What a fabulous weekend, spent in the most beautiful setting (imagine a National Trust House where you can use all of the facilities and make yourself thoroughly at home!)! The grounds were looking stunning, especially in the morning sun with the frost glinting!
I stayed in the Warwickshire room ( each Federation has furnished and decorated a bedroom, so it feels as if you are staying in a friend's en suite guest room!) and my friend was in 'Devon Moors' so I was able to have a quick look at hers, too! The Devon quilted bedspread was exquisite! Wow! Also there was some really delicate and beautiful Honiton lace framed on the wall. There are books and leaflets in each room giving information about each county and about the WI Federation in that county, so it's all very interesting!
I spent the weekend on an Inspiring Women craft course with three friends from my previous WI in Leigh on Mendip, Somerset. Their WI has a Denman bursary which they were able to share between them.
Here is my Warwickshire room, fully equipped for maximum comfort and very warm! Although there wasn't much time left to spend there!
There was a wide selection of courses to choose from: on Friday evening we all watched a flower arranger, one of the staff members, create some beautiful designs, which were added to the raffle. (It's the WI, there's always a raffle!) the proceeds of which go towards the travel fund which assists the members who live more than 150 miles away from Denman.
This one was created using glossy aspidistra leaves, roses and carnations.
I hope the people who were lucky enough to win them in the raffle were not travelling home by train! Tricky!
The food was very good- waitress service for the evening meal, plenty of choice and, of course, lots of good company!
I chose to do mosaics:
Here it is, now that I've grouted it:
The tutor was excellent! So very knowledgeable, enthusiastic and very patient! She sells kits, too - I was very tempted to buy the gecko kit, but she had sold out... Probably a good thing! I may have a look at her website... Lily-mosaics.co.uk. She used lots of different tiles and glass, as well as buttons and millefiori glass, too, which we applied to our choice of MDF shape, there were 20 or so to choose from. It was very inspiring!
Then I did the Scandinavian Craft workshop - apparently this is really on trend! We made a felt brooch, then some shapes from white Fimo clay. I now need to add some colour to the raised sections of mine, using pen or thread in the case of the heart. It was a bit like sugar craft, apparently! The tutor was Natalie Green.
On Saturday evening there was a folk band, so we all had a chance to join in with a variety of country dances! It was lots of fun, and so typical,of a Denman weekend in that everyone joined in together and made new friends from all over the country. There was one lady who must have been in her 90s and about a third under 40 I would say. Plenty of people had come by themselves, but very soon found loads of people to talk to! (No surprise there on a WI weekend!)
My final workshop was lantern making - I wasn't quite sure what to expect! It was great - once again, excellent tuition and a very achievable result.
They have a battery operated 'tea light' inside, so very safe but still giving the effect of a candle inside. You can use whatever fabric you choose to match the decor of your room - or garden! You can find this tutor on Instagram and Facebook : shadesbynatalie
What a fabulous weekend! We were very well looked after, and so well fed! We had tea and coffee breaks during every workshop - with home made biscuits or cakes! Also free access to hot drinks at all times! We were wondering about stopping on the way home for tea and cake - withdrawal symptoms kicking in already! There is always a WI host on hand, in addition to the Denman staff, to minister to our every need, and available throughout the night as well as during the day! Ours was a lovely lady, Sally, from Cambridgeshire Federation, so chatty and friendly!
