The ladies of Wagga Handweavers and Spinners Guild are celebrating 50 years of community spirit, friendship and charity work.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Longest serving member Margaret Belling has been with the group for 44 years, and said her passion began when she stumbled across a spinning wheel at a school fete.
"I used to do a lot of charity work for fetes and things and I happened to see a spinning wheel somewhere and thought I'd give it a whirl," she said.
"I took it up, enjoyed it very much and then I got involved in the natural dying."
Margaret now dyes her own wool using natural ingredients before taking it to the club to spin and weave.
"I love it, I can't stop," she said.
"I love the colour from the things around you - I live on five acres and the trees, flowers and even the weeds are just there at my fingertips to make these beautiful colours from."
The keen spinner began quite the production chain after joining the club.
"When we first started off I was like the head chief, I had a few people helping me out," she said.
"I'd dye all the wool, throw it on the floor then the ladies would knit them into squares, while others would stitch them together and finish them off."
Their work was not in vain, supporting the community in more ways than one.
"We made them for a lot of charities like Meals on Wheels, Arthritis Society, the Heart Foundation," Margaret said.
"When I was about 78 I made a full rug out of alpaca wool and donated it to the Coolamon Ganmain Hospital where I was born, and they made $1700 out of it."
Merle Grant is another member of the WHSG, and self-proclaimed 'most senior member'.
"We breed our own angora goats and have done since 1980, so I decided I'd learn to spin and weave and then found the club," she said.
Merle said her favourite part of spinning and weaving was seeing the evolution of the wool.
"It's great to see something like they say from paddock to plate, but it's from paddock to back in this case," she said.
"I've spun my own mohair, angora fleece and alpaca wool, and make coats, cardigans, jumpers, scarves, you name it I've made it."
With no intention to slow down any time soon, Merle said her passion for weaving goes beyond the wool.
"You meet nice people, you make beautiful garments and it is therapeutic, I love it," she said.
WHSG secretary Rhonda O'Connor said while the group were still thriving, they would benefit from improved resources.
"We're hoping we can get a better cultural building, it would be great to have more space and some fresh facilities," she said.
"It gets so much use here, and it would be great to have a refresh not just for us but for all the other clubs who use it too."