WI Christmas Craft Day - Saturday 09.11.13

INDIVIDUAL CHRISTMAS CAKES:

CHRISTMAS TREE BOOKS:

SANTA CHRISTMAS DECORATION:

Craft Club - Felt Flower Corsage 23.10.13

Linthorpe WI Annual Meeting 09.10.13

We had our Annual Meeting tonight, dealing with all of the business of the past year, finding out that we are still 'holding our own' financially and proud of it!  The summer outing to Sledmere House and the Magic Night of last month are both two of the highlights in what has been a very successful year for Linthorpe WI - long may it continue!

The competition tonight was 'Something You Have Made' and the crafters were out in force, as you can see!

First place was Jenny's wonderful bead necklace:

Second place was Edwina's gorgeous dress, made and smocked with love: 

Pam's wonderful bag crocheted from Morrison's carrier bags!

We all attempted the cryptic quiz and my team were thoroughly over the moon to get 11 out of 20!  The winners managed to score 18 (I have NO idea how!).

A good night, good conversation and good fellowship - that basically sums up the WI! :oD

Mount Leven Rally - "Magic Night" (25.09.13)

We were hosting the Mount Leven Rally this year and our chosen event seemed to be very well supported!

The "business" part of the evening went really quickly, in no small part due to the hosts moving the meeting along swiftly and making use of a new "time's up" bell for the assigned 3-minute individual WI's reports.

 Once the business was out of the way, it was time for the MAGIC!

Eric, Jimbo & Steve were three very charming members of the Middlesbrough Circle of Magicians.  The entire room was split into three sections and each group had a 15-minute show with each magician (so each group had 45 minutes of magic in all).

Jimbo started us off with some card tricks which I have absolutely no idea how he performed!!!  He would also seem to have a perchant for mind-reading as he correctly guessed the card that I was thinking of!!!  This lady placed a playing card of her choice into the handkerchief she is holding, which was then placed inside a bag, which remained in plain sight.  When she pulled the handkerchief back out, it had the playing card IMPRINTED onto it!!!

Next we had Steve who had us guessing as to whether the little white ball was under the cup or in his pocket.  Inevitably we were always wrong, but couldn't help but laugh at the expression on his face when he lifted the cup to find a huge tomato underneath it!!!  The tomato practically filled the cup so I have no idea HOW it got in there!  As he was trying to figure that out, he lifted the cup a second time to find a large lemon in there!  He tried to squeeze them both back into the cup (proving that they were real and not foam imitations) but they wouldn't budge!  Incredible!

He then correctly guessed which card Margaret had chosen from the deck of cards by reading her fingerprints on the card!  Here he is checking her fingerprints so that he knows what he is looking for.

Next we had Eric who performed some more mind-reading, coin tricks and also had ME perform a trick (though I have absolutely NO IDEA how!)  I had to have someone in the audience choose a card, show it to everyone and put it back in the deck.  He then had me flip the cards over onto so that they were face up and the card that was showing the most (the Ace of Spades) was the chosen card.  That was correct and he had never even touched the cards!  

We then had a buffet supper with copious amounts of food and tea to wash it all down with, accompanied by much chatter and laughter.  

What a thoroughly pleasant evening!

Linthorpe WI Summer Walk (26.06.13)

Thankfully the weather was fine and the participants enjoyed their seafront walk - though the meal afterwards in the Staincliffe Hotel was probably the highlight of the night!  All proceeds will be donated to the RNLI.  Great work girls!

Strawberry Fayre (22.06.13)

In the morning there was a demonstration of how to create a Strawberry Celebration Cake as well as how to produce delicious Handmade Truffles from the leftover cake.  As usual, a grand day was had by all - and here is the rather spectacular Strawberry-shaped cake!!

Supper Club - The Cross Keys

What a beautiful summer evening for our Supper Club at The Cross Keys!  As we crossed the car park it was warm, sunny; the slightest of breezes to waft the blossom scent, birds tweeting merrily in the nearby trees - idyllic!

The inside was cosy and country-style with timber-work throughout - wonderful atmosphere.  The waiting and bar staff were sooo accommodating and nothing at all was a problem for them - even going so far as to carry the drinks to the tables to save the ladies having to carry trays laden with heavy drinks.

The menu was extensive with something for everyone.  Two courses costing £10.95 and 3 courses for £12.95.  Everyone enjoyed their starters, ranging from bubble & squeak, to pate and sweet chilli prawns.  The meal was off to a good start!  The main courses ranged from Brewers Chicken, to lasagne, fish & chips, steak and vegetable tagine.  All the plates seemed to be totally cleared with the only complaint within earshot being that the lasagne must just have come out of the oven as it was very hot!  I had the Brewers Chicken but can personally vouch for the fact that the Vegetable Tagine smelt absolutely DIVINE!

Dessert was next..... oooooohhhhhh..... Dessert!!!!  Ice cream in every conceivable flavour (three scoops of any combination), crumble (with custard or ice cream), applie pie (with custard or ice cream) and Eton Mess Cheesecake.  The agony of choice!!!

Conversation was constant and exuberant throughout the entire evening and the ensemble was second to none!  A wonderful evening with some wonderful ladies.  My only regret?  That I was enjoying myself so much that I TOTALLY forgot to take a photograph for the blog!

Charity Crafting 2013 - Mastectomy Pillow

For 2013 we are hoping to be able to concentrate on an issue which is very close to our hearts and which holds particular symbolism in that it is a Women's Institute who are concentrating on helping women, when they probably need it the most.

We are hoping to make as many mastectomy cushions as we possibly can so that we can donate them to the Breast Care Unit at James Cook University Hospital.  

What follows is the pattern that we are using in order to make these cushions and we would collectively like to send a HUGE thank you to Marion at Breast Cancer DIY - not only for designing and sharing with us this wonderful pattern and idea, but also for allowing us to use it on our website to try to help others.  Thank you Marion! :oD

If you would like to view the pattern and instructions in their original surroundings them please head on over to Breast Cancer DIY.  If you would like to help us to make these cushions then please do not hesitate to contact us and we (and the ladies at James Cook Hospital) would be MOST grateful for any time or materials that you would be able to provide.  :o)

Here are Marion's instructions:

"Mastectomy Pillows

A very special way of giving to others...

Directions for Mastectomy Pillows

Don't stress over these pillows - it is not brain surgery they can be a tad larger or smaller - these are sizes that have worked for me.  Adjust size of pillow cover to undersize or oversize pillows. 

Pillow:

Use soft white/beige cotton materials

All seams are 1/4"

Cut a piece    16"  by 11"     ( or  2  --- 8" x  11")

Fold material to make a 8" x 11" piece or put 2 pieces together

Sew the edges (1/4" seam) - leaving one short side for stuffing.

Turn inside out and use steam iron to make edges flat

Stuffing:

   I use batting used for quilts -- 

   cut a piece  14"  x 10"

   Fold to form  7" x  10" piece and insert in  prepared pillow casing

   Use Fiberfill type stuffing – in between the layers of quilt batting

                   (This allows for it being fluffy without lumps)

Do not overfill -- pillow should not be more than about 2 1/2" in height when you finish stuffing.  Shift stuffing so there are no lumps.

Turn the edges inward where you stuffed pillow - so no frayed edges are present -- sew the two ends together   using 1/4" seam

Pillow cover

Use "happy fabric of 100% cotton"

finished size:  8"  x 11"  approximately

Cut :   14"   x  16"   or      2 -  14"  x  8 1/2"

(If you can use selvage for the 14" side you save having to do an extra fold

If you cannot use selvage - you can either turn the end over, or use pinking shears)

Sew the 16" side  -2"  to make the open end of the pillowcase.

(if you need to do a double fold so no frayed edges are open - do it before you sew it)

Fold material in half and sew to make the pillow cover.

The love you sew into your pillow will help beyond measure!

You can also add a saying or sentiment to the pillow cover.  Ours says:

"A gift to you from

Breast Cancer DIY

www.breastcancerdiy.com

Do It Yourself, But Not Alone!"

HOW TO USE PILLOW:

The pillow is to be used after surgery.  You put it under the affected arm, so when your arm is at your side, it does not put pressure on the stitches, or create pressure on the breast area that has stitches.  This small pillow can be used in either direction, whichever is most comfortable.  Many people use it the long way, finding it more comfortable when walking around; and the short way when sitting.  This way it doesn't bunch up, or create pressure.  It can be used whichever way feels best, there is not right or wrong way, just what feels good for you."

Linthorpe WI 28th Birthday Party

We started off the evening with our usual meeting and discussions pertaining to the Federation newsletter, post received and local events.  We had updates from various members on events that they had attended such as the Afternoon Tea, Craft Club and the walk at Hardwick Hall, and it was interesting to catch up and hear about those events that you may not have been able to attend yourself (but wished that you had when you heard how enjoyable it was!)

We had a collection of food items to donate to the local food bank and, as ever, the generosity of our members showed no bounds and I am sure that the food bank (and those using it) will be most grateful for our assistance.  By the end of the evening there was actually a lot more food to donate than is pictured here.

We discussed a new pet project that we are adopting until March next year, which is the making of mastectomy cushions to donate to the Breast Care Clinic at James Cook University Hospital.  It has already been registered as a class in the Spring 2014 Show but we will also be crafting additional ones in the meantime to add to the stock.  The pattern that we are following can be found HERE and we would be VERY grateful if anyone out there would be willing to help us to craft these, thereby having more items to donate to the hospital. :o)

Next it was time for a Beetle Drive.  This author had never even heard of a Beetle Drive until recently and naively assumed that it meant we would all be driving around in Beetle cars for the evening!  I have to admit to being a little concerned at the price of this!  Thankfully a Beetle Drive turned out to be a much less complicated affair than this and extremely enjoyable - though I hadn't accounted for the fierce competitiveness of devoted WI members! :o)

Tea and our birthday buffet ensued, which was all donated by our members and was utterly delicious!  A fabulous mackerel pate was top of my personal favourite list, but the entire buffet was unbelievable - celery stuffed with cream cheese and prawns, dips and crudites, sausage rolls, pork pies, vol-au-vents, cheese straws, followed by numerous cakes....oooohhh the cakes!!!!!! :oD

While we enjoyed a cup of tea, buffet and chat, we took part in a just-for-fun picture quiz, which was surprisingly difficult - what on earth is the short cowboy on the horse in the supermarket advertising????  It's something in a fridge???  We could remember the advertisement, just not the product!!!  Juan Sheet - Plenty NOT Bounty!  Oh well..... our table may not have done quite so well as others, but we had a good laugh along the way!

Stainton in Cleveland WI - President's Coffee Evening

Another excellent evening hosted by the lovely ladies at Stainton in Cleveland WI.

We were served tea/coffee with biscuits and the opportunity to peruse the vast tombola stall, the rather ingenious 'pick a card and win a bottle' stall, the plant stall and the ever-popular (protect the ribs from competitive elbows) cake stall.  Linthorpe WI admirably supported this event and, despite several attempts, this web mistress seemed totally incapable of striking it lucky on the tombola stall - where a very wide and tempting range of prizes were on display.  Whilst Margaret won a grand total of FOUR items! (But I'm not bitter! <wink>). The evening drew to a close with the draw for the grand raffle.

As always, the chatter was friendly and engaging - and Stainton were magnificent hostesses.

WI Walk at Hardwick Hall

Well, what a fabulous afternoon with some absolutely wonderful ladies!

We all met at the Sedgefield Parish Church and set off for the short walk along public footpaths to Hardwick Hall (saving us each the £4.00 parking fee if we had actually met at the Hall).  The walk through a field of lambs and their mothers was lovely.

The path led into an under-road tunnel (saving having to cross the VERY busy main road) and emerging at the other end (directly into Hardwick Hall grounds) was like entering Alice's Wonderland. 

The first thing we could see was the castle-like folly at the entrance.

 

Just behind the 'castle' emerged a great lake, complete with Neptune standing right in the middle of it.

 

Following the footpath around to the right we were met by an extremely cute family of ducks (I only wish I'd brought some bread with me!)

 

And on along the path, where a building which looked (we thought) like a mausoleum emerged from behind the trees on the other side of the lake.

 

A little further on and we met a single heron, who didn't seemed very accustomed to human contact as he wasn't in the least bothered by our presence there.

 

As we continued along the path we found that it split up to go around another little lake and then an Indian-inspired seating area appeared amongst the trees on our right hand side.

 







Further on around the lake we crossed a bridge over a cascading waterfall and to our right was another 'castle' building.

The white structures are metal architecture of sofas and chairs with inscriptions on them.  These could be found all around the park in the shape of doors, carriages, painter's easels and all manner of interesting things.  You literally didn't know what you were going to come upon next!

Crossing the bridge we were now making our way along the other side of the great lake and stopped for a little while to watch some dogs frolicking in the water.  We then investigated the 'mausoleum' onto find that inside it was actually an art gallery!  The walls were surrounded by wonderful framed drawings and, should the fancy take you, the prices were on there too so that you could treat yourself!

Back into the wooded area we went and upon following one of the many meandering paths to choose from, we came upon this wonderful lady!

It is amazing what these wood sculptors can do!  She was soooo lifelike!  Amazing!

As we made our way back to the visitor centre we crossed a small wooden bridge across the stream (couldn't see any fish!) and I couldn't resist taking a photograph of the view.

Drinks, cakes, sandwiches and all manner of naughty goodness awaited us at the visitors centre and it would have been rude not to have indulged!  A circuitous walk back to Sedgefield Parish Church completed the afternoon (about 3 hours) and we sat for a while on the benches to chat (even more!) and say cheerio.  A wonderful day, amazing company and a magical, fabulous venue that I will most definitely be returning to!

Craft Club: Decorative Buttons

We had a great night tonight, learning a new (to us) skill of Yorkshire Button making and Dorset Button making.  Once we were underway it was relatively easy-sailing and quite therapeutic to be working ith our hands, whilst simltaneously exercising our mouth. <wink>

May Meeting - Gertrude Bell

Tonight was our monthly meeting and we had members give their feedback on recent events they had attended:
~ Log Cabin Quilting Workshop
~ Sing-a-long-a-Sound-of-Music
~ Magistrates Court Visit (this was so good that we may be asking the guy to do a future presentation for us!)
~ Federation Quiz Night

Of course, these were all excellent events which received extremely positive feedback! :oD

The speaker tonight was Gordon Hetherington who gave a very interesting talk on local legend, Gertrude Bell (a Redcar lass!).  By the time he'd finished telling us of the first female Oxford graduate and her acomplishments as a writer, traveller, political officer, administrator, archaeologist, cartographer, ambassador and spy - I think that I probably wasn't the only female in the room feeling slightly inadequate! ;o)

The Interest Competition was 'A Middlesbrough Item' and I particularly liked Babs entry - a photo of herself with the label "Middlesbrough Born and Bred". :o)