The Hellfire Harlots First Stitch and Bitch

Usually whenever I see the girls and guys from the Hellfire Harlots, it’s at training. We are skating, working hard on our skills, and there is not much time for chatter -  though I do try! Even though I see everyone two or three times a week, it feels like we haven’t had chance to talk to one another. It also seems that we are quite a creative bunch of people – we customise our team T-shirts, stick stickers on our helmets and so on. So why not combine the two? A chance to chatter and make stuff!

So, our very first Stitch and Bitch night was organised for Friday 30th July.

Vera Loathing’ was kinda enough to host, and in attendance for the crafty night of fun was Finn Furious, El Vicious and myself. It was a small turn out for our first one, or as I like to call it “an intimate group of people”. It’s hard to pin us all down with skating several nights a week and real life, but we still had a huge amount of fun. Not knowing what to expect for our first Stitch and Bitch, Finn and I brought as much of our crafty stuff as we could. We all have different expertise of what we like to craft, although it seems none of us actually knit – the term ‘Stitch and Bitch’ is often used for. Finn brought all of her fimo modeling clay goodies. Vera had an awesome selection of material, sewing machine and other odds and ends. El brought an amazing assortment of clothing she no longer wanted, and I just filled my kit bag with ribbon, T-shirts, patches, scissors and other things you attack clothes with.

The first hour or so was spent raiding other peoples crafting supplies! It’s always so interesting to see what other people have, and do with things. It really gets you thinking about what you can do as well. However, Finn’s supplies were by far the most interesting – as none of us had really used fimo before. So we settled into seeing what we could make out of the fimo. Finn showed us the basics of how to use things (I don’t want to go into too much detail and give away her secrets!!).  It’s not as easy as it looks, as it can be quite fiddley if you are all fingers and thumbs like myself. But several cups of tea, potato wedges and hours of chatting later – we managed to produce some necklaces, a bracelet and a ring!

It was a really fun night, and was great to hang out with the girls away from the track. Although most of our conversations were Roller Derby orientated….! What can I say; we love the sport!!  As the night was such a success, we will try to hold Stitch and Bitch sessions every month. The 2nd Stitch and Bitch is already planned. It’s not just for the Harlots from the team, the Hounds are welcome to come along too. Even if you aren’t creative in anyway, it is just nice to be able to relax and talk with your team mates – especially If you are new to the team, as it is a great way to get to know everyone. We are all from different walks of life, and we would never have met had it not been for Roller Derby – yet we all get on so well. I really feel like I have made friends for life. So any time we get to spend together is always really enjoyable.

Hope to see you at the next one!