Mary Jane Makes...a trip to Sheffield's largest WI!

Lovely Mary Jane 

With the Diamond Jubilee on the horizon, it seemed only fitting that we welcome Queen of Millinery, Mary Jane Baxter, to our meeting so she could demonstrate hats and fascinators worthy of any royal garden party. The journalist-turned-champion-of-make-do-and-mend told us how she gave up an impressive role as a foreign correspondent for the BBC to pursue her love of making hats. This gave rise to an interesting discussion, as many of the women in the room identified with the yearning to give space to their creative flair whilst managing busy, demanding lives.

Through stories of her Newsnight tour of the UK, which featured Seven Hills WI when we were just starting out in October 2009, Mary Jane gave testimony to the resurgence of crafting. Now busy publicising her first book, Chic on a Shoestring, she told us how she continued to find inspiration in the skills passed from her mother, vintage fashion, flea markets and, significantly, from young women who were swapping throwaway fashion for individual, hand-customised items.

Our VP Ruth in a MJ Baxter hat!

Showcasing her fantastic creations, which are typically displayed in the likes of Harrod’s and Liberty, Mary Jane gave us tips on imitating expensive designs at a fraction of the cost by salvaging, snipping and stitching. Her simple-to-make accessories, such as an emergency hat made from a cornflake box, were an inspiration to us all.

Proving that the trend towards sharing traditional skills is continuing, we also welcomed members of the new Crosspool WI . Their successful start, similar to the one we experienced two and a half years ago, just goes to show that the revival of the WI is certainly not just a fad.

Thank you Mary Jane for visiting us once again! We look forward to welcoming you back when your next book is published.

Jennifer x (Programme and Events Co-ordinator)


For more information about Mary Jane Baxter, go to www.maryjanemakes.com 

October's meeting

Well...we had our third meeting, which was also our official forming meeting, on 15th October and despite last minute panics (involving a new speaker after our planned one came down with flu) it went incredibly well.





We had over 60 women there and 49 of them signed up to be members, yay! We're sure the rest will sign up next month! There were lots of new faces too which was great to see.

Our speaker was the fantasic Mary Jane Baxter who is a milliner/journalist currently doing a project for the BBC called Make Your Way Around Britain where she goes around helping people to make do and mend.
She was incredibly interesting and we'd like to say a HUGE thanks as she stepped in as our speaker at the last minute with just five hours notice and did a superb job. So thanks Mary Jane! This is her blog if you want to know more: makeyourwayaroundbritain.blogspot.com





We are currently in the process of sorting out the committee which will finallly enable Jen, Kim and I to have a bit of help on the organising front and not be under so much pressure.
I can totally see why WI ladies are usually retired cos setting up a new WI at the same time as working full time (all of us), doing a Masters Degree (Jen), going to NZ for three weeks (Kim) and buying a house (me) is almost impossible. And, for that reason I'd like to say a big thanks to Jen and Kim for not laughing at me when I suggested we set up a WI and for being so enthusiastic and getting involved. Couldn't have done it without you two. x

Next meeting is Thursday, 19th November at St Matthew's Hall, 7.30pm.

That's all folks.