Boomerang Bags Sewing Workshops
Boomerang bags are free, reusable, & shareable shopping bags, made by community members, for all of the community to use.
The Lake Macquarie Boomerang Bags Sewing Workshops, co-organised by CASNG and The Canopy have the following aims:
to cut out bag patterns from donated fabric
to sew this fabric together to make more shopping bags, and fruit & vegie bags
to encourage neighbours to sew shopping bags at home in their spare time, and
to provide a safe, friendly, fun & sociable meeting place.
The Lake Macquarie Boomerang Bags Sewing Workshops, co-organised by CASNG and The Canopy have the following aims:
to cut out bag patterns from donated fabric
to sew this fabric together to make more shopping bags, and fruit & vegie bags
to encourage neighbours to sew shopping bags at home in their spare time, and
to provide a safe, friendly, fun & sociable meeting place.
A BIG THANK YOU
to everyone who has attended our Workshops in 2018
YOU ALL HAVE MADE AN EXTRAORDINARY EFFORT TO HELP
KEEP LAKE MAC PLASTIC FREE
to everyone who has attended our Workshops in 2018
YOU ALL HAVE MADE AN EXTRAORDINARY EFFORT TO HELP
KEEP LAKE MAC PLASTIC FREE
2019 BOOMERANG BAGS SEWING WORKSHOPS
The Canopy and CASNG are pleased to announce that the Monthly Sewing Workshops
will be continuing in 2019.
Same venue – Cardiff North Public School Library – 59 Wansbeck Valley Rd.
ON THE LAST SUNDAY OF THE MONTH – JANUARY TO NOVEMBER
FIRST WORKSHOP – SUNDAY 27th JANUARY, 2019 – 10am to 2pm
EVERYONE IS WELCOME
The Canopy and CASNG are pleased to announce that the Monthly Sewing Workshops
will be continuing in 2019.
Same venue – Cardiff North Public School Library – 59 Wansbeck Valley Rd.
ON THE LAST SUNDAY OF THE MONTH – JANUARY TO NOVEMBER
FIRST WORKSHOP – SUNDAY 27th JANUARY, 2019 – 10am to 2pm
EVERYONE IS WELCOME
NOVEMBER WORKSHOP REPORT
The past 6 months of monthly Boomerang Bags Sewing Workshops, ended on a high note recently.
As has become a pattern, regular attendees arrived on the day with piles of finished recycled-fabric shopping bags, which they had sewn at home during the past month - I’m hopeless at keeping count, but there must have been about 25 to 30 bags. Another 10 to 15 were completed at the final Workshop.
Lidija, who is a member of Redhead Sustainable Neighbour Group, took a number of finished bags, along with copies of printed “how to sew bags patterns”, which she will sell and give away at the Redhead SNG stall at the Redhead SLSC Xmas Fundraising Markets on 12th December. Lidija was impressed with our Boomerang Bags efforts at the CASNG Car Boot Sale, and wants to repeat that at Redhead.
Anna from The Canopy, who has very ably looked after the sewing side of things, continues to find important uses for the bags that are made - with many being used to distribute food parcels to needy families - previously, donations would most likely have been handed out in plastic bags.
CASNG and The Canopy have made important contributions to cutting the use of plastic in Lake Mac.
Feedback from participants was overwhelmingly positive, with everyone rating the Workshops, 5 out of 5. They loved getting together with like minded people - “wonderful camaraderie”; “learning from others”; Doing something positive to help the environment & the community”; "sharing ideas”; “very sociable”; “great morning tea/lunch”; “positive atmosphere”; “companionship” - are a selection of some of the comments.
Where they found out about the Workshops is an interesting result – 50% from the Eco Advocate; 40% from the Newcastle Weekly; 10% from the CASNG Newsletter.
The only negative note - “don’t schedule Christmas events on the same day” - was something CASNG certainly hadn’t originally planned, and can easily be avoided next year. Kiani, and her mother Kim, are an inspiration though - after attending the Beeswax Wrap Making Workshop in Cardiff South earlier in the day, Kiani & Kim dropped over to Cardiff North to leave the 5 shopping bags Kiani had sewn at home over the past couple of weeks.
All of the attendees were very keen to continue attending Monthly Workshops in 2019, and consequently, CASNG and The Canopy will hold Monthly Workshops on the last Sunday of each month, January to November, in 2019.
Anna from The Canopy has done a fabulous job bringing supplies of fabric and thread to the workshops, getting fabric cut to shape, and in distributing the completed bags - I wouldn’t have been able to run the Workshops without her help – many thanks to Anna.
But in particular, a big thank you to the 22 community volunteers who contributed their time and talent, to help make Lake Macquarie plastic bag free.
REPORTS OF THE JUNE, JULY, AUGUST & SEPTEMBER WORKSHOPS
This year’s Boomerang Bags Sewing Workshops have been fortunate to attract only the best of volunteers.
They have been resourceful, love talking to people, love sharing ideas, want to have fun no matter what, don’t see obstacles but enjoy new ways of doing things, and can sew a straight seam whilst discussing new refinements to a shopping bag design.
Although mostly complete strangers, they worked as a team, they co-operated, they shared ideas, they asked for help, they offered help, they repaired sewing machines, and seemed to love every minute of helping out.
We have a solid core of participants who arrive each month, others who can't make a particular month, but will be back - and others who continue to do a power of sewing at home.
Over 200 shopping bags have been made by Lake Macquarie Boomerang Bags since its inception in 2017.
Those 200 bags are now being used somewhere in the Lake Mac Community - that's 200 plastic bags NOT being used, EVERY TIME someone takes those shopping bags out shopping - a mighty effort.
The past 6 months of monthly Boomerang Bags Sewing Workshops, ended on a high note recently.
As has become a pattern, regular attendees arrived on the day with piles of finished recycled-fabric shopping bags, which they had sewn at home during the past month - I’m hopeless at keeping count, but there must have been about 25 to 30 bags. Another 10 to 15 were completed at the final Workshop.
Lidija, who is a member of Redhead Sustainable Neighbour Group, took a number of finished bags, along with copies of printed “how to sew bags patterns”, which she will sell and give away at the Redhead SNG stall at the Redhead SLSC Xmas Fundraising Markets on 12th December. Lidija was impressed with our Boomerang Bags efforts at the CASNG Car Boot Sale, and wants to repeat that at Redhead.
Anna from The Canopy, who has very ably looked after the sewing side of things, continues to find important uses for the bags that are made - with many being used to distribute food parcels to needy families - previously, donations would most likely have been handed out in plastic bags.
CASNG and The Canopy have made important contributions to cutting the use of plastic in Lake Mac.
Feedback from participants was overwhelmingly positive, with everyone rating the Workshops, 5 out of 5. They loved getting together with like minded people - “wonderful camaraderie”; “learning from others”; Doing something positive to help the environment & the community”; "sharing ideas”; “very sociable”; “great morning tea/lunch”; “positive atmosphere”; “companionship” - are a selection of some of the comments.
Where they found out about the Workshops is an interesting result – 50% from the Eco Advocate; 40% from the Newcastle Weekly; 10% from the CASNG Newsletter.
The only negative note - “don’t schedule Christmas events on the same day” - was something CASNG certainly hadn’t originally planned, and can easily be avoided next year. Kiani, and her mother Kim, are an inspiration though - after attending the Beeswax Wrap Making Workshop in Cardiff South earlier in the day, Kiani & Kim dropped over to Cardiff North to leave the 5 shopping bags Kiani had sewn at home over the past couple of weeks.
All of the attendees were very keen to continue attending Monthly Workshops in 2019, and consequently, CASNG and The Canopy will hold Monthly Workshops on the last Sunday of each month, January to November, in 2019.
Anna from The Canopy has done a fabulous job bringing supplies of fabric and thread to the workshops, getting fabric cut to shape, and in distributing the completed bags - I wouldn’t have been able to run the Workshops without her help – many thanks to Anna.
But in particular, a big thank you to the 22 community volunteers who contributed their time and talent, to help make Lake Macquarie plastic bag free.
REPORTS OF THE JUNE, JULY, AUGUST & SEPTEMBER WORKSHOPS
This year’s Boomerang Bags Sewing Workshops have been fortunate to attract only the best of volunteers.
They have been resourceful, love talking to people, love sharing ideas, want to have fun no matter what, don’t see obstacles but enjoy new ways of doing things, and can sew a straight seam whilst discussing new refinements to a shopping bag design.
Although mostly complete strangers, they worked as a team, they co-operated, they shared ideas, they asked for help, they offered help, they repaired sewing machines, and seemed to love every minute of helping out.
We have a solid core of participants who arrive each month, others who can't make a particular month, but will be back - and others who continue to do a power of sewing at home.
Over 200 shopping bags have been made by Lake Macquarie Boomerang Bags since its inception in 2017.
Those 200 bags are now being used somewhere in the Lake Mac Community - that's 200 plastic bags NOT being used, EVERY TIME someone takes those shopping bags out shopping - a mighty effort.
AND EVERY MONTH, TWO OR THREE NEW VOLUNTEERS ARRIVE, TO HELP OUT.
CASNG and The Canopy would like to sincerely express their appreciation to all of the participants for their hard work on each day, and for their continued efforts to make more bags – they are an inspiring group of people.
CASNG and The Canopy would like to sincerely express their appreciation to all of the participants for their hard work on each day, and for their continued efforts to make more bags – they are an inspiring group of people.
On each day about 20 bags were completely finished, with about the same number again cut out from fabric, ready for sewing. Many of the participants were so keen – or should that be – sew keen – that they took patterns or pieces of fabric home to start sewing more bags, and just as many bags are made at home as at each Workshop.
Eventually, any shopping bags produced will be made available to the community to use.
If you would like to help keep the flow of more reusable, fabric shopping bags happening, just click HERE and let us know if you would like patterns or fabric to get you started at home.
If you would like to help keep the flow of more reusable, fabric shopping bags happening, just click HERE and let us know if you would like patterns or fabric to get you started at home.
