Castleton Christmas Craft Fair November 2014

After a break of a couple of months I attended a great craft fair at Castleton last Saturday.  it coincided with the switching on of the Christmas lights so the village was bustling despite the weather which was misty with occasional rain.

To get into the Christmas feel I set up my table with a red gingham cloth, made new price cards in red and added red lights to my white display tree. 

 As well as my usual goodies I brought along my mini Christmas Stockings and a new make for this year, mini bunting in a choice of Christmas or vintage/retro style fabrics.

It was a busy fair with a great range of stalls from turned wood to beautiful silver jewellery.  I also met a few familiar faces which is always nice. 

One particular one that caught my eye was Go Vintage, a wonderful selection of vintage and retro collectables.

It was a really enjoyable day, I made a profit and sold out of my Christmas mini bunting.  However I do have a few mini Christmas Stockings left so they will be appearing in my online shop.  

And finally.... as always there was a great selection of dogs visiting the fair but the one that caught my eye was Billy, who as well as being cute was the best dressed dog!

Bakewell Craft Fair February 2014

I attended my first Craft Fair last year in Bakewell and enjoyed it so much thought I would give it another go.  As it was half term this week I booked two days midweek to see how I would get on.

As well as my cushions and drawstring bags I took along my Gingham Flower Brooches and my latest make, Retro Sugar Bowl Pin Cushions. 

Unfortunately it was quiet, which I put down mostly to the recent weather.  However I met some lovely people and got some great ideas on how I can improve my display.  

I also met Ruth from Sticks and Stones Jewellery, she took an amber necklace that I no longer wore and rethreaded the stones to give me a lovely very wearable necklace.  

So I may not have covered my costs but to me it was still a success and I look forward to attending my next. 

Laura Ashley 60th Anniversary

I have always loved Laura Ashley and have used their fabric throughout the years.  So when I found out that as part of their 60th Anniversary they were reintroducing some of their old patterns it made me quite nostalgic. 

My first memory of their fabric was as a teenager in the 1970s, I loved their dresses but could not afford them.  So when I bought two of their milkmaid style smocks in a charity shop I thought I was so cool!  And although that was a great summer I am happy to say there is no photographic evidence!

When I got my first home in the 1980s I went to town.  I made loose covers for my sofa in Mr Jones, made curtains and bedspreads in Louise for the spare room and had blue trellis and red rose bud wallpaper in my bedroom.  I have never seen this wallpaper since and I have not been able to find out what it was called, any ideas?

In the 1990s they were still producing beautiful floral prints and when I moved house again I found myself going back to Laura Ashley.  I made curtains in Somerton and had a lampshade and cushions in Tulip.  I also made beautiful curtains using Beeton (Chambray) and managed to get matching oil cloth so that completed the dining room.

I have also used their wallpaper borders over the years as they were a quick and cheap way to bring colour without the cost of wallpaper.  I still collect vintage rolls when I see them, I would no longer use them on a wall but have some vague idea there must be a decoupage type use for them, any suggestions are welcomed!

In recent years the patterns have not had the same attraction for me the exception being the gorgeous Holiday floral pattern which I only found after they stopped doing it.  However good old eBay came to the rescue and allowed me to get some cushion covers and fabric.  I also love Bunched Roses which I still use in my kitchen having collected an apron, oven glove, seat cushions and table mats!

I still have a lot of my collection and continue to collect Laura Ashley vintage fabric which I now use in my makes.  

But sometimes I cannot resist a vintage cushion cover, piece of Alice china or of course a wallpaper border! 

My First Craft Fair

I attended my first Craft Fair as a seller last Thursday and it was a great success!  Yes I made a modest profit after expenses but the main enjoyment was meeting the public and other sellers. 

It was a Craft and Gift Fair and held in an old wooden Scout Hut which was rather charming.  It had a good mix of sellers ranging from wildlife photography, vintage jewellery to knitting plus a very nice cake stall (at last someone that does proper Tiffin)!

I was given a corner with two tables which threw me a little as I had planned my layout on only having one; thank goodness I had taken along plenty of tablecloths with me.  Luckily I had plenty of time to rethink my display so it all worked out in the end.  I was also given a chair (which was comfy thank goodness) and had a nice little corner at the end of my table that allowed me to sit and do my crochet during the quiet times.

The Fair was in held in Bakewell a beautiful historic town in Derbyshire that is on the tourist trail.  So a lot of the people that attended were holidaymakers (with children) who had not planned to come along and nor were they looking for anything specific.  Luckily I had lower price items such as my Hedgehog Pin Cushions which proved popular to browsers, adult and children alike.  This highlighted that if I am going to attend further fairs in the future I need to have a wider range of lower priced items, some being attractive to children.   

I also got a lot of positive feedback, as people remembered their grandmother’s embroidered tablecloths and thought it lovely that someone was doing something with them rather than leaving them in a cupboard.   This gave me the opportunity to explain how I had got started and although they often did not buy anything they did take away leaflets and business cards and will hopefully pass these on to friends and family.   

However........

It was hard work and the preparation for such an event must not be underestimated and although I thought I was organised everything took twice as long as expected.   For example I normally only print out labels etc as and when I make an online sale but suddenly I had to do this for 30 or so items plus I needed additional material such as price tickets and carrier bags.

Also you have to have a thick skin!  Some people stood talking about my stall as if I was not there and a couple of times when someone was admiring my stall their friend said they thought my items were too expensive or they had seen something better!

Still I would highly recommend it but you need to be prepared so I have added a check list to My Pages which will hopefully be of help to any Craft Fair novices like me!  

What do you call a group of hedgehogs?

I was wondering what the collective noun was for hedgehogs so looked it up on a few websites.   The official term seems to be "Array" however a couple of sites also suggested a "Prickle"!

So here is my "Array of Hedgehogs": pin/brooch cushions made from some lovely vintage Laura Ashley remnants. The back is made from contrasting gingham and has a woven label. 

After the cutting, sewing and stuffing I add ric-rac trim, gingham button eyes with contrasting embroidery thread and black pom-pom noses.  Just waiting for some orange gingham buttons to finish, then they will be added to my shop.

Gingham Glory - The Start

This is my first attempt at a blog!  

I have always loved vintage items spending many hours in jumble sales when I was young moving onto charity shops as I started to get more pocket money. Although a lot of my collections have moved on I have always kept my linen, some of which came from my grandmother.

 I have also enjoyed sewing and in the past made a lot of clothes and home furnishings. However as work commitments increased over the years collecting and sewing took a back seat.

Now I have the time and having been inspired by programmes such as Kirstie's Handmade Britain and magazines such as Making I looked at what I could do that was different.  So Gingham Glory was born. http://folksy.com/shops/lal179

The first range for my shop was Linda's Linens, hand made cushions from rescued vintage embroidered table linen with contrasting gingham backs. 

My love of fabric also extends to vintage and retro patterns which I have used to produce 1960s and 1970s inspired cushions. 

Another of my favourites is my hedgehog pincushions, they can be used by sewers or look equally cute on the dressing table with brooches.

I had forgotten how much pleasure sewing gave me and double so now as it gives me a good excuse to go out hunting for old table linen, retro fabrics and lovely trimmings. 

I am aiming to give updates via this blog on my new makes and places and things that inspire me.  And if the weather improves you might get to see some of my garden!