Crafty group gets creative in memory of loved one

Christine Farkas shares a story of a friendship group that not only support each other, but have raised over $5,000 towards MND research through their craftiness.

A story of friendship and generosity

The group began in July 2017. We’re very laissez faire but we meet every Wednesday at my home, for whoever is available. The girls kindly make regular donations, and I provide snacks and afternoon tea, and sometimes the odd bottle of Prosecco or Limoncello made by one of the gang. We often celebrate birthdays (with an all-out secret High Tea for my birthday in June - I was stunned and overwhelmed by the kindness and the effort involved! Gloves and pearls also provided.) We always have a Christmas “do” with a secret Santa where we make the gifts for each other.

The motivation was the loss of my beautiful (in every sense) sister Sue Quinn, a patient of Professor Dom Rowe’s, whom she much admired. She passed away in 2010, 18 months after being diagnosed with MND.

Sue always enjoyed a get together and when she was finding it increasingly difficult to speak, we would have a knit in occasionally at my place with a couple of friends, and often our parents, share a laugh and some camaraderie. After she, and later our parents passed away, it seemed like a natural progression to establish a regular meet up, with the encouragement of Penny and Jenny Field.

A couple of originals have left for a variety of reasons, but the core group now consists of Penny Smith, Jenny Field, Jenny Watts, Karan Morrisey, Robyn Briggs, Ros Haack, Susie England, Rene Vidler and Barb Brown.   Not to be forgotten, there is of course Prince Louis, Jenny Field’s cavoodle pup who will soon be joined by Charli, Barb’s cavoodle yet to be introduced to the gang.

We are a very eclectic crafty group with activities including knitting, crochet, sewing, sketching, water colour painting, macrame, weaving and hand building pottery. Over the years grandchildren have been born, with many hand-crafted goods going their way.

We weren’t all known to each other to begin with but as friends of friends joined, we quickly became a very connected, supportive friendship group. Whenever my husband Gilly has happened by on a Wednesday he always remarks how “chilled” we all are.  Nothing like a circle of women in a safe space coming together, supporting each other, sharing and caring, not to mention having a good belly laugh!