Chair's Letter - December/January 2026

Welcome to the December/January double issue of our wonderful magazine. Yes it’s that most wonderful time of the year!

Pictured on the front cover are two of our speakers for the Annual Meeting in March. Ciaran Martin, British professor

and former CEO of the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) and currently Professor of Practice in Management

of Public Organisations. Michael Rosenblum a television producer and video journalist (VJ) who built the first

major VJ-driven local TV news operation at NY1.

Tickets are £12 with booking opening on Monday 1 December. I look forward to seeing you there.

I also have an update on the Denman Grant Funding project and am absolutely thrilled that OFWI has been successful in its first application!! This grant will allow us to fund our creative

workshop initiative: ‘Slow Stitching’ weaving together sustainability, skill building, creativity, and social impact. Thanks to the full financial cover from the grant, over the next eighteen months OFWI will be delivering fifteen in-person creative workshops at selected locations

throughout Oxfordshire, starting with two pilot workshops in the New Year, together with another workshop collaborating with one of our charity partners, ‘Reducing the Risk’.

The application process for the Denman Grant was fast-paced and challenging. Fortunately, we had a lot of material and your inputs to work with.

Like all big ventures, there are a lot of people to thank. Thanks to every WI member who answered our questionnaire at this year’s Annual Meeting and at other WI events, and special thanks to Walton Manor and South Oxford WI for the Resolution that became the inspiration for the OFWI Slow Stitching pitch. Huge thanks to Jane Finnerty for honing the words to get us looking sassy and professional, and for getting us over the finishing line. And thanks to Sarah Griffey for writing the draft pitches more than once. To our Trustees and other contributors for their thoughtful suggestions and comments, thank you.

We welcome back to our tutor fold, Carol Norley and Pat Lumsdale, as well as the clever creative members from the Federation, who will variously host the creative dyeing workshops, whizz you through an inspired sewing machines skills refresh, introduce quilt making and deliver hand sewing workshops. This is an opportunity for all of us to repurpose

much loved garments and housewares into something beautiful. I’d like to think that our workshops will foster creativity and connection.

To get your creative juices flowing, OFWI will host a half-day pilot workshop at Tackley next January: ‘Refresh your Sewing Machine Skills’ and a further half-day pilot event in February at the Jericho-based charity, Mercy in Action, where you will learn how to create an appealing window display using pre-loved garments, jewellery and accessories. ‘Refresh Your Sewing Machine Skills’ and ‘Window Dressing’ will be £5 and the ‘Reducing the Risk’ workshop will be free. I will be there!

As this is a new venture for the Federation, we want to make sure we offer the best experience for all our attendees, and we will adjust the workshop content and approach based on the feedback received once the pilot courses have been delivered.

At the March 2026 Annual Meeting, we will unveil the full Denman-funded ‘Slow Stitching’ program. To deliver on our financial inclusivity promise, all future workshops taking place after March will be under the ‘Pay What You Can Afford’ (PWYC) approach and will be £5, £10 or £15.

I feel extremely proud of all those involved in getting us this far and giving us the opportunity to be part of such a wonderful project.

Enjoy the festivities and come back refreshed ready to join in with all the wonderful opportunities your Federation provides for you.

With love and best wishes.

Tracy

Tracy Strain

OFWI Chair

01235 765285

tracy.strain@oxfordshirewi.co.uk