COLOURFUL and creative tea cozies are helping the Exeter branch of the Country Women's Association (CWA) to raise money for women with breast cancer and to revive domestic crafts.
The 22 members of the Exeter CWA branch launched the Crazy Cozy Competition earlier this year - along with the first CWA blog in Australia - to raise money to help rural and regional women suffering from breast cancer.
“Everybody knows someone close to them who has had breast cancer,” said project convenor Kaye Healey.
“We wanted to do something to help women who felt isolated and alone and were a long way from city medical facilities.”
Entries to the Crazy Cozy Competition are coming in from overseas as well as other parts of Australia.
“The project has struck a chord in women’s hearts,” Kaye said.
“Each month, I hold a ‘knit-in’ at my farm in Exeter and women drive up to 100km each way just to come and spend the day with other women making cozies for our project.
“We are making the cozies to sell while we wait for the competition entries to come in,” said Kaye.
“Cozies can be knitted, felted, crocheted, embroidered, patch-worked or sewn - whatever medium inspires the imagination. It’s not about making a ‘perfect’ cozy. It’s about having fun while helping other women.
“It’s about letting your imagination take over, rather than your ‘inner critic’, and creating something that might be zany, whimsical, funny, beautiful - or completely off the wall!”
The competition will culminate with the exhibition, judging and sale of all cozies on Saturday, October 10, at the Exeter Village Hall.
Wild Tea Cosies author Loani Prior will travel from Noosa to part of the judging panel.
“These are not ‘Nana Cozies’,” Kaye said. “It’s about time cozies had a renaissance and were given a new image. We want to see them elevated and appreciated as works of domestic art and craft,” Kaye said.
“The first ‘crazy cozy’ was sold to a couple from Berlin for $50.”
Apart from raising awareness and funds to help women in isolated areas of Australia with breast cancer, the project also has an educational and cultural component that the Exeter CWA women had not anticipated.
Goulburn Regional Art Gallery will take the cozies being made by the Exeter CWA women on tour to primary schools in the Southern Tablelands and Southern Highlands from July to September and some of the women have been asked to accompany the Gallery’s project officer to each school exhibition to teach the children how to knit and crochet.
The Exeter CWA members are planning on making “knitting kits” to give to each class when they visit.
“Knitting and crocheting are in danger of becoming lost domestic arts and crafts,” said Kaye
“We are hoping that by going to the schools and taking simple patterns, needles and wool, that we will inspire a new generation of boys and girls to put aside their electronic ‘gizmos’ for a while and take up knitting and crochet - which is very relaxing.
“It calms the mind and aids concentration - something that all young children need in their development.”
Entry forms can be downloaded on the blog crazycozies.blogspot.com.
Phone Kaye Healey 4883 4878 for further information.
Entries close on September 30 and must be accompanied by an entry form and $5 entry fee.
All cozies become the property of the Exeter CWA and will be offered for sale to raise funds.
“Speaking personally, I am hoping the ‘Crazy Cozies’ idea will spread far and wide and that other CWAs throughout Australia will take it up in their area,” Kaye said.
“I’d be very happy to help them get started, if that was what they wanted.”
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