Unit News
This is a new sub-page (commenced Spring 2021) for the website. It is hoped that news of unit activities, some discovered via Facebook, will appear here.
During the COVID 19 lockdowns some units on the Island have been enjoying virtual meetings and the Rainbows, Brownies and Guides have been taking part in various activities including discussions, craft work, singing and cooking. Lots of badges have been gained.
MAKING A CRAFTY CAMP FIRE: (pictured above)
One leader (Kerry) who enjoys craft work decided to design and make a Camp Fire. Here is her story:
I had wanted to make some sort of Camp Fire for some time, I thought it would be great for our meetings when we are in the hall where we have our regular Guide meetings. It could also be used for the times when we are outside and a real fire is just not possible, such as when it’s not safe to light a fire.
Campfires are such a big part of Girlguiding, so I thought it would be good to at least have something to represent a fire when we are sat together in a circle. It’s so nice to have a fire in the middle.
Firstly, I thought about different ways to make something- wood, paper and cardboard. Then at a World Thinking Day event another leader had a beautiful fire she had purchased. I thought I would buy one like hers but then I had the idea to try to make it myself. This is where the fun really began!
After looking for patterns I could not find any, so I created my own pattern- this took me a while. I decided on the materials to use- fleece and felt. The Flames needed something to bring them alight. I used a gold sparkly thread to do a zigzag stich, giving them a bit of sparkle before they were stuffed. The logs were tricky to do. Firstly, I thought real logs would look best and would be easy. It would be finished soon, and we could use it. However, thinking back to the lovely fire I had seen at the Thinking Day event I decided I needed to make my own logs to get it just how I wanted. This meant I needed to make another pattern. I found some fleece the colour I wanted and spent some time debating if I should make the logs black as though they were on fire. Black logs did not look right, so my fire has that ‘just lit’ look.
After trying to sew the logs on the sewing machine, like the flames, this did not give me the effect I wanted so I started again, this time sewing them by hand. All the grain on the wood was stitched using different shades of green, brown and a little yellow embroidery silk. This did take me a long time. This completed, the logs needed stuffing. Another Guide leader and fellow crafter suggested using rice and this worked well as the weight of the rice makes the logs and therefore the fire stable. I finished the logs off with a circle of felt at each end and used more embroidery threads for the rings.
Overall, the whole fire took me, on and off, about 3 years to design and make and shielding during the Covid 19 lockdowns helped me finish things. I am so looking forward to showing the campfire to the Guides at our first outdoor meeting, I really hope they like it, and we can use it for lots of events in the future.
SOCK MONKEYS COME OUT TO PLAY:
What to do with old, but clean and sometimes odd, socks was the question that needed an answer from East Cowes Brownies. The answer, of course, was to make the socks into bright and fun monkeys.
With a little stitching and changing of the sock format plus some stuffing and button eyes the lively creatures were soon formed and are now the Brownies best friends. Some were even given a banana as a treat.
EASTER TREATS:
With a change from just having a chocolate Easter Egg the Guides at the 1st Carisbrooke Unit completed an activity at their Zoom meeting. All the girls enjoyed working with sugar paste as well as Easter Eggs and made some delightful and cheeky piglets. It’s not only chicks and rabbits that come out at Easter!
