It has been wonderful to be part of the Yarra repair workshops this last 6 months … and we have one final one coming up. Clothing Repair will run on Saturday 17th of February from 1-3pm.

Tickets are $10 and can be purchased here.

Join professional mender Mary-Ellen Jordan to learn simple sewing skills that just use a needle and thread, and some more advanced skills such as decorative stitching and patching for funky visible repairs.

 This workshop will cover:

• Types of needles and thread and their uses

• Basic hand sewing stitches

• How to hand stitch up a seam that has come undone

• How to hand stitch up a hem that has come undone

• How to sew on a button

• How to make a patch and stitch it onto your garment

• Some fancier stitches to boost your visible mending game

• Ideas and tricks for visible mending

Bring along a garment that you’d like to repair, or just come along and use the available materials to learn the techniques for future use.

Mary-Ellen Jordan is a professional mender who almost always uses simple hand stitching techniques in her work. She specialises in visible mending, putting a contemporary twist on traditional mending techniques by using them to fix a problem and add a touch of colour, pattern or texture to the garment. You can see some examples on Mary-Ellen’s facebook and instagram accounts @thetinyinstitute.

There are still a few spaces available in Tuning in to Teens programs for parents/carers of children aged 10-15 in the City of Yarra.

These programs are organised through Yarra Communities that Care (the collaboration of local agencies and schools).

Tuning in to Teens™

The Tuning in to Teens™ program is for parents/carers of children aged 10-15 years who live or study in the City of Yarra. This 6-session, interactive, small-group program is a great opportunity to better understand and help your child as they navigate high school and adolescence. The program helps you reflect on how you can strengthen your relationship with your child and build their emotional intelligence.

When: Thursday evenings 6.30-8.30pm from 15 February to 21 March

Who for: Parents/carers of children aged 10-15 who live or study in the City of Yarra

Where: Online, via zoom

Cost: $110 each, $170 for a caregiver pair, free for health care card holders

Registrations required: https://tint-yarra.eventbrite.com.au

These are small-group discussion programs with approx. 7-10 participants.

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Hello book readers,

We have three spots available for anyone that would like to join a Book Club.

• Monday 3rd book club - one spot available

• Tuesday 3rd book club - two spots available

As the names suggest, these book clubs meet on the third Monday and the third Tuesday of each month respectively. The book clubs meet here at our centre at 7pm and take home a book for the month - 10 for the year.

There is an annual fee of $60 to cover book hire from Darebin Libraries and administration from our end.

You can join here.

Hi, we are really looking forward to saying hello to everyone as we resume our action packed Friday program. It has been great to get some phone calls and emails from our regulars already.

This year we will be running a similar program to last year - but with a few tweaks to the timing of things, so please note …

Community Gardening/SHEd

From 10am, come along and join Clare and Corrado outside as they work to improve our lovely grounds. Over the year you will have the opportunity to learn about growing and maintaining an urban orchard and vegetable garden, composting and pruning and how to save seeds, grow seedlings … all the things! And depending on interest, there is also the opportunity to work collectively on small scale projects in our community shed.

If you have passed by recently you will see that our raised garden beds will be looking for some love after a month of wild growing (the tomatoes definitely need staking!). And as always I am sure Clare has lots of creative plans for the year ... This is a great opportunity to meet local people. No need to enrol, just come along with your hat and gloves and join in.

Community Craft

From 10.30am we’ll be running our inside craft group - suitable for knitters and crocheters etc. We are always delighted to welcome new people of all abilities and skill levels to join in. Bring your own materials along if you’d like to work on your own project, or you can use our donated stash if you’d like to make things that we can sell to support the program. Again, no need to book, just come along and join in.

Community Lunch

At 12pm you can join us for a light lunch. We’ll come together to enjoy foods such as pasta bakes, soup, toasties etc. with a cup of tea or coffee and dessert, including fruit. This program is supported by our lovely friends at the Alphington CWA who donate amazing sweet and savoury home cooked dishes. Yum!

AAA Art in the Shed

For anyone needing to access all abilities programs, you can join Clare, Corrado and Hazel from 1-2pm for some arty fun. This program is tailored to the interests of participants. It costs $5 weekly, and you must book in for the term on our website. Please note that places are limited.

We were delighted to welcome back many of our playgroup friends from last year today.

Our Wednesday playgroup runs from 10am-12pm and is suitable for parents, carers and grandparents to attend - with their littlest darlings (of course)!

We set up activities each week, have tea and coffee available (or the cafe is just next door … and you can borrow a mug from us to minimise waste) and we have staff on hand to facilitate introductions if you feel a little shy the first time you come along!

Our playgroup is primarily run outside in our front garden, but we also set up a space inside with toys if you prefer an indoor experience.

No need to book in, just bring your snacks and a hat and come along! All welcome.