to have become extinct in the early 1950s... Bilbies are nocturnal, emerging after dark to forage for food. Using their long snouts, they dig out bulbs, tubers, spiders, termites, witchetty grubs and fungi. They use their tongues to lick up grass seeds. Bilbies have poor sight and rely on good hearing and a keen sense of smell. To minimise threats from predators they’ll mostly stay within 250m of their burrows, but sometimes roam further afield depending on the food...
1 comment
Read more

"Temari Or Not Temari?" Tutorial

 Background Information:  Temari (literally translated “hand ball”) is a Japanese folk craft that is alleged to have originated in China and was introduced to Japan five or six hundred years ago. Traditionally, the balls were constructed from wrapped kimono fabric remnants and silk threads. They were made by mothers and grandmothers for children to play with. Nowadays, decorative embroidered temari represent a highly valued and cherished gift symbolizing friendship and loyalty. Recently I've wondered if your don't use traditional techniques whether you should call what you create "temari". That is an ongoing debate but today I share what I do to make a "non-traditional temari".... 1.I start  with a polystrene ball ( traditionally the balls were wound  silk scraps or other organic materials) and begin to wrap with approx 4 ply wool, turning the ball as I wrap.  2. I then wrap another layer of wool in a similar fashion , this time a 3 or 2 ...
8 comments
Read more

Countdown to Christmas 20 - Fruitcake song!

There are many songs about fruit cakes  - not all of them referring to the Christmas cake we know and love.It is really surprising to learn via Google that there are 89 listed songs with references to Christmas cake or fruit cake - not all of them complimentary.   Probably one of the most famous folk songs about Christmas cake is Miss Fogarty's  Christmas Cake (a favourite sung by The Irish Rovers).  This first recorded comical Christmas song was written by C Frank Horn in 1883 in Pennsylania, as a variation of an Irish folk song, 'Miss Mulligan's Christmas Cake' . The chorus might give you the hint that Miss Fogarty's cake was not for the faint hearted or those who suffered from a weak stomach.    Chorus : There were plums and prunes and cherries, There were citrons and raisins and cinnamon, too There was nutmeg, cloves and berries And a crust that was nailed on with glue There were caraway seeds in abundance Such that...
Post a Comment
Read more