Inspired ideas for groupwork?

[ComeOnJemima]

(I'm posting this in chat and arts and crafts for greater traffic.)

Cards on the table; I have been asked to co-facillitate some groupwork and I am completely lacking in creative thinking. Can I steal yours please?

I'm a student social worker on placement with a domestic violence charity and the group are women - maybe 15 ish? - who meet for a couple of hours a fortnight. I've not met them yet, so of course we will be asking them what they want from their group, but I just wondered if anyone could suggest any activities that work well in a group?

I think they've done some cooking in the past, but I'm not sure how you do cooking in a larger group if you've not got loads of cookers . I know they've done some crafty stuff too which I believe was a success - I think glass painting was mentioned.

The charity I'm working for will probably organise some more boring serious stuff like speakers on health, personal safety etc.

I wondered about quilting as it's traditionally a group activity. But do you need to be really good at sewing? I can do basic sewing, but I want to be careful not to alienate anyone.

I also wondered about doing a book club type thing or even some kind of creative writing as I've heard that poetry is popular amongst some of the women.

Can anyone suggest anything else, or spot any pitfalls that I've not noticed?

TIA

...

i have found felting to bevery theraputic lately. all that stabbing with babed needles and then creating a lovely flower or other item to wear.

beading?

knitting?

embroidery if you can get the stuff is also very nice when wanting to unwind.

Thanks moocow, what's felting?

How about making a patchwork wall hanging. Each person gets a square of fabric to decorate however they like (dye, applique, stitch, decorate with fabric paint etc). You then sew all the pieces together for one large wall hanging.
You can make your own or baker ross have a tie together (no I don't work for them)

kit.www.bakerross.co.uk/product-Design-a-Patchwork-Wall-Hanging-EV141.htm

I'm going to try it with the children at my art club. First we will dye the fabric squares and then decorate each piece individually. I will probably stitch them together for a more permanent result.

We've tied dyed before (t-shirts) and I would recommend getting a kit that comes with bottles rather than dipping. I got ours here (available other places too) and they were brilliant, I simply topped up the bottles with dylon cold water dye when they were empty.

www.fredaldous.co.uk/shop-online/tie-dye-kits.htm

Thanks gilly, I do like the idea of us producing something together. I'll check out the links.