This show should really come with a warning, but as it doesn’t – I will assign it one: Beware – Attending this show may seriously damage your wealth!
Being a blogger for UKQU comes with its benefits – we don’t get to participate in competitions, but we do get to review items, and I was lucky enough to receive tickets for Craft4Crafters at Westpoint. I was delighted, as I have been to this show before (at Shepton Mallett). I invited a friend to come with me, and we were both very excited by the adventure and delights that were awaiting us. We arrived just after 10am, and arrived in the car park to find many people already there. Luckily, there was not a long queue for the entrance, and having advance tickets was certainly a benefit.
The hall was packed – so many traders, and the entire area was used; some of you may have attended a quilt show at Westpoint – the ones I’ve attended there have had areas which were not used, but that that was not the case with this show. It was great to see so many people practising their craft while waiting for customers. Even better was seeing the number of people participating in workshops and quick-makes. Some of the stands were very popular indeed – The Makerss was busy until late in the afternoon, with workshops and shoppers. There were several people very interested in Margaret Beal’s stand, and I took the opportunity to watch the demonstration, and see what can be achieved with a very fine tipped soldering iron. I was inspired to buy her book, some fabric, and a new soldering iron – oh, and some sample pieces.
It must be remembered that the show is called Craft4Crafters – so it is not aimed simply at quilters. However, this is where the show comes into its own in my opinion. There are exhibitors who demonstrate techniques that inspire us in our own work. Exhibitors in this category include Mary Gamester with her transfer painting, Marbling 4 Fun with Craig Joubert – and at this show he gave me a piece of marbled fabric, Gill I Am with needle felting, The Makerss with the needle felting, and Stef Francis with the gorgeous array of threads, silk tops, sari silk. I haven’t even mentioned the beading shops and button providers; Totally Beads was lucky enough to be the first bead stand we visited, and the large tube of mixed seed beads in shades of pink and green were perfect for a sewing project I started during the week (and at £2.50 an absolute bargain!). For those interested in card making, the show is ideal; and I have realised that the metal dies used in card making will be ideal for making templates for use with fabric fusing!
There were stands of people exhibiting – and the Devon Lace Teachers stand was well worth a visit; there were two ladies demonstrating – one doing Branscombe Lace, and the other working on a piece of Honiton lace. The Honiton lace is something that was amazing to see, as the threads were so very fine; the lady demonstrating told me that the weight of the threads was between 180 and 200, and was silk. I have done some lace-making, so this stand was of great interest to me – especially as there was a quilt there with lace in it; the title was something to do with Shades of Grey – it could have been 32. We met the creator at the stand, and she explained how it had come about.
When I asked if they minded if I take photos, and explained that I blog for UKQU, exhibitors were very friendly; The Button Box-Devon explained why they like people to ask before taking photos, and also explained how they work closely with their suppliers, making sure that the workers are treated fairly, according to the working rules of the country. Bicton College were very friendly, Bits and Bobs of Weymouth told us about one of the quilts they had on display – that it is a work in progress and had been made by a lady who is no longer with us; the use of colour in the whole design is fantastic! There were signs on the stand of The Braid Society that were very welcome, and most unusual to see: “Please Touch” and “Please DO handle these samples of BRAIDS”. West Country Creative explained how she uses polymer clay and does classes for different groups, how you can use different things in the polymer clay to make beads and buttons, and how she makes buttons to match bags she has made. On the Project Linus stall we heard about a girl who had visited on Thursday, and been presented with one of the quilts – that the girl, in a wheelchair, had her photo taken, and the mum wanted to have more of the quilt in the photo – but the girl just wouldn’t let go of the quilt!
There was so much to see – and too little time. I could have spent hours and hours there, giving each stand more attention; I was very tempted by the large knitting needles on the Extreme Textiles stand (actually, the 2kg bag of yarn really appealed to me), and that the rugs had been used for over 10 years – and still look great; Jan Tillett – so many of her pieces that I recognise (having done classes with her); I’d have loved to have done a workshop with Margaret Beal, and the work of AbbieAnne Patchwork Textiles was inspirational (I was tempted to buy some of her pieces).
Yes, this is a long review – but it is just a snippet of all that was on offer. This was the 3rd Craft4Crafters show that I have been to, and each one has been different – so don’t think that if you’ve been to one, you’ve been to them all, because that is certainly not the case. This show is a perfect place to find presents for people – marbling kits, Blendy pens, Tonertex foils, and foiled stained glass having been bought by me as presents.
If you have not yet been to one of these shows, make it a priority to get along to it; the ideal situation would be to spend 2 days at the show – that way you get to spend time going round and looking at all the stalls, and also time to do some workshops as well. A word to the wise – take some cash and a cheque book. Some venues do not have the signal for using credit / debit cards (and if they do, the signal can be sporadic) – and not all vendors have the old ‘click-clack’ machines.
Thank you for UKQU for sending me tickets. People may have spotted me there – I was the one in the bright patchwork harlequin jacket (as seen in the photo below), and in the vlog below (created by my friend, who has given permission to share it – do take a look as it includes videos of some of the demonstrators). As a parting comment, there were several competitions available to participate in at the show – and don’t think that you’ll never win it. If you don’t enter, you won’t win; if you do enter, you have a chance. Oh, and my husband would welcome someone else winning tickets to this show – whether at Shepton Mallet or Exeter, so that I don’t come home with yet more supplies
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