Local crafting group Thimbles and Thread celebrated their 30th anniversary with a morning tea on Wednesday, July 23.
Founding member Wendy Tomes shared that the group originated as a spin-off of a group that would gather in South Hobart.
Wendy and others wanted something a little closer to home and decided to establish a group in Kingston in 1995.
“The group started as just five of us, and we struggled to afford to rent the room,” Wendy reflected.
Gradually the group built up in numbers, peaking to around 35 to 40 members.
Then COVID struck, and numbers have since dwindled to around 14.
“We could do with new blood,” member Stella shared.
Thimbles and Thread meet weekly from 9.30am to 12noon on Wednesdays in U3A Kingborough’s Block A building, opposite the Kingston Library on Hutchins Street.
Whilst morning tea is a regular fixture of Thimbles and Thread’s weekly gatherings, the members had to admit that the anniversary morning tea was a cut above the rest.
The ladies enjoyed an elaborate spread of treats, with a decadent chocolate cake the star of the morning tea.
Thimbles and Thread started as a quilting group but has since diversified to include crochet, embroidery, knitting, cardmaking, tapestry-making and more.
The ladies have worked on a number of projects to donate to charities over the years, including Care Quilts, providing quilts to organisations such as Ronald McDonald House, women’s shelters and hospitals.
Wendy admitted she wasn’t originally planning to mark the 30th anniversary of the group but was glad she did and expressed her amazement that 30 years had already gone by.
She had to confess that she only remembered the year she started the group thanks to 1995 being stamped on a lolly tin where she keeps her one-inch squares, a project she started when she founded the group and that she has yet to complete.
“You support each other here,” Wendy said, noting that friendships that began in the cosy room extend outside it too.
“We’re not specifically a teaching group, but everyone is happy to share their knowledge.”
The weekly gatherings provide a space for crafting and chatting, with topics ranging from knitting to politics to practical advice.
Members are welcome to come and go as they please, paying a $4 entry fee each session, which covers the cost of renting the room and supplying everyone with coffee, tea and biscuits.
If there’s enough money left over it goes towards a special lunch at the end of the year.
Readers interested in joining the group can contact Wendy on 0438 296 818 or Sally on 0421 286 415 for more information.
