Bug-A-Lugs day care was visited by the Kyneton Hand Weavers and Spinners last Thursday in a rare occasion that united young and old. The crochet specialists, of whom the eldest was 70, shared their skills with children as young as four for an afternoon designed to test one’s resilience.
Business owner Jules Clapham said 40 kids had joined the centre since the beginning of the year and emphasised the importance of swiftly integrating the newcomers.
“They need to feel they can come to you with their problems and belong,” she said. To resolve this, she created a summer program full of activities to engage the fresh faces, and the handweavers did just that.
Seven-year-old Jonah was having his first day at the centre and wasn’t shy about getting involved.
“I’m hoping to do ‘knitting’ when I get home,” he said.
The visitors were quick to note the difference between knitting and crocheting, namely that the latter is done by stitching knots together and each one must be completed before starting the next.
This labour of love means resilience is required and the handweavers were not short of stories about their multi-day projects that had one small and frustrating mistake.
Despite this, the artform doesn’t have an age barrier to enter.
“People say crochet is a dying art, which is rubbish because it’s not. But if we don’t engage these young kids, they’re never going to do it, and it’s such a mindful thing to do,” one commented.
The handweavers were not foreign to the day care centre as veteran Gai Stewart crochets 130 Anzac poppies for the kids every year, spending half an hour on each flower to pass down a piece of Australian history to the next generation. She repeats this process around Christmas and makes festive ornaments for each child to take home.
Stewart has been practising her art since 1990.
“If you keep doing it, your brain gets better and you can function for longer throughout time and your lifespan on Earth,” she said.
“It keeps me out of mischief and keeps me off the streets.”
Veteran handweaver Gai Stewart shows off her skills. 
Gai’s festive ornaments and Anzac poppies.
