Ready, Aim, Shoot!

August's meeting- 'Ready, aim, shoot'
Take your photography to the next level. Learn some tips on lots of things from low light, composition and portraiture from a seasoned photographer. There will be practical bits, taking photos and being the subject and learning about your camera (or camera phone). It will be fun and giggles with the learning!   So, please bring your compact camera or camera phone and be ready to get the best out of your photography.

Catherine is a talented photographer who has shot an number of weddings and fashion shoots, she is passionate about portraiture and that everyone can take, and be in a great photo.  Also that it does not take lots of equipment to produce good photos.

Catherine is a fellow WI Sister, from new group Gothic Valley WI, and we're super excited that she's coming along to share her tips and tricks for excellent pics! You can read her top 6 tips here

This is a free meeting for members, and there's a £5 fee for visitors


Claire-Louise Hardie- Secretary SNWI

"Everything Alice"-the wonderful book of makes review

I discovered this week that the team behind delightful craft book "Everything Alice- The wonderful book of makes" have a new book coming out "Everything Oz- The wizard book of makes and bakes", so I thought i'd finally post my review of the first book.
I was drawn into this book immediately by the striking red cover, and by a personal love of everything Alice too!

This book really is a journey into wonderland. Unlike other craft or sewing books, it perfectly blends delicious pages of  food and drink with delightfully quirky and inspiring craft projects. I struggled to choose my favourites!





The craft based projects have something for everyone from cute lavender dormice, to fabric covered chairs and fabulous mad hatterhats. My personal favourites are the "Time for tea Jewellry" and the "Cheshire cat hand warmers"





Not being a complete domestic Diva myself, I also loved the playful food and drink projects, I'm sure even I can follow the clear instructions and rustle up some "Drink Me Cordial" Although the fabulous "Duchess Macaroons" may be too much as a non baker. They do look divine though


There are lots of ideas for themed tea parties too, and there are templates at the back of the book for you to trace off and enlarge. My only bug bear, is that not having access to a photocopier that enlarges, I can't make full use of the templates. This is however a common issue with british craft books.
If you're interested in making things and are bored with the same old cookery books and crafting books, then I highly recommend you invest in this book.

(Disclaimer -Stokey WI was sent a review copy by the publisher Quadrille, However I made up my own mind about wether or not I liked the book)

Claire-Louise Hardie- Secretary SNWI

Pimms o'clock in the prince

Pimms o'clock at the prince and a good ole summer social

It's summer!

So chances are it'll rain on our planned picnic outside! Rather than play roulette with the weather, we'll be holding an indoor summer social at 8 pm in the Prince pub. There will be a loose "Pimms o'clock" theme, we'll supply some pimms, you bring along some nibbles, anything you fancy. We'll have bunting and afternoon cakes and a general indoor themed picknic...

 

We'll be playing some silly ice breaker games! think twister, giant Jenga and all the things you played on damp camping holidays!

We'll also spend some time chatting to ladies we've never met, it's so easy when there's an event planned to not have time to catch up and make new friends!

No charge for this meeting, but do bring along some food!

And wear a sun hat!

Out and about with a "Women of hackney" walking tour

Out and about with a Women of hackney tour

Please note- This walk will be starting at a venue away from the prince pub, and will start earlier than usual to maximise light

This month it's free for members to attend and a £5 fee for visitors,  

Simon Cole of Hackney tours is an educational tour director and freelance writer. Once he discovered Hackney and its radical history and liminal spaces, he realised there was a strong narrative of radicalism, reform and revolution here. Furthermore, he noticed that a lot of the key figures in these stories were women - yet no-one seemed to be telling this amazing story.

Simon decided to combine his passion for guiding, history and socially progressive issues to share this tradition of people fighting for things we take for granted today - like racial and sexual equality or religious tolerance. The takeover of the UBS Building in Hackney and the Olympic focus on the borough seemed the perfect time to launch these tours.

Simon has recently written some tours for the guardian!

A big thanks to Aggie Mackenzie, Stoke newington's queen of clean!

May  Meeting- Aggie MacKenzie- Good housekeeping Guru and cookery author

Wow, what a fantastic opportunity we had to meet and chat with Aggie MacKenzie a local stokey resident who became a household name on Channel 4's How Clean is Your House? Aggie's work covers a broad range: apart from TV and radio presenting, she writes a food page every month in Good Housekeeping, tests kitchen gadgets every month in Delicious, and writes a weekly page in Best

Aggie shared some of her top tips for cooking, cleaning, and life in general. We loved that she admitted to not being a "clean freak" Aggie says a home should be clean enough to be healthy, but dirty enough to be happy. Here's a couple of the tips she shared with us-

Copper bottomed pans- 

This would be one of Aggie's desert island utensils, and she can't do without her trusted and well loved pan

An Aerolatte whisk-

This inexpensive device is great for creating barista style Lattes at home without sacrificing valuable space for large coffee maker machines. Combined with a stove top perculator, you'll never want to nip out to a starbucks again!

Green fairy Liquid washing up liquid-

This inexpensive product is a the ultimate pre wash solution and de-greaser. Forget expensive pre-wash stain treatments and get back to basics with a readily available product. Washing up liquid is designed to cut through grease, so is great for grubby collars, oily spots on clothes and even works on tomato stains!

Aggie is the proud Mother of 2 sons, and her eldest is currently training as a chef, cooking must be in the blood! We spent a lovely hour with Aggie, and would like to thank her for generously giving up an evening to be with us
Claire-Louise Hardie- Secretary SNWI

Meet Aggie Mackenzie- Good housekeeping Guru and queen of clean

Meet Aggie MacKenzie- Good housekeeping Guru and cookery author

Aggie MacKenzie first came on to our screens in 2003 as the Dirt Detective in Channel 4's How Clean is Your House? Since then she's appeared in many different programmes, from reporting on The One Show and The Politics Show to cooking on Come Dine With Me. With a background in women's consumer magazines, Aggie's work covers a broad range: apart from TV and radio presenting, she writes a food page every month in Good Housekeeping, tests kitchen gadgets every month in Delicious, writes a weekly page in Best, covers numerous subjects for other national publications, often participates in advertising campaigns and takes on public speaking engagements.

This month it's £3 for members to attend and there's our usual £5 fee for visitors,  do remember to grab a drink from the bar on the way in.

Love sewing? why not sew for the dress a girl around the world campaign...

Hello, 


I'm Claire-Louise the Secretary for Stokey WI. 
I was recently asked to make a video on how to make a little girl's dress from a pillowcase. As a professional stitcher (my alter ego is The Thrifty Stitcher) I am keen to give something back and put my skills to good use. Last year I searched for sewing based charities, and although there seem to be many great charities for knitters to give something back, there was little for stitchers like me.



I discovered only one sewing based Charity- "Dress a girl around the world", and it frankly slipped my mind. One day whilst on twitter I saw a tweet from Sew Scrumptious about the dress a girl campaign, and having just shot the video on making a pillowcase dress and it seemed like serendipity!


In essence "Dress a girl around the world" send dresses to countries in the developing world. The dresses and boys shorts are made by sewing enthusiasts, and provide valuable clothing for girls and boys whose parents couldn't afford to provide good clothes for them


I got in touch with Louise from Sew Scrumptious who has become a british ambassador for this charity, here's what she told me-


"Every Girl Deserves a Pretty Dress

This statement really struck a chord with me when I read it in a sewing magazine last year, An American charity was asking people who could sew to make simple pillowcase dresses to be sent to girls living in poverty in developing countries. I could sew and had lots of fabric lying around so I felt I had to get involved and make a dress or two. I have a sewing blog called Sew Scrumptious and decided to blog and tweet about what I was doing to try to encourage other people to get involved and to date I have collected nearly 1200 dresses from all around the UK and Ireland. I am now the UK International Partner for the charity and also responsible for finding homes for all the dresses too! Over 600 have been distributed so far to children in Malawi, Ghana, Kenya and India with the rest going off to Uganda, India and Ghana over the next few months.

We still need lots more dresses though! We want to continue making and sending dresses to girls and are encouraging schools, colleges, sewing groups and WI's to get involved. Its a great opportunity to get involved in a charity project in a practical way (we don't want any money, just your time!) and a fun way to connect with other like minded fabric addicts! The dresses can be made from new fabric or recycled pillowcases (hence the name!). Each dress is made from the same simple pattern but each one is individual and unique and can be decorated in any way the maker chooses. 

I photograph every dress I receive and feature them on my blog before they are sent off to projects in developing countries (often schools and orphanages). It is the most fantastic feeling to see a photo of a girl on the other side of the world wearing a dress that you have made. You can also make shorts for boys too! We are currently trying to collect 127 pairs of shorts for boys aged 5 to 14 to go to Uganda in June.

There is lots more information on my blog including links to tutorials and patterns along with my contact details  http://sewscrumptious.blogspot.co.uk/p/pillowcase-dress-info.html

There are also some lovely photos of some of the dresses being worn. There is also a facebook page too http://www.facebook.com/DressagirlaroundtheWorldUK

I would love to see what the WI ladies could make!!

Louise @ Sew scrumptious

So!.....

Stokey Wi are going to get some dresses made. This is not only a fabulous charity,  but it's also a way for us to get more people sewing. We'll be running training events and if you don't know how to sew or don't own a sewing machine, we'll be running workshops and training sessions very soon, dates TBC

Right now what we need is a stash of pillowcases. If you've got some you'd like to donate, please e mail CL stokenewingtonwi@gmail.com and quote "dress a girl around the world"

As soon as we get some training sessions lined up we'll let you know, but if you watch the video above you may just fancy having a go and donating a dress instead...

We've raised a bit of cash for ribbons and trims, so it won't cost any money to get involved, just some keen and nimble fingers and a needle

Claire-Louise Hardie- Secretary Stokey WI

Getting rid of moths!

If like me, you enjoy a good spring clean, then this is the perfect time of year to control moths. the last couple of years has seen a massive increase in moth infestations, particularly in Stoke Newington. Whilst it's not life threatening, losing your favourite clothes to these pesky critters isn't fun!

Spring cleaning

Here's my top tips for de-mothing!

Clothes, fabric and wool that are stored will attract the Webbing Clothes Moth. Moth eaten fabric and clothes are depressing and the holes will weaken the fabric and in some cases make it unwearable or unusable. You can bring moths into your home from buying clothes/fabric, transference from someone who has moths in their home, and they fly in during summer months!

• You need to use deterrents, and they need to be replaced every 6 months.
• If you get an infestation, the moths will attack not only fabric but books, papers and photographs, so all your precious memories can be reduced to dust!
• Start by using lavender bags/sachets, and cedar. I personally can’t bear moth balls which are super effective, but stinky!
• The best and cheapest resource and supplier of moth products I’ve found is this one.

http://www.mothcontroldirect.co.uk/acatalog/Clothes_Moth_Control_Pack.html

• Pheromone traps are a great way to break the breeding cycle without using chemicals. The moths think they are all male! These sticky traps are also a good way to monitor how big a moth problem you may have.
• Spring cleaning is a tradition for a reason. In order to get rid of moth eggs, you need to empty drawers and cupboards and clean out all the surfaces. Moths like to breed under static areas like furniture, so moving your furniture out and cleaning underneath breaks their cycle. Sunlight also kills eggs, so getting rugs and carpets outside and thoroughly beating them and leaving in sunlight will kill any eggs/larvae.
• If like me, you don't have access to a garden, then running a sticky roller brush over your clothing can lift off eggs.
• Ensure you change your hoover bag regularly. You may well hoover up eggs, and the hoover bag is a perfect environment for the moths to breed in! It's pretty gross, opening up the hoover and finding a big bunch of moths.....

Storing Fabric and clothes

This can be a nightmare. In terms of fabric storage I need to be able to access my stash, and see exactly what i've got.

Using plastic for storage is a contentious topic. Whilst plastic vacuum bags are great in the fight against moths, they can leak plastic fumes, which isn't great for valuable vintage fabric and clothes. Personally i don't want to see my lovely old things being eaten away by moths, so I do use some plastic storage.

I have limited space in my home for fabric storage, so i try and use what I already have. CD storage towers are great for showcasing smaller pieces of fabric, just make sure it's not in direct sunlight as the fabric will fade

A great system for easily storing and finding fabrics is the Antonius System in the Ikea wardrobe range which you can customise to suit your own needs

http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/S69884381/

April Meeting- 16/4/2012. Green fashion- how to look stylish without costing the earth

Green fashion- Looking stylish without costing the earth! 

Please note that this session is on April 16th, not our usual second monday of the month, due to the easter Holidays

Ethical and green fashion is hot amongst celebrities right now. Livia Firth is championing the cause with her green carpet challenge,  and many designers are jumping on the band-wagon. Brilliant news! but not all of us can order a John ford outfit, so where does that leave us mere mortals?

 

Long before it was hot to wear ethical and sustainable fashion Veronica Crespi was at the forefront of the "Slow Fashion" movement.

Veronica is a style and fashion consultant, with a quintessential Italian flair who set up ReWardrobe in 2009.

Veronica has a background in Design and Styling and she understands colour, textiles and fashion trends

At Rewardrobe, Veronica offers all the services of a traditional Image Consultant: advice on colour, personal style, wardrobe organisation, suitable outfits for business or special occasions, personal shopping – as well as Style and Slow Fashion workshops for small groups. But she has also made Slow Fashion the focus of her work, advising clients on how to link sustainability with style.

Think green fashion means no style? Veronica will be sharing tips on how to look on trend, whilst upcycling and re-working what you already have in your wardrobe.

She'll be doing a mini style surgery, so if there's something in your wardrobe that doesn't work or you just don't wear, do bring it along.

Here's some of the wardrobe tips and tricks experienced stylist Veronica will be sharing with us-

Donate - There are plenty of organisations that collect clothes for a specific purpose. 

Sell - Most of us have a few items that have barely seen the light of day. Some impulse buys have either been worn once or twice, or not at all! These practically new items can be sold on, freeing up a little cash in our budget

Upcycle - You may have a few items that are not fitting at the moment, but whose fabric or print you still love, or have a sentimental attachment to. Rewardrobe has teamed up with some talented designers, that accept commissions to transform your pieces into new creations of customised design. Alternatively, if you are happy to donate your unwanted pieces to them, they'll be happy to incorporate them into their own designs, thus prolonging the lifespan of the material and continuing our mission of sustainable fashion with style!

She's even got a supplier for eco hangers!

This month it's free for members to attend and there's our usual £4 fee for visitors,  do remember to grab a drink from the bar on the way in.

RSVP here!

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A fabulous virtual tour of the WSPU exhibition of 1909

Our March meeting was a fabulous Virtual tour of the WSPU exhibition of 1909.

Nigel Shephard, a local composer and film maker has been researching the suffragettes for over 5 years, and has a film on the topic ready to go into production. Nigel joined forces with Naomi Paxton, an Actress and PHD student researching the Actress Franchise league. Together they presented rare photos, and insights into this amazing event.

I personally knew little of the suffragette exhibition, and was taken aback by how "modern" the women's faces seemed. It was like looking back in time to see contemporary women in "costume" almost. For the first part of the talk, we enjoyed a slide show that showed floor plans of the exhibition, witty anecdotes from attendees of the exhibition, and saw many wonderful images. Throughout the slide show, both speakers talked us through the images, their relevance and gave us some glimpses into a little seen part of the suffragette history.

There were bands in attendance at the exhibition, milliners selling extraordinary work and all number of tradeswomen selling their wares at the exhibition. My favourite image was the suffragette giving self defence demos, whose partner had fallen ill, and used a policeman as a stand in!

This little video, in no way gives the full experience of the night, but if you couldn't attend then it's a wee taster!



The Women's Institute's history is wrapped up with that of the suffragette movement, and Nigel is reaching out to the WI for help. Getting a movie made in the uk is expensive, and with the arts council cuts recently, it's becoming increasingly hard for independent film makers.
There are over 250,000 members of the WI in the uk, and if each of us gave a pound towards the making of this film, Nigel would be able to get it off the ground.
Stokey WI has donated a pound for each of our members, and we're looking to spread the word! Nigel and Naomi are available to give this presentation to other WI groups, so do get in touch if you'd like them to speak at your meeting?