Knit & Natter: Thursday 27th

It's Knit & Natter time! Bring along your unfinished knitting projects, your tapestries and your paper-craft - or anything else you have on the go. It's February... a great time for starting a new skill, learning the basics, or just meeting up for a chat.

We'll be meeting this Thursday 27th of February from 6.30 – 8.30pm. 

We're meeting at The Coborn Arms, 8 Coborn Road, Mile End, London E3 2DA. Click here for a map.

This EEWI-inspired group is open to anyone who feels like popping in with a project - knitting or otherwise. It will be a casual meeting, and everyone is invited – not only knitters. Bring along your stitching or paper crafts, or simply join us for a few drinks and a good catch-up. New knitters are welcome too.

Looking forward to seeing you all there!

quick change for tea and coffee this month

Just to let you know that coffee morning tomorrow 21st February will be at Muxima, 618 Roman Road, E3 2RW.  Gather from 10.30. Thanks to Carolyn for recommending. We've also had to postpone afternoon tea until 3rd March, 3.30pm Genesis Cinema. See sidebar for details.

it's all about love and happiness

If it's true that to be happy you must be neither solitary nor idle, then a coffee morning with EEWI offers one path to joy. Coffee and croissants from Look Mum No Hands in Hackney (give it a try). And yarn courtesy of lovely EEWI ladies. Quite a good recipe.

Happiness all round too for Sarah and Anna who were successful in being chosen to receive our  £50 EEWI bursary. We look forward to hearing what course you have chosen and maybe sharing some new skills with us. And congratulations too to young Heather who won our £30 voucher for a class at Fabrications. Let us know how you all get on!

So after such a long, wet winter, we'll be talking this month about how to be happy. We'll share some ideas and we'd like to hear what makes you happy too. We're meeting as usual at St Margaret's House, 7pm for 7.30pm, on Tuesday 18th February. Newcomers and visitors welcome (£4 donation). We'll have refreshments, but we'd also love it if you want to share some love and happiness themed food or drink with us too whatever that might be. And if you can't get along to our meeting, then why not come to one of our other free, open activities - details in the sidebar.

So shake off the wind and wet weather. Find the joy. Come and say hello.


With many thanks to photographer Mike English for the lovely photo of Stacey and Elizabeth.

Knit & Natter: Thursday 29th

It's Knit & Natter time! Bring along your unfinished knitting projects, your tapestries and your paper-craft - or anything else you have on the go. It's January... a great time for stash-busting and starting new projects.

We'll be meeting this Thursday 30th of January from 6.30 – 8.30pm. 

We're meeting at The Coborn Arms, 8 Coborn Road, Mile End, London E3 2DA. Click here for a map.

This EEWI-inspired group is open to anyone who feels like popping in with a project - knitting or otherwise. It will be a casual meeting, and everyone is invited – not only knitters. Bring along your stitching or paper crafts, or simply join us for a few drinks and a good catch-up. New knitters are welcome too.

Looking forward to seeing you all there!

new year, new resolutions, new ideas

If you're enjoying the respite in grey skies, wind and rain, you might be thinking about the good things that the year holds, as well as the things that you might want to change. We'll have a chance to explore some resolutions and new ideas at our next meeting on Tuesday 21st January at St Margaret's House, 21 Old Ford Road E2, 7pm for 7.30 start. So, were going to start off with a quick look at contenders for WI's conference resolutions. Then our speaker, Sarah Henderson, will be telling us about the Economy of Hours, a new project promoting bartering. And for members, we'll be picking out the names of two lucky ladies who will receive a £50 bursary to spend towards a course of their choice from any provider *.  There'll also be an opportunity to win a £30 voucher for a half day class at one of Barley Massey's workshops at Fabrications.

We're very much  looking forward to welcoming both current members and women who want to visit to see what we're about (we just ask for a £4 donation to cover costs).  Refreshments available, including delicious cake and, if it takes your fancy, a glass of wine.

Our coffee morning will be on Friday 24th January, getting together at 10.30am. We've a couple of venues in mind, one of which we want to recce first, so we'll confirm soon.

More dates for your diary:

•  EEWI book club: Wednesday 15th January, 7pm - discussing Doris Lessing's Golden Notebook (please email for venue).
• Knit and Natter:  Thursday 30th January, 6.30 - 8.30pm at the Coborn Pub, Coborn Road E3.

Hope to see you at one of our events soon. And if it's not too late...

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

* This replaces our Denman Bursary, so you can spend it where you want.

All women welcome to EEWI's Christmas Market!

Yes. It's nearly here. Our EEWI Christmas Market is on Tuesday 3rd December, doors open at 7pm (free for members, £4 for visitors). A glass of mulled wine and a mince pie is included in the entrance fee, plus tea and coffee, and there will be lots of lovely stalls selling prettiness crafted by local makers. We'll be handing over our gifts to the ladies from U-Turn, and there will be a raffle too, with lots of lovely prizes. Tell your friends, bring you mum, aunties, sisters, print off a poster and put it in your window. And do come - we'd love to see you there.

what we did last week

Such a lovely evening we had, either sitting playing with ribbons and sequins and beads, or making willow stars and wands. This is Stacey's flower which wound round the neck of her cardi. There were lots more flowers and beads and sari silk.  And lots of stars and laughter too, though we didn't manage to capture those.

The loveliest thing of all, I feel, was the gentle industry of women making stuff, concentrating as they threaded beads, riffling among ribbons, admiring flashes of creativity, sharing gossip, encouraging their friends, laughing at the incongruity of waving willow wands and casting spells to send off our leading ladies with the very best wishes for sharing their skills.

Very many thanks to Barley Massey for coming along and showing us how to transform rags to riches, and to our lovely Karen for making magic with willow. And a special mention for Annie who wore her newly embellished little black dress on Friday for our coffee morning, another hour or so of delights.

You can visit Barley's shop, Fabrications, in Broadway Market for more inspiration, including classes of all sorts. We'll also be selling Barley's Rethinking Rubbish kits at our Christmas Market on 3rd December, more of which anon.