May was a busy month with a total of five sewing bees and many hours of volunteer time. At the end of the month we had over 300 bags completed and lots out in the community being sewn.

There are also volunteers cutting and printing pockets at home and doing lots of other jobs to bring this project to launch. At this stage that looks like some time in July - which is ideal as that's Plastic Bag Free July.

We love that we have all ages involved. From the young pre-schoolers and school kids printing and sewing at home, or cutting and tearing fabric and sorting kits at our sewing bees. To the older volunteers at BUPA and RM Begg who have years of experience. Many of these could almost make the bags with their eyes closed. Their skill and dedication to helping the community is awe-inspiring.

If you'd like more background on the Boomerang Bag initiative in Australia and worldwide, check out their website or you can find lots of links on Facebook.

The bags are made from donated fabric and upcycled clothing and linen. Donations of fabric and linen are already coming in, and we've also received a number of sewing machines, overlockers and irons. If you know someone who could help us service these machines, we'd love some help with this.

For our sewing bees, come for the whole session or just a while. Sewing machines, scissors, etc. are available or bring your own. No sewing experience is needed and there are lots of fun jobs including cutting fabric, ironing, pinning and screen printing. Kids are welcome.

Regular sewing bees are hosted by BUPA and RM Begg and monthly weekend sessions are also available.

Upcoming sewing bees:
Thursday 15^th June – 10 to 12 noon – RM Begg (every third Thursday of the month)
Sunday 18^th June – 1 to 4 pm – KCLC (every 3rd Sunday)
Wednesday 28^th June – 10 am to 3 pm – KCLC (every last Wednesday)
Thursday 13^th July – 1 to 3 pm – BUPA (every second Thursday)

If these days don’t suit please contact the group as sewing bees will be scheduled to suit everyone and further partnerships with schools and other community groups will be welcome.

If you would prefer to help behind the scenes our next steering group meeting is at KCLC on Wednesday 14th June at 7 pm. This group has a number of roles: encouraging others - liaising with local schools, community groups, shops and businesses - organising fabric donations - promoting this initiative.

For more information find us on Facebook, email Kynetonboomerangbags@gmail.com or call KCLC on 5422 3433.

Do you have any Egyptian walking onions in your garden? Would you like some? If you said "no" or "I don't know" you're missing a special treat and there are free walking onions at the market this month. Walking onions are not only delicious (all three parts of the plant are edible) but also they plant themselves for the next season. This happens as they form a head at the top which weighs the plant down. So it's the easiest way to have onions in your home garden. Pop into the produce swap stall and find out more about them and take some home to plant.

Even as we head into our wintry weather we expect to see some good swaps at the market. Come along and see what others have and enjoy a chat about gardening or other sustainable issues.

Riddells Creek Seed Savers group joined us at the last market and had some great conversations and provided lots of local seeds to local gardeners. They are now taking a break over winter, and will probably join us again from September depending on their seed stock. They gained a lot of new supporters who appreciate locally adapted seeds and also spread the word about the importance of preserving biodiversity through saving traditional varieties of food plants. If you would like more information on saving your own seeds or contributing to this local seed saving group you can contact them by email riddellscreekseedsavers@gmail.com.

To get involved in the produce swap bring your produce along on the second Saturday of the month to the Kyneton Farmers’ Market or just drop in for a chat about what's going on around Kyneton and especially in our gardens. Don't forget we're happy to swap fruit, vegies, herbs, preserves, eggs, seedlings and even egg cartons.

8 August  – The Islands and the Whales (2016)
12 September  – Forks Over Knives (2011)
10 October  – Daughter of the Lake (2015)
14 November  – Gasland II (2014)
12 December  – Shorts from Environmental Film Festival Australia