Thursday, January 24

Craft fair

Well the majority of the fair was Quilting, for which I know nothing about. It was cool to see that many peolpe with the same interest and they must have the patience of saints to be able to create such beautiful detailed items.

There was however two booths that made the trip all worth it.

The first was by a lady named Bonnie, her booth I could see just a smigen of as I turned the corner... and the moment I saw this yellow and white baby blanket I knew that I was going to enjoy whatever was around the other side. (Remember my eariler post) Well... most everything she had was made with some sort of vintage chenille fabric. Some with really funky designs and colors that I just haven't seen in the stores I've been frequenting. And the reason... she buys it online. They remind me of my grandmothers bed... random 'puffy' chenille designs. Running my fingers along the lines and tracing the pattern. And honestly, I didn't even realize I had those memories until looking at her inventory. Like flashes... I could see these bed covers...and not just see them, but feel them. After I walked around for a couple of hours, I went back to Bonnie and told her that her booth was by far my favorite. We talked for a bit and I was on my way. Thanks Bonnie.

The second booth... different...(a little background) though I have visited a friend of my mother in law's, Mimi(interesting lady) who raises llama's, I, myself have NEVER done any sort of craft with their fur. Nor have I attempted to do any sort of felting (though I drool over many creative peoples')
anyhoo... I had the opportunity to do both at the same time.
Needle-felting, anyone? This was actually very relaxing to do. I made some sort of felted book mark... or name tag (I try to always have a second use for things in case you haven't noticed)... anyways... I believe her name was Sue, and she was just a lovely person. I first noticed the booth from a young women sitting on a chair... blanket in her lap... long needle... and some sort of orange 'hairy' fibers... she would pull a few strands, literally, and then proceed to 'poke' them with the needle and BAM she was creating a picture. Her picture was full of small squares of similar hues that would eventually become a landscape of mountains. Talking with her she said to go up to the table and do the 'make and take' that they were offering.
It was at a taller table, one for standing (which i loved) and thats when I met Sue (I think her name was Sue, she reminded me of my grandmother (my Dad's mom) and she had short, pin-straight gray hair and glasses. She instructed me to keep the needle straight (you have a foam block underneath) and just pick out the fiber that I wanted and poke it. The needle has 'barbs', three of them that actually grab the fibers and pull them through and this meshes the fibers together, Needle-felting. The fibers that I used were from Alpaca Llama's and are handdyed to these brilliant colors. I picked out a mulberry purple, a golden yellow-orange, and a dark turquoise... it was alot of fun. And I absolutely love trying something new. Thanks Sue.
It was a wonderful and exhausting day!