FUN TRIP TO PETERBOROUGH FIBRE ARTS FESTIVAL…

We had a lovely drive to Peterborough on Friday – stopped at the Hidden Gold Mine Bakery in Madoc for a delicious lunch in a very fun setting (the bakery/dining room is decorated with antiques so of course I was in my element!). Then we discovered a lovely new shop called Emporium just up the street from the bakery – beautiful Canadian made items and imports from Ireland and Scotland ALLLLLL IN A SETTING OF LOVELY ANTIQUES FOR SALE! I got a lovely purse/bag from Scotland with real Harris Tweed flap and a great old frame to house a punch needle piece. Then back on the road again – we discovered another shop just before we hit Peterborough where I managed to find, in between dodging drips from a leaky roof, two wonderful old lidded boxes with fabulous patina. I debated asking for a better deal because I had put my life at risk slipping into booths under dripping junction boxes and electrical fixtures! and trying to avoid water puddles and electrocution. But I figured they probably needed all the money they could get to fix that darned roof! Have I mentioned my addiction to antique boxes, benches and frames 🙂 . A little water and electricity was not going to stop me! And, note!, I didn’t even ask Gord to go in and retrieve the boxes for me!

Saturday’s show was crazzzzzzy busy. Poor Gord did not stop writing up receipts for the first few hours so thank you to everyone who visited our booth and patiently stood in lineups that wound their way out the booth!

So a few pictures to share of some of the vendors:

Needless to say, I did very little punching or hooking over the last few days – however, I did get to demonstrate and I think there may be a few new hookers (and punchers) out there! I love it when people get excited about our various fibre arts.

Diane, however, did almost finish her half punched/half hooked snowman. At our retreat in February she learned from two lovely certified Oxford punch needle teachers, Dawna Matthew and Ti Seymour, how to use the Oxford punch. Although she had done dozens of miniature punch needle pieces she had never used her Oxford punch needle. Well, that was about to change. Sunday morning Dawna and Ti kindly got her going and by the time we left after lunch she had completed almost half her snowman. We zipped back to her place and pulled apart her rather large stash in search of other yarns she could use to do the hat and carrot and there it was! perfect yarns that coordinated beautifully with the wool strips she was going to use to hook the background and border. Well, the punching and hooking are complete and now the braided edge is being worked on… I love how this all came together from an existing stash! The snowman is an adaptation of a wonderful pattern I carry called Wynter by Karen Thompson.