I sat down to start blind stitching the binding on the quilt this afternoon. Of course, it wasn't long before I had a little helper . . .
She was SO happy - it was so lovely and warm in there . . .
She was not amused when I had to turf her out so I could come and cook tea. Not sure how I will manage to sew this without her "helping".
After forcing myself to change the bed, as believe me I haven't had an iota of energy all day, I set to and finished off the door curtain. The colours tie in well with the wall tiles over the bath and shower unit.
I've just had the form for the Builth Fair next year and believe it or not, they have put their prices up yet again and it will be £235 next year. I will have to see if I can get a smaller stall. Short of going outside (not ideal because you never know what the weather will be up to), the only slightly cheaper way of doing it is to have a smaller stall in the South Glamorgan Hall, which was 2/3 empty the last time, and people don't even bother to go in any more. Sigh.
Happy Friday tomorrow . . .
Aw, such a sweet kitty. They always want to be so helpful!
ReplyDeleteYes, and she knows where it's warmest too! As long as she doesn't put muddy paws on it.
ReplyDeleteKitties usually do want to help us. Such a sweet helper.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
I thought, I will sew this morning, when she's out hunting. Guess what, it's raining . . . so Pippi will be here to help me :)
DeleteI'm liking your pieced curtain--well done! Of course you have help with binding the quilt! Cats seem to love any fabric being spread around: I have 'help' at the sewing machine; offers of help when slicing fabric with the rotary cutter. The pincushion or the box of spring-clips to hold binding in place are apparently irresistible. Making the bed brings out all manner of burrowing and pouncing behaviors.
ReplyDeleteBeing gormless, I cut the colours as individual squares, rather than sewing three strips together and then cutting across. Ah well, I get the final say in layout by chosing, though looking at the bottom two rows, I see I have some matching next door neighbours!
DeleteMaking the bed yesterday - Pippi can be outside, but she seems to sense when bed making is going on and appears :)
That's so sweet, Pippi knows where the warmest spot is. My last cat would always "help" when I lay the newspaper in the logburner by sitting on the paper I wanted to use. The only solution was to lay a decoy piece of newspaper down for her first so that she then sat proudly on it to supervise, purring her little socks off!
ReplyDeleteI shall have to look out a decoy quilt now . . .
DeleteCats! She looks so contented, of course you made it just for her. Wow that is a huge amount for an antique fair. We used to have a stand at Alexandra Palace occasionally when we lived in London about 20 years ago, it cost £150 then, but was always buzzing and we always made a good profit. It was hard work even with two of us, lots of steps as no close parking, we couldn't manage it now. It was good fun with lots of lovely stall holders. Good luck with whatever you decide to do. Regards Sue H
ReplyDeleteThey won't be happy until they get to £250, I can see that coming. "Buzzing" is not how you would describe this Fair any more. It used to be absolutely chocca in there, you could hardly get to the stalls for people, this time . . . well, you saw the pictures. They used to cram stalls in the back sheds too but now the one I'm in just has folk around the margin and a double row back to back in the middle.
DeleteIt is very hard work and I know my time doing it is drawing to a close because it is physically demanding either end. We can drive in and offload, then park outside, so that is good.
Perhaps sit and work out the profit margin you need to make to make that fair really worth doing. A pros and cons list can be a wonderful thing. Could you even get together with some of your fair friends and start one of your own, it can seem a bit daunting at first but it would be possible if a few of you got together and chose a good central venue, and then shared the work and costs. Just an idea.
ReplyDeleteWell, I know my usual profit margins, and at the moment it's still worth doing (though less so from fair to fair because less people turning up since they doubled the entry fee as well). I can't really knock it on the head until I really must as the only alternative is the little one I do which is mainly a social event :( I am mainly trying to sell old pre-Covid stock, with just the occasional new bits. I don't want the stress and worry of starting up a Fair. Not for me.
DeleteLove your helper, she looks so cosy. No doubt other sellers will also be wincing at the increased cost. Would it be possible to share a stall and split the cost?
ReplyDeleteI was lovely and cosy too, with several layers of quilt over me and a Warm Cat!
DeleteI had thought of trying to share the stall but entrance is per vehicle. If I were to do it with my friend Ann, we would need two vehicles so back to square one. When it was £185, Keith was still alive to help with bills, plus we were selling his militaria, which brought the money in.
I had no idea that market [fair] stalls are so expensive! And so much hard labor physically. No wonder the dealers used to look grumpy at the Big Sunday Flea [pre-Covid].
ReplyDeleteYour quilt is gorgeous, stunning. The pink thread quilting is amazing. I love how the quilting brings the textile to life. And it's such a favor that your friend longarms for just cost of the thread! Truly beautiful. I also love the blue and cream piece, I m holding out for it to become a quilt.
You do so much! No wonder you get tired. [and how is your eye, how is Tam & family?] I went early Christmas shopping w a friend this week--enormous store, like a warehouse. Must have walked miles and miles, am still exhausted. We don't bounce back like we did in our twenties, lol.
Yes, to do the Botanic Gardens it is £150 for a double stall. You need to sell a lot to do well at it now.
DeleteThe quilting on "Heatwave" is gorgeous isn't it? Really lifts it to another level. Yes, Alex is so good to us. We have to wait if she is busy with private quilts, but to her group, she is a star.
The curtain is almost too good to be just a curtain, but I don't need any more quilts here although it would make a lovely throw over the back of the settle in the kitchen . . .
Glad you had fun Christmas shopping. Mine was all done on line as I am so far from the shopping centres - 40 and 55 miles.