Summer Arts Market



beach bag  from a couple of weeks ago

My week was mostly spent preparing for the two day Summer Arts Market at St. Georges Hall in Liverpool - most of the items were made and ready to go but the fiddly, boring things like printing labels, bags etc. had to be done.

Also, I decided that I would see what, if anything, I could do with the beautiful, soft, silky alpaca fleece which I had been given.   I knew it would be a long job, but I wanted to see whether I could actually spin it successfully.   Liz and I started carding it on Monday evening and, novices that we are, were caught off guard by the amount of dust and tiny fibres which covered both of us (and everything else in the room) and made us cough, and by the fact that the carding seemed to generate a spectacular amount of static electricity which made the fibres stand on end.     We decided that discretion was the better part of valour and agreed that we should acquire some masks and seek some advice.   We did look at a vast number of You tube videos which really didn’t help that much so, as I had bought the drum carder from Wingham Wool Works http://www.winghamwoolwork.co.uk, I rang them and asked for advice.   I was so impressed by their willingness, not only to suggest possible solutions to the problem, but with the time they spent talking through the process.    You can’t get better service than that!

We made a second attempt, later in the week, and that was much more successful.   I have now spun some and, although I’m finding more difficult than sheep’s fleece, I’m sure, with practice, I’ll get better.   The resultant yarn is not as fine as I’d like it and a bit uneven but it is absolutely is gorgeous, so soft and silky.

 

 

Of the five pieces of felt I made at the Green Fayre last weekend, only one has made it to the completed stage.   It is now a book cover, bookmark and several heart shaped brooches.

 

We had a lovely weekend at the Summer Art’s Market, the organisation by Christina and Charlotte of  Open Culture www.culture.org.uk  was, as usual, flawless.    Such a lovely venue, so many amazingly creative local artists, there really is a wealth of talent in this area.   As well as our usual friends, we met several new ones and we really enjoyed being next door to Jo Roper https://www.facebook.com/JoRoperArt with her lovely, quirky watercolour originals and  prints - we’re looking forward to meeting again at the Winter Arts Market, if not sooner.

To round off the week, when we came home on Saturday, there was some correspondence from Southport Flower Show Photography Competition confirming that I had won first prize in the Flower Portrait Section  and  been Commended for both another photo in the Flower Portrait section and for a picture of a frog in  the Natural History and Wildlife section.   I’ll be going to be presented with my prize by Professor Stefan Buzacki of Gardeners’ Question Time, on 15^th August – exciting.

 

Summer at last

Nearly three weeks since my last post – my only excuse is that I’ve been away yet again, and this time the weather was absolutely fantastic.   We’ve been to Pembrokeshire in the summer every year for about 31 years and never had such good weather.   We usually do quite a bit of  walking on the coast path, but this year it was so hot we had to sunbathe on the beach every day – what a chore!  Now I’m back, however, I’m itching to get going on some textile work – I’ve had my rest and now it’s time to get going again. 

 Before we went away, I made a bag and finished some covered books  in preparation for the Green Fayre at Beacon Country Park where we’ve been this weekend, me demonstrating felt making and Liz doing  everything else!  During the two days,  I made 5 pieces of felt which are destined to become pictures or book covers and some beads.   I really enjoyed the two days, - people were very interested in the process and I was surprised at the number of children who seemed mesmerised by the whole business and couldn’t wait to have a go.   Several people expressed an interest in attending a workshop or having a demonstration for their organisation or society so we’ll see what comes of that – I was quite surprised at how much I enjoyed the demonstrating aspect.    There was a lovely atmosphere, lots of people about and lots of interesting things to see and do, and the efficient and friendly Rangers did a great job of organising everything  - we’d certainly like to go again next year.

 



this is the book cover which sold



I sold a few odds and ends, mostly cards and the felt bracelet and earrings I made at the last workshop I attended and one of the covered books which I finished just before I went away.  I also got an order for a patchwork bag so I’ll have to get start that soon.   Liz had designed and made some really clever cards with initials on and a couple of them went too – it was the first time we had displayed them so that was very encouraging.

For next week, though, we’ll be preparing to go to the Summer Arts Market at St. George’s Hall in Liverpool – it’s on Saturday and Sunday and we’re really looking forward to it – the Winter Arts Market there in December is always a great event so let’s hope this will be as good.

The spinning and weaving are having to take a back seat at the moment but I can’t wait to get back to them, especially as I’ve been given 3 large bags of alpaca fleece which needs carding and spinning

Music, Music, Music

Since I last posted, I have attended a felt jewellery workshop with Chris Branch who managed to cram lots of different techniques into quite a short time.   I came home with two corsages and the makings of some earrings and a bracelet.

Calidad Events Craft and Gift Fair on Saturday, 22^nd June, could have been busier but as the weather turned out quite good, everyone went to Africa Oye in the park!

Last Friday,   Liz and I and a friend from when we did City and Guilds courses, set off up the M6 for Woolfest www.woolfest.co.uk in Cockermouth.   It was, as last year, a very wet day awful for Liz who did all the driving, Bless her!  We arrived at about 11.30  and, apart from a quick lunch and an afternoon cup of coffee, we were on the go till we started home at shortly after 4.30 p.m. exhausted but happy.   It was, as usual, exciting, exhilarating and inspiring.    We managed to resist the most extravagant spending, although, as well as replenishing my felting wool stock, and buying acrylic wax and some textile glue, I bought some scrim which is destined for nuno felting and treated myself to a couple of pieces of silk velvet in gorgeous shades of purple and sea green.  I have a couple of ideas for it but I’ll have to experiment first I think.

Since then, we've had a very musical three days - on Saturday practically the whole family turned out to see our eldest grandson playing percussion with Ormskirk Symphony Orchestra.    On Sunday afternoon, my husband and I sang in a concert at the Palm House in Sefton Park - that was interesting  - it's a beautiful building but, when the sun is shining, it gets extremely hot which isn't easy to sing in.    On Monday, we went to see number one grandson again, this time playing with Chethams School  of Music at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester.   It was a bit of a nostalgia trip for us, as our younger daughter studied there and, in the nineties, we often went to performances there.   

Although I've been busy gadding about, I have been tying up loose ends and I’ve experimented with making felted soap.  The ladies from the Soap Empire www.thesoapempire.co.uk kindly donated some small bars of soap which I covered with merino wool so that they look like pebbles.    They were quite successful, but I’m not sure I’ll be making many more –I  didn’t find it terribly satisfying.   I did make a couple of pieces of felt for book covers and I’m hoping to finish them tonight.    I’ m making an effort to get some stock together for the Green Fayre at Beacon Park, www.westlancs.gov.uk on 20^th and 21^st  July where I’ll be demonstrating felt-making for the two days.   I’ve finished off about a dozen brooches and a similar number of hand painted silk bookmarks so far.