Saturday 20 February 2016

Our Mindfulness Meeting - February 2016

Hello there,

Welcome back to Bake, Natter and Roll - the Farnham WI blog.

This week we had our second monthly meeting - with our first external meeting. I think the whole committee felt that this was our first real meeting as a WI and were looking forward to seeing all the members again.

In this meeting 51 members and 7 guests joined us for an introduction to mindfulness, led by Suzette Jones Health & Wellbeing Adviser The Diocese of Guildford.


Suzette took us through the basic principals of mindfulness, introducing us to the concept of paying attention to our experience in the present moment with an attitude of acceptance. She explained that anyone can practice mindfulness and took us through some simple exercises.

We practiced mindful smiling - a very simple exercise where we did nothing but smile and focus on our smiles for a full thirty seconds.....


Suzette encouraged us to smile more, especially when we have moments in life when we become irritated. Next time you're stuck in a traffic jam give it a go - smile and for a few deep slow breaths.

Evidence shows that mindfulness practice can boost our well-being and compassion for ourselves and others. Being in the moment and paying attention makes us more present and awake in life.

As well as mindful smiling, we also learnt about the three step breathing space meditation and mindful eating - really thinking about the food we are eating, where has it come from and who created it, before eating it.


Suzette encouraged us to continue practising mindfulness at home - there are many different ways to do this, from colouring books, to guided mindfulness meditation to simply taking time out each day to focus the mind on your breath. 

The meeting was enjoyed by all our members and we'd like to thank Suzette for joining us for the evening

Thank you for popping by today,
The Bake, Natter and Roll Committee



Don't forget to try mindful smiling next time you feel your irritation levels rise!

Saturday 13 February 2016

Bake, Natter and Roll - Our Provisional Programme - Part 2

Hello there,

Welcome back to Bake, Natter and Roll - the Farnham WI blog!

Last week we took a look at the first half of our provisional programme for 2016, this week we are looking at July - December....

21st July - Make Do and Mend ....Or Swap

Advice on how to make our wardrobes more eco-friendly by mending, upcycling and re-using clothes rather than discarding them. We'll also be having a clothes swap....bring along two items of good-conditioned clothing that you no longer want and swap them for two other items!

August - TBC
Event or trip to be confirmed

15th September - Jam, but not Jerusalem



As autumn draws in and fruit is ready to be harvested it feels like a good time to get traditional with demonstrations (and hopefully samples!) of jam making, chutneys and maybe even home-grown champagne. Bring along the fruits of your labour if you've tried any of the grow-your-own tips from March's meeting, and enter your produce in our very own Freakiest Vegetable competition!

20th October - Think Pink



It's breast cancer awareness month and it's all about boobs! Wear something pink, eat pink cakes and drink pink fizz and make sure to bring along your loose change for a raffle in aid of Frimley Park Hospital's Breast Care Appeal.

17th November - Annual Meeting & Christmas Craft

Traditionally every WI holds their annual meeting in November. We'll have reports from the Commitee and other business to take care of, and then we will turn our attention to some Christmas crafting.

15th December - Mistletoe and Wine Cocktails



Let's round off 2016 with a Bake, Natter and Roll Christmas Party!

We hope you'll agree that we've got a great year ahead of us - full of exciting activities and opportunities to natter with new friends and old!

Don't forget - if you get crafty at home or have some home grown veggies you're proud of...take a photo and share it with us over on our Facebook Page!

Thank you for popping by today,
The Bake, Natter and Roll Committee

Wednesday 10 February 2016

Craft Time....Let's make fabric flowers!

Hello there,




Welcome back to Bake, Natter and Roll - the Farnham WI blog!

At our first meeting in January we did a spot of speed crafting and previously we shared with you how to make Cat's gorgeous paper flowers - today we've got the instructions for Miriam's fabric flowers.







Sew a straight running stitch along a strip of material, leaving about ½ cm from the edge of length and making stitched about 1 cm apart.

You can begin to pull and ruffle as you go.  Don’t pull too hard or it will break your thread.  Just pull slowly.


Keep pulling the thread slowly until it wraps around into a ruffle flower shape

Turn your flower to the back side and sew a few stitches with knots in the back (especially where the two ends of fabric meet). This will finish up your flower.

Add a jewel or a button to the center!

Simple yet effective - you can attach a clip or pin to the back of the flowers to turn them into pretty accessories.



The original concept for this project comes from The Crafting Chicks

If you've made one of these flowers why not show us? Take a photo and post it on our Facebook page

Thank you for popping by today,
The Bake, Natter and Roll Committee

Tuesday 9 February 2016

We Made the Press!

Hello there,

Welcome back to Bake, Natter and Roll - the Farnham WI blog!

We're a little excited this week at Bake, Natter and Roll Towers......as we found ourselves in the local newspaper - The Farnham Herald....

Bake, Natter and Roll in the Farnham Herald - we're famous!

Making a splash with a lovely article all about our first meeting and a colour photo of our fab members....in the centre of page three!

Hopefully this will be the first of many articles as we start our WI adventures!

Thank you for popping by today,
The Bake, Natter and Roll Committee

Saturday 6 February 2016

Bake, Natter and Roll - Our Provisional Programme - Part 1

Hello there,

Welcome back to Bake, Natter and Roll - The Farnham WI Blog!

When you first launch a new WI group you need to produce a provisional programme of activities for the year ahead and so today we thought we'd share with you our first programme of activities.

You already know that we started the year with a spot of speed crafting....but what is still to come for our lovely members? From social media to jam making from Christmas craft to gardening - we've got lots to look forward to! In Part 1 of this blog article we will look at January - June 2016.....

18th Feb - An introduction to mindfulness

Simple meditation techniques to help us focus on the present are believed to promote well-being and improve mental health. We're going to hear from our guest speaker Suzette Jones MSc RNLD, Health and Wellbeing Adviser for the Diocese of Guildford.

17th March - Let it Grow, Let it Grow

This month we are being joined by a grower from Farnham Local Food, who will give us more information about this exciting local community project, as well as giving us tips on growing fruit and veg at home.




21st April - General Natter

A night to cement new friendships we've made over cake and a drink (or two) - members can bring a craft project they are working on or maybe a board game. Be prepared for lots of nattering!

19th May - Tea-riffic

Advice on managing your online presence from author of the afternoon tea blog "Tea With Me and Friends". Find Twitter and Facebook confusing....not sure what Instagram is...this is the night for you! We'll also be enjoying a spot of afternoon tea!



16th June - WI-NEY Night!

Who doesn't enjoy a tipple every now and then?? Come along and try a selection of wines that we will have available. We'll have a wine expert on hand who will tell us a bit more about grape varieties and the areas they come from. Please drink responsibly!

That's the first half of our year covered - we hope you think its a great start to Bake, Natter and Roll! Pop back next week to see the rest of the programme!

Bake, Natter and Roll - Farnham WI

Why not join us on Facebook or Twitter - come and share photos of your latest bake or craft!

Thank you for popping by today,
The Bake, Natter & Roll Committee

Tuesday 2 February 2016

Craft time - Let's make paper flowers

Hello there,

Welcome back to Bake, Natter & Roll - the Farnham WI blog!

One of our crafts at our first WI meeting in January was paper flowers. These are easy to make, but look great and can be used to decorate all kinds of things.



Cat made them to decorate presents last Christmas

You will need:
Brown paper
Stamps, ink & glitter paint (or other decorating materials)
Card for petal templates
PVA glue
White paper

To make the flowers:
1. First you need to decorate the brown paper. Get creative for this part - Cat used stamps, glitter paint and tipex for her flowers.
2. Cut out a template for your petal shapes - 1 smaller and 1 larger. Try different shapes and sizes to create different flowers.
3. Use the template to cut out the petal shapes - you will need approximately 5 or 6 of each size for every flower.
4. Next cut out a small rectangle of white paper to make the stamens.
5. Cut the top third of the paper into narrow strips and then roll it up tightly before sticking the end down using a small amount of PVA glue. Fan out the cut end and voila - you have a stamen.



6. Now crumple each of the petals to give the flower a more natural look when finished - don't be afraid to give them a really good crumple as it gives the petals a great texture.
7. Starting with the smaller petals, use the glue to attach them one at a time to the rolled end of the stamen, overlapping them slightly.
8. Once you have added the small petals repeat for the larger petals, overlapping the smaller petals.
9. When complete, fan the petals out to open up the flower

As you can see these flowers are really pretty and can be used to adorn many different things.....


They can also be as unique as you, as the decoration on the petals is designed by you.

So what are you waiting for - why not give it a go....and don't forget to pop by our Facebook page and show us your make!

The original idea for this project is from A Piece of Rainbow blog.

Thank you for popping by today,
the Bake, Natter & Roll Committee