A Mammoth Event

Once again it was time for the Makers Festival at The Forum in Norwich. Click on the pictures for a larger view

First stall, spotted just inside the door, was Heather the Smocking Lady. She had some beautiful pieces, and I discovered she's only 5 miles away from Cornerstones. The pandemic proved difficult - her 'regular' job is stitching wedding dresses- and so many weddings were cancelled or 'simplified'

We chatted about agricultural smocks and how every piece of fabric is a square or triangle, and all the 'fitting' is  dependent on the elasticity of the smocking stitch,

On the other side, a display of Ganseys from Sheringham The jersey has become a general name for a piece of sleeved knitwear, but a gansey/guernsey is much more specific.

The ladies explained how the bodies and sleeves were rectangles and trapezium shaped, and the gussets under the arms were squares. No intricate shaping.

The blue buttons were on another display but I just loved their colours!

5 Minutes that Matter- a campaign by the WI to encourage cervical screening, in pretty pinks with some explanatory text embroidered between the roses. 

Whenever I hoover, the machine emits tiny spores of resentment..."

There was a string of yellow dusters embroidered with red slogans. The lady standing next to me said she found some of the feminist statements quite offensive! [I was more bothered by those with stitching which had clearly taken hours, but contained basic spelling mistakes]

Quilting is on my "to-do-again-one-day" list. 

Inevitably there were lots of pieces relating to the pandemic.

Some were quite simple, others very intricate.

This year there was more opportunity for 'hands-on' crafting. You could knit or crochet a small flower, or stitch a Suffolk Puff to be fixed on to the woolly mammoth - whose 'coat' gradually increased throughout the show.

The woolly mammoth was officially named the first part of the 2022 GoGo Trail. There will be 25 of these, plus 21 T-Rex's from the 2021 Trail and nearly 100 Breakasaurus' - all in support of Break, the Norfolk children's charity. Rosie and I will definitely enjoy that this summer

I did not have time to try my hand at the Potter's Wheel, it did look fun. There were also sketching tables, and a stall where you could stitch a postcard [Kirsten and I already have our own Postcard Project]

I think this year's festival was even better than previous years. Lots more to see. Margaret "Norfolk's Queen of Knitting" was sent across the way, and her miniature buildings were on display in St Peter Mancroft Church [just in case you missed them last year] 

And all free too.