Saturday 23 May 2009

Costume and Textile Fair at Petworth House in West Sussex

Well it seems such along time since my last post. My only excuse's are work and chores, pretty boring really. Although Saturday was different we headed out to Petworth for a Costume and Textile Fair and boy did we have a wonderful time. It was held at Petworth House (well in the grounds in fact). It's owned by the National Trust and what a beautiful setting it is, especially with the sun shining.
It's about a 25 mintue drive from our house (Oh by the way Victoria drove as she is learning at the moment, her driving test in looming ever closer), anyway we arrived at 11am just as it opened. The car park is alittle way from the Fair, but hay what a beautiful walk, the pathway lead us through the huge trees and of course the Rhododendrons, which were in full bloom, as were alot of other shrubs and trees.
Ok, so here's the entrance.




Right were in and I was quite surprized how compact it was, but you should never judge a book by it's cover as we soon found out. Now then when it comes to taking photo,s I get a little nervous about asking people for their permission, I think it's a confidence thing or even maybe the fear of rejection if they say no, so my photo's are a bit limited inside the marquees, so I apologize if they are a little bland. Victoria took a few. She is much better at it than I am lol.




This lovely bunch of ladies are from The Wealden Guild of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers and what a lovely group of ladies they were. For along time now I have wanted to learn to spin, but up until now I have been unable to find a local group. They are based about 25 miles away at Horsham, where they meet once a month in their local hall. They are on hand to teach spinning, weaving and any other related crafts. Much encourged by their enthusiasm for me to join..I agreed and I can't wait. But hark I hear you say do you have a wheel.... no I don't, but for a very small fee of £5 a month they will loan you one, until such times that you have mastered the technique, then they will help guide through the process of buying a wheel that is suitable for you...what lovely kind ladies they are.



This lovely lady the one on the left, her name Debbie Siniska, well the other lady is actually her twin sister who was helping out and she was lovely too! Debbie makes the most wonderful Rag Rugs, well not just rugs other fantastic creations aswell. She teaches at West Dean College in Sussex. Another course on my wishlist.


And this lady stitched the most amazing creations, her name is Carey Marvin ( From Let it Fray)unfortunately I didn't get any close ups of her work (sorry).

This stall belonged to a very sweet young lady called Amy Aardvark. I must admit I did fall in love with her work. She hand prints onto organic cotton and mixes it with vintage fabric, beautiful combination. She was very surprised and grateful that I asked if I could take a picture, as she said many people don't, but I feel it is only right to.


Well I'll just leave with a few photo's of the grounds. If you are ever in the area it's well worth a visit, you won't be disappointed.










Well... as you can probably see I didn't make any purchases and I don't know how I resisted. There is a reason why not and that is this weekend is The Vintage and Handmade Fair and I am saving all my pennies for this. I've taken the time off work and I am raring to go. It will take around 2 1/2 to 3 hours to drive there, but I know it is going to be well worth it and I can't wait to meet my fellow bloggers and all there wonderful wares..... OOh Im so excited. If your going I hope I will see you there, if not I will report back soon.

Warm Wishes
Juliexx

14 comments:

Kathleen Coy said...

I love that big old tree in the second to last photo, it looks like it's about to stand up and walk around!

How fun to get to learn to spin! I imagine it's a very satisfying craft.

Joanna Dover said...

Wow - theres a blast from the past! I used to live in Chertsey (Surrey) and at the weekends we would sometimes drive to Petworth to walk our dogs there, as it was such a fantastic expanse of grounds for them to run on. being in the US now, I'd kind of forgotten about it. It looks lovely - so green!

The Pink Birdhouse said...

What a fun fair, and what a fun post!! All that lovely handwork for show, I could feel my heart beating faster!! I love fairs like that, the items are fabulous and the ladies all so talented. Your photos were great, especially that knotty old tree!! Great shot of that. A very enjoying "read" today, thanks so much for sharing such goodies with us. (not sure how you resisted buying anything, I know that I could not have done it)!! :-)

Tammie said...

So it was a craft fair then? I love going to those and flea markets. I enjoyed viewig the photos of the ladies and the beautiful grounds.

Janet Metzger, Artist said...

That looked like so much fun! So many creative people and so little time. I love your photos, they make me want to hop a plane to the UK right now. Someday I will get there...I will! I enjoy reading your lovely blog.
your friend,
Janet

PS..check out my very 1st giveaway on my blog ;-)

Anonymous said...

Looks like a great place, I loved that old tree trunk :-)

Niki Fretwell said...

Hi Julie,
Thanks for sharing these photos - I really wished I could have gone to this fair, as a friend of mine was exhibiting. She had spent months working on some beautiful hand embroidered pieces.

Hope you enjoyed the V&H fair too,
Niki

studio lolo said...

You live in a beautiful area!
I love that R. Fulgham quote on the side. I used to have it on my wall in my studio before I moved out.
it's nice having another animal lover stop by my blog...and you've even become one of my stalkers!
Thank you ;)

Anonymous said...

Hiya - if you would like one of those blog award thingies, I nominated you so you can call in and collect if you want to! It's a thank you for being inspiring and a good read.

Carol Anne Strange said...

Thanks for following my blog, Julie, and I look forward to getting to know you. Wishing you a magical day. x

Debbies-English-Treasures said...

THANKS FOR SHARING YOUR WONDERFUL DAY WITH US!

ENJOY LIFE`S SIMPLE TRASURES,
DEBBIE MOSS

Sarah Sullivan said...

Oh beautiful pictures!! What a wonderful show!! Totally enjoyed the post and your blog!!! Sarah

bellaboo said...

Thankyou so much for visiting my blog.It is lovely to have your comments.Have a lovely holiday in Cornwall.Have spent many childhood holidays there...lovely memories!

Bellaboo

BALLET NEWS said...

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