Fibre East

I had a thoroughly enjoyable day at the new show Fibre East last Saturday - the weather was fine, so it was easy to get around the marquees and the event was well managed by the friendly officials.

It was really well-attended and of course I bought much more than I intended! Pick of the show for me was the Teeswater wools stand - www.teewaterwools.co.uk - loads of beautifully dyed yarn for knitting or weaving, plus samples of finished projects for inspiration.

I also found out about Fibreholics UK and their scheme for sending out sample bags from small independent dyers - just what I could do with to publicise my dyed silk, so I have applied to join. fingers crossed that I will be accepted.

July - August

Just got back from Wheathampstead market and luckily managed to dodge the showers. I didn't sell a lot, but did have a run on my crocheted flower hairslides, so I'll have to get making to replace them.

Plenty of time for that though, as I'm taking August off and my next market will be at St Alban's in September. It seems like a long way away, but I've got plenty to do in the knitting department, as well as two assignments for my OU Maths course, so it will fly by.

I've dyed some more yarn - plum purple colour this time - and have put it in my etsy shop. Sales have been quiet - I was hoping that the yarn would be a year-round seller, but it is a very crowded market place and I will reassess things in the autumn. I will probably start taking to to my Farmers' markets and will look into doing the round of yarn shows, taking out ads etc.

I'm off to Fibre East next Saturday as a customer. It's a new show and I'm looking forward to it. I'll post a review next week.

July update

Just to let you all know that I'll be at St Alban's and Wheathampstead Farmers' markets this month (10th & 17th respectively). I don't know how awake I'll be at Wheathampstead as we're off to our niece's wedding in Cambridge on the Saturday!

Highgate Fair in the Square was a little quieter than I thought it would be, but it was a pleasant day out and my husband stayed for the day instead of just dropping me off which was a great help - among other things, the Ladies' were a long way from my stall!

I've just been reading up on a new event - FibreEast - which is taking place at the end of the month. It's only about an hour's drive from me, so I'll be going for a day and I'm looking forward to it.

Finally, I'm in a really active team on Etsy, Knit1Treble2, and we're having a July sale with 10% off in our shops between the 9th and the 24th. Let's hope it generates some sales for everyone in what can be a quiet time of the year.