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

Millie Moon meets the ladies of Wells WI

On Tuesday 3rd April, The Millie Moon team pulled up in front of the beautiful Wells museum, ready for our evening with the lovely ladies of the Wells WI.  Arms filled with sewing machines, fabrics and of course my little speech, I think we were all a little nervous.

Once inside the impressive building, the two rooms we were allocated were quickly transformed into Millie Moon demonstration and workshop space. In the demonstration room the team showed their skills. We had:

Angela - Freemotion embrodiery

Anne - Dressmaking

Vickie - Home accessories

Caroline - Patchwork and Quilting
In the workshop room Gaynor was doing paper crafts and myself and Becki made jubilee corsages.

As the ladies gathered the time came for me to stand  up in front of over 70 ladies and make a little speech about 'Millie Moon and how it all began'. Luckily it went ok and I quickly handed over to the team. 

   

It was soon a buzz of activity as all the ladies moved from table to table to see the demonstrations and take part in the workshops. The ladies were all lovely and very enthusiastic. All chatted and asked questions about all aspects are craft and sewing. 

The two hours flew by really quickly, all of us were tired and hoarse but we left very happy. It was a really fun evening and so great to see the WI still going from strength to strength. 

Thank you to Wells WI for inviting us and we look forward to seeing you all again soon. 

Also a big thanks to the Millie Moon team Caroline, Anne, Vickie, Angela and Gaynor for coming along and supporting us. You made it a great success!

We will be at the next meeting of the newly formed Frome WI on Thursday 17th May... 

Rachel x 

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