Hello, the friendly face in the photograph above is Sue of crafts at home blogspot. Yvonne and I fought our way through the crowds at the Harrogate Knitting and Stitching Show on Friday, to find Sue and her stand in the designers and makers section.
Sue was selling her ingenious little mirrors, magnets, badges and hair slides beautifully decorated with colourful fabric backs. We spent ages trying to make up our minds which ones we would take home with us. We especially wanted to meet up with Sue as she had very kindly sent me two complimentary tickets to the show - how great was that! It's always lovely to meet friends from the Blogosphere, and I'm sure Sue and I will meet again.
We then went to say hello to Mandy Patullo whose work we both adore. Mandy is giving a workshop at Jane-Ann's studio next year so we were mightily excited you can believe me, to see her work 'in the flesh'. I can also reveal we both came away with one of Mandy's little bird textiles, I'll have to show you in a later post. I didn't take any photographs there and then.
I was delighted to come across a new-to-me stand selling Donegal Tweed. This is such beautiful fabric and if you love wool and felt and blanket, you wouldn't be able to resist it. I wasn't! I had a lovely chat to Margaret, who is herself from Donegal, and she is sending me the most gorgeous book which I will show you next time - they had sold out on the second day of the show!
Here's Margaret, smiling at my inability to choose between the gorgeous rolls of tweed - I could happily have happily taken the entire stand home with me!
Look! What's not to love! If you google Fabric Affair, Donegal Tweed you will find their website. I can't wait to get going with my little stash! It will make great bangles, and is also great to applique with.
Here is Louise, who does much of the stitching of the samples on the stand. I didn't get chance to speak to her as she was busy with customers.
We managed to see the stands we had marked on our programme, Yvonne renewing her acquaintance with Val Holmes, machine embroiderer supreme, me finding that Jean at Oliver Twists does indeed still hand-dye the soft cotton I love to stitch with, both of us swooning with pleasure at the tactile and visual delights at 21st Century Yarns. I did indulge myself with some hand-dyed variegated wool felt. It is SOOOoooooo beautiful!
A few more purchases at other stalls and we felt we had had enough - impossible to get through the crush to the food outlet, and not prepared to eat our lunch sitting on the floor - why are these events so woefully badly organised for the comfort of the paying punters? - we decided to make our escape about 1pm. We were extremely lucky with the weather so it wasn't a bad drive both ways, though we were very tired when we reached our respective homes.
And the gorgeousness didn't end there - Saturday found us trundling along the damp and dirty November Norfolk lanes to Jane-Ann's at Swanton Novers. It was a hive of industry.
Yes, I did find and take with me the rag rug seat cover I'm working on! And I did hook away for a couple of hours too. Then I completed another bangle for Yvonne.
Yvonne finished her sunflower cushion with wonderful attention to detail.
Jackie worked on a commission from the craft fair........
Nadine got stuck in to another of her geometric rugs .......
Monica hooked away for a while then decided she wasn't satisfied so she engaged in what we quilters
call 'frogging' and rug hookers call 'reverse hooking'!
Jane-Ann demonstrated a brilliant braiding technique, made us a lovely lunch, and kept her work-space looking spic and span. I'd love to say my sewing room looks remotely as tidy as this - but that is never going to happen!
Just a few shots of the treasure trove of lovely things found in the studio.......
I hope you've enjoyed the luscious textile eye candy in this post. It has been a couple of full-on days dedicated to cloth, wool, thread and colour. We'll need a week to get over all the excitement! See you soon, have a good week.
What a truly amazing post! I would love to go to craft fairs like this, they are few and far between around here and the goods on offer there are just mind blowing. The workshops are wonderful, I would not know where to start. Have a wonderful week. xx
ReplyDeleteThanks Chel, it was a great couple of days.
DeleteLooks really inspiring, and very busy! I hope you were feeling better. I know what you mean about the food thing I've lost count of how many places we've been where the queues go for miles, and we end up going hungry!
ReplyDeleteHi Felicity, it really does get me down when you drive miles to these places only to find the facilities are terrible. Having said that we did have a lovely time browsing and making the odd purchase!! Still waiting to get this thing sorted, dear old NHS on its last legs! Lx
DeleteOhhhh my ! you had a wonderful time (ánd goodies) at the show !!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteThe back of the sunflower cushion is cute ;-)
Hi Els, yes, Yvonne does finish off her cushions beautifully. This was a thrifted shirt - a good linen one! Lx
DeleteWhat absolute BLISS Lynne! Looks like you had such a grand old time this weekend, lucky you getting to the show and I love me a bit of tweed I do x look forward to seeing what you use your stash for xxx Penny
ReplyDeleteHi Penny, I can't wait to get going with that tweed, it feels lovely and the colours are wonderful. Lx
DeleteWish we had more like that down south...and the shirt back cushion is genius, thanks for sharing. EE xx.
ReplyDeleteHI Ethel, well, you know we don't have anything like that where we are either! If you live in Norfolk you have to drive EVERYWHERE to see anything, and we either get the coach to Alexander Palace in London - a whole day and a long day THAT is I can tell you, or a good three hour drive up to HArrogate and really really crap parking facilities. Still, one must suffer for ones Art, mustn't One!! Lx
DeleteLovely post Lynne. What fun you must have had with all that textile gorgeousness to cast your eyes over. Great pictures and feel as though I came along with you.
ReplyDeletePatricia x
I'm now realising which stands I have missed, Patricia, but I don't think we did too badly - and we probably left at the right time. Glad you enjoyed the post.Lx
DeleteEating at Alexandra Palace isn't much better either so we take sandwiches and go sit at the skating place next door. So that is the lady who makes those fantastic cushions, tried to find a web site but couldn't. You are so lucky to belong to a textile group like that, although Jane at M-r-am, also has a fantastic studio.
ReplyDeleteHi Dc - is it Sue you were trying to find? She blogs under crafts at home. And yes, I am a very old friend of Janes, we started years and years ago at Samphire Quilters in Kings Lynn and I saw her the other month at the Swaffham exhibition. Intending to go along to her new studios at the Old Art Rooms soonish.
DeleteJackie I think, the lady who does the dog cushions.
DeleteDc I will ask Nadine whether Jackie has a website or contact details and pass them on.
DeleteWhat an awsome post! I enjoyed the pictures so much and the story that went with them!! Thank you for sharing! Sandy www.sanderellascrochet.wordpress.com
ReplyDeleteThanks for popping by and leaving a comment Sandy, nice to meet you!
DeleteIt looks like a great show! Wish I could have gone.. (live in the US)......
ReplyDeleteSo much fun to see your hooked things! We have a very large and active hooking community here, but I don't see as much in the UK. Will we see your hooked chair mat when it is finished (or have I missed it)?
Oh dear, Lynda - don't hole your breath! I have been working - or rather NOT working - on that cover for over a year! I am hoping that attending such a group as Jane-Ann's will shame me and galvanise me into getting going with it and eventually finishing the darned thing! No, I would say that there is certainly less of a mainstream tradition of rug hooking here than in the States, but it is an unbroken tradition, and it is quite thriving nowadays. Thanks for dropping in and leaving a comment!
DeleteLynne, what lovely photos,so lovely to meet you and Yvonne, you looked like you had a truly scrumptious haul of goodies, I fortunately managed to walk past the Fabric affair stand, as it was often several people deep, and I knew my profits wouldn't be safe there. I managed to spend enough elsewhere!
ReplyDeleteDid you not find the Royal Hall to sit down in? It's massive, think that's what it's called. and as for your photos of the rag rugging, so jealous!
SueXxx
Phew! I clicked publish on this Sue and thought it was for a newer post - thought I'd deleted it!!! Technophobe? Moi? Yes, it was greta to meet you and thought your stand was super. I'm not sure, in the end, where we did get to - I was so overcome by the heat, the crowds and ....my feet we were just glad to get out - and with some money remaining in our wallets!Lx
Delete