Archive for 2011

WYFWI Table Top Sale

Wednesday 14 December 2011 § 0

As part of the West Yorkshire Federation of Women's Institutes we do our bit to raise money for them, as well as for our own group.

A recent event was a Table Top Sale in Rodley, just near the WYFWI offices.

Buns & Roses had a table to sell our members' handmade wares and Gemma was also promoting the WI's own Denman College in Oxfordshire.




 One of our younger Members Natalie was selling some of her unwanted items - check out all those cuddly toys looking for new homes!
And this is Janet, one of our newest Members, who makes totally yummy biscuits and preserves.

We've one more craft fair for the year (see www.bunsandroses.co.uk for details) then we'll be looking forward to events in 2012.

Buns & Roses WI at the Knitting and Stitching Show

Saturday 10 December 2011 § 0


The West Yorkshire Federation of Women's Institutes again had a stand at the Knitting and Stitching Show in Harrogate this year and some of our Members were among the ladies helping out over the four days.







Everyone had great fun demonstrating various craft techniques and talking to visitors.

The stand was decorated with some really beautiful pieces - WI ladies really are a talented bunch.

December workshop - Christmas Crafts

Tuesday 6 December 2011 § 0

Our December workshop was Have Yourself a Crafty Little Christmas where we made three festive projects.

Hayley showed us how to make our own mini stockings, Helen G taught us to make felt angel decorations and Gemma helped us make a card and gift tag.







We're all set for the festive season now!

November meeting - Fraying Like a Flower

Monday 28 November 2011 § 0

Our November meeting was entitled Fraying Like a Flower, so-called because we were joined by Jade Smith to teach us how to make raggy flowers for use as brooches, hair clips etc.

Here is Jade in the middle. She is a researcher at Huddersfield University looking at the elationship women have with their clothes. Many of our Roses will be taking part by completing wardrobe audits - scary!


Here are some of the girls making their flowers. Very easy to do - scraps of old fabric, a square of hessian and a poking device!

There was much other jollity as well, with Gloria working the raffle.


Such talents among us!

Just a few more weeks now until our Christmas party and then we say farewell to 2011 and hello to 2012.

Buns & Roses WI at the deliciouslyorkshire food awards

Sunday 13 November 2011 § 0

Towards the end of summer, Gemma and Hayley were invited to be on the judging panel at the deliciouslyorkshire Awards.

They were joined by chefs and foodie types at Thomas Danby College for a morning of sampling the finest produce to come out of our fair county.

First up weer the sweet preserves.

 Mmmmm jam ....

There were also the savoury preserves and cooked meats to be tried and tasted.

After each category, all the judges had to deliberate over the top few and choose a winner.

We can't reveal any of the gossip, but visit deliciouslyorkshire to find out the latest news.

November workshop - Dawn of the Thread (Felt Zombies)

Sunday 6 November 2011 § 1

 Our November workshop was Dawn of the Thread and we spent the evening making felt zombies.

They were scary little fellas, not only because of their dangly eyes and exploding brains, but also because of their fiddly-ness and use of tiny beads!

Still, all the girls battled on with the nightmare that is the beading needle and everyone had something to show for their time.

It all looks a bit chaotic with various bits of felt, thread and beads lying around! 


There was lots of intricate work and concentrating faces.



 And this is how they turned out. Scary!

Radiothread - October meeting

Sunday 23 October 2011 § 0

October's meeting was Radiothread, and it was a general session for people to come along and work on their current craft projects.

We're pleased to report that we gained 12 new members, with lots of people taking advantage of signing up for 2012 early to get the rest of this year free. Thanks for being part of our WI group!

As well as enjoying a drink, a natter and some crafting, Suzanne from Potterdoodle brought our teacups and saucers that we had painted earlier in the month.

They look absolutely stunning now they have been fired and glazed. Drinking tea will never be the same again!







Buns & Roses WI at the Morley Literature Festival

Sunday 16 October 2011 § 0

 Last weekend we were at the Morley Literature Festival, serving up tea and cake at the request of organiser Jenny.

Hayley spent all of Friday making more than 70 cupcakes and chocolate brownies. Gemma helped by choosing sprinkles, licking the bowls and making labels.



Helen and Gloria did a marvellous job serving tea to the participants. Don't they look good in their pinnys!

 Hayley and Gemma manned the craft stall.


 The focus for the afternoon's session was jewellery company Tatty Devine. On the left is one of our very own Roses Elly , who was the host for the interview.

The cakes went down very well and we made lots of new friends.

Find out more about those involved:




Cuptown Girl - October workshop

Sunday 9 October 2011 § 0

Our October workshop was aptly entitled Cuptown Girl, as we were painting our very own teacups and saucers!

Suzanne from Potterdoodle brought all the equipment along and gave us some excellent tips on how to get the best results. 


Everyone was raring to go as soon as they saw the paints in front of them - we became giggly schoolgirls but fortunately didn't make too much mess (plastic aprons were a very good idea!).



Sam and Jenn were particularly excitable.


Here's Jen very carefully making a polka dot cup. She even drew round the paint pot to make sure the circles were neat!


Note the look of concentration on everyone's faces!






There were many stunning designs and all the girls really got stuck in. Not only did we have free reign with the paints, but Suzanne brought loads of stamps and stencils to get the creativity flowing as well.

The cups and saucers have now been taken for Suzanne to fire and glaze, and we will have them back at our meeting later this month looking all bright and shiny. Not sure that tea will be the first thing drunk from them though, considering the excellent bar at the Cosmopolitan ...

If you want to paint your own teacup and saucer, or other crockery, give Suzanne a shout. You can find info at Potterdoodle.