Sewing Sisters

Eliza M Ruby Dress Pattern 

Well we finally had 5 minutes to do a bit of sewing. We both decided to make a dress for our 5th birthday, so we went for the Eliza M Vintage sewing patterns.  Becki chose the Daisy dress and I chose the Ruby dress. 

Eliza M Daisy Dress Pattern

That was the easy part as we have both chosen patterns that flatter our shapes, the hard part was choosing the fabric. 


Becki settled on a Moda print  'Beacon Cove'  with Lobsters. Bright and summery and perfect for this weather we are having at the moment. Using approx 3metres of fabric for the full skirt the dress cost £44.50 (plus pattern) Not bad for a summer frock.

Becki in the lobster Daisy dress 

I decided to go for a simple denim which will be a great staple in the wardrobe all year, but also an inexpensive way to test the pattern out. But, now I've made it successfully, which fabric next?? I added a red polka dot bias to trim the armholes and the neck. In total my dress cost me £12.30! (plus pattern) what a bargain. 

Rachel in the Denim Ruby dress

The patterns were easy to follow and simple to put together. We worked on the separately, and everything was going well until we got to the fitting. Then the text messages started to flow and a conversation on how to alter the shoulders began. It turns out that we both have strange shoulders and short bodies (blame the parents!) so we had to make similar alterations to the patterns. This was nice and simple and the dresses were finished in a day! 

We are both really pleased with them and had so many comments about them that we thought you might like to take a look. Its so nice to be able to say "I made that!" 

love
Rachel x

The Eliza M vintage sewing patterns are available to buy on our website www.milliemoonshop.co.uk £14 each and free postage. 

Its our birthday!

This week we celebrate our  Birthday at Millie Moon.  It has been 4 years since we opened the doors to our little fabric heaven to share with the world. Looking back at early pictures we had very little stock but a lot of enthusiasm and ideas. Although I don't think either of us realised quite how much the business would grow in such a short space of time. After opening in 2008 we started the Sewing school in 2009. In 2010 we moved to bigger premises and in 2011 we opened our 2nd shop in Wells. What will 2012 bring...?

Millie Moon in Frome

Millie Moon Wells

  

We have seen our range of stock grow to include, Moda, Riley Blake, Michael Miller to name but a few and of course kept the original favourites of Kaffe Fassett, Amy Butler, Tilda and Tanya Whelan, beautiful wool felt, pompom trims and rows of ribbons. Jelly rolls, charm packs and Layer cakes fill the shelves with their stunning mix of colours. Waddings, vilenes and a huge selection of basic haberdashery, may not be so pretty, but a real necessity for all crafts.

   The Millie Moon Sewing School has gone from strength to strength. There was a whole generation that didn't sew and struggled to sew on a button. We set up the sewing school not just to cover the basics but to really inspire and create confidence in people's abilities and choices. Workshops in a wide range of crafts, not just sewing.

We also offer 1-1 tuition, birthday parties, baby showers and hen dos.


Also, our lovely little Sewing club on 1st tuesday of every month, brings together a group of ladies with similar interests to share, inspire and chat about their projects. This club has been going for over 3 years. Come along and join in.

Kids are so creative and keen to learn, that kids workshops were soon added to the schedule, as well as birthday parties. We want to inspire our children to have fun with craft and colour.  So that there isn't a generation that misses out again. (All our kids tutors are CRB checked)

All our Tutors and employees are artists in their own right. Between them their creativity covers a wide range of areas from quilting, dressmaking, ceramics to textile artists. They are bloggers, authors, run etsy/ folksy shops, have studio spaces, websites and are established businesses in their own right. All with a passion for arts crafts and textiles. All truly inspirational people. We are honoured to support them and other local designers by stocking their work in our shops.

Freemotion machine embroidery with Angela Lai Yen

Teach me to sew with Angela

Ceramic button making with Jo Luckstead

Dressmaking workshops with Anne Baillie-Smith

Patchwork and Quilting with Caroline Frances-Payne

"make me a dress" By Alexandra King

Collage with Gaynor Ringland

 

Millie Moon is our love and our passion. We have worked tirelessly together as business partners and believed in each other as sisters to create a business and a brand we adore and are very proud of.


Juggling our young families (5 children between 2-12 years) keeping house and in the beginning with full time jobs, this has been a true labour of love. Working late nights and weekends we couldn't have done it without the support and love of families and friends. 

We would like to take this opportunity to say a big

" THANK YOU"

 to our families, the team, the tutors, our lovely customers, our followers on twitter, facebook and the blog, thank you for all being so enthusiastic, inspirational and supportive.

Here's to another exciting year ahead... what will it bring? 

Watch this space.............

Big love

Rachel and Becki x

Please take a look at our website for products and workshops. The new season schedule for workshops will be available soon.  www.milliemoonshop.co.uk

An evening with the Frome WI

On May 17th we were invited by the lovely ladies of the newly formed Frome Wi to be their guest speakers. All the team gathered together at the shop on beautiful Catherine hill and wandered up the hill to the United Reformed church hall on Whittox lane, sewing machines at the ready.

With plenty of space to spread out we quickly set up our 3 make tables and 3 demonstration tables. Tonights theme, Jubilee of course.

Two tables were making Jubilee corsages with Angela and myself and the other table were working on paper craft with Gaynor. Some fab pieces were made.

On the demonstration tables we had Vickie (Fromemaid) demonstrating her own jubilee tea cosy kits, 

Caroline was marking the jubilee with a special quilt demonstration 

and Becki was giving away expert tips in making jubilee bunting. 

A really lovely but exhausting evening and the ladies moved around the room, one lady referred to it as 'speed crafting'! Hopefully everyone had a go at the makes and were inspired by the demonstrations.

We have a range of jubilee fabrics, ribbons, buttons and bows in both shops. Fromemaid tea cosy's, Millie Moons Bunting and corsages are available ready made and in kit form. Pop in and be ready for your street party!


Thanks to Frome WI for inviting. We will see you in November for "christmas crafts"


 Photos supplied by Storm @ Frome WI
If you are interested in joining the WI, then please contact Storm via their Facebook page

My First Workshop by Fromemaid

I ran my first workshop at Millie Moon a couple of Tuesdays ago; Summer Doorstops.  I couldn't have wished for a better group of people to work with.  It was so good to spend time with people who enthuse  over the choice of  fabrics Becki and Rachel have in their shop as much as I do!  All the materials necessary  were provided in the price of the workshop, resulting in each of  the four ladies  producing  beautiful doorstops plumped full with long grain rice.  There was a lovely atmosphere and a fair bit of laughter,  I'm really excited about my next workshops.

I'll be running the Millie Moon rolling programme of  workshops on Tuesdays as well as workshops for some of my own Fromemaid designs.  Check out the Sewing School on the Millie Moon website, if you'd like to find out more.

By Fromemaid x

Rachel Ashwell, Shabby Chic fabrics

I am not sure when Rachel Ashwell first appeared on my radar but I have been an avid fan for quite a while. I love to drool over the beautiful furnishings and fabrics and dream of owning a house that is completely furnished with Shabby chic. Unfortunately my house, my kids and my husband would not allow the beautiful girlie pastels so I keep dreaming over the fabulous website and Rachel's inspiring blog.


In January this year I was lucky enough to take a trip to New York City for my birthday. On my list of 'must do' , was to visit the Rachel Ashwell store in Soho, and... yes I did! 
Oh my, it was heaven. Gorgeous plump pillows, eiderdowns, feathers, grown up spaces... 'sigh' (My husband did venture inside but only for a few moments and then left to wait outside). 


When I heard the news that Rachel was launching a fabric range 'Treasures' Shabby chic, I knew we had to have it in Millie Moon. Its such a different range for us, Millie Moon is well know for its bright and bold prints but I twisted Becki's arm that it would be a wonderful new addition.





Well the time has come and the FULL range has arrived in store. With 32 bolts of shabby chic pastels now available in both shops. I feel a quilt coming... Maybe I will finally be able to have my own little grown up space, or at least be able to hide under a shabby chic quilt with my book and a bar of chocolate and shut out the madness for a little while. 


Rachel x 

also new cross stitch and embroidery kits just arrive

Pleas take a look at the website and blog, you won't be disappointed 
www.shabbychic.com
rachelashwellshabbychic.blogspot.com

Introducing... Rachel Le Page

Have you wondered who makes the quilts? Which team member creates wonderful collages? And who loves nothing better than to bake cakes?

Each week we will be interviewing a member of Team Millie Moon, and all of the answers will be revealed!

Rachel will be a familiar face to most Millie Moon customers, as she owns the shop jointly with her sister, Becki. We caught up with Rachel in the Frome shop, and asked her about her sewing habits...

Rachel loves to bake... and quilt!

1) How did you learn to sew?
I had needlework lessons at school when I was growing up. They weren't very inspiring, and the projects were mostly pretty horrid. But it must have sparked something in me, as I started to make things at home. I borrowed my Mum's sewing machine, and made clothes. I remember, I must have been about 14, and I used to lay dresses onto fabric and cut out pieces. I didn't know what I was doing, but I enjoyed it.

I then had a break for quite a few years before picking up my sewing needle again, about 8 years ago, when I had my first child.

2) What sorts of things do you like to make?
Cakes! I adore baking... Oh, sorry, did you mean sewing?


I mostly make quilts. I love combining fabric for specific projects - making gifts for friends and family. I rarely sew for myself, and I lack the precision needed for dressmaking!

3) What gadget could you not live without having?

Rachel made this quilt for her niece

Undoubtably my rotary cutter. It's brilliant for cutting pieces for patchwork. It gives me precision. I love it!

4) Who inspires you to create?
At the moment I'm having a hard time holding myself back from the new Aneela Hoey Little Apples layer cakes. They are absolutely gorgeous! I think they would make a wonderful quilt for a child or an adult. I'm also a big fan of anything Scandinavian. I adore the Tilda fabric range - such simple beauty.

Rachel also looks after the Millie Moon Twitter account (@MillieMoonShop), so do say hello and share pictures of what you've been making either on our Facebook group, or on Twitter.

Welcome to Wells!

I can't begin to explain how excited we are to be the proud owners of a new shop in Wells!

You will find the new show at 14A Broad Street, Wells, Somerset, BA5 2DN, and we are stocking lots of beautiful fabrics and haberdashery supplies.

We have a great range of jelly rolls, charm packs and other quilting supplies, as well as a selection of fabulous pattern and crafting books. If you are in the area, please do stop by and say hello to us!

We will be dividing our time between Frome and Wells, and we are delighted to have Anne, Angela, Gaynor and Vicky working across the two shops. Over the next few weeks we will be sharing some more information about the expertise of our team, so if you have a question you would like to put to one of us, then please do leave a comment. Hope to see you soon!