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

Olympic Flame in Wells

Hello hello, what a lovely day its been, perfect for the Olympic Flame making its journey through Wells. Our fabulous shop in Wells was lucky enough to be on the direct route. The skies were mighty blue and the crowds out with there flags all waiting in anticipation, I was surprisingly quite excited and waiting to capture a picture of the torch bearer.....

...doh, I got too excited and snapped too early!! I got the guys just before the torch bearer, disappointment! Note to self....practise my photography skills and trust anyone other than myself to take important pictures!!

Oh well, to cheer up myself I took some pics of our lovely Jubilee window display and of the lovely new fabrics we had in. Yes you heard correct - new fabrics! Going on the Jubilee theme with more red and blue but in a very subtle way. Just have a look.

Bye for now,
Angela (hanging my head in shame!)

Make and Cake Evening 26th April

I still have Tuesday's where I pinch myself; I can't quite believe I'm part of  the Team  for my favourite shop.  It get's even  better this month as I'll be spending an evening at Millie Moon with my friend Tamsin of Tea 'n Cake, running our first make and cake evening.  I'll get to combine two of my favourite pleasures; sewing and food!
The "make" will be different each time we run these evenings, our first is  a Vintage Style Tea Cosy as we felt it teamed the two enterprises together nicely and it felt a particularly British item; relevant for St. Georges week and the whole 2012 vibe.

I'll be providing a choice of  fabrics, in kit form, so you'll have the instructions to go forth and multiply Tea Cosy's once you've made your first with us!  The kits themselves would make great gifts I think. Please visit Tamsin's blog where she describes the format of the evening:  http://www.teancake.co.uk/index.php/events/

  Phone Millie Moon or pop in to book a place, I look forward to seeing you there!
By Vickie the Fromemaid

Jo Lucksted - local Ceramicist

The lovely Jo has been doing ceramic button workshops at Millie Moon for about two years. Every workshop books up very quickly and people love making the unique and individual buttons. We also sell her beautiful buttons in both shops, the Alphabet buttons always popular. All the ceramic buttons are washable and look great on those hand knitted cardigans, cushion covers or decorating a bag. The most recent addition are the buttons created for the Royal Jubilee. Hand painted Union Jack flags and crowns, a beautiful and unusual souvenir. 

In

Workshops

In her button making workshops Jo shows you a range of techniques which you can mix and match to make your own buttons or decorations. No previous experience is required, just bring an apron and any textured items such as lace, jewellery or leaves to impress into the clay to produce something totally unique and personal. 

    Course costs cover all equipment and firing charges.

The images below are from a recent Ceramic button workshop held in our Wells shop. The group made a fantastic range of buttons! 

 Here is a selection of their work

For Spring 2012, Jo is bringing a new workshop to Millie Moon. On Saturday 5th May Jo is going to run a ceramic jewellery workshop, giving people a chance to create beautiful ceramic jewellery for themselves or as gifts. Here are some samples of the Jewellery. Places are very limited on this workshop so book quick. 

    Jo has her own studio/shop on Town Street, Shepton Mallet.

From here she produces amongst other pieces, figurative ceramic sculptures reflecting themes of religious and mythological influences.  She has also recently ventured into working with textiles, producing wall hangings and cushions that tap into current interior design trends.

"Growing up in Somerset has provided me with a wealth of inspiration-my main body of work (that is to say the figures of angels, kings and queens) was directly influenced by the sculptures in Wells Cathedral.

Even as a teenager going to school in Wells I appreciated the history in my environment and often visited the Cathedral where I could handle the carvings and stonemasonry.

I also grew up in the village of Doulting where as a child I used the church and graveyard, woods and St. Aldhelm's holy well as part of my playground so on reflection it's no surprise that my work contains religious and nature inspired themes." 

Jo currently has work exhibited at: 

Latitude50 - St.Ives, Ginger Fig Gallery - Taunton, Rostra and Rooksmoor Gallery - Bath, Gallery on the Wey - Upwey, Blue Moon Gallery - Tunbridge Wells, Pelham House Gallery - Cowes, The Guild - Somerton, Serena Hall - Southwold,Cambridge Contemporary Arts - Cambridge, Heart Gallery - Hebden Bridge

Jo is a member of Somerset Guild of Craftsmen

Source www.jolucksted.com

 Jo also sells her ceramics in on etsy and folksy http://folksy.com/shops/joluckstedceramics/   http://www.etsy.com/shop/jolucksted