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!
Efterklang
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!
