Back to craft fairs!

So beeptwo and I ventured into craft fairs again last weekend and displayed buttons, ribbons, card making goods and dolls house knitting.

We were really lucky that the weather was kind with no rain although it was very windy and we spent a lot of time holding onto things.  There was an initial tussle with a gazebo that I won't go in to but we got set up eventually.

 

It wasn't perhaps the best time of year or venue for our goods but there was enough of a profit to call it a success.  Will we be doing another one later in the year?  We will see.

 

Anna has a knitting pattern coming out in Knit Now at the end of August (on the cover this time), with another due for publication later in the year, so she is busy as always.

Classic Car Show and Craft Fair this Sunday in Flitwick

My goodness it's many years since I did a craft show, life got in the way.
When the kiddies were little I used to make salt dough pieces (anyone remember those???) and made some pin money selling them locally at craft shows, but my interests changed.

Now to pass the time I knit tiny little garments, dolls house 12th scale size, and my main selling platform is ebay.  I flirted a bit with etsy but it isn't a success, I think my customers know where to find me. 
Mostly I sell things like this:

 although recently I branched out for a change into bigger doll garments.  This one sold this week on ebay:

 

 

It's a long story, but this weekend beeptwo and I will be selling at a craft fair to be held in Flitwick, Bedfordshire. 

Anna (as beepbeepdesigns) will have loads of crafty items at bargain prices, including cardmaking stuff like stamps and card blanks, and also some lovely buttons and ribbon.  A selection of miniature knitting items for the dolls house like yarn, needles, patterns, kits and ready made items will also be there.

We are really looking forward to meeting everyone and just keeping everything crossed that the weather is kind to us!

If you are in the area please pop over and say hello.

 



Fibre East 2013

Beeptwo and I usually make an annual pilgrimage to the Knitting and Stitching Show in London in October, and the date for this October is on the calendar.  Anna spotted that Fibre East was to be held this weekend in Flitwick, literally a few minutes walk from where she lives, so as she pointed out 'it would be rude not to go!'.  So we wandered down on Saturday morning, and had a great time.
It was held in the local secondary school/college, in lots of different rooms, with marquees in the grounds, and if you came by car, lots of parking.  It was also a (doable) walk from the station, with direct trains to London, Brighton and Bedford, and just off the M1, so very easy to get to.
The admission cost was £6 for Anna and £3 for me as an OAP, so very reasonable, especially with no travel costs.
It was a hot day, and some of the rooms were quite stuffy, but we certainly should not complain about that, it was the poor stall holders who were struggling. The venue was fine if you could excuse that it was a school, and there was plenty of room.  Compared to the Knitting and Stitching Show there was certainly less there, with more emphasis on spinning and weaving than knitting, but enough for us to be able to buy yummy yarns and accessories and our three hours there went very quickly.  Of course it doesn't have the classes or the exhibitions of art works, but the big bonus point for us was that it was so wonderful and easy to wander around, you could easily get to all the stalls without the jam packed feeling of the London show.  We were able to see and buy lovely yarns which are difficult to get locally, and although they are available online, it is good to see before you buy.  The stall holders were all so very helpful and knowledgeable, and a pleasure to talk to.
Anna was able to introduce herself to the Editor of Knit Now (she is one of their designers with a new pattern coming out there next month but has never actually met them before).
We have almost decided to give the London show a miss this year, due to the travelling difficulty and the crowds, but will certainly go back to Fibre East if it is local next year.

Review of coffee shops in Horsham

I am lucky enough to meet friends regularly for a morning cup of coffee, and when we were sitting in Artisan this morning we joked about how many different coffee places we had visited in Horsham.  We like to try new ones if we can, and when we came to draw up a list we were amazed at how many coffee shops there are.  I thought I could jot down some thoughts on nice places to go.  I am not a coffee drinker when out, I tend to go for tea, so I will need to miss out a main important point about quality of the coffee!  No particular order, and you get your coffee from the counter unless stated otherwise.

Pret a Manger in West Street.  Brand new and very nice, reasonable prices.  Can get very busy, grab a table while you can.
Costa in West Street.  We only went there once and the table was dirty so didn't bother again.
Cook Shop in East Street.  OK but pricy.  County set.  Can ogle all the lovely kitchen ware at the same time and be scandalised by the prices.  The loos are hidden down the back on the right hand side, useful if you need to know this when in the area!
Waterstones in West Street.  My favourite.  Nice staff, cosy surroundings, reasonable prices and you can people watch the street below.  If you buy the coffee from the flask there are free refills.  A loyalty card gives you a free drink every now and then.  Can get busy so get there early.  Take a code for the loo from the counter (they could do with a refurbishment, not great).
Tristans in East Street.  Nice little coffee shop downstairs, lovely loos.  But we found that in the morning they are constantly walking through taking stock up the stairs to the restaurant, leaving the door ajar and making it feel cold.
Bills on Market Square.  Lovely inside and attentive staff.  They have made a great job of renovating the building.  You will be met at the door and shown to a table, and given a menu, but they are fine with just coffee.  I had lunch here once and although you are given a full menu, I only wanted a light lunch and just ordered a starter (which was very good).  If you sit near the door in winter it can be cold with people coming and going, but I am told they will supply cushions, blankets and even hot water bottles!
Cote in East Street.  Very nice cool French interior.  A very classy place for morning coffee.  Table service.  Be sure to look at the mosaic floor which is the original one from when it was the Co-op many years ago.  It fits the interior perfectly.
Black Olive on the Bishopric.  Lovely to sit out here on a sunny day and watch the people go by.
Conservatory in the Park.   Another favourite, worth the short walk from town.  You can sit inside the conservatory, which can get hot if it is summer, or outside in the park on a sunny day, which is very pleasant.  Nice staff and good choice of light lunches (the toasted sandwiches are good).  It can get very busy during school holidays.
Beals on the Forum.  Department store cafe, fine, not a great deal of atmosphere.  The loos are downstairs at the back of the lingerie department, again they don't particulary advertise them but they are a good alternative to the awful public ones outside.
Squires on the Forum.  Again good for sitting outside on a sunny day, but grab a sunshade or a table in the shade round the side.  And avoid if they are playing loud music or digging up the pavement again.
Crown on the Carfax.  Pub coffee, reasonable for sitting in comfy chairs to talk.  They don't open until late morning though.
Commodore near the Forum.  Not tried this personally but friends say they felt the waiter was not very friendly, and seemed to expect them to order a fry up rather than just coffee.
Artisan on Market Square. Brand new and lovely inside/upstairs. Table service.  You can amuse yourself by watching the tasty waiters (if you don't mind the fake tans). I am told the cakes are wonderful but pricy, although huge portions, worth sharing between two. The coffee/tea prices were a bit on the high side.

Next time we are going to try Carmellas on the Carfax,  looks good from the outside but hope they have enough tables.

There are many more we have not tried, eg M&S, BHS, La Brunch, Cafe Nero, Real Eating (centre of Swan Walk), Paninos on the Carfax, Sainsburys, Merrythorpe (I used to go there 40 years ago when it was the only tea shop in town) and of course all the pubs.  No shortage of places to have a coffee in Horsham.

How to upcycle reclaimed needlepoint

Last time I went up to London I did my usual walk around Liberty as their Christmas stuff is just amazing.  Unfortunately most of the prices are out of my range but it is lovely to look at all the crafty-type makes.  It is a pity that they don't do as much fabric and haberdashery now as they used to but I suppose they have to stock what sells.
It is always interesting to look at the 'vintage' room where they are selling clothes that I was wearing in the 1960s and 70s, although they are probably much higher quality brands than I could afford then.  There are some lovely evening dresses that would be wonderful to have for that special occasion.
There are always some unusual and quirky items, especially in the furniture.  I was greatly amused to see old furniture which had been renovated and recovered in old 'reclaimed' needlepoint tapestries, which were in lovely bright condition and well cleaned.  One was an vintage metal dentist chair, which was covered in brightly coloured scenes of thatched cottages and wheat fields or similar.  Other similar unusually shaped furniture or metal objects had been reupholstered in the same way.  It seemed that the idea was to put together two disparate items, the object and the bright needlework, to make a statement. 
I am not sure what my point is really, I am just a bit bemused.  I suspect if we were clearing out an elderly relative's home the old furniture and needlepoint would have been put in the skip, even though we know that many hours of work went into the stitching.  Someone is able to see past this.   I hope they sell.  I hope that someone will give my old needlepoint a new lease of life and that the Liberty buyer is around to rummage through my skip.

Off to Ally-Pally!

So me and beeptwo are off to Alexandra Palace on Saturday to the Knitting and Stitching show.  Can't wait, already got my shopping list and sharp elbows ready and looking forward to seeing all the knitty things.  Woo Hoo.

http://www.twistedthread.com

Knitting in Brighton!

I just love having a day out in Brighton, and today was smashing because the sun was shining and everywhere was just vibrant and throbbing!  We are only about 40 minutes drive away and as we had to be there early, parking was not a problem, which is sometimes an issue.
We were part of a party taken on a tour by the Sussex Archaeological Society and were shown Brighton landscape relating to the poor and the affluent architecture of the city, round about the railway station.  It is very interesting to be shown round by a knowledgeable guide and we certainly learned a lot and found parts of the city we had never seen before.
Every time I go to Brighton I say I must take a photograph of the knitted Brighton Pavilion in the window of an eating place in the North Laines.  So today I finally remembered to take my camera and here it is:

Thank you to the owner Peter who kindly allowed me to take the photograph.  It is quite famous and can also be found on Ravelry and other places on the web. 
After the walk we sat just inside to have lunch and I was able to look at the construction close up - it is quite a work of art.  And the knitted tea cosies inside are beautiful!  Peter did the knitting, and I have read that he was also responsible for some yarn bombing - the leg warmers that appeared some time ago on the Max Miller statue near to the Royal Theatre.  I did actually see these!  But unfortunately didn't have my camera again, and to some extent when I spotted them I couldn't really believe what I was seeing.  By the time I went again they had gone.
The food was wonderful and we will definitely visit again.
(I don't have any connections with Temptations but can certainly recommend the food and the knitting).
While I was browsing knitting in Brighton I also came across this.  Bizarre.

www.bitstobuy.co.uk

Knitting and Stitching Show Alexander Palace

Had a lovely day yesterday at the annual Knitting and Stitching Show in London, at Alexander Palace.  It is very popular and well worth attending if you are into knitting or quilting.  This is my second visit and I absolutely loved it.  We went on Friday and I expect it is even more busy over the weekend.

I thought I would just throw out a few ideas in case you are thinking of attending.

• I don't find it the easiest place to get to.  I travelled by train from southern England to Victoria, then 30 minutes on the Piccadilly Line (changed at Green Park) to Wood Green tube station.  From there it is a 30 minute walk uphill.  The courtesy buses are about every 20 minutes, leaving from the road which runs perpendicular to the station exit, and expect long queues.  However the W13 bus which goes from an adjacent stop does the same journey every 2-3 minutes, and the queues are fairly fast moving.  You get free travel with a train Travelcard or an over 60 bus pass - I am not sure what the fare would be.  Don't get off at the first Ally Pally stop for the ice rink, but the next one (don't worry the bus will be full of ladies of a certain age all going to the same place).
• We got there about 11:30am and left about 4pm, which is about right.  It is packed with people but did seem a bit quieter in the afternoon.  It opens at 10am but leaving it that bit later avoided having to queue to get in.
• We took a packed lunch and did what a lot of people were doing, that is sat down on the floor at the edge of the exhibition area to eat it.  There are several lunch places around the edge of the main hall (all serving the same food at the same price) but they were packed.  In the afternoon we managed to get a couple of seats at a table for a cup of tea but the service at the counter was very slow.
• We tackled the main exhibition room first and if you are looking to buy supplies that is the best way to do it before you run out of steam.  The smaller exhibition hall also has some suppliers but also a lot of exhibitors showing artworks etc, which we weren't that interested in, so we did that last.  There is also another area on the way in, next to the main Cafe, which is mostly associations and charities.
• If you have a budget, you might like to take cash and not a credit card.  There is so much lovely stuff it is easy to get carried away.  I heard some suppliers say they only took cash not cards for under £10 so take plenty of change.
• I read somewhere it is a good idea to take a rolling case or shopping bag on wheels to put your purchases in, but I wouldn't like to try as those who had were not very popular in that huge crush of people.  I did see a few pushchairs but it must have been very hard work to push them around and try to see anything. It may not be PC to say so, but ride on mobility scooters are also perhaps not a brilliant idea in that situation.
• If you look around there are plenty of bargains to be had, eg end of lines, bin ends, large packs of branded quality yarns.  But probably a good idea to make a list before you go of what you are looking for.
• I bought some quite expensive luxury yarn to knit a cardigan which was on show, but when I got it home there was no label on it.  I wished I had paid a bit more attention and asked more questions as now I am not sure of the composition or washing instructions, or even who I bought it from.

Don't be put off by all these negative comments, it is definitely worth going, just takes some planning!

www.bitstobuy.co.uk

Achievement of the week

I am so pleased with myself.  Last week I was up in London and visited St Pauls cathedral.  I went up to the Whispering Gallery and then thought, what the heck, I can do the rest, so ended up climbing right to the top.  The last bit is a bit scary, with tight open spiral staircases between the inner and outer dome of 150 steps, so you can see exactly where you have come from and where you are going, with a lot of space around.  I'm not brilliant at heights but it had to be done.  And at 61 years old I feel it was quite an achievement and not something I will do again.  Thanks Liz for being patient and waiting for me!