Christmas Meeting - Jacob's - Join December 5th 2023

 Members arrived for the December Meeting laden down with food for the Jacob's Join, a present for Secret Santa and a finished Kawandi for the competition.

The committee had set up tables ready to accept the various offerings and we were pointed in the right direction to deposit our items.

We started the meeting with Anita leading a workshop on making books - first by folding, then by folding and stitching.

We began by folding a piece of A4 into 8 and then cutting 3/4 of the central fold and then folding it back on itself to make a concertina book.

The next piece of A4 was also folded into 8 and this time the cut was made across the central fold along 4/8 of the paper. The fold was then pushed together and the book refolded.

The 3rd book was made by folding several pieces of A4 and fitting them inside each other. The fold was opened and 5 equally spaced holes were made and the spine was stitched until there were no gaps.

The final book was to have Japanese binding. The A4 pages were folded in half and tucked inside of each other. A mark was made about 2cm from the fold and 4 equally spaced holes were made. The book was then stitched by taking the thread over the spine until all gaps were filled.

The books were generally made with plain paper but Anita showed us samples of beautifully made and decorated books with painted papers and fabric made by just altering the basic books. The stitching could also be done with fancy thread and beads could be added.

Thank you Anita for a fun workshop, supplying us with paper, instructing us and suggesting ideas for us,  once we had mastered the books.

After making books we cast out eyes over the Kawandi and then voted for the one we liked the most by placing a button underneath. It was a difficult job as they were all so beautiful and varied in appearance.

After the voting it was time to set up the food and what a wonderful array it was with something for everyone. A big thank you to members for sharing their food with the group - it was delicious!

After we had eaten and chatted a bit it was time to choose a Secret Santa present.

Each member chose a present and everyone went home with a token Christmas present.

The members were thanked for their offerings of food, Secret Santa present and their Kawandi. Anita was thanked for her book workshop.

At the end of the afternoon it was time to wish everyone a Happy Christmas and a peaceful New Year.