Saturday 29 November 2014

Shipdham Craft Fair



Well, not quite sure how to open this post - it's been such a while since I last posted and I've almost forgotten what I was going to say about the craft fair! I put the photos up quite soon after but then got into a whirlwind of cooking and music and family stuff and textiles quite went out of the window and everything to do with it.

Anyhow, above is my stand at the Shipdham Craft Fair. It taxed my ingenuity a little to get it set up around the church pews and the pillars, but actually it was a surprisingly pleasant venue. We were kept going with teas and coffees and cakes and savouries made  and organised by the talented Mrs LESLEY BUCK. Thanks so much Lesley for inviting me to take part in the event. Amazingly, I seem not to have any photographs of Lesley's daughter KERRY BUCK, who you will know from previous posts, as a talented artist and print-maker, who is responsible for my lovely "If there be crows" print hanging on my cottage wall. Sorry Kerry!


Opposite my stand you can see YVONNE AUTIE  setting up her jewellery and a few textile bits and pieces - she concentrated on her jewellery this time.




Further down the aisle was MARIE DAWE    and her fabulous mosaics and stained glass. You can imagine I was instantly taken by her pieces and planning on how I could do a course with her.......when common sense kicked in. I am weaning myself off going down blind alleys, being led by my butterfly mind.




Over the other side of the church was this chap, PHIL ARTHUR,  selling his pottery birds, largely owls. They are SO tactile! Aren't they wonderful?





At the back of the church, around the font, and just across from me, is my old friend JULIE KING and her baskets. I LOVE a well-made basket, and Julie and husband Rob make exceedingly good ones.


The flat, round basket on top of the font at the front so intrigued me. Julie tells me it is an Irish Potato Strainer, which actually sits on the kitchen table in front of the diners, with the newly strained spuds dripping away through the spaces between the .....withies? I loved it, I might just have to have a word and buy it and use it as a fruit bowl perhaps. If that's allowed. Should one use these things for purposes for which they were not designed?


Right next to me was lovely AMELIA BOWMAN, or Amy, as she preferred to be called. Amy's prints intrigued me, and she gave me a detailed run-through of the process she uses to create her colographs.




And that's the lot, I didn't take any more photographs. It was a surprisingly slow day for everyone, though most of us were fortunate enough to make sufficient to make it worth our while. Last year apparently had been much busier, but there you are, you win some you lose some. It was still a very nice day out and I met some lovely people. Thanks again Lesley, for the invite!

Now then, I have got this post out of the way, I feel I can start again properly. I must tell you, textiles are not much on my mind at the moment, you know how much I am an all-or-nothing kinda gal, and it is so hard for me to do stuff when I'm not 'into' it at the time. Fortunately I'm not trying to hold down a job now!!

I want to thank those of you who have been kindly asking about my health and happiness and extending good wishes for my return to blogging. I've even become facebook friends with a couple of bloggers who visit Textile Treasury, it has been good keeping up with them even though I've not been blogging. So hi there Kathy and Lynne! You've been keeping me going!

See you soon!





17 comments:

  1. Ha ! That's how life goes Lynne whirled away in all kinds of fun or "duties" ;-)
    You had a great stand out there (I thought it looked like a small church from the first picture ...)
    Love the little bird that flew away from the cushion (sort of)
    Oh my, the pottery birds are truely amazing !!!
    Bye my friend, have a good Sunday !

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    1. Hi Els, yes, other stuff just happens, doesn't it? There were a lot of birds - of one kind or another at the fair! Lxx

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  2. wow what a lovely post - nice to see your work again and to be introduced to all the other stall holders as well - sounds as if you were surrounded by friends - i think i may have come home with a few things had i visited!!!! sorry that it wasn't very well attended - you win some you lose some - it is so disheartening when you have lived and breathed something for weeks - you cannot help but take it personally BUT i guess that everyone is feeling the pinch these days!! thanks also for your kind words at the end of the post - i have been very much enjoying your facebook posts - especially the music ones - i loved the beautiful haunting french ones and became a little obsessed i have to confess - cooking i can take or leave BUT i enjoy seeing the photos!!!! take care xxx

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    1. Ha! Hi Lynne, yes lovely to 'meet' you on face book too. I wasn't too disheartened at the fair, I made enough to make it worth my while, and as everyone had a slow day I certainly didn't feel personally downhearted. ANd I guess it means I still have stiff for the next one, which I think will be in Spring, at another village hall. Glad you've enjoyed the music - it's a big part of my life! Lxxx

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  3. I'd been about to email you today, really concerned that perhaps you were ill or there were worries over your Mum, so it was a relief to see this lovely post. Hurrah, Lynne's back....x

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    1. Ah thanks Edwina, no just total inertia! And mum is just the same really. No idea when there will be a post about textiles as I am "off the boil" where that is concerned at the moment - but I have no doubt it will be back on the agenda at some point! Lx

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  4. Those pottery birds must have a use as it looks like their heads come off and have handles, a jug perhaps? I made a potato strainer on my weaving course, not as big as that one though, I keep my knitting cotton in it! Glad to have you back.

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    1. You're right, DC, in fact the one of the owl almost looks as if it might be a jug and cup doesn't it? Thank you, feeling relieved I have got this post done and my guilty conscience is at bay!! Lx

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  5. Hi Sue, yes, and I find the longer you leave between posts the harder it is to get back into gear. Hopefully I'll be more "in the flow" as you say.

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  6. How lovely to see a post from you, and to see everyone's wares.

    Are you 'on the boil' with other non-textile things I wonder I too have a butterfly mind and know the pull towards the new and novel, and I rather like embracing the push and pull of that. I'm not sure that's the best apparoach for a blogger but I go with it anyway :)

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    1. Hi Annie, yes, there are other things occupying my enthusiasm in place of textiles! I'm about to get going with another post in which I discuss it a little. The up side is that I can research a new thing to the "nth" degree, and enjoy lots of enthusiasms which introduce me to lots of lovely people and new interests. The downside is that I often feel I am on a merry-go-round, and the waning of an interest can fall at inconvenient times! My son suggests I have an adult form of ADHD, which he has been researching as our smallest grandson has been diagnosed with ADHD and it is suggested that is it familial; Kit has since been diagnosed and he suggested I show alarmingly similar traits! I tis a bit of a misnomer, as it isn't so much attention DEFICIT as HYPER - FOCUS, which, as I say, can be darned useful at times, but taken to excess can be quite limiting. It's good now that I can recognise it in myself, and I've stopped calling my self lazy and thick! Lxxx

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    2. I'm quite sure you were never lazy or thick! And yes, hyper focussed but then once mastered(ish) ready to move on to the next thing, me too. I was once told that is the mark of a considerable intelligence, think Leonardo Da Vinci! ;)

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    3. Ha! Wonderful , Annie, I shall stop criticising myself and ally myself with Leonardo! We know from our research into dyslexia (one of the grand-daughter has this) that it is no indication of IQ but there are many notables throughout history and the present day who are similarly affected.As with so many other "Afflictions" there are great benefits if correctly handled. Just, as I say, the will 'o the wisp nature of the ADHD can be a bit darned inconvenient at times! Lxx

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    1. Hi Gill, yes, back again and full of good intentions! Lx

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  8. Hello Lynne, What a lovely fair and so much diversity. I love your quilts especially the one with the applique birds and flowers. That glass fish stole my heart . . . it is amazing being able to see into the minds of so many creative artists. From an idea to a finished piece of work . . . there is so much of ones soul that goes into handcrafted items, every little detail a part of their imaginative minds. Thank you for sharing . . . Fun post!

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    1. Hello Connie, lovely to hear from you. Yes, the quality of the produce was amazing (not meaning mine!) and I have made so many new friends through attending craft fairs, I am amazed at the amount of talent there is in this county! Lxxxx

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