With climate action in the forefront of peoples minds, reduce, reuse and recycle are steps we can each take to make a difference.

This is especially true for our clothes and the fast fashion industry that seems so disposable.

Learning how to repair those loved items rather than buy new and replace is a great start - and very satisfying.

The art of visible mending and slow stitching have become increasingly fashionable skills that also help extend the life of our clothes - keeping them from landfill.

And … these skills also create moments of mindfulness to enjoy and help us slow down!

Serene Paul is a talented local artists who does beautiful eco-dyeing and hand stitching to create art and repair clothing … and we are fortunate to have her returning to the Alphington Community Centre to share her talents.

She has been a maker all her life with sewing a childhood obsession, followed by studying fashion design and working in the fashion industry for a number of years. She is slowly building her own handmade and thrifted wardrobe and likes to make each piece unique by using hand stitching techniques along with patching, natural dyeing and appliqué.

Serene will be running a one-off Slow Stitching workshop on Saturday 20th of August from 10am-2pm. She will show you the stitches and you can practice them yourself with a kit that is provided. The cost is $50 and you can enrol here.

She will also run a monthly Visible Mending session. Bring your project and sew and chat and share skills. Join Serene from 10-11:30am on the first Saturday of each month by enrolling here.

Please keep in mind that each workshop and each group requires a minimum number of people to attend for it to run. So if you are keen and know other friends that share your interest then please enrol and encourage your friends to join in too!

Our Women in the Shed program run by Maylei is a short course that introduces you to all the tools typically found in a home garage - through a series of practical projects. Jump online and join in this award winning and wonderfully empowering program.

We have two spots left for Term 3 and usually it is fully booked. So if it is something you have always wanted to do then here is your chance.

Click on this link and enrol now.

Term 3 begins on Thursday July 28th at 10am - 2pm.

Term 4 begins on Thursday October 20th at 10am-2pm.

The course runs for 6 weeks and costs $90 with Learn Local funding supporting the program.

Wouldn’t it be great to know how to make your own clothes using your own body measurements? To make the style and fit that suits you.

Loretta can help turn this idea into reality.

Her pattern making course runs over 6 weeks from 12:30 - 2:30pm on Tuesday afternoons beginning on the 26th of July. The cost for the course is $180 plus $10 for a take home kit provided by Loretta.

You can enrol here.

Loretta will begin the process with a simple skirt pattern, allowing you to practice and learn hands on how to create patterns for clothing.

As with all our courses please note that a minimum number of people attending are required for it to run.

Hi all, we’re back from holidays today and we’re looking forward to seeing you in person.

It has been a very quiet holiday for me (Leanne) as I had Covid … but I am feeling less tired and ready to ease back into things.

Note that we’ve updated our booking system and are trialling a Square online shop … so you might notice some changes if you are booking into our exciting short courses and workshops available across Term 3 and 4.

And … please bear with us … and give us a call or email if you need help with anything.

You can find out more and check out our brochure here or go directly to our shop and book in here.

We’ve got our beans (perhaps a little late because of the tomatoes that had a second run …) and our leafy green pak choy and some marigolds grown from seed in the garden and they’re doing their thing slowly … and on Friday Theresa worked on potting up some cuttings from Clare’s garden … salvias and other flowers 🌺 to bring some pops of colour to our fenceline and garden.

And then after morning tea Corrado and Max kindly stuck around and we started up the (previously checked and safe) donated chainsaw (what a generous neighbourhood we live in) for a heavy duty (and hard work) pruning process - the fruit trees 🌳 on the eastern fence … (we all needed to head home for a nap afterwards!). They’ve now had part one of their two part planned haircut … we’ve tackled the width, next time we’ll lop off the top … to make sure we can reach the fruit 🍎 they produce. It’s just amazing how much they grow each year!

Also … did you see our compost on Instagram last week? It’s teeming with life. Thanks neighbours who contribute scraps … it really is looking amazing!

If you are interested in gardening and chatting to nice people and contributing to our neighbourhood come along from 10am on Fridays. We’re back after the school holidays!