Phew

It's been a hectic week and weekend. I had a few alteration jobs to finish prior to preparing for and participating in a four day craft fair at Culross Abbey, about 6 miles from home.

The show began on Thursday and whilst it was a quiet day in terms of foot fall, I had two very keen crochet beginners at my workshop, who had both managed after an hour to produce beautiful flowers. It's so easy to forget how hard learning a new technique like crochet can be when you've been doing it as long as I have. I'm as comfortable with a crochet hook in my hand as I am with a pen. In fact, I think I find crochet more comfortable than writing nowadays, so it was a real eye opener for me.

Friday was very wet and windy, so the 4 people who had stalls in the marquees were brought into the body of the abbey. There was plenty of room as it's quite a large building for a small village (although of course it IS a Royal Burgh so there's a lot of history there), and the extra stalls added both colour and sound to the building, both of which were appreciated. I did a workshop on making one of my little felt ladybirds, which went really well, and I'm now planning on supplying all three insects in kit form. These will be added to my Gertrudesgarden shop on Etsy soon, once I've got the graphics and packaging sorted.

Saturday and Sunday had higher foot fall, and the Abbey was full of voices and laughter. Each day we were treated to a private recital by Maurice, the organist, who practiced for at least an hour each day. He has been the church organist for 24 years now, and his talent is formidable, although he's an extremely modest and gentle man. He even had several of the crafters waltzing to the Beautiful Blue Danube, and played requests when asked. A true gentleman.

We were kept company by many church members, who all popped in regularly to say hello. I was given two massive bags of gorgeous fabrics and embroidery silks, whilst other stall holders were given things that they could use in their work. Pepper, the minister's black laborador, was a charming addition to the welcoming committee, and was affectionate even when there weren't sandwiches about (although she unfailingly and unerringly located the snack bags at each stall).

It was a friendly and welcoming craft fair, in fact it was the nicest one I've ever done. No, I didn't sell much, but I met many fascinating people and had four days in great company. I can live with that!