Sheet WI was founded in 1935. We meet at 7.30 on the first Thursday of the month in Sheet Village Hall. Visitors are always welcome at our meetings so if you have moved to the area, would like a new interest or just wonder what belonging to a WI involves, why not come along. A friendly welcome awaits you.
We are part of the Petersfield Villages group of WIs and enjoy meeting up with others for quizzes, skittles matches and interesting speakers.
From March to November there are monthly walks in the lovely countryside around Petersfield followed by a pub lunch. A book group meets most months and a craft group is currently knitting and sewing items to support the work of Southern Domestic Abuse Services, which runs women’s refuges in Hampshire.
We normally have two outings each year but watch out for more informal ‘pop up’ activities in the year ahead.
For more information, just contact sheetsec@hampshirewi.org.uk
| 2018 Programme | ||
| Date | Event | Speaker |
| January 4th | Canada by rail | Terri Robinson |
| February 1st | Queen Elizabeth National Park, Uganda | Joe Williams, QECP Ranger |
| March 1st | History of Hampshire through 10 objects | Tony Cross |
| April 5th | MFPA | Tom Yendell |
| May 3rd | AGM and Birthday Meeting and Resolutions | |
| June 7th | “Women’s Refuge” | Yvonne Carter |
| July 5th | The Kings Theatre | David Allport |
| August | Summer charity lunch | tba |
| September 6th | ” a visit from our twin WI, Bramdean & Hinton” | |
| October 4th | Hidden careers | members of Sheet WI |
| November 1 st | What the butler saw | Bob France |
| December 6th | Christmas Meeting at the Half Moon | |
Latest news:
Sunday 13th May 2018 was a busy day for Sheet WI. Whilst some members were at the WI stall at Petersfield’s Victorian Day, others were in Eastleigh celebrating the Centenary of the Hampshire Federation of Women’s Institutes at WIFEST.
The sun shone, there was a real party atmosphere as the crowds were entertained by bands, choirs and singer Janet Ayres, who had young and old joining in with songs from the past 100 years. And of course no WI event would be complete without tea and cakes.
There were over 70 stalls from WIs across the county and a great deal of fun and laughter as people met old friends and made new ones. Sheet WI ran a very successful tombola with mystery prizes inside pretty tins, 100 tins for the 100 years.
Last year Sheet WI adopted Southern Domestic Abuse Services (SDAS) as our local charity for 2018. We agreed to offer support in three ways: through fundraising; through collecting new and as good as new household linens, adult and children’s clothing, toiletries and kitchenware; and finally through making things as requested. Our first request was to make 46 hot water bottle covers before Christmas. Our members rallied to the cause and a wonderful bright selection of knitted and sewn covers was ready before the cold weather.
At our June meeting we heard Yvonne Carter from SDAS speak about how the service they provide has grown from one women’s refuge to the present day when they are able to offer safety and support across South East Hampshire. She left the meeting laden with bright cushions, numerous bags and aprons, and twenty five freshly baked cakes.
The work of the charity has clearly struck a chord with our members because half way through the year we have so far collected a staggering amount of goods: over 800 individual household or clothing items, 15 large boxes of items such as toiletries, and over 150 things have been made. Those collecting, sewing and knitting have extended far beyond our 45 members to include family, friends, businesses and even an out-of-County WI. Those sorting, packing, sometimes washing and counting donations have been scrupulous about everything looking as good as you would want to receive yourself. So far there have been 5 rendezvous in car parks to pass on the collections and at the end of the year some of us will be glad to get our spare bedrooms back!
Meanwhile we will keep sewing, knitting and collecting for this worthwhile cause.