The ladies come for much more than just Eileen’s expert dressmaking skills, swapping everything from fresh produce and books to life advice.
“We’ve laughed together and cried together; we were even bridesmaids together when Eileen got married in 2021,” says Lyn.
“Three of us have birthdays in February, March and May and we’re all the same year – next year we’ll need to have three 80th birthday parties!”
Their friendship and collective love of sewing has helped them through some challenging times too, including grief, loss and sickness.
“When Joylene had a kidney transplant 14 years ago, we all had a go at making her a beautiful nightie,” says Lyn.
“And I’m still wearing it,” adds Joylene. “It got me through a very, very trying time.”
Their matriarch Eileen, fondly referred to as the “Queen”, instigated the sewing group after training and working professionally as a seamstress.
Her love of sewing, stitching and handicraft was evident at an early age.
“You see I always liked sewing – my first sewing teacher at Angaston Primary School was Mabel Green,” says Eileen.
“She used to let me do things by myself, and I would knit in the schoolyard for girls who had little dolls – I’d make them clothes.”
Eileen learned much from accomplished sewing teacher, the late Rosina Hage, and went on to work as a dressmaker for the late Barbie Harris, an Australian designer known for her unique paintwork on silks, who made her mark in Melbourne’s fashion scene.
“Barbie gave me an awful lot of advice; she was a designer in her own right,” says Eileen.
“Back in the late 70s and early 80s she would sell a three-piece outfit for $1000 – that was a lot of money in those days.”