Today's CWA

Handcraft and Home Industry

The Country Women's Association has a strong tradition in crafts and home management.

Members are very skilled in these activities, exhibiting their work at Agricultural shows and assisting as judges and stewards. CWA members give demonstrations and instruction at community groups and at some schools.

Groups meet regularly, with old and new crafts being taught and learnt. These include most types of embroidery- candlewicking, blackwork, hardanger, drawn thread and cross stitch, along with the age old favourites of crochet and knitting and the new crafts, such as scrapbooking. Continuation of these crafts ensures their future.

Home indistries form a big part of learning and teaching. Jam making and preserves, microwave cooking and all healthy cooking are of interest to members, which ensures the continuity of this knowledge within communities. With today's fast food industry, we are losing some of these skills and our members see them as an important part of our lifestyle to maintain into the future.

Handcraft group members have developed a manual on how to prepare articles for competition, with hints on what the judges look for. This is of assistance to people entering competitions and in keeping judges up to date with new trends. This manual is available through the CWA State Office.

We regularly run Judges schools to teach people the art of judging handcraft and home industries and to enable them to obtain the qualifications to be able to judge. People who have these qualifications are listed in a book available from the State Office.

Craft Workshop