April News....

Last meeting saw us learn about designing our own edible garden with Neils Corfield. Hopefully the lovely weather over Easter has inspired us to get out into the garden.

If you are feeling inspired and crafty after the Easter break our April session will certainly get you in the mood.  Local potter and needle felting enthusiast, Juliet Fleming, will give us an introduction to the wonderful world of needle felting... an accessible and addictive craft which allows even a complete beginner to achieve lovely results in both two and three-dimensional projects.

Juliet will take us through the basics and help us create our own 3D piece by felting onto polystyrene balls as well as talking about techniques that are more advanced, materials and suppliers.

Juliet says: “Once you've got the bug (and you will!), the only limit is your imagination.” So for those who are interested in doing more, we can look at setting up a some smaller group sessions.

In order to help ensure our members get the most out of their membership, the WI will be launching  My WI, allowing members to access the WI much more easily.  The WI will be sending out passwords shortly so please much sure we have your correct email address.

At this month’s meeting, we will be asking members to vote on whether they support the resolutions, which will go to the WI AGM in June. More information on the resolutions - Alleviating loneliness and Plastic Soup: keep mircoplastic fibres out of our ocean, can be found on the WI website.

We look forward to seeing you on Wednesday 26^th.

March news....

With Spring in the air now is the time shake off those winter blues and start thinking about making the most of our gardens.

March’s meeting will be led by Niels Corfield, specialist edible garden and urban agriculture designer and consultant, director of Edible Cities as well as a nursery man and teacher of all things growing.

Niels will take us through the process of transforming our gardens into productive, low maintenance, edible spaces that are also both ecological and aesthetic. He will lead a short participatory garden ‘design for real’ activity as well as talking about Edible Cities, the urban design consultancy, education and nursery project that has been creating edible landscapes since 2008.

If you’re feeling inspired there will also be a range of supporting information booklets to buy on the evening, whilst his next evening class called Designing Edible Spaces at Feed Bristol, begins on 26^th April.

NFWI are holding elections for its Boards of Trustees. Members will be able to place their vote at the meeting and full details of the candidates is available on the NFWI website.

We look forward to seeing you on Wednesday 29^th.

MWI x

February news....

Hello Malagoers

It was great to see friends and new at our first meeting of 2017.  A big thank you to Penny for a fantastic workshop and for finishing off our creations!

We are all a bit fed up of the cold and dark, with many of us counting down the days until Spring.  So what better way to welcome in the first days of Spring than learning about colour analysis with Karen Lowe.  Karen is a long-time friend of Malago WI and we delighted that she will be joining us again.  She studied textile design at Nottingham Trent University.  Following a career in marketing and the birth of her daughter, Karen decided to retrain as an image consultant and has been helping clients ever since.

During the evening Karen will discuss how colours can instantly change the way you look, giving you a younger, fresher and vibrant appearance.  We hope that we will have some willing volunteers to help Karen with a colour analysis demonstration.  She has also asked that everyone bring a brightly coloured item which you love or think you can’t wear and she will take a look.

If you fancy celebrating all that is WI, why not visit the WI Fair taking place on 29^th March – 1^st April 2017 at Alexandra Place London. There will be hundreds of stalls and exhibitors offering craft, cooking and creativity. Tickets are currently on sale.

The WI is currently looking for feedback on its future and is asking members to complete a questionnaire.  Members can fill in the survey via hard copy, on pages 49-51 of the November/December issue of WI Life and return it using ‘Freepost NFWI’; or online using this link www.thewi.org.uk/our-wi-our-future-survey.  Deadline for responses is 28^th February.

If you didn’t renew your membership in January, you are still able to do so.  Membership for 2017 is £39 and payment can be made by cash or cheque.

We look forward to seeing you on Wednesday 23^rd February!
MWI x

January news....

Hello Malagoers

It has been a while since we last met for lino cutting in November and we hope that everyone has had an enjoyable Christmas break.

So for our first meeting of 2017, we are getting crafty.  If you are looking for an original piece of jewellery, perhaps to match a particular outfit, then Penny Smith will be showing us how to upcycle buttons and ribbon to make a necklace.

Each necklace is made from 7 different buttons.  Penny will bring along some supplies but has asked if you have some favourite buttons at home (with two or four holes and no bigger than a fifty pence piece) please bring them along.  Alternatively, you can pop into Paper Village on North Street who have a great selection in a range of colours. All other materials will be provided.

Penny has been a WI member for approximately 5 years and is an avid fan of Denman College where she has learnt many crafts and spent two years studying to become an AFWI Judge of Preserves with many tales of Judging!  Having now semi-retired, she has time to develop her love of crafts which range from beads, buttons, bags, quilting to silk painting!

The WI is currently looking for feedback on its future and is asking members to complete a questionnaire.  Members can fill in the survey via hard copy, on pages 49-51 of the November/December issue of WI Life and return it using ‘Freepost NFWI’; or online using this link www.thewi.org.uk/our-wi-our-future-survey.  Deadline for responses is 28^th February.

It is also time for membership renewal.  Membership for 2017 is £39 and it would be really helpful if you could arrive a bit early so we can sort our membership payment which can be made by cash or cheque.

We look forward to seeing you on Wednesday 25^th January!

MWI x

November News....

October’s meeting was on a cold dark, night which was perfect for Kim Thomson to show us how to produce our own light graffiti.  For a lot of first timers, we did pretty well.

November is our last meeting of the year and what better than getting the creative juices following with a lino printing workshop hosted by Lucy Dabner.  Lucy started learning printmaking techniques in the late 1990s whilst attending Chelsea College of Art and Design (The London Institute) and Falmouth College of Art.  Although her career then took her into another direction, she has recently taken up lino printing again focusing mainly on Arabic/Islamic patterns. 

Lucy will be showing us the lino printing process from choosing and transferring an image onto the lino, through to a final finished print in a single colour.  As it will be the run-up to Christmas, we will be producing lino cut Christmas cards and festive tags to take-away. All the tools and ink will be provided, but please bring any card or tags you would like to print on.  As we will be using ink, you may want to bring something to cover your clothes as the ink can stain.

All members now have the opportunity to vote for the WI resolutions which will go to the WI AGM in June 2017.  The 2017 resolutions are:

1. Alleviating loneliness.
2. FGM. More awareness for more action.
3. Equal access for all who need specialised maternal mental health services.
4. Provision of appropriate welfare and safe spaces for women & children in refugee camps.
5. Supporting women's refuges.
6. Plastic Soup. Keep microplastic fibres out of our oceans.

Voting slips and further details of the resolutions are in this month’s WI Life.  Please bring your voting slip along to the meeting.

We hope to see you on Wednesday 30^th for our last meeting of 2016.  If you are not able to make it, we wish you best for the festive period and see you in January 2017.