New Patterns from Anna Vickery

Hello, Anna here again to introduce you to my second instalment of sewing patterns for childrens clothing!

The first 3 patterns seem to have gone down really well - thank you all for your lovely comments and feedback, it’s been fab to see photos of all the dresses you have made on the Millie Moon facebook page, please keep them coming……

I’ve come up with 4 new patterns for the summer,

 I think my favourite is the dungaree dress, it looks like it would be really comfortable to wear and I love a skirt with pockets. 

There is also a rock n roll style dress with a full circle skirt, the pattern for this one looks a bit scary because of the size of the skirt, but it’s well worth it for the way it drapes and falls, perfect for dancing and twirling in. 

The third dress is a summer sundress, based on the pinafore dress shape, but with little tie straps and patch pockets, lets hope we get some nice weather for it.

 And the fourth pattern is, drum roll…., a shirt for little boys! We’ve often said what clothes can we make for boys, and there are some brilliant boys fabrics in Millie Moon at the moment, so here it is - I hope to be able to offer this as a workshop soon too.

As a special thank you to everyone that has purchased patterns, and hopefully to those who will soon i’ve written a little free diy for you to make a net petticoat that would be perfect to go with the new rock n roll dress or party dress from the first batch of patterns (or any other dresses/skirts your little girls have with full skirts, or even to wear on it’s own over leggings!) Enjoy x

Anna's patterns are available in all the shops or online £10 each

www.milliemoonshop.co.uk   FREE POSTAGE!

Hello hello, 

Anna here and I’m very excited to be introducing my new range of Sewing Patterns For Children’s Clothing!

They’ve been a long time coming…..I’ve been working with Millie Moon for over a year now and I’ve often been asked when people see my little dresses in the shops ‘Do you have a pattern for that?’ or during workshops ‘Can I buy a pattern?’ and the answer is now YES!!

My mission was to create an easy to follow, multi sized range that was simple to sew at home and that you can buy all the lovely materials you need to make at Millie Moon. There’s 3 styles to fit ages 1-5 to start with - a very cute Party Dress with a full skirt, a versatile sleeveless Pinafore Dress and an A-line T Shirt Dress with built in sleeves.

They’ve been a challenge to put together, I had to use my, somewhat rusty and self taught, CAD experience and call upon some of my lovely friends for their help - huge thanks to Chris at Wing’s Art and Design Studio and Aran at Latitude Photography for their skills, and everyone at Millie Moon for their        enthusiasm and patience.

I hope you enjoy making the patterns as much as I’ve enjoyed putting them together - all feedback would be much appreciated, I’d love to see photos of your finished dresses and hear your suggestions for the next additions to the range.

Please note…….All my patterns are clearly marked Not For Commercial Use, this means they are for home use only by Mummys, Aunties, Nannys etc making for their friends and family NOT for business or any other monetary gains/sale. As simple as the patterns and instructions look they have taken me a long time to develop and I also design and sell handmade ready to wear dresses. Copyright law exists to protect designers who risk sharing their ideas and I hope people understand and respect this. Thanks x

GIVE AWAY TIME

So, 3 styles, 3 samples, 3 Millie Moon shops, I thought what better excuse for a little introductory giveaway! There’s 1 free pattern up for grabs at each Millie Moon store - simply pop in as soon as possible, have a look at the sample dress and enquire:

 ‘Do you have ANNA's pattern for that?‘ 

to claim the hot off the press 1^st editions…… 

remember - Just one pattern per shop - first come first served

 I’m also aiming to cover making all the little dresses as workshops at Millie Moon, starting with the Pinafore Dress on 9th February in Keynsham and 27^th April in Frome - these workshops include all materials too, bargain.

There is nothing standard about our lamps :)

Workshop with Fromemaid.
Sunday the 8th of September saw my first whole day of lampshade making in our Frome shop.  We used the  individual lampshade kits now stocked by Millie Moon which make the whole activity that more approachable to beginners-not to mention more affordable, if you only want to make one, or a few for personal use.
Eight lovely women attended the  morning and afternoon workshops and as ever, the range of fabrics chosen varied greatly from person to person. So at the end of each workshop there were four very professional , individual lampshades to wear (!)

Or of course, you could make them as gifts or adorn your home with them, which probably makes more sense!

The sheer delight of these is they are so easy to do once you have made your first one.  There is no sewing involved at all, so they are really relatively quick to complete, certainly something you could make one evening after work on your kitchen table.

They are a really affordable way of adding some individuality to your home decor, we worked out to make a  size 30 cm barrel shade using our kit and buying  40cm  of your chosen  fabric would cost just £ 20.60.  

Come along and Join Fromemaid Vickie on the next Lampshade workshop -  Wells on October 20th.  Followed by another in Frome on January 5th. Price £40 including all materials

English Paper Piecing with the Frome WI

This month we were very excited to be asked back by the Frome WI to join them for their 1st Birthday. 

We were with them at the very first meeting when we made Jubilee corsages with the group. We also popped back to see them in November to do a christmas make with them, little felt gingerbread men. 

This time, we decided to teach the group a skill and show them the traditional patchwork method of 
"English Paper Piecing"

We used pre-cut 2.5" paper hexagons and 3" pre-cut fabric squares to create flowers. Each hexagon is sewn by hand, once 7 hexagons have been made, then the group began sewing the hexagons together to create the flowers. 

Hand sewing is very satisfying and english paper piecing is very addictive. Its that little project that you can carry around and do anywhere, in the cafe, on the train, in front the tele. Just pop it into a bag. 

This process can be developed into an appliqué design on a larger project, turned into placemats, baby balls or sewing the flowers together will make a very detailed and special handmade quilt. Its great for using scraps as its only small pieces that you are using. Perfect for a memory quilt or using vintage fabrics.




About the WI
Over the last year the group have held a wide variety of meetings attracting about 50 ladies, covering Astronomy, clay modelling, wreath making, midwifery, wine, cheese, self defence and craft, but they have also been involved in fundraising and working to support local causes and businesses. 

  

If you fancy going along to the WI:

They meet on the third Thursday of every month in the United Reformed Church Hall on Whittox Lane in Frome from 7.30 - 9.30. The best place to park is in the Westway carpark (behind Argos in the centre of town) and then walk up the lane by the bike shop. This will bring you out on Whittox Lane. 

Contact info for the Frome WI: 

WI.frome@gmail.com. 
http://fromewi.blogspot.co.uk
also on Twitter and Facebook


Pictures supplied by Frome WI 

Happy Valentine's day! ... How to make Lavender hearts

Beautiful simple lavender hearts make wonderful gifts and will add to a room. Here's the recipe... 

Your ingredients: You will need...

Step 1

Place your fabric right sides together

Draw around our template

Step 2

Attach the ribbon you want to use for hanging, inside the fabric in the right position and pin 

Step 3

Sew around the shape, leaving a small opening ready for stuffing

Step 4

Cut out the heart, leaving a small seam allowance. Around the curved sections make small cuts in the fabric. (make sure you dont cut through the thread) and turn through to the right side.

Step 5

Stuff the heart using polyester toy stuffing and add a small amount of lavender

Step 6

Sew up the gap using small slip stitch 

Just gorgeous and Sew Simple!

Black Swan Artisan Shops - Handmade Fayre

Hello, its Angela here,

I'm just popping in to invite you to the Black Swan Artisan Shops - Handmade Fayre.

For those of you who don't already know I have one of the studio/Artisan shops in the Black Swan in Frome.  If you don't find me in either Millie Moon, Frome or Wells, you will generally find me here drawing on my sewing machine, getting creative or with a cup of tea in hand chatting away. 

The Handmade Fayre is an event I have been co-organising (may explain why I've been so scatter-brain recently!) along with Rachael Ann Bird, who has the studio next to me and is a talented Goldsmith. The Handmade Fayre is to be held on the first weekend of September - Saturday 1st and Sunday 2nd September 10am - 4.30pm within the Round Tower and Artisan corridor.

It's the first of its kind and will take the form of a mini art exhibition combined with craft stalls 
Ceramicist Jo Lucksted  (some may know her as Jo, ceramic button workshop tutor) will be showing and selling her work along with Ceramicist Julia Davey, Printmaker Kerrie McNeil, Painter Madeleine Town, Papercut Artist Jessica Palmer, Illustrator and Maker Julie Ball, Painter Caroline Walsh Waring, Printmaker David Birks, Printmaker Katherine Care, Textile Maker Suzanne Leather and last but by no means least Glass Artist Stella Wain. Admission is free so do visit and chat with the artists, be enticed. 

The artisan shops Villa Rosie, Rachael Ann Bird Goldsmiths, myself of Little Studio Red, and Anja of Knopf Designs will also be open. Do come by and see what I get up to besides teaching workshops - I'm the one with the blue door.

http://www.blackswan.org.uk/news_events_Detail.php?Black-Swan-Artisan-Shops---Handmade-Fayre-46

Minotaur, Jo Lucksted

A little bit of advice...?

Dear ladies 

I received this on Facebook and thought I must share it with all the lovely sewing ladies out there.  Now I know where I have been going wrong all this time... 

If I had the technical skills, I would enable a sound track to play Andy Williams crooning  " Hey, little girl, fix your hair, put on your makeup" !






Love Vickie, Fromemaid 

Introducing Caroline Frances-Payne

Hi my name is Caroline, my passion is colour, Patchwork and Quilting.

I became interested in quilting when I lived In germany. I made a little jacket for my small daughter with material already quilted. They had some fabric in this gift shop in the town centre. I was enthralled by the little patterns on the fabric and would spend hours creating garments.




After a move back to England, ending up in Tidworth, I would get hooked on Readicut rugs but the passion for fabric was still burning.

We moved to Frome in early 1982, after a few years I was invited to join Frome quilters, thats when the passion really too off, I became a fan pf appliqué and would love to cut out loads of 'Sunbonnet Sues' using fabrics from a lovely little shop in stoney street. My girls got used to me frequently visiting and buying fabric which was small and dainty. My passion for colour came later when on a workshop by Carole Lizbeth I was blown away by her bold use of colour. I was hooked. Next came a workshop with the legendary Kaffe Fassett at the American Museum in Bath and I was overwhelmed by his thinking. From 3 simple templates you could achieve anything. It was all down to the pattern and colourways of the fabric.

Then along came Millie Moon to Catherine Hill. Vibrant and bright and full of colour. Glorious quilting fabrics on my doorstep. I soon became a regular at the shop and the girls offered me the fantastic opportunity to share my love of colour. I have now been teaching patchwork and quilting with them for 4 years. Each group, new and nervous is a wonderful challenge to me, I love to see them develop into positive people each week and by the end of the course the look on their faces says it all. Its lovely to see that the joy of such a craft is not lost forever and we can make this happen by introducing them to patchwork in many ways and watch it grow.

    

I live in Frome with my husband Charlie and our 2 Jack Russell's, Doris Day and Moo Cow. I sew everyday and get my fix of colour and creation. Come and join me.

By Caroline x

Carolines next beginners Patchwork and Quilting workshop begins on Wednesday 13th June 6.30-8.30pm for 6 weeks in Frome.

Caroline also runs an 'Introduction to Patchwork' workshop once a month. The next available is;
Wells:  Sunday 20th May 10.30-2.00pm
Frome: Tuesday 19th June 1.30-4.30pm

Caroline is also available for 1-1 tuition

Call the shop to book your place.