Victoria is busy every day of the week since she moved to Oaklands Park. ‘I go to the weavery Monday, Tuesday and Friday,’ she says. ‘Wednesday it’s arts and crafts, and Thursday it’s basketry.’
Discovering new talents
‘I’d never done much weaving before I came here but I really enjoy it,’ says Victoria. Because she has a visual impairment, staff have gone the extra mile to support her new interest. ‘We experimented with different tabletop colours to provide better visual differentiation for the threads,’ says Victoria’s support worker. ‘But we soon realised that with her narrow visual field, Victoria would find a more compact loom easier – so we ordered one!’
This combination of the right support and a lot of hard work on Victoria’s part is paying off. Her first project was a unique piece of weaving:
‘I’ve just made a cushion cover inspired by the Titanic,’ says Victoria. ‘I think the story of the Titanic is really interesting.’ Using two paintings of the Titanic at night as an inspiration for the cushion’s colours, Victoria chose a midnight blue yarn and contrasted it with yellows and golds.
The completed cushion now has pride of place in Victoria’s flat. ‘I think it looks nice,’ she tells us. ‘I’m really pleased with it.’
Victoria’s Titanic-inspired cushion
