I was lucky to win a pair of tickets to the festival, which was ace as I got to spend my ticket money on some of the lovely crafty things on offer instead (yay!). In fact I actually won three pairs of tickets as I had a weird run of luck and won the giveaways on three different craft blogs! Obviously the other pairs ended up going to other people, but it felt like an auspicious start to the weekend :)
Thread is held at the Farnham Maltings arts centre, it runs over two days and if you buy a ticket you can visit on both days. There were a couple of textile-themed art exhibitions, some free talks and demonstrations, and a selection of paid workshops too. The "main event" though was the stalls, with two large spaces filled with people selling stitch-y supplies and handmade textile goods.
The photo above was taken right at the end of the day on Friday, just before closing - the building was positively heaving with people on the Saturday!
Here are some of the stalls that caught my eye...
Fabulous handprinted textiles by Sarah Waterhouse:
Fabric and buttons from Ray Stitch (top row) and woven textile creations by Sally Weatherill (bottom row):
Amazing yarn necklaces and knitwear by Megan Crook (top row) and cool insect-themed designs by Craig Fellows (bottom row):
Gorgeous hand-dyed embroidery threads from Zoe Acketts Textiles:
Sewing patterns and kits from independent dressmaking pattern company Gather (top left), cushions by Zoe Acketts (top right), cushions and fat quarters from Made by Mrs M (bottom left) and hand-painted silk designs by Hilary Collins (bottom right):
Colourful felt supplies from Cloud Craft:
Cross stitch books and kits from What Delilah Did (top row) and embroidery kits from Nancy Nicholson Designs (bottom row):
And lots of gorgeous haberdashery goodness, old and new, from The Old Haberdashery:
Also spotted at the festival: this notice about a wandering tortoise...
Poor little tortoise, I hope it found its way back home!
As always at shows like this it's so nice being able to see all the lovely wares "in real life" (no matter how good your product photos, they can never compare to the real thing) and to have the chance to chat to the sellers about their work (better than social media or the best product description).
I got to meet a couple of makers whose work I've admired for years, said hi to some crafty/bloggy friends, discovered some new-to-me designers and supply shops, did a bit of networking for my blog, ate some tasty cake and picked up a few little things to take home with me. All in all, a pretty nice way to spend the weekend!
You can find all the info about upcoming craft festivals at Farnham Maltings here.
2 comments:
It was lovely to meet you there Laura. Hope to see you again at Thread this year!
Thanks Nicole, you too! :)
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