Afternoon Tea to celebrate the BIG Birthdays missed during lockdown.
Much fun was had by all - thank you Angie and Gaynor for organising the event.
Wild Woolly Women – Annual Report 2022
We are still
a vibrant knitting group in spite of the Pandemic which saw the cancellation of
our face -to-face meetings. There have
been changes and challenges and I am attempting to make a record of some of
them before they disappear from memory.
Where we
meet
We continue
to meet at the Guide Headquarters in Cowley, but only the first Wednesday
morning of each month. The second
Wednesday we meet at the Jolly Nice on the Stroud Road. The third Wednesday at the Stroud Brewery (a
new venue for us) and the fourth Wednesday at the Organic Farm shop,
Cirencester. Thanks to our computer wizz
associate WWW, David Spencer, we now have these dates as an app on our phones –
no excuse for not to know where we should be!
If you haven't got it on your 'phone speak to David or Angie. Membership is fluid – some attend at a
venue nearer their home and others venture further afield, but all are valued
Wild Woolly Women!
Subs
Due to the
increase cost of hiring the room at the GG HQ
(but it is still excellent value), we have had to increase our subs at
Cowley to £3 and it is anticipated that this will rise to £4 in 2023, but it
still includes electricity and, of course, home-made tea and cake(s). Trudy continues to keep the voluntary rota of
cake-makers! Thanks to all.
Charity
Projects
Throughout
the year most of us have been involved in charity projects. For Her Majesty's Platinum Jubilee, we made
patriotic bunting and flowers for South Cerney Church's celebrations. We have made 'Proper Purple' (the exact name
of the colour required) cardigans 10” and 12” chest-size and hats for
Gloucester Royal Hospital Prem Baby Unit.
Purple is the colour of Peace and
the colour chosen to celebrate World Prem Baby Day on the 17th
November. Not a shade we would have
chosen.
Some of our
crocheted blankets with floral decorations made their way to COP27
Environmental Conference in Glasgow.
Other colourful blankets have been donated to the Salvation Army for
their Christmas parcels given to disadvantaged people here and overseas.
A Cake and
Craft Fair for Motor Neurone Disease research was organised by Debby and raised
the amazing sum of over £1,200 to help find a cure for this most devastating of
diseases.
Workshops
Due to the
Pandemic, we have only had a couple of workshops this year – Wet and Dry
felting. But we are grateful to members,
particularly Heather and Bridget who led these for us. Hopefully, we will have more in the future.
Accidents/Illness/Loss
During the
year, all our members have experienced challenges due to illnesses (few of us
escaped Covid) or accidents, either to ourselves or close family and in
mid-August we were devastated to learn of the sudden and unexpected death of
long-standing and treasured WWW, Marion Cooch.
Many of us attended her funeral with a colourful hand-knitted wreath;
and with the agreement of her family, several of her unfinished projects were
completed and returned to her loved ones.
She is sorely missed by us all.
We are a very supportive group and throughout the year we have helped
and supported each other through challenging times.
Birthdays
ending in a Nought or a Five
Several of us
celebrated 'significant' birthdays in 2022 – One 85; several 75 and a 60! After a number of postponements due to the
dreaded Covid and other factors, we were finally able to enjoy Afternoon Tea at
Painswick Hotel. It was a splendid
afternoon – there was a choice of menu for meaties or veggies – marvellous. What a pleasure to enjoy such a wonderful
time, which, of course, included a Secret Santa! Special thanks to Gaynor and
Angie for their hard work organising the occasion.
January
2018
PAULINE’S
POEM
Wild
Woolly Women
We're
called Wild Woolly Women because that's just what we are,
We
knit and crochet many things from the tame to quite bizarre!
For
Gloucestershire Arthritis Trust it's their Easter chicks we
make,
Some
are plain, but colourful whilst others are ornate.
This
is our 'bread and butter' make, one which we do each year,
It
uses up those odds and ends, each stash it helps to clear.
For
Cheltenham Science Festival we knitted M.S. Cells,
They
certainly were challenging and tested all our knitting
skills.
We
crafted many hundreds of brightly coloured Stars
which
were looped through trees along the Prom to many Oohs and
Aahs!
This
was to raise the profile of the College of that name,
Which
caters for young people who've suffered trauma to their
brain.
We
sent lots of squares to
And
smaller ones for Hospitals to keep prem babies snug.
For
disadvantaged youngsters we made each a little purse,
In
which to keep those special things when it seems life can't be
worse.
A
poem did not faze us as we knitted many a word,
And
at the Literary Festival our knitted words were heard.
Lots of Twiddlemuffs we've
also made for dementia patients who,
Find
they calm their restless fingers and soothe their turmoil
too.
We
knitted lots of little folk; each a different character,
To
help young children to explain “the what, the him, the her”.
A
major highlight for the group was making 'The Third King',
For
the Cathedral's Knitivity – he was the King with Zing!
And
poppies? We've made oodles of the red Remembrance
Flower,
For
the British Legion Cascade in the
Now
for Leckhampton's Hospice we're making Hearts and Flowers,
It
could hardly be a better cause to while away the hours,
A
knitted garden is the plan for this May's Malvern Show,
We're
primed with knitting pins and yarn - it's Ready,
Steady, GO!
Pauline
Farman
NOVEMBER 2016
Our King, all ready for Gloucester Cathedral's, "Knitivity."
Lots of hard work, masterminded by Lynne, the Wild Woolly Women are very proud of their team effort.
https://jollynicefarmshop.com/
JANUARY 2016
Wild Woolly Women knitting "TWIDDLEMUFFS" for Dementia Sufferers
A woolly man in our midst!! David getting stuck into knitting chicks! only another 289 to go of the 400 pledged to Gloucestershire Arthritis Trust. The chicks sold this Easter will help raise funds for a new Hydrotherapy pool.
THE NATIONAL STAR COLLEGE CHARITY VINTAGE FAYRE JULY 2015
The Wild Woolly Women ran a stall, selling all their lovely hand crafted items to help fund raise for the National Star College. We enjoyed live music, cream teas and the sun shone too!
27th June 2014 STAR DAY
The Wild Woolly Women hit the headlines again! "Heard the yarn about the statue's new bikini"(Gloucestershire Echo) The Hare and the Minotaur on the Promenade, Cheltenham, were "Yarn Bombed " and star bunting festooned the trees, to fund raise for the National Star College.
February 2014
Heart shaped pockets for children on the Heartease Project
Spring 2013
We knitted over 200 Chicks, that were then filled with creme eggs and sold by us to raise money for Gloucestershire Arthritis Trust.
Our First Yarnbombing October 17th 2012
The Wild Woolly Women make the local paper, following are first "Yarnbombing," which was staged in Cirencester Woolmarket. We covered the Ram in knitting, to mark National Knitting and Love Wool Week. The passers by who enjoyed the spectacle, happily donated money to Cotswold Care Hospice.
World Wide Knit in Public Day June 16th 2012
We had a lovely day at Cirencester Organic Farm, teaching children to knit squares-they were then sewn up to make blankets for Aids victims in Africa. The money raised was donated to Cotswold Care Hospice
The Knitted Dolls Summer 2012
These are the Character Dolls that we knitted, that are used during play therapy by an Educational Psychologist with disadvantaged childern from difficult backgrounds.
The Back to Back Challenge 12th May 2012
Pauline tries the practice jumper on Adam for size!! It was made during the training sessions by the the Cotswold Woolgathers in preparation for their entry in International Back to Back Challenge.
Dyeing Workshop at Cowley 20th July 2011
A memorable day in lovely summer sunshine, we had such fun dyeing our handspun yarn using Indigo, Madder and Onion Skins.
The Big Knit-Mutiple Sclerosis Society June 2010
Wild Woolly Women get involved in their first charitable event, hand knitting White Blood Cells and Neurons which were incorporated into a collage aimed at heightening awareness of the disease process of Mutiple Sclerosis. It was displayed at the Cheltenham Science Festival.
