Leith SWI

The ladies of Leith SWI had an interesting and entertaining talk last night. Our guest speaker, Lesley, brought along her circular sock machine. It all looked very complicated however Lesley talked us through all the bits and pieces. She also told us the history of the machines and how she became interested after seeing a quick demonstration of one on Countryfile. We saw a sock being knitted and even a heel being turned - all very impressive. Lesley then gave us all a go on the machine, how very brave of her but we didn't break anything. A brilliant night was had by all.

We were being very environmentally conscious at our meeting last night - we were making Beeswax food wraps. Allison had kits with the Beeswax pellet and material all ready for us. She also gave us tips on how to save money by either buying cotton items at a charity shop or using cotton clothing that might have been thrown out, she did emphasise that the material must be clean or washed before use! We set to work with our irons by melting the wax pellets and letting them dry and then they were all ready to go. Good work everyone and thank you to Allison for leading the session.

***Please note that there has been a change to the talk on the 28th July. This will now be a talk and demo of circular sock making***

Leith SWI went for a very local visit to the Hindu Mandir and Cultural Centre, it's a 2 minute walk from our usual meeting place and I'm sure many of us didn't know it existed. We were met by 2 of the committee members who told us all about the history of the building, it was a bank and fell into ruin until the Hindu community came together in the 1980s and made the building into the beautiful place that it is now. There are sculptured images of deities which are beautiful and we were told about the stories behind each deity. We were given such a warm welcome by everyone we met and all of us throughly enjoyed the visit.

Last night the ladies from Leith took their lives in their hands as we attempted Needle Felting. We all had kits to make up and were helped by Dalbir and Jane as we stabbed the wool into submission. Every kit should come with a free packet of plasters as there were a few 'ouchy' moments, the minute your concentration slipped so did the needle (straight into fingers!). It was a fun night as you can see with all the smiley faces at the end.

What else would the ladies from Leith SWI be doing on a Tuesday night but playing (or trying to play) Petanque at the Inverleith Petanque club. It was a glorious night, sunny and warm and filled with laughter. Armed with our boules we endeavoured to get closest to the jack - yes the jack was that small! We had 3 lovely members of the Petanque club helping us understand the rules and to help some of us out with our throwing aims. It was really a fabulous night and I think a few of us found out that they were really good at it. If anyone fancies a go, contact https://inverleithpetanque.co.uk/

We had a fascinating talk from Susie Finlayson about the Waverley station embroidery panels. Susie also gave us a bit of background as to how this came about. She brought the panel in and we all got to sew a few stitches each. It was all very exciting to think that Leith SWIs work will be on display in the future. The design is of the lovely glass ceiling in Waverley station along with the Flying Scotsman. If you've never looked up when you're in the station, and really who does while rushing for a train, next time have a quick look.

Leith SWI scooted their boots off at the Line Dancing session last night. Sandra from Dixie Saltires took her life in her hands as she ran the session. It was chaotic fun and everyone picked up the steps although maybe not in the right place at the right time 😁. We all felt we had a good work out and scooted home tired but happy.

Just a few photos from the Midlothian Federation SWI show, I can't believe it was last Saturday. There were so many fabulous and tasty exhibits, well done to everyone.

The lovely ladies from Leith SWI were in full boutonniere making mode. Our artistic talents were in full swing once we had all our instructions from expert Linda from Glasserton SWI. We had such a huge choice of flowers, foliage, ribbons and trims it was difficult to know where to start however we all made some fabulous creations. A brilliant night.