LWEWI crafting and Royalty!

On 11th December the Associated Country Women of the World (ACWW) were honoured and delighted to welcome ACWW member Her Majesty Queen Azizah of Malaysia as part of her first official state visit to the UK. 

The Queen has been involved with the ACWW over a long period, and is a keen crafter. A number of WI Federations attended and showed off crafts made by their members, as she had expressed an interest to see WI crafts. Thank you to our former LWEWI member, and ACWW employee Tish, who invited LWEWI to provide crafts for the Middlesex Federation display.

Craft Club organiser Jane represented LWEWI, and took along some of the Craft Club makes.

LWEWI crafts on the Middlesex table

Lorraine Reed from Middx Federation, Queen Azizah, and her sister in law

 

LWEWI crafts on the Middlesex table

Join London West End WI

The LWEWI Craft Club is run by and for members of the London West End Women's Institute, although some of our attendees are not WI members. We'd love you all to join us, so we can be assured of keeping our WI, and with it the Craft Club, going into the future.

WI Membership for 2020 costs £43 for the whole year - pay using the paypal button below, or with cash at one of our main monthly meetings.

Fantastic opportunities come to our members. As well as our free monthly meetings and regular craft club (small charge) we regularly have the opportunity to attend free previews of British Museum exhibitions, as well as discounted entry to events such as the Knitting and Stitching Show and other exhibitions, and social events such as our summer picnic and Christmas dinner.

Membership also entitles you to 8 copies a year of WI Life Magazine, published by the NFWI, which is packed full of articles, news, recipes and craft ideas.

For more information about The Women's Institute, take a look here: http://www.thewi.org.uk/

January Craft Club

Our first Craft Club of the new year will be Tuesday 7th January at Atlantis Books from 5.30 to 7.30pm. 

This month we're doing the quilling which was postponed from January, except without the Christmas theme!  For those who don't know, quilling is the art of curling up paper to make cards and pictures like these:

There will be lots of papers, quilling tools, card blanks and patterns for everyone, so you don't need to bring anything with you - although if you have blank card, embellishments, scissors, glue and/or craft mats, do feel free to bring them. And if you've never paper crafted before, fear not as our crafters will be able to help you out!

Please email lwewicraftclub@gmail.com if you plan to come, so we know to expect you. Also email us for more information if you haven't come before and want to know more!

As ever tea, coffee and delicious biscuits will be served.

December Craft Club

CANCELLED

THE DECEMBER CRAFT CLUB HAS BEEN CANCELLED

QUILLING WILL NOW TAKE PLACE AT OUR FIRST CRAFT CLUB OF THE NEW YEAR, TUESDAY 7 JANUARY 2020. 

More details coming soon.

Our last Craft Club before Christmas is coming up, on Tuesday 3rd December at Atlantis Books from 5.30 to 7.30pm. 

This month, we're continuing to get ready for Christmas, so we're having a go at Christmas themed quilling to make cards or gift tags. For those who don't know, quilling is the art of curling up paper. Some of us will be using the free quilling kit from 'The Christmas Magazine' but there will also be lots of papers, quilling tools, card blanks and patterns for everyone.

We've got full printed instructions for you to follow, as well as plenty of materials, so you don't need to bring anything with you - although if you have blank card, embellishments, scissors, glue and/or craft mats, do feel free to bring them. And if you've never paper crafted before, fear not as our crafters will be able to help you out!

Please email lwewicraftclub@gmail.com if you plan to come, so we know to expect you. Also email us for more information if you haven't come before and want to know more!

As ever tea, coffee and delicious biscuits will be served, and possibly some mince pies too.

November Craft Club - What We Made

At our November meeting we were all getting into the festive spirit with some Christmas papercrafting.

Thanks to Nicky for leading us in making these simple but effective forest of folded paper Christmas trees and hanging paper bells. As ever, thanks to Atlantis Books for hosting, and sorry for taking over your display space for our end-of-session photo!

Next month's club, on Tuesday 3rd Dec, will be more festive papercrafting, this time quilling.

November Craft Club

Next Craft Club is Tuesday 5th November at Atlantis Books from 5.30 to 7.30pm. 

This month, we're continuing to get ready for Christmas... Nicky will be leading us in some papercrafting to make these fabulous bells for garlands or to hang on a tree, and christmas tree decorations for your tables.

If you want to practice in advance, a tutorial for the trees is here:

We've got full printed instructions for you to follow, as well as plenty of materials, so you don't need to bring anything with you - although if you have stiff paper, beads, scissors, glue and/or craft mats, do feel free to bring them. And if you've never paper crafted before, fear not as our crafters will be able to help you out!

Please email lwewicraftclub@gmail.com if you plan to come, so we know to expect you. Also email us for more information if you haven't come before and want to know more!

As ever tea, coffee and delicious biscuits will be served.

October Craft Club - What We Made

At our October meeting we were all getting into the festive spirit with some Christmas cross-stitch. 

We didn't quite get finished (!) but at least we've got something to keep us busy over the next few weeks until the next Craft Club. That's on Tuesday 5th November, and we'll be making paper Christmas decorations. More details on that coming soon!

October Craft Club

Next Craft Club is Tuesday 1st October at Atlantis Books from 5.30 to 7.30pm.

This month, as the nights draw in, it's time to start looking forward to Christmas... Yikes! So we're going to be having a go at Christmas themed cross-stitch, little ones which can be used in cards or as part of gifts. 

We've got patterns, blank aida canvas and embroidery threads, and some needles. Bring along a mat or hoop if you like to work on those, and maybe some scissors. If you've got a stitching project you're working on, or a Christmas cross-stitch kit you want to get started with, do bring that too. And if you've never cross-stitched, fear not as our experienced stitchers will be able to help you out!

Please email lwewicraftclub@gmail.com if you plan to come, so we know to expect you. Also email us for more information if you haven't come before and want to know more!

As ever tea, coffee and delicious biscuits will be served.

September Craft Club - What We Made

Goodness, but I'm late posting this!

At our meeting in September, we turned our hand to a spot of macrame, that retro craft of the 1970s and 80s. We didn't quite get to the dizzy heights of plant holders for our spider plants, but we did learn some basic knots and make these keyrings. We're all planning to keep practicing, and next time we do macrame we've grand plans for string shopping bags!

We're past the autumn equinox and the nights are drawing in it's time to think of Christmas, so next month we're doing some festive cross stitching.

September Craft Club

Next Craft Club is Tuesday 3rd September at Atlantis Books from 5.30 to 7.30pm.

This month we'll be getting knotted! Yes, that's right - we're going retro, back to the 1970s and trying our hand at macramé! We're going to make these macramé keychains - don't worry, they're suitable for beginners. If you can tie your shoelaces you can make these!

Please bring any of the below if you have it:

• Craft mat if you have one
• Pins - you might need them to keep your work straight
• Scissors
• cord or wool
• a ring
• a wooden bead, or similar - if you don't have one, you can make a chain without it (we'll also have some you can use).

And to get you in the mood, here's a simple guide to getting knotted! (or getting started with the basics of macrame!) 

Please email lwewicraftclub@gmail.com if you plan to come, so we know to expect you; we can only fit 10 in, so need to know numbers in advance. Also email us for more information if you haven't come before and want to know more!

As ever tea, coffee and delicious biscuits will be served.

August Craft Club - What We Made

At our meeting in August, Nicky led us in turning some old, unwanted paperback books into these wonderful hedgehogs, thorough some simple folding techniques and a spot of glue-gunning. Simple to do but so effective!

Next month we hope to be turning our hands to a spot of macrame.

August Craft Club

Next Craft Club is Tuesday 6th August at Atlantis Books from 5.30 to 7.30pm.

This month we'll be making hedgehogs out of paperback books. 2 links to videos are below, so you can see for yourselves:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmgNaSVDrdY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NU0eyxyivjQ

Please bring any of the below if you have it:

• Craft mat if you have one
• Buttons, ribbons etc. for hedgehog eyes/nose and decorations
• Some plain card for the base
• Scissors, double sided sellotape, glue etc. (Nicky will bring her glue gun)
• Bone folder if anyone has one

Nicky has sufficient books, so there's no need to bring any.

Please email lwewicraftclub@gmail.com if you plan to come, so we know to expect you; we can only fit 10 in, so need to know numbers in advance. Also email us for more information if you haven't come before and want to know more!

As ever tea, coffee and delicious biscuits will be served.

July Craft Club - What We Made

At July's very popular Craft Club meeting we made these fab sinimay brooches; thanks to Elaine for providing expert know-how, and the materials. They look very professional, and will be adorning our summer outfits this year (just in time for wedding season!).

 

July Craft Club

Next Craft Club is Tuesday 2nd July at Atlantis Books from 5.30 to 7.30pm. We're going to be making flower brooches, like the ones below, out of sinamay, under the guidance of Elaine. 

Sinamay is one of the most popular hat-making fabrics. It's woven from the processed stalks of the abaca tree, a banana palm native to the Philippines. Abaca fibre is three times stronger than cotton or silk, and a fabric made from 100% abaca can last for over 100 years. As a result, Sinamay holds a very firm shape.

We will be making small Sinamay flowers with brooch pins on the back that can be used as a corsage or as a trimming for a hat

Sinamay, matching cotton thread, millinery needles, brooch backs and instruction sheets will be supplied.  Things to bring if you have them:

* Scissors for cutting thread/trimming Sinamay (NOT your best fabric scissors as Sinamay will blunt them, paper cutting scissors will do)

*A metal thimble if you have one (Sinamay can be quite tough to get a needle through, pushing with a thimble helps)

*Buttons/Beads/Broken pieces of jewellery to use for the centre trim (I have some I will bring along)

All materials will be provided, but due to their cost this month's craft club will have a small extra charge over and above the room cost, of around £2 per person to cover this.

Nicky's asked me to remind you that she'd be grateful for any craft donations to be sold on the stall in Queen's Sq. please bring them to club.

Please email lwewicraftclub@gmail.com if you plan to come, so we know to expect you; we can only fit 10 in, so need to know numbers in advance. Also email us for more information if you haven't come before and want to know more!

As ever tea, coffee and delicious biscuits will be served.

June Craft Club - What We Made

In June, we had a go at making felt succulents, the ideal houseplant for anyone without green fingers! A bit of felt and a glue gun, and we made some succulents you'd be hard pushed to tell apart from the real thing, especially when they're mounted in jars, with some gravel or pebbles!

June Craft Club

Next Craft Club is Tuesday 4th June at Atlantis Books from 5.30 to 7.30pm.

We'll be making felt succulents, so, if you haven't got green fingers, worry not, because you'll be able to make plants which don't need any attention and which look lovely! All you need is some good quality felt, sharp scissors, a glue gun and something to mount your succulents in/on. We'll have supplies for those who need them, but bring along anything you might have from the above list.

Instructions will be provided on the evening, and in the email to attendees, but there's plenty of room for creativity!

Please email lwewicraftclub@gmail.com if you plan to come, so we know to expect you; we can only fit 10 in, so need to know numbers in advance. Also email us for more information if you haven't come before and want to know more!

As ever tea, coffee and delicious biscuits will be served.

May Craft Club - What We Made

In May, we were all about the card making as Nicky led us through the simple yet remarkably effective technique of iris folding. You can see what we made below - the detail on some is amazing! If you missed it, don't worry. It's a favourite of ours so I'm sure we'll try it again soon.

Coming up in June we're going to be making some simple felt succulents. Details coming soon!

Free Craft Workshops, 4th and 25th May

On the two Saturdays of the May bank holidays, there are free craft workshops going on at Westminster Archives. 

They're led by LWEWI Committee member Helena's community arts students, and she'll be there all day too. Details below - come to as many as you like! I'll be there on Saturday 25th, hope to see some others there too!

May Craft Club

Next Craft Club is Tuesday 7th May at Atlantis Books from 5.30 to 7.30pm.

We'll be papercrafting and card making this month: Nicky will lead us in the art of iris folding, which is a simple way of using folded strips of paper but looks amazing! We've done it before and everyone's been thrilled with what they've made; so long as you can fold paper and do some basic counting, you'll be fine!

Here's some Nicky made earlier

Some of our previous Craft Club attempts - don't they look fab?

Bring along any paper you want to use - craft paper or sturdy gift wrap, which holds a fold, works well. We'll have supplies for those who need them, including card blanks, but craft mats, scissors and glue are always handy to have!

Please email lwewicraftclub@gmail.com if you plan to come, so we know to expect you; we can only fit 10 in, so need to know numbers in advance. Also email us for more information if you haven't come before and want to know more!

As ever tea, coffee and delicious biscuits will be served.

April Craft Club - What We Made

This month we made lots of little hats for Innocent smoothie bottles, which will all help raise money for Age UK as part of the Big Knit campaign. 

Our more experienced members produced octopi, sheep and mugs, while the rest of us were excited to be taught to purl! Thanks to Jane and Jayne for being so patient with the beginners in the group!

Next month we're card-making, with a spot of iris folding. Details coming soon!