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.