We hosted another great workshop with Gordon Carr on the weekend.

Our Sewing Machine Maintenance workshop was fully booked and our largest room was filled with sewing machines and their owners - wanting to learn how to avoid costly repairs and how best to maintain their own machines.

Gordon’s long history in this field of work makes him a gem of a teacher.

He has props that explain all the parts of a machine - like the clear-cased sewing machine pictured above! He is very honest about the common things that users often do wrong and he shares simple tips that can help you avoid making the same mistakes with your own machine.

There is a second workshop coming up - this time for overlockers - on Saturday 10th of September from 10am-12:30pm here at the Alphington Community Centre. The cost is $45 and there are still a few spots left if you are interested. You can book in here.

Thanks Elaine for these gorgeous teeny tiny fingerless mittens! They’re super cute. We’ve always got wonderful volunteers like Elaine and Sandra (and Frank who knits hats) who repurpose donated wool … turning it into blankets and scarves and all sorts of wonderful things that we sell for fundraising (to support our programs) at our makers markets etc.

If you ever have wool (8ply or fatter is ideal) that needs a new home think of us … we love ❤️ donations!

We just love it so much when people in our community share their talents and skills!

This term we’re running another one-off fabulous workshop with Serene that is sure to inspire you (Serene is a textile artist who makes the most beautiful things … you can check her out on instagram at thecraftreport) and also teach you a range of hand stitching techniques.

The workshop is called ‘Slow Stitch’ - encouraging you to mindfully take out time in your busy life to create something new (or something new from old) with a needle and thread.

It is on 10am-12pm on Saturday 20 August. The cost is $50. Serene will send you home with loads of knowledge and skills and a starter kit. If you are interested you can book in here.

We had a lovely night last Friday for our opening. Around 60 locals came along which was fabulous, and more popped in over the weekend.

25 artists were part of the event, and we thank Sharyn Madder, Beatrice Magalotti and Wendy Roach for hanging the exhibition.

We’d also like to thank Yarra City Arts for the seed funding to get this regular event in our calendar up and running and also thank the Community Bank on Queens Parade for funding the gallery equipment install.

We have so many talented artists in our community. If you are keen to see more local art in real life or join us for another fun community event (being the opening night) keep an eye out for the Alphington Open Studios Weekend coming up on the last weekend in November!

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!