Yesterday I went to the Craft4Crafters show at Westpoint in Exeter. This one was slightly different from the one I went to in the autumn in that there was more emphasis on fibre crafts than papercrafting but the latter was still very well represented. I wasn’t able to see much on the papercrafting stands initially because there were soooo many people! Later, when things thinned out a bit, I was able to get a better look.
As usual I promised myself I wasn’t going to spend as much as usual, but as usual I didn’t hold to that!
Here are some photos.
The felt-making lady was there as always – she also has a stand at the County Show, and her Lion and Lamb 3-D hanging is very eye-catching. This year, she had made a new picture – an angel all in white. It was so 3-D, and the arms were sticking right out from the surface.
I wanted to visit the County Show stand so that I could get details of dates etc. A couple of years ago they had a spectacular display of war poppies, and it was the lady on the right in the following photo who was responsible for that initiative. This year will be a special one for the show, being the 125th anniversary, so they are having a new initiative to make the longest knitted bunting in the world! They gave me a pattern with details of size restrictions etc. and beyond that, you could embellish your little knitted piece any way you wanted. I think I could knock up a few before the deadline in April. You can see that the ladies are all busy adding to the collection!
This next stand was run by a delightful Indian family. They had the most amazing array of different fabrics, trims and patchwork supplies. Some of the fabrics were things I’d never seen before – they had leather-effect fabrics in colours and metallics, printed patchwork pieces – see the Celtic bag hanging just behind the lady’s back – and in the foreground, cork fabric.
This cork fabric was absolutely amazing and I just had to get some, even though I’m not yet sure what I am going to use it for! It came in a variety of finishes – plain, speckled with darker pieces, printed colours and ones with metallic flakes embedded. They are made from a very thin layer of real cork bonded onto a fine jersey fabric. It is very flexible, and you can sew it, glue it, paint it, print on it, wash it, and so on. I think that with it being so flexible, you could also fold, mould and crease it into 3-D shapes. The bag hanging above the rack is made from butterfly-printed cork fabric, so this is certainly something you could use for bag making.
I also bought some beautiful Indian braid from this stand. I had used up most of my existing supply on my Tudor gown project.
As usual, the Westcountry Embroiderers were there – I used to belong to the Plymouth group many years ago when we lived there. We had monthly meetings, alternating between a visiting teacher doing a day-school, and workshop days. It was great fun and I learnt a lot during those years.
Stef Francis was another regular exhibitor. I love her textile works and all her gorgeous colours – a riot of rainbow threads for sale! I managed to restrain myself and not buy anything this year. She also supplies things like silk cocoons and rods, useful for mixed media.
Two of the Devon lacemakers, making traditional Honiton lace. This is one of the finest of hand-made laces and is VERY difficult and time-consuming – I know, because I attended classes once, but didn’t keep up with it because it was too fiddly, and unless you are very experienced and proficient, it is hard to produce your own designs; most people work from patterns. The bobbins are very light and fine, to handle the extremely fine thread, and they are often beautifully decorated. All the equipment is beautiful, and lovely to handle, but in the end, it wasn’t for me! I always admire the work, though, and I am glad I attempted it because it has given me a deeper appreciation of just how much meticulous work goes into creating these exquisite pieces.
There were various people displaying textile art, fabric painting and mixed media.
Gorgeous printed, painted and dyed fabrics.
One of my favourite stands was that of Art Van Go, who supply everything for the mixed media artist. I bought quite a few things from them, including some more gesso. I also bought a starter kit for cyanotype printing, which I am keen to try (thanks Diana of Velvet Moth Studio – you really inspired me!). In my final photo you will see all the things I bought from them.
Although much of the stuff on this stand wasn’t exactly to my taste, I did like the display, particularly above the stand.
I took the final two photos on the way out – lots of quilting in two glass cases by the main entrance to the show.
Finally, here are my purchases. I bought a large A4-sized zip-up folder for stamps and dies, because my present system is no longer working very well. It was fine in the beginning when I didn’t have so many stamps, but now, I store my stamps according to category (sentiments, butterflies, flowers, etc.) together in ziplock bags suspended in bags. In the beginning, each stamp was in a separate bag but they became too crowded. The current system is now becoming annoying, and I thought I would do better with a folder – I already have a smaller one which was given to me by a friend, and I recently bought one for my pens, which I like very much. Until something better turns up, I think this system will work for me. I also bought some extra plastic pockets for the folder.
The other papercrafting related supplies that I bought were a pack of A3 heavyweight white cardstock and my first few Distress Oxide sprays.
You can see the pelmet Vylene and the gorgeous rolls of cork fabric in the foreground. Just visible towards the back is the Indian braid which came from the same stand. The foam brushes and colour shaper came from Art Van Go, as did the gesso, the Xpanda Print (puff binder) and its instruction leaflet, and the cyanotype kit. I bought a book on using cutting machines (die-cutting machines and electronic cutting machines) in a more imaginative way in mixed media – lots of ideas to encourage me to explore the potential of my cutting machine. On the right is a lamp and tablet/phone bracket and stands. This is pretty heavy duty kit and seems very well made; there is lots of versatility in how it can be used. The lamp has a battery which is charged via USB, and once charged, it can also be used as a booster supply for your phone or tablet.
I think that just about wraps up my day at the craft show. I came home buzzing with ideas, and as usual, there won’t be enough time to try them all out! Anyway, watch this space to see what use I make of my new materials and equipment.
