Craft Fair Haul (and a little rant, just a little one)

Yesterday was the Stitching for Pleasure / Hobbycrafts / Something something Embroidery exhibition at the NEC in Birmingham (UK, not Alabama).  I completely forgot to tell you I was going.  I managed to bring home a fair old loot, and have a go at a new craft. 

A wooden letter rack and a tray.  I'm going to paint/decopatch/mod podge these (or something).  The letter rack is to contain the many piles of paperwork Mr CA leaves lying around and the little tray is to go next to me on the sofa to stop my needles, pincushion, scissors, threads and / or crochet hooks from falling down between the sofa cushions.

A few necessities and some tiny embroidery hoops. I stopped at a stall to buy the 5" and 2 4" ones where I was told that 4" is the smallest they do.  A few stalls later I picked up a couple of 3" hoops... seems someone was lying!

A little iron-on bunny for no reason other than she reminds me of my bunny Ellis, and my first ever attempt at pyrography!  The image was pre-stamped so I only had to go over it with the tool.  It's quite tricky to get right and I burnt it in a few places, but it was really good fun.  I added the titles to the books.  Luckily my mum had invested in one of these tools a few weeks ago (she's a compulsive craft-horder like me), so I can go over and have a go on some more items.

A lucet with a spindle/bobbin type thing, and a gizmo.  Yep, that's its name.  It's for making coils from wire which you can then make into jewellery.

A needle-punch kit.  Yes, that's right, another new craft for me to try.  There was a lady demonstrating this and it looked so easy... bet it isn't!

Beads, beads, beads and more beads, a necklace kit, findings, spacers, connecters etc.

A little gift from my mum - a seam iron.  It can be plugged in and left turned on for hours without the handle getting hot, so it's got to be easier than plugging in and unplugging my big iron every five minutes.

Hand-dyed merino tops and a variety of hand died threads, heart trims, button-type things, cutters that I'm hoping I can use to needle-felt and some hand-dyed crewel thread that matches the threads in the DMC kit I bought that hasn't got enough thread in it...  DMC rudely ignored my constant emails asking for help in identifying the pre-sorted threads so I had to buy them elsewhere.  Unfortunately, there are still 3 threads I've run out of that I couldn't match.  There was only one stall selling crewel wool in the whole exhibition.

Even-weave, I think that's pretty self-explanatory.

Fabric!  2 metres of Kate Spain Fandango and a few unidentified pieces.

I don't think I did too badly.  I love the exhibitions at the NEC, they're a great way to find new suppliers as well as stock up and see things demonstrated.  The one thing that really gets my goat is how rude some people are.  The vast majority of crafters that I've met on the internet are kind, generous, giving folk.  The vast majority of people visiting the craft exhibitions are rude, self-centred and agressive.  Loads of them have trolleys on wheels which they'll park in your way and whack you on the legs with. Other people will push and shove you.  I was told to "move, I need to look at this stall" by a horrible woman whilst I was actually waiting for the stall-holder to bag up my purchase and another lady had a go at me as I accidentally caught her little boy with my bag - not my fault that she'd let him run free and he was crawling around by one of the stalls!