Devon County Show 2014

Yesterday my hubby and I went to the Devon County Show in Exeter – this is something I enjoy tremendously, as it’s a splendid day out with lots to see. Yesterday the weather was pretty unsettled and in the middle of the day there was a very heavy rain storm, and it seemed as though everybody on the showground was crowded into one of the craft tents with us!

For the first time I used the buggy rather than the wheelchair, and although it was a lot of work for my hubby, getting it in and out of the car on the ramps, it was very much better for both of us – I got a lot less tired, and in previous years, the wheelchair battery always used to give out at the end, which meant my poor hubby, who was always tired after a day on his feet, had to push me all the way back up to the car park!! On the way to the show, we called in at the mobility centre in Exeter and bought a fabulous rain cape for me to use on the buggy, which will make going to church in the rain a doddle – I can also use it with the wheelchair.

Anyway – to the show. The first thing we saw was the alpacas – they are such gorgeous and unusual-looking creatures with sweet faces. They all have a dreamy smile and look so gentle! Here are some of them being judged.

Alpaca babies. Are they lambs, kids or calves?

What an adorable face!

Alpacas for sale. I couldn’t resist photographing that bum with the legs underneath!

There was a sign which said that they made wonderfully eco-friendly lawn-mowers but despite this, my hubby said I could NOT have one for the garden!

Fleeces being judged. They were separated into different categories, e.g. lustrous, mountain, etc. There are so many varieties of sheep, each producing a different kind of fleece, used for all different purposes.

More fleeces.

I loved handling them, and feeling the lanolin on one’s skin, and also that gorgeous fragrance – a powerful reminder of my spinning days… I don’t think I could keep up work on a treadle spinning wheel these days, but there are now some imaginative alternatives available.

I was very amused to see that the main building, where the craft shows and other events are held, is turned into an enormous cattle shed during the County Show. Next time I go to a craft show I shall remember that, and realise just how much cleaning up they must have to do! Here are the cattle being hosed down ready for judging.

Out came a very large bull. Neither he, nor any of the other cattle, seemed to mind the pressure hoses and brushes! I expect they get used to it.

In the angora goats tent, we found Jan Tillett’s stand. I had come across her before online, on Colouricious. She makes amazing things. She had some samples of fabric with free motion machine embroidery on them, and some other techniques, where the fabric was all wrinkled up. She had applied it onto a backing of a special polyester fabric which shrinks when you steam-iron it, giving fabulous results. I bought a small piece of this fabric to try the technique.

She also had several examples of textile created using soluble fabric, for example, the white dress on the left.

The angora goats, which produce mohair.

A magnificent angora billy goat – look at his horns!

I spent some time on the stand of one of the angora goat exhibitors – she sells raw and dyed fleece, rovings, spun yarn etc., and I bought a small quantity of these in their undyed state. Gorgeously soft, and the fleece has a very interesting curly texture which will be fun to use. When we first arrived at her stand, she wasn’t there, and then she bustled past us with her arms full of about six or seven silver cups – she looked like a burglar making a rapid escape with the family silver! When she came back, I asked if she had won all those cups, and she said she had, and listed all the classes, including Best in Show. She said they’d never done so well.

Coming out again (by which time the sun was well and truly shining, and stayed shining for the rest of the day) we saw the Morris Dancers ready to do their stuff.

A mobile sweet stall. Love all the colours.

At last, later on, we found the batik stand – we are regular customers of Calum, who unfortunately is probably not returning again to the Devon County Show. He has a website now (www.boutiquebatik.co.uk) so hopefully I’ll still be able to get stuff! I’ve bought several tops and trousers from him over the years, and absolutely love wearing them.

The first craft tent, where we sheltered from the rain, was not that inspiring, but the second one was full of all the things I love, including the egg craft stand. I always seek out the egg ladies when I go to the shows!

Then I came across something I’d never seen before – “Bonsire” which is bonsai trees made out of wire. The gentleman who makes them has only been doing it for about six months, and on the other side of his stand were all his quite wonderful pencil portraits of people and animals.

I took quite a number of photos of the individual pieces, but seemed to be having some problems with the focusing of my camera and most of them came out very out of focus, which is a shame. However, if you visit the Bonsire website you can see plenty of photos in the gallery, and I think you will agree that these pieces are exquisite.

Here is the Devon Lace stand. Lots of beautiful Honiton lace – this was always the finest, and most expensive lace, when it was made commercially.

There was a marvellous felting stand, with work by several people. This was of particular interest for me, because it is something I am keen to try. I have got the basic equipment for needle felting but have not yet had the chance to try it.

This is a beautiful felted shrug, showing the front view.

The back is equally beautiful.

I loved the detail on this piece, and how the fringes were formed.

Above the display was this amazing three-dimensional picture entitled “Peace in the Valley,” illustrating a famous passage from the Book of Isaiah prophesying the golden age of Christ’s millennial rule, when wild animals will lose their ferocity and co-exist peacefully with their erstwhile prey. This felted picture had incredible depth and was almost disturbingly “real”!

Outside the craft tent, we found a display of heavy horses. I love these gentle giants, and for the show, they were beautifully turned out with plaited manes and gleaming polished harnesses.

Arranged around this particular arena was a marvellous collection of beautifully restored classic cars. I remember so many of these cars in my childhood, in the days when cars had a lot more character than today, and each make had a distinctive look.

My final picture was taken as we came back to the car. The rain storms had cleared, and the cloud formations were so beautiful.

As always, it was a wonderful day out, despite the changeable weather. We were  very glad we went on the first day, because apparently today, on the news, they were saying the show had to close early because cars were getting bogged down where the fields had turned to mud. Such a pity, when so many people have put in so much hard work, to make this annual event such a success.

Craft 4 Crafters Show

On Thursday my hubby took me over to Exeter for the day, so that I could attend the annual Craft 4 Crafters show at Westpoint, the exhibition centre and county showground. Of the two craft shows, this is the better one; Creative Stitches and Hobbycrafts is very good, and I wouldn’t miss it, but I think the quality of creativity is higher at Craft 4 Crafters, with more interesting exhibitors, although some appear at both shows.

Just as the Creative Stitches show back in September was made special by my meeting up with my friend Wendy, Thursday’s show was equally special because I met two different lots of friends! Lucy from the Black Cat Forum had said she was going on the same day, and we bumped into each other for a chat, and I also met a friend from Bristol and her husband – she is a fellow M.E. sufferer and we first met at the Naidex mobility show in Birmingham about 3 years ago. It was a lovely surprise to bump into them, and we arranged to meet up at lunch time, and we had a great time.

As usual I took quite a few photos, but this year most of them were taken at Stef Francis’ stand. Stef started her unique silk and fibre business about twenty years ago when doing a City and Guilds course and could not find the colours she wanted, so she created them herself, and the business grew from there. She has a vast selection of many different fibres and silks for the creative embroiderer and textile artist, and her website is well worth a visit – be prepared to drool!!!

Here is a general view of the display wall on the stand, showing the various projects that Stef has made up, to show what can be done with the products she sells.

These are a couple of the necklaces she makes, made from silk cocoons and silk carrier rods. I fell in love with the Harlequin necklace!

This is what she calls her “Sushi” bag, also made from silk carrier rods.

These exquisite, tiny purses are made from the shells of walnuts, covered with fabric and embellished with embroidery, beadwork and tassels.

I was particularly taken with this richly textured embroidered panel which has made full use of the potential of the silk carrier rods, both in their entirety, and cut and unravelled and rolled again. The photograph does not do this piece justice; it shimmered with metallic thread as well as the natural sheen of the silk.

Here is a selection of dyed silk carrier rods for sale on the stand. These dimensional pieces are formed during the industrial spinning of silk. Fibres flying from the spinning machine tend to wrap themselves around the rods of the machine, and periodically they have to be slit and removed, so as not to impede the operation of the machine. They are quite hard as they still contain the gum from the silkworms, used in the formation of the cocoons, but they soften somewhat when dampened, and can be separated out, pieces cut off, and then rolled again in the shapes you can see in the embroidered panel above. Like all silk, they take dyes extremely well, and in the photo below you can see the richness of the colours Stef has given them. She also sells them in their natural state.

As well as selling many forms of silk, Stef also supplies bamboo fibre, which is very soft and fine, and easy to work with. You can see from this picture that like silk, it takes dye well.

Here is the display of threads of all types and colours on Stef’s stand. Drool-worthy or not?!!

When I could finally tear myself away, there was plenty more to see. At the back of the hall was a display of quilts. Here are a few of them.

After visiting my friend Lucy from the Black Cat forum a while back, I was keen to start collecting Really Useful Boxes for my ARTHaven. She has loads of them and I was very impressed with them! They are really a modular storage system – the boxes will stack, and the various sizes can mix and match and stack together, and you can get organiser trays to go inside them. I started a shopping basket on a website and it’s been open ever since – I decided to have a look at the show, and low and behold, there they were, so I bought a few to start me off.

The eggcraft ladies were at the show again, but told me that there weren’t many new ones this time that I hadn’t already photographed! This exquisite little carriage and pair was a new one, though.

I was delighted to find that Colouricious had a stand at the show this year. I am a subscriber to their Youtube channel; they regularly produce high quality videos with interviews with textile artists and workshops. Jamie Malden was there, demonstrating her famous Indian woodblock printing technique, and I succumbed and bought some of the woodblocks! I am assured that they work equally well on paper. They are hand-carved from Indian hardwood and are very detailed and high quality. It was lovely to meet Jamie in the flesh, having seen her often on the videos!

It is in association with this that I am keen to try my hand again at free machine embroidery. I did some many years ago but never pursued it, as I got caught up with other things at the time. Once you have printed your fabric, it just shouts to be embellished in so many ways! I bought a “starter” selection of various machine embroidery threads and a new embroidery hoop.

One thing I did this year, for the first time, was to attend a workshop. Alison from Ali Crafts was there with her husband (I bought some Distress Stains from him later on) was doing several workshops, and I opted to do her Tim Holtz Stamps and Stains workshop, working with Distress Stains and rubber stamps. It was tremendous fun, and this is the card I came away with:

The piece at the top is my practice piece, which I liked so much that I am going to make it into another card.

We started by swiping a piece of white ribbon with the Distress Stain of our choice (in my case, Dusty Concord). This way, you can make a matching ribbon for any project! Using the same Distress Stain, I then swiped across a piece of white card. I went over the bottom part again so that it was darker. She then produced a clock face mask and we used a Cut & Dry inking pad to go over this with Distress Ink in the same colour. We then added a texture stamp, and the bird stamp, and trimmed some card for matting and layering, adding half a small paper doily as an embellishment. I opted to colour mine with Barn Door Distress Stain, and finally assembled the whole thing onto black card.

The “sunflowers” in the practice piece were created by smacking the Distress Stain bottle down hard onto the card – it makes a fabulous spatter pattern once the pad is fully primed! Adding a texture stamp at the bottom looked like foliage. Again, I used Dusty Concord and Barn Door Distress Stains for this. (The mottled background was created by spattering water from my hand onto the Dusty Concord Distress Stain before I did the “flowers.”)

Finally, I can never visit a craft show without photographing the glitter! I will end up with a whole folder-full of glitter photos at this rate – all more or less the same!! Unfortunately the photo really doesn’t do them justice – you can imagine how very glittery such large quantities of bulk glitter would be! I bought a few little packets, including the black one at the back, which was absolutely gorgeous…

I shall do a separate post with pictures of the things I bought.

I had such a wonderful day! My longsuffering hubby was happy to take me, and spent the day with his brother, catching up on a few watercolour projects he’s working on, and they had lunch together. We had a meal in our local pub before coming home, and then I crashed out and have been pretty well worn out since then! It was worth it in spades, though. Spades full of glitter!!

Creative Stitches and Hobbycrafts Exhibition, 2011

My lovely hubby took me over to Exeter yesterday for the annual Creative Stitches and Hobbycrafts Exhibition. This is a general craft show with lots of different crafts being featured, but still lots of opportunity to stock up on the mixed media and papercrafting supplies, and to watch demos etc. He left me there, and spent the day with his brother, and did some shopping of his own, which he was pleased with.

It was a very special day for me, because I met up with my friend Wendy for the first time! We’ve been following each other’s blogs and emailing each other, and being on forums together, for ages now, and when she told me she would be down here on holiday, we agreed to meet up at the show. What fun we had! We looked at a lot of things together, and then went our separate ways, bumping into each other every now and again. On one occasion she came up to me with an absolutely beautiful card she’d just made, when she attended one of the workshops. I hope she’s going to blog about that!

Here are some of the photos I took of the day. On one stand, someone was demonstrating the Spellbinders Grand Calibur machine, and I was amazed by the fine detail on some of the samples – flowers and swirls, some cut in vellum and layered. So pretty and delicate, and so intricate!

Glitter time!! I was sad that the Glitter Man wasn’t there this time – on my first visit to this show last year, he was there in his pirate’s cave with his treasure chests full of the biggest quantity of glitter that I’ve ever seen! The display this year was impressive, though.

It’s a real pity that photos don’t pick up the amazing glitteriness of glitter!

I found a wonderful stand with loads of Tim Holtz stuff on it, run by a delightful man who really knew his stuff – he didn’t just sell the stuff, but also used it. He had made a big display board showing all the colours of the Distress Stains. He’d taken a tag for each colour, and stamped one of Tim’s background text stamps on it, and coloured it with the respective Distress stain, and then mounted a dress form from Tim’s die, which was distressed with a matching Distress Ink. Finally, he’d added a row of small roses along the bottom of each dress form shape. It was a beautiful display which we were all admiring (wish I’d thought of photographing it), and he told us it had taken him 3 weeks to do, and 4 bottles of wine! He also told us he knew Tim quite well, and what a lovely man he is, very unassuming and humble, and it appeared that he really didn’t know what all the fuss was about – he just got on with doing what he is so good at! His success certainly hasn’t gone to his head. He recommended that if any of us ever got the chance to go on a course with him, we should. That was very nice to hear, I thought.

I’ve been thinking of getting some Distress Stains for a while, and was hoping to get a good deal at the show, which I did. If you bought 12, you got 3 free ones! I also chose two more that I wanted. I didn’t see any point in buying them all, because some of the colours are very similar, so I got a representative selection.

There was an Inkylicious stand at the show, and they were selling the Ink Dusters. I told the man on the stand that I’d done the first Youtube video on them, and he was very pleased – he said they’d been too busy to set up the website on them yet, but hopefully it would happen soon. He said he’d look on Youtube, and also on my blog, which was nice. I mentioned to several other customers how good they were, and how they’d revolutionised my ink blending.

Back with the eggcrafting ladies again, as at previous shows:

This time I caught them in the act – eating chocolate cake!! They were very happy to see me and remembered me from the past 2 shows. They know how I love to photograph the eggs, and publish their beautiful work around the world on my blog! They were happy to oblige, again, and showed me the salient points of some of the new creations on the table. There was a mixture of old and new designs – it’s such an intricate craft that they cannot hope to make a completely new display for every show.

I just love the little pink umbrella over the ducks by their pond! And here is one of several beautiful eggs.

This had to be the star of the display – the Royal Wedding Egg.

The lady on the right in the photo above made it, and she lifted it down for me so I could see and photograph it better. She had dressed all the figures herself, and made the carriage axles, and even made all the horses’ harnesses herself too. This piece was just stunning – out of this world. Here are some detailed shots.

I then went on to the sugarcrafting stand, and I must say they’d excelled themselves this year! The flowers were so realistic that I could hardly believe they were made of icing. The focal piece was a wedding cake decorated in rainbow colours, which amazingly had been done by a lady in her seventies. The intricacy of the work was incredible.

At the entrance to the show, there was a display of this wonderful wedding cake.

I wouldn’t even know how to begin to do such a thing!!

Today I unpacked my lovely box of goodies. Each time I go to a show, they allow me to put my box in the office, and when I buy things, I can leave them there, as it’s hard to carry a lot of stuff around. My box was only just big enough! I stocked up on various things like glue and plain white cardstock. You were given a polywallet to fill as full as you could, which cost a set amount. I bought 2 white packs of 300 gsm (about 60 sheets in each), really cheap.

Here’s a picture of most of what I bought – I haven’t put it all out.

L-R, back-front: a Martha Stewart Circle Cutter (more later), some feathers, some Claudine Helmuth sticky-backed canvas (haven’t tried that yet, but love the effects you can get with it), some gold and silver mirror board, some gold and silver foil (and a small roll of copper), a DCWV paper stack “Tattered Time” which is soooo gorgeous that I probably won’t be able to bring myself to use it!! and some more Glossy Accents. Front row: a few rubber stamps, replacement Cricut blades, some really gorgeous embellishments which I shall also be able to use to make moulds out of, lots of regular Pinflair, and Pinflair photo glue, some Spray and Sparkle which Wendy recommended, some of the Distress Stains, some glitter (fabby colours! – only I wished I’d waited before buying them, because the loose glitter was cheaper), some fine paintbrushes and a sepia pen, some embossing powders and some wire (and other beading bits and pieces not on the photos).

These are my new Tim Holtz Distress Stains. Today I made the labels for the lids so that I could easily identify them in the box I’ve chosen for them.

This is my new Martha Stewart Circle Cutter. I saw one of these online the other day and thought what a good idea they were. You can cut circles ranging from 1 in diameter to 5 1/2 in, in very small increments, which means you can also cut very thin rings. The central transparent disc fits in a groove in the white ring, and rotates in a ball race. You put the blade into the hole of your choice (they are all marked) and holding the ring, simply rotate the disc, and the blade cuts the paper underneath.

Last year, when I got my ARTHaven set up, I was thinking of buying one of those Making Memories rotating tool caddies, but they were too expensive, and so I decided to make my own. I was going to get a small lazy susan base, and mount some vertical cylinders onto it, to take my various sized tools, but I never got round to it, partly because I couldn’t find a suitable lazy susan base. Last month, at our village fete, I found a small fabric caddy, brand new, going for a song, so I bought it and have been using that.

This afternoon, when I had opened my Circle Cutter, I was wondering where I was going to store it, and I was idly turning the disc in my hands and noticing the ball race it was running in, and I got a brainwave. Here is my small lazy susan base! I popped my fabric caddy on top, and hey presto, killed two birds with one stone – got a rotating caddy, and also found a convenient place to store the Circle Cutter!!! That sort of thing gives me a very good feeling!

Finally, here are the papier mache boxes I bought for altering. The first one is rectangular, and came filled with 24 small round boxes, very cheap!

The other large box is square, and I also bought several smaller ones in different shapes – a round one, two ovals, and some heart-shaped ones. Lots of scope for altering!

Sorry this has been such a long post this time, but I think you’ll agree I’ve had a good time! I am so enjoying my new purchases, and finding homes for them in my ARTHaven. I need more storage space!!