Craft Fair 'Season'

 

I no longer take a booth at the craft fairs - instead I sell my textiles through the guild booth.  This year it turned out very well that we were not booked for Studio Fair because the same week we would have had to set up is the week our new heat pump/furnace will be installed.

I miss the craft fair circuit.  The other vendors were my 'people'.   They understood why I was there, and what it meant to me.  I didn't have to explain myself, or justify my prices.  They all 'got' it.

Even though I only saw some of them once a year, we recognized each other and generally were supportive of each other.

But that is part of my past life, now.

Since I still weave, still have inventory, I am grateful the guild has a booth at the craft fair, and that they will do an in-room sale of guild member's work in early December.

On the tea towel front, it looks like there is 'only' enough mercerized cotton to finish the current warp and weave one more.  After that I think I will put whatever mercerized cotton is left in my bobbin lace stash in case I pick that craft up again.

That doesn't mean the end of tea towels!  I now have 2/16 cotton to use up, which *may* mean buying more natural white 2/16 cotton to use up that yarn.  And round and round we go.

In my effort to weave down my stash, I thought I'd pretty much used up all my 2/16, but as I dug into dark corners, I found more little 'stashes'.  And then I discovered more linen.  I'm ignoring that until I get rid of the mercerized cotton, and then I'll review my stash.  

There is a large cone of a very *red* singles linen, which will likely weave up very nicely on 2/16 cotton, plus a giant cone of 20/2 unmercerized teal - which is enough to weave off a warp all by itself.

Then there are the dribs and drabs of all those tubes that are now too small to wind a warp from, but perfect for using as quills for weft.

And I'm not 'done' exploring the new-to-me weave structure.  I have more than one idea I'd like to explore, so there will be more tea towels!

I'd also like to weave some scarves and use up more of my fine rayon stash, but I have an entire box of scarves, and until I sell more I don't feel much incentive to make more.

It was quite lovely to get an email the other day from someone who had purchased tea towels from me at a local craft fair and wanted more.  I was able to send her photos of some of my inventory and she is interested in buying 8 towels.  I'm hopeful that more will sell at the craft fair and guild sale.  Because I still have lots of tea towels.

I will not 'empty out' my ko-fi store.  If you can't come here to buy in person, you can go to my ko-fi shop and purchase tea towels from there.  Or contact me if you don't see a colour you like.  I probably have something in my craft fair inventory.