Crafters

Encouraging and supporting local residents to use their crafting and creative skills for local good causes.

A key ambition of Community Crafters is to reduce levels of local isolation and loneliness through community-based crafting activities that enable people across all generations to get creative together, whether at home, in groups or at specially organised events.

The project started during the first COVID-19 lockdown period and two years later it’s still running and getting stronger with each new theme (see below for details of our current theme Winter Wild ‘n’ Woolly).

Check out our Community Crafters Facebook group for more photos from ICA and the wider community.

For more information about Community Crafters and how to get involved, contact Katy Pascoe at the ICA office on 01305 823789 (opening hours – 10am to 2pm, Monday to Friday), message us via Facebook or contact us here.

LATEST PROJECT

OCTOPI AND BUTTERFLIES – 2023

Our amazing Community Crafters are currently creating a range of amazing knitted and crochet items.

A kaleidoscope of butterfly brooches – To be displayed in our window as part of b-side‘s Fringe Festival in September (before being sold off to raise funds for our Helping Hands initiative, which provides support services for our Island’s older and vulnerable residents).

A consortium of Octopi – To be showcased within Portland Marina‘s Plastic Shores display during their Portland Week celebrations 21-27 August (before being ‘gifted’ to the Island’s new babies).

And there’s more – We’ve even got people making hand puppets for a local primary school and a knitted digestive system for a blind student studying towards GCSEs.

Patterns available from the ICA office at the Easton Shopping Centre, via Facebook Messenger or email.

Donations can be dropped into the office or handed to volunteers at the next ‘Spin a Yarn’ social knit and crochet group get togethers at The Kitchen, Portland Marina on Tuesday 29th August. Deadline for all donations is 1st September.

Just look at some of the wonderful creations to date.

PAST PROJECTS

CROWNS FOR THE CORONATION – 2023

We asked the community to create special crowns for Coronation and look what we got.

The winners for the fiercely contested categories were (in descending order, right to left):

  • Under 10s: 1st – Dorothy, 2nd – Vinnie and 3rd – Eirlys
  • 11-17yrs: 1st – Jack and 2nd – Elijah
  • Adult: Tegan.

Thanks to our amazing sponsors:

WINTER WILD ‘N’ WOOLLY – 2022

ICA’s Christmas kicked off in style with the launch of its latest Community Crafters installation – Winter Wild ‘n’ Woolly.

To date, around 40 local residents have created the 800+ items included in the installation – from knitted tree squares and baubles to snowflakes, Santas and stockings. The finished effect is a fun and fabulous, festive display, guaranteed to warm your heart.

It’s a fantastic achievement by all involved – thank you!

If you would like to see the work face-to-face, just pop along to The Easton Shopping Centre next time you’re in the area.

If you’d like to be involved in our next project (which we’re planning will be even bigger and better), just drop your contact details into the office so we can tell you all about it.

SUMMER WILD ‘N’ WOOLLY – 2022

ICA’s summer project, created from hundreds of hand crafted plants and animals, aims to highlight nature’s beauty and encourage more people to care for and protect their local environment and biodiversity.

A of total 58 people contributed to the creation, the oldest being Joan Westman, aged 95yrs, and youngest Ruby Hope, aged just 8yrs.

Wild ‘n’ Woolly is also supporting a range of other local and international events, including:

Here are just a few shots of the beautiful flora and fauna created.

Wild ‘n’ Woolly @ Atlantic Academy – September 2022

SHOW US YOUR BAUBLES – CHRISTMAS 2021

100’s of Christmas Baubles created and hidden across Portland for others to find, including 10 very special baubles for which there was a prize.

Massive thanks to everyone that made and hid a bauble – you really helped a create a little bit of Christmas magic.

DECORATE YOUR DOORSTEPS – SUMMER 2021

Celebrating the easing of COVID-19 restrictions.

Project Manager Katy Pascoe explains, “We wanted to showcase our Island’s fantastic community spirit by covering Portland in colour in the lead up to the end of social contact restrictions. It was a time for celebration and gratitude, so we were looking for people to decorate their doorsteps with bunting, garlands and wreaths, or with anything else they fancied. The important thing was to come together and have a go!

 “We also asked residents to donate their creations to ICA, so we could offer them to local organisations and communal spaces after the project was finished. Now we have a fantastic community resource that can be loaned out to help brighten up local events and celebrations.”

EASTER EGGSTRAVAGANZA – EASTER 2021

ICA’s Knit A Chick project in March 2021 saw every child attending nursery, pre-school or reception class on Portland presented with a knitted or crotchet toy and chocolate egg Easter surprise. 

The gifts were given by the community as a thank you for the children’s hard work during lockdown, which helped keep the Island’s most vulnerable residents safe. 

In total 358 gifts were delivered, plus five Easter Bonnet prizes for Key Stage 1 classes at Atlantic Academy.  

ICA Project Manager, Katy Pascoe, said, “We were blown away by the response to the project. Yet again Portland has shown true community spirit, with residents coming together to share their time and skills to brighten up someone else’s day.

“What we particularly loved about this project was not only its ability to bring different generations together, but also the fact that it helped reduce levels of loneliness and boredom for many of those who participated. In fact our oldest knitter was 94.”

Jayne Cox, who kick-started the idea added, “I’ve been a member of a few knitting and crochet groups for a couple of years now and after falling ill last July I found knitting really helped strengthen my hands again. I also know, as an active member of the community, that helping others is a great incentive to get up, get moving and keep yourself active. I guess it felt like a natural progression to see if there was a way I could use knitting to help others on Portland.  I knew it was something the older generation enjoyed, but they haven’t always got family to knit for. So, I chatted to ICA about my idea and the project was created.” 

  • “We’d like to say a massive thank you to all the people who took part in this project. The children loved their chicks, it was a really lovely way to recognise their contribution to keeping people safe and valuing their place in our community.” Julie McNally, Haylands Pre- School Manager
  • “My two year old daughter Poppy was so excited to come home from pre-school and show us her chick.  Under 5’s have missed out on so much during a vital time for their social development, so it was lovely to know that older people locally recognise their part in keeping people safe.  She wants to play with it at the moment, but one day it’ll go into her memory box so she can show her own grandchildren what she was given during the coronavirus pandemic.”  Vicky Hope
  • Poppy clearly enjoyed her treat!
  • “Savannah was absolutely thrilled with her little chick. It was such a lovely thing to do for the children.” Francesca Selby
  • “I love to crochet and all crafts so was excited to find a local project that I can get involved in. I look forward to getting the whole family involved in the next one!” Volunteer knitter – Teagan Powell
  • “We all need to feel part of something, useful and connected but I’ve also enjoyed the distraction from other things. It gave some focus to the endless evenings in front of the tele!” Volunteer knitter – Pauline Carlyle