I'm still wrecked, obviously because if I wasn't, I would have put up a blog post before now. I couldn't even type let alone gather my thoughts on what happened over the past week and a half...I will try to do so now, forgive me if I bore the pants off you, I will just ramble on as is my way....I didn't take very many interesting photos. So, apologies...
Firstly, we packed the van, well fecked everything in because of the pouring rain. It was a bad day, the rain fell in 'biblical proportions', as was discussed much later in a very muddy and flooded EP field. We sent the man with the van on, then headed over to get Catrin from Kerry Airport. I had decided that this year I would round up my crew from Kerry, to make it easier to organise, and Catrin just got in there by flying from Germany to Kerry. When Catrin arrived she was greeted not only by hugs but by a raincoat and wellies. "Welcome to Ireland, put these on, you'll need them". So I had Phil, Catrin and Laura helping me out.
Thanks a million guys, you were great!!A long, tiring drive in relentless rain to Stradbally. The journey felt epic, now I know how Frodo felt, well, nearly, maybe if Frodo had a car...We get there, meet the man with the van who had arrived hours earlier. I decide to leave my crew in search of the hidden entry point. Talk about making it hard. I wont go into the boring details, but it was quite arduous trying to get into the camp. Fields, carparks and campsites had been flooded, vans and trucks stuck in the mud, as I said, a day of epic journeys and relentless rain. We finally made it into the Greencrafts area...
What the hay, we're there! Long journey over, we arrive, and several hours later start to pitch the marquee. The wind was so bad, we decided to secure it to the van. At least if it fell down, it wouldn't blow away. My theme was all about Sit and Stitch, I had brought along 4 wooden palettes, to put the cushions on. But the cushions were so big, they took up all the space!! although they didn't make the impact I thought they would, they amused a few people anyway. I was hoping to have the cushions on the ground, I figured the kids might like to get into the sandwich, but that was me being an optimist...especially in this country.
Thursday eased up a bit and the day was spent getting the stand ready. Because of the restless night we all had, we decided the best way to cope with the wet and the cold was to get drunk. We did, and it probably wasn't a good idea... We slept through the night, but the next day, I couldn't string two words together, let alone spin. I seemed to have lost all multi-tasking abilities...and to make matters worse I got interviewed by Midlands Radio! Here's hoping no one heard my garbled nonsense. I'm afraid I did nothing for the woolly cause....Things picked up pretty quick, instead of having a quiet day Friday to ease into the weekend, the people started coming as soon as the place opened. It was fantastic. I talked for 3 days solid, everything from basic knitting and crochet, to the inner workings of a spinning wheel, to my little Natural Fibres Project! Bringing the wheel was a good decision, it really stopped people in their tracks, even the menfolk...Although I still didn't have the coordination to do it, Catrin was great, spinning away on my behalf. I spend most of the time using the CD spindles, and to my surprise and delight they worked out great. They actually spin better than then the one I bought. I did a few workshops throughout the weekend, but most of the time was just spent chatting. A few fellow Ravellers came along, and spend a good hour or two spinning or knitting. I love meeting people who don't know anything about textiles and showing them
the light, but even better it is to meet
women of the cloth, or spindle, or needle, or whatever else it is they do. It was great to meet them, and I have to say
Thank you girls, you made my weekend!! I'm not joking you really did. We were in the perfect spot for doing some people-watching. Here is the view from our stand!
OK so there's no people in the picture. this is very early in the morning. As soon as anyone came along, I was too busy yapping to take photos!
I can't really remember what else I did, apart from drink lots of coffee. After Thurday night/Friday moning hangover disaster, I decided to be professional and not get drunk for the following 2 nights. Although I didn't have to be open until 12pm, I found a lot of the other traders were wandering about early. Like myself they were working, so missed out on all the other stalls. So I was open by 9.30am to cater for any passerbys. I had the luxury of being able to open up in my pj's and wellies!
EfterklangI did get to see some music. We finished up about 6/7pm then headed off to get food (mostly falafals..). Last year I tried to see specific bands but either didn't get in, or didn't get round to it, so this year I decided to try see bands I didn't know, and be pleasantly surprises (or not). A few stood out for me, Efterklang, Baaba Mal and Kila, Ebony bones (crazy lady), Alabama 3, Lucent Dossier show, a good old reggae dance in Trenchtown. Whatever band were playing in the Chai tent on Sunday night... A few disappointments: Dinosaur Jr, the dodgy
6 guys on laptops band, and a few others. I'd need to find the schedule and go through it to see what I actually did!!
Last year, I did a needlefelting workshops, and the clay ball thing, but this year I didn't get round to it, there was too much chat going on!! Here is some pics of the other stands in Greencrafts area.
It was a fantastic festival, we had 2 dry days on Friday and Saturday, and rain on Sunday during the day, but it eased of when we finished up. Handy that! I know I sound, (am), a bit biased, but the Greencrafts area is the nicest in the whole festival. It was so chilled out and down to earth. Thought I did stick out like a sore thumb, all the other stands were lovely yurts and tipi's, or earthy brown and green tarps, whereas my marquee was cheap plastic white with almost neon acrylic bunting and psychedelic mushrooms!!
The mushrooms got a lot of attention, probably more than me! Maybe next year, I'll just crochet one giant mushroom, and sit in it alone spinning or something....or a giant wellie like the old lady that lived in a shoe. I have lots of potential ideas. Well, I better have, I've just given away my marquee!! Next year I want to totally embarrass myself...Sure I only do it once a year...why not!!
But next year, I wont spend hours dancing in wellies in the mud. Jeez, my big toe and my knees were killing me for days after!
Here are a few pics of the Vintage Fair at The Culchie Festival on an absolutely glorious day. I didn't get to stay as long as I would have liked due to a tired child, but we had lots of fun, ice-cream and tractors. This was the highlight for me. A Trotters Independent Trading Co. van.
Textile-wise there was very little. It always amazes me how little of these vintage fairs involve textiles. It's mostly metal and machines. Old engines, tools, etc. Considering how big the textile trade was in Ireland for a long, long time, I get disappointed. Thought I did meet a man with the biggest collection of cast iron tool boxes and oil cans in the Republic. We had a great chat. Hey don't laugh, I know there's at least a few of you who have a thing for boxes/rusty metal...
This implement caught my eye however. According to the man, its was used like a giant pincers. If you needed to sew leather, you would put it in the pincers, squeeze tight then sew together. Never heard of that before. There were lots of women around, and I get talking to a few. They love travelling round to vintage fairs as much as their menfolk, but they don't do anything. So why isn't there more vintage women's stuff on show? It started giving me ideas. I have been having bad thoughts. (I call them bad, because the last thing I need right now is more projects...). Thoughts on developing The Woolly Way Roadshow idea. Going to festival and fairs around the country. It's been mulling round my head for some time now, and I really feel there is an opening, a need for something, but I just can't get my head round exactly what it is yet... Then I saw this....
This was a purpose built trailer which housed the man's prize bits of....well, junk to most people, precious vintage items to others. Oil cans, horse bits, old toys, brass plaques...etc. I thought it the most ingenous thing. No packing, no panicking, it's all there on show. What if I were to get together something similar but with all vintage textile tools. According to this guideline: Antique - 1910 and earlier/Vintage - 1959 and earlier/Retro or Classic - 1960 - 1990’s. My crochet hooks are vintage, my spinning wheel and carders are retro/classic. What if I were to gather together a collection of textile tools, from needles and hooks, to pin cushions and patterns, that could fall within this perimeter. A friend of mine some years back wrote her thesis on Folk-medicine on the Dingle Peninsula, she spend a few months hanging out with the oldies in day-care centres gathering bits and bobs of info. Surely it is possible to do the came with textiles info. Gather old implements and old stories. My granny died when I was young, just as I was starting to get into crochet and other hand-crafts. My mum says I would have loved her, the house was yarn mad, toilet-seat/tissuebox/toilet roll covers, throws and cushions, etc... I feel like I missed out on granny-time. That essential passing down of yarnie words of wisdom. If we don't capture some of it now, we'll lose it forever....AAAAH bad thoughts, brain stop thinking, too may possibilities.... This was supposed to be a quick post with just a word or two on the pictures, and the time has flown...Here's the rest...
Interesting stools...
Rusty old blue tractor...my favourite colours
These are now in the ownership of Manna, Tralee's only organic fruit and veg shop. I jokingly asked would they like a giant banana for display in their window and they said yes. So they now have the lot because what the hell else am I going to do with them!! For good measure, I threw in 1 crocheted mushroom, 1 yellow lemon, I green apple, 1 green avocado, 2 orange carrots, 2 crocheted pears green and yellow....sounds like a Christmas song... The real fruit, came from Manna in the first place, I just threw them in the photo just so you could gauge the size.
Firstly, we packed the van, well fecked everything in because of the pouring rain. It was a bad day, the rain fell in 'biblical proportions', as was discussed much later in a very muddy and flooded EP field. We sent the man with the van on, then headed over to get Catrin from Kerry Airport. I had decided that this year I would round up my crew from Kerry, to make it easier to organise, and Catrin just got in there by flying from Germany to Kerry. When Catrin arrived she was greeted not only by hugs but by a raincoat and wellies. "Welcome to Ireland, put these on, you'll need them". So I had Phil, Catrin and Laura helping me out. Thanks a million guys, you were great!!
What the hay, we're there! Long journey over, we arrive, and several hours later start to pitch the marquee. The wind was so bad, we decided to secure it to the van. At least if it fell down, it wouldn't blow away. My theme was all about Sit and Stitch, I had brought along 4 wooden palettes, to put the cushions on. But the cushions were so big, they took up all the space!! although they didn't make the impact I thought they would, they amused a few people anyway. I was hoping to have the cushions on the ground, I figured the kids might like to get into the sandwich, but that was me being an optimist...especially in this country.
Thursday eased up a bit and the day was spent getting the stand ready. Because of the restless night we all had, we decided the best way to cope with the wet and the cold was to get drunk. We did, and it probably wasn't a good idea... We slept through the night, but the next day, I couldn't string two words together, let alone spin. I seemed to have lost all multi-tasking abilities...and to make matters worse I got interviewed by Midlands Radio! Here's hoping no one heard my garbled nonsense. I'm afraid I did nothing for the woolly cause....Things picked up pretty quick, instead of having a quiet day Friday to ease into the weekend, the people started coming as soon as the place opened. It was fantastic. I talked for 3 days solid, everything from basic knitting and crochet, to the inner workings of a spinning wheel, to my little Natural Fibres Project! Bringing the wheel was a good decision, it really stopped people in their tracks, even the menfolk...Although I still didn't have the coordination to do it, Catrin was great, spinning away on my behalf. I spend most of the time using the CD spindles, and to my surprise and delight they worked out great. They actually spin better than then the one I bought. I did a few workshops throughout the weekend, but most of the time was just spent chatting. A few fellow Ravellers came along, and spend a good hour or two spinning or knitting. I love meeting people who don't know anything about textiles and showing them the light, but even better it is to meet women of the cloth, or spindle, or needle, or whatever else it is they do. It was great to meet them, and I have to say Thank you girls, you made my weekend!! I'm not joking you really did. We were in the perfect spot for doing some people-watching. Here is the view from our stand!
OK so there's no people in the picture. this is very early in the morning. As soon as anyone came along, I was too busy yapping to take photos!
Efterklang
The mushrooms got a lot of attention, probably more than me! Maybe next year, I'll just crochet one giant mushroom, and sit in it alone spinning or something....or a giant wellie like the old lady that lived in a shoe. I have lots of potential ideas. Well, I better have, I've just given away my marquee!! Next year I want to totally embarrass myself...Sure I only do it once a year...why not!!
