Page 16 - Dainfern Precinct Living Issue 9 2024

ESTATE NEWS
ESTATE MATTERS
HOME FRONT
THE CROCHET Melanie D’Oliviera

CLUB AT DAINFERN

WEAVING MORE THAN BLANKETS, THE
CLUB IS BUILDING A COMMUNITY, ONE

LAUGH AND ONE STITCH AT A TIME

he Crochet Club at Dainfern, Brenda is
founded by Colleen Teklenburg, always open
began as a small post-lockdown to trying Brenda Ford
Teffort to make blankets for those something
in need. Known as the "Crochet Queen," new.
Colleen transformed the club into a
lively community of over 50 members Pam van Wyk
who meet every Friday morning from recalls crocheting with
10:00 to 13:00 at Six33 Restaurant a friend during her school
in the Dainfern Golf Estate. Her vision days, but today, the club's charitable
extended beyond crafting; she aimed focus resonates most. “I love the
to foster connection and give back. “I amazing charity work Colleen has us all
wanted to bring people together while involved in,” she says. “It’s heartwarming
making a real difference,” she explains. to think of the people benefiting from
Today, the club is where friendships our blankets.” For Pam, the club is not
grow, skills are shared, and every stitch just an activity—it’s a way to lift others
carries meaning. For many, the Crochet while sharing her passion with fellow
Club offers more than a hobby. It’s a way crochet enthusiasts.
to connect, create, and contribute. Four
members share how this community has Kalpana Govan hadn’t crocheted in
enriched their lives: decades before joining the club, having
been more focused on knitting in her
Melanie D’Oliviera first learned crochet younger years. “Picking up that hook Kalpana Govan
from her grandmother but admits, again was the best decision I ever
“My stitches had a flair for chaos— made,” she says. “It’s not just about
more knots than actual crochet.” the crochet; it’s the coffee, chats,
Rediscovering crochet years later laughs, and the freedom to be silly.
through YouTube, she embraced It’s a place where I can be myself
different patterns and textures. “I’ve without judgment.” Kalpana enjoys
found beautiful friendships that the spontaneity of creating unusual
blossomed around a shared interest,” patterns, embracing each project as an
Melanie says. “It means so much to open-ended adventure.
know our work is helping someone in
need—a true crochet sisterhood.” These women are weaving more than
blankets—they’re building a community,
For Brenda Ford, joining the club was one laugh and one stitch at a time.
a lifeline after moving to the area as Crochet goes beyond being a craft here;
a widow. “I’ve gained a new group of it’s a connection, comfort, and cause
friends and a sense of belonging,” she that spreads warmth in every sense.
shares. “The group has inspired me to Whether holding hooks like pencils or
step out of my comfort zone, and I’ve knives, what truly matters is the bond
been rewarded with my achievements.” they share and the impact they make,
Though she often uses the block stitch, stitch by stitch. Pam van Wyk
16 DPL issue 9 2024