We are a loose-knit (joke!) group of knitters in Seekirchen, Austria, who are combining our hobby with improving our English.

My friend Erni and myself began to meet regularly to practise our English, drink tea and work on our latest knitting project.

Finding it an excellent pastime, I issued an open invitation to friends and the town in general using an advert for a similar group that I had come across in a wool shop in London (see below).

Nowadays, between four and nine ladies meet about once a month in Erni’s living room or in her wonderful garden. We may discuss the weather, the news or an article that I emailed to everyone in advance. Sometimes I bring texts that I read out aloud.

We even try to explain knitting techniques to each other in English, which is a veritable challenge as not even the internet offers all the necessary technical terms. Words that seem unfamiliar are noted down and the list is later distributed by email.

Apart from jumpers, socks and jackets, we craft bookmarks (one of which you can see above) and scarves that may be undone and redone many times.  I have learned a lot of new techniques from the other ladies – so the meetings not just improve our English but our crafting.

Sometimes, however, we focus on English recipes. Last Christmas we had a go at baking mince pies, which turned out very tasty. The year before it was an original Christmas cake, which Erni kept feeding with Armagnac until we devoured it in early January.

Our next meeting is on 6 September – come and join us!