Well I've had a lovely day today. A few of us #BTHQ girls went on a little road trip in the trusty Dobby (My in-laws Fiat Doblo people carrier/van type vehicle) to the Waltham Abbey Wool Show.
He got us there in great time and very comfortably and the pedal power of the ladies in the back certainly helped us get up the hills!
The event was being held at the Marriot hotel in Waltham Abbey and it certainly is a lovely hotel. They were offering afternoon tea for £12 so it would have been rude of us not to partake!
The event was organised by the Crochet Chain wool shop who we had visited back in April last year. They had advertised a funky hat competition so of course I had to enter my chicken hat. It did mean asking the lovely Mrs Chicken from Chicken and Frog Bookshop if I could borrow it back again (it has been her Hannukah present) but she was quite happy to lend it back to me in order for it to potentially win a prize!
Well competition was stiff and I was also up against our very own BTHQ Belle Helen who had entered her pig hat! But...........I won 1st prize. 2nd prize went to a crazy pointy creation with lots of marvellous flowers and 3rd went to a lady who had made an awesome felted hat with matching waistcoat.
The competition was judged by the lovely Janie Crow (Famous for her monthly column in Simply Crochet Mag amongst many other hooky accomplishments).
I was lucky enough to win not only £30 worth of vouchers to spend in the Crochet chain but also Janies latest book Kaleidoscope which she has even signed for me.
Her work is fabulous and so amazingly neat.
I was pleased to see she also loves the Clover Armour Crochet hooks which I was lucky enough to receive for Christmas and even stocks them in her online shop I would highly recommend these hooks, I can now crochet so much faster than ever before and get no aches and pains even when crochetting all day long. We had a nice chat later in the day when the crowds thinned out a bit and it turns out she also has a little thing for PiP Studio. I spied a rather nice handbag under her chair and if you look closely at her stall you will spot a box that could only have contained some china in the past!
There certainly were some other lovely stalls and demonstrators including the ladies from Gladrags who were demonstrating the art of rag rugging.
There was yarns of all sorts available including these wonderful sparkly yarns. Each one was hand spun and only 3 skeins of each is ever made.
Last but not least we spotted this lovely lady on one of the displays. Isn't she amazing?
I'm looking forward to next year already.
It was, indeed, a lovely day! So many gorgeous yarns, talented crafty folk and excellent company from my fellow #bthq pals.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed the demonstration of rag rugging. The lady was so friendly, welcoming and easy to learn from - I feel she has a future as a #bthq guest teacher! ;)
Thank you for another brilliant day!
What a brilliant outing that looked like and love that it was front ended by afternoon tea-perfect!
ReplyDeleteIt was a really lovely day out. The venue was compact but with just the right number of stall holders who were all very friendly and enjoyed sharing their talents and encouraging the people new to crafting. Very good company, and now looking forward to a little trip in the spring to the Crotchet Chain in Waltham Abbey
ReplyDeleteCongratulation on first prize, your hat certainly is a winner!
ReplyDeleteSadly missed this one as away, he fully you will do another one soon x
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