Sunday 3 June 2012

Dartington Food (and Craft) Fair

Hello everyone

I'm shattered!  But was determined to link up with Handmade Monday today.

Liz and I have been to the Dartington Food Fair today and will be there tomorrow and Tuesday as well.  Hence why I am shattered!


This is my first outing with my extreme crochet hooks and huge balls of yarn!  My main purpose for this fair is to promote the workshops I'm hoping to run.  As you can see Chester has pride of place and was a BIG hit all day long.  Why has he got his feet in a bag? I hear you say!  Well it was only raining slightly but we found the water ran under the marquee wall and collected in small puddles.  So the reason for this bag is to keep poor Chester's feet dry.  Perhaps tomorrow I should take some wellies for him :)


I was very pleased with the interest people showed in the huge hooks and the balls of yarn.  The basket which can be made from one of the huge balls is visible in front of the crochet hooks.  The bags I made, quite a while ago now, are hung on the front of my table as I had very little room.  The one on the left is in Astrakhan stitch, the grey one in the centre is Crocodile stitch and the duffle bag on this end is in spike stitch.


Here is Chester sporting his Jubilee bow tie.  You can just spot a 'normal' amineko and Taffy in the picture too!  Luckily Taffy had his boots on!


Here is Liz's stall, with all the lovely things she makes.  Her Jubilee bags (on the top shelf) are wonderful and you can just pick out a couple of Jubilee cushions on the table in the front l/h corner.


As you can see from the above picture, I laid out chairs so anyone could have a go at the extreme crochet.  It was very popular, even for people who hadn't crocheted before.

We had an enjoyable day although it was pretty quiet really.  Apparently there will be more signs up for tomorrow and something going on immediately outside the marquee to encourage people up our way as I think the problem was there was a large demonstration tent just down below us.  People saw that and didn't realise the craft tent was behind it.  Hopefully tomorrow will be better, although I met some lovely people today and made some interesting contacts.

For anyone who saw Fiddly Fingers at the fair today, I would value any comment as it was wonderful to meet you all.  Thank you for dropping by :)

And ... for those of you who are nowhere near Devon, I hope you enjoyed a glimpse of what went on!
I will let you know how the next couple of days go at the beginning of my blog next week.

I'm off to relax now as I have a fairly early start again tomorrow.  I will have a peek at your blogs over the next few days as I am looking forward to seeing what you have all been up to.  Thanks for reading hope you all have a good weekend x



20 comments:

  1. Chester looks like he's having a foot bath! The large balls and hooks look really great, and I love the effects in your finished items. Hope it's a good fair xx

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  2. It looks like a whole lot of fun! I like that you let people have a go!

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  3. I wish I was in Devon as would've loved to have come along! I think Chester would look fab in wellies! Good look for tomorrow x

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  4. Love Chester's bow tie! I actually also really like that blue bowl you have on your table in the first 2 pics too! Mich x

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  5. I wish I were nearer, I could come and meet Chester and friends! I would like to meet you too of course. Your stalls look great to me. Good luck with the next couple of days :) x

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  6. I love Chester's bow tie. Your stall looks great. I like the way everything is displayed. The giant balls of wool at the back look fantastic, very eye catching. Ali x

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  7. I would love to see Chester in wellies! Wow- those balls of yarn are even bigger than I thought!- I bet they grabbed people's attention! Great idea having chairs for people to have a go too.

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  8. those balls of wool really are quite something! Your stand looks great and i can imagine people being very intrigued by extreme crochet - i would certainly want to come and chat to you if i caught sight of Chester - he is so characterful and eye catching (he would look especially fab with some bright wellies on to keep his feet dry!)

    I hope that you get more footfall tomorrow and tuesday x

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  9. It looks so welcoming.I'd have been happy stroking Chester and trying out the crochet all day!

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  10. Chester looks very content sitting amongst all your goodies. Hope it goes better today for you.

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  11. Your stall looks great, I hope he didn't catch a cold having got his feet wet!

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  12. Chester looks very smart in his Jubilee bow-tie - I bet he is very popular at your events. Hope you got lots of interest for your workshops. Your stall looks lovely and hope you have a good day today.

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  13. I love Dartington. Spent many happy hours there in fact my DIL occasionally worked there and we looked after the Grands.
    I must say that I love your concept of crochet. What a great variation on the theme. Where do you get your ideas from. Of course, it goes without saying that Chester has an appeal all his own. lol. I will be following your/his antics in the future.

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  14. Good old Chester he looks great sat there a good conversation starter I would think. I hope that your workshop gets lots of people joining in.

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  15. The whole set up of your stall looks fab and so inviting. Chester is fantastic and the photos are great to see. Good luck for the next couple of days

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  16. I'm sure your courses will be popular. And with Chester helping to promote...i'm sure you stood out at the fair

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  17. wow extreme crochet looks fascinating. Wish i was closer, i'd pop along and have a look. best of luck with it all.

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  18. Looks a brilliant event, hope things went well, hopefully you are now home and enjoying a bit of quiet time with your feet up.

    Jan x

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  19. Your stall looks fab and I especially love that you put chairs out for people - such a good idea!! X

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  20. Thank you for all these lovely comments I shall update you all on Handmade Monday next week. Yes you're right I am sat here relaxing with my feet up. Had no idea standing and talking about something you love for 3 days could be so tiring :)

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I really appreciate all the lovely comments you leave so thank you for taking precious time to do this.