Craft Fair Reprise

Remember last Saturday and my plans to go to the Quilt Show without emtying my wallet? Well, I didn't do too badly. All I bought was this:

Bright boldly coloured felt balls! I'm planning to use them in some of my freeform jewellry. They're quite light for their size--that's a challenge with big bright beads normally, so felt is a great solution. Unfortunately there's no information on the packaging about who makes them. And from the price I can be sure that they're not made locally.

Quilt Show

I'm off to the Quilt Show today. That's the big annual Craft and Quilt Fair. And one of my challenges will be to control my spending . . . 

Personally I would love to see more quilt shows distinct from the shopping frenzy that fills the hall of the convention centre every year. I would love a quiet space to enjoy the beauty of the textiles. I would like to be able to visit at different times without the need to pay a $16 entry fee. Unfortunately it's just not like that here. At the end of the day it all comes down to finances. Some-one is responsible for setting up this whole event and it's a package deal: money from the stall holders to display their wares; money from the craft enthusiasts to experience the event; sales for the stall holders to cover their overheads and hopefully in amongst it all promotion of the craft and its possibilities. Anyway, I'm going and I expect to see some great quilts, to be inspired and maybe to buy a little, but it doesn't stop me wishing things were different. 

It's Moments Like These

I went to the Craft and Quilt Show yesterday afternoon. It was a good show, but one event threatened to overshadow the entire experience. After four or five hours of exploring, browsing, admiring and shopping all over the pavilion, I sat down for a moment to rest my feet. All of a sudden I realised I was no longer carrying my camera. You can imagine how I felt. It's not only that it's a good and expensive camera, but it's my daily companion. I am very fond of my camera. L and I did a quick review of where we'd been. Apart from a couple of stalls where I'd spent more time looking at particular items, it really could have been left anywhere. A quick check of those stalls brought only suggestions to "try the office". I didn't hold out much hope, but at the office was this: A young man who asked me a few intelligent questions about my camera and smiled at my breathless, but accurate answers. Behind the counter was my camera, and on the counter was a jar of lollies, including the very relevant mintie. After I'd taken the photo, I gobbled a mintie. It's moments like these, indeed!

By the way, he really was wearing that hat--all day--it was part of some competition or other. And, no, he didn't get paid any extra to wear it. I asked. It wasn't quite right with the apricot stripes on his uniform shirt, but what the heck.

Next!

This wool-silk top is one of the results of the Natural Dyeing day at the Guild a couple of weeks ago. It's dyed with Eucalyptus and I'm quite pleased with it. The wool has taken the rich brown-orange colour, while the silk has taken a lighter shade. I'm keen to see how it looks spun up. Even though they're quite fine fibres, I'm going to try to spin it with enough thickness to maintain the marbling in the colour. I always have to think hard to keep spinning a consistent yarn when it's thicker than the fibre calls for. I think it will be worth it.

Later on today I'm going to meet my friend L at the train station. We're off to the Craft Fair, which includes the Victorian Quilters' Annual show. But there's at least an hour of good spinning left in the morning before I need to think about heading out the door. I mean to make the most of it. First a coffee, then I'll be back to the wheel.

Details

I spent a few hours at the Quilt and Craft Show yesterday evening. Neither my feet nor my budget were in great shape, so I mostly looked at quilts. As well as the usual annual quilt show, there was an exhibit of historical quilts. I think this one was from the 1930's: Talk about patience and economy! The quilt was large--maybe double bed size--and entirely pieced from these tiny hexagons. You can see from the shape of the stitching that it was paper pieced in the English method. That means each hexagon was cut out of fabric then folded and basted around a slightly smaller hexagon of stiff paper. Each of these little hexagons were then hand stitched to each other. You can see the tiny, slightly irregular oversewing stitches in the picture. The heart-breaking detail for me was seeing the places where the maker had carefully stitched together two tiny scraps to get enough material to cover a hexagon only slightly larger than the end of your index finger.

You can also see where some of the fabrics have deteriorated. Apparently the iron mordant used in some of the dyes accelerates the breakdown of the cotton fibres. If you're thinking the colours are a little dull, you can mentally add a few degrees of colour--particularly yellow--since this is the colour that is lost first from the dyes.