The Denman Experience

Hello there,

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

As a newly formed WI group we are always learning new things about the Women's Institute and today we're sharing with you a little about Denman.

So what's it all about then, we hear you cry....

Denman offers a wide variety of day and residential courses in cookery, craft and lifestyle. Set in the picturesque village of Marcham, in Oxfordshire, the Georgian mansion and seventeen acres of grounds provide the perfect atmosphere for learning.

Denman (from website)

With over 500 day and residential courses to choose from, Denman offers one of the widest ranges of short courses in the UK.  Guests can choose from day schools or two to four night residential courses, led by tutors with vast experience in their field and a passion for imparting their knowledge to others. Courses range from novice to experienced and everyone is welcome — men and women, members and non-members.

A sample of the courses available.....

WI Baking Weekender

World Street Food

A Taste of Italy

Polymer Clay Jewellery

Festive Willow

Leatherwork: From Belts to Bracelets

Family History for Beginners

Gardening: Three Famous Gardeners

Music Appreciation: Gershwin and Porter

There is something for everyone!

Guests who opt for a residential course get to stay, eat and relax at Denman as well. All of Denman’s sixty-nine en-suite bedrooms are designed and furnished by WI members — providing a unique and individual feel to each room. Guests also enjoy mouth-watering meals, sourced from local farms and independent suppliers, including a wide range of regional and seasonal recipes.

For more information about Denman and the current courses on offer, please visit their website.

Thank you for popping by today,

The Bake, Natter and Roll Committee

Bake, Natter and Roll......Meet the Committee - Part 2

Hello there,

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

Today we continue to meet the WI Committee. After meeting Cat last week, let's say hello to Vice President and resident blogger Rachel Wheeler....

Rachel lives with her partner Joe and their two cats (Steve and Tinker) in Farnham. Rachel isn't originally from Farnham, moving her about three and a half years ago.

Why did you join Bake Natter and Roll?

I love the idea of a group of diverse women who meet up to share skills, knowledge and a good gossip! I'm a bit of a crafty individual (I love to sew and enjoy papercraft), as well as having a passion for cakes and homemade food and therefore the WI has always appealed to me. I'm also keen to meet new friends since moving into the area.

What is your favourite cake? 

Tough question.....probably coffee cake....although I do love lemon drizzle too! 

Tell us three facts about you....

1) I write a blog dedicated to the art of afternoon tea - Tea With Me and Friends

2) I love talking - I probably talk too much sometimes!

3) I used to be a Brownie Guide Leader, I was known as Squirrel

Why not say hi to Rachel at the next monthly meeting - tell her about your favourite afternoon tea adventure! Pop back to the blog soon to meet more of the committee!

Thank you for popping by today,

The Bake, Natter and Roll Committee

Inspired by our monthly meeting - Make, Do and Mend!

Hello there,

Welcome back to the Bake, Natter and Roll blog, we hope you're well today!

It's Rachel here, sharing with you a sewing project that I recently completed. If you popped by the blog recently you'll know all about our July monthly meeting, where we met Alice and Ginny and enjoyed a talk about make do and mend. I was really inspired by one part of the talk in particular - the bit where an old shirt was unpicked for the fabric. I was amazed at the amount of fabric that you got from just one shirt!

With this in mind I scoured the local charity shops in Farnham, looking for something I could unpick and upcycle into something new. I came across this shapeless dress in a fab tropical print, which cost me just £3.95. I wouldn't have picked the dress for myself, but I loved the fabric....

It's a size 16 dress in a light, floaty fabric that I thought would make a lovely summer top.

The first thing I needed to do was unpick the seams and see how much fabric I had to play with. I unpicked one of the side seams first, then I started on the bias binding that was attached to the neckline and also used for the straps. 

I wish I had been a little bit more careful with the bias binding, the majority of it came off really easily and was reuseable.....but in my haste a bit of it ended up with holes. 

I was really impressed with the amount of fabric I got.....this little lot would have cost me more than £4.00 if I bought it new....

I have a pattern for a simple, sleeveless top that I knew would work well in this fabric. I knew I could reuse the bias binding for the arm holes, so I just needed to add a little black bias binding for my neck line. 

So I got started, cutting my fabric out....with a little help from Steve the cat....

As mentioned above I reused the original bias binding for my arm holes....

...and used a little black bias binding from my craft stash for the neck line....

I had more than enough fabric for this top, and although it wasn't the easiest fabric to work with I was pleased with my finished piece and I've already worn this top out....

There is nothing better than making your own clothes....having something that no one else has and that tends to fit you better than shop bought clothes.

I also loved the challenge of taking something old and making it into something I would wear. 

My top tip if you wanted to do this yourself (and I would encourage you to) is to take your time when unpicking the seams. Less speed means less rips in your fabric!

I'll definitely be doing this again in the future - thanks to Alice and Ginny for the inspiration!

Thank you for popping by today!

Rachel - The Bake, Natter and Roll Committee

Our July Meeting .....Make Do and Mend

Hello there,

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

This month Vice President Kate hosted the monthly meeting which included a talk and demonstration from Alice and Ginny and a clothes swish! The theme for the meeting was "make do and mend" and we enjoyed an informative evening, led by Alice and Ginny, which was followed by time clothes swapping...giving our unwanted clothes a new home!

Alice and Ginny is a collaboration of friends Alice Butcher and Ginny Farquhar, who provide fun, informative sewing workshops that focus on building good core sewing skills, enabling greater confidence for independent sewing. They offer sewing & craft classes for all ages in Hampshire & Surrey.

During the evening Alice and Ginny talked through the importance of the "make do and mend" movement and how we can all learn simple skills to prolong the life of our clothes or reuse them in an imaginative way.

We saw lots of tools of the trade during the talk and were given ideas and tips for upcycling clothes. Alice also showed us how much fabric you can gain from unpicking an old shirt!

We were also given some top tips for sewing on missing buttons....and we all got to have a go....

Once the talk had finished the clothes swap commenced. Each attending member was inviting to bring along good quality clothes that they no longer wanted, and then we swapped....

a fun way to share clothes, extending the life of unwanted items in your wardrobe!

Once again this was a very informative evening, which left our members feeling inspired to give their wardrobes a new lease of life!

We'd like to thank Alice and Ginny for joining us.

Thank you for popping by today,

The Bake, Natter and Roll Committee

Bake, Natter and Roll......Meet the Committee - Part 1

Hello there,

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

Today we wanted to start introducing our WI Committee. You see us each month at the meetings, see us all on Facebook......but it's time to find out a little more about us!

And we're going to start with our lovely President... Cat Hoare...

Cat is married to Gav, they have three children and live in Farnham.

Why did you join Bake Natter and Roll?
I wanted to join the WI to make new friends, have some "me" time and learn some new things. There weren't any groups in the area with similar aged people, so I decided to start one!

What is your favourite cake? 
Lemon drizzle

Tell us three facts about you....
1) I have 3 children who are amazing but completely exhausting!
2) I love baking and used to have a business selling cupcakes.
3) One of my favourite things to do is curl up with a good book, hence why I've started a Bake Natter and Roll book club.

Pop back to the blog soon to see what we've been up to and meet more of the committee!

Thank you for popping by today,

The Bake, Natter and Roll Committee

Introducing.....the Bake, Natter and Roll Sub Groups!

Hello there,

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

An important part of every successful WI group are the sub-groups which run outside of the monthly meetings. As a newly established WI group, Bake Natter and Roll have only just started running their sub groups, but we're looking forward to sharing everything we get up to over the coming months. 

So what's a sub group we hear you cry.....well in its basic form its an interest group....a meeting of like minded ladies with a shared passion / interest. Sub groups can range from pudding clubs and rambling groups to crochet circles or theatre groups. As long as there is enough interest in a subject (and enough time) a sub-group can exist. 

President Cat has started a Sunday Book Club....here she tells us a bit more about it....

The first meeting of the BNR Sunday Book Club was on 26th June. where five of our lovely members enjoyed bubbly, chocolates, nibbles and putting the world to rights, and occasionally even remembered to discuss the book! 

Our first read was Dietland by Sarai Walker, a book with themes of dieting and body image with a rather rousing feminist message behind it, which almost everyone enjoyed reading, although it wasn't quite what we were expecting. 

Next month we'll be chatting about Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins.

Sub-groups, like book clubs, are a really good way for diverse groups of members to get together outside the main monthly meetings and get to know others while indulging in shared interests. We have several book clubs getting started and other groups include a regular baby/toddler meet-up. 

We'll also shortly have a walking group, sewing group and crochet group getting going. Sub-groups depend on members being willing to co-ordinate them, so if you are interested in joining or setting up a group please do let us know!

Thank you for popping by today,

The Bake, Natter and Roll Committee

Our June Meeting.....WI-NEY Night!

Hello there,

Welcome back to Bake, Natter and Roll, the Farnham WI blog! We're a little behind with our blog posts at the moment....sorry!

Way back in June (that's how behind we are with our posts - whoops!) Vice President Lydia hosted a fab WI-ney night where we were joined by Thomas Jack from Wine Rack in Farnham for a talk on wine!

VP Lydia overseeing the wine!

Thomas took us through a selection of old world and new world wines from around the world, telling us about the techniques used to make them.....and of course we got to sample the wines too....

Old world wine vs. new world wine - which will you chose?

We learnt that largely the difference between old world and new world wines is the methods used to make the wine. 

Old World wine countries wine making tends to be restricted, with guidelines all wineries must follow. Each country and region in the Old World has been making their wine the same way for centuries, and current winemakers are held to those traditional standards. The New World generally places less emphasis on making wine the same way it has been made previously, and more emphasis on making wine that takes advantage of modern advances.

We also learnt that everyone has their own preference when it comes to wine and it's good to explore the different wines available.

It was an educational, but fun evening which we all enjoyed. 

We'd like to thank Thomas for joining us for the evening!

Thank you for popping by today,

The Bake, Natter and Roll Committee