Handmade Harvest

Yesterday morning I loaded up my little grey Honda with boxes of felting kits and moon dolls, got a coffee at Starbucks and drove down the 417 going west.  I was heading towards Almont and Handmade Harvest. There's always a buzz leading up to a show.  There's the birth of new ideas, the making of those ideas, the tags, business cards, the look of your table and other little details.  As I drove with the Xavier Rudd singing through my speakers a knot of excitement sat in the pit of my stomach.  With every show comes a new adventure and I love adventures.

Almont is a quaint little town and as I drove towards the town hall, I admired the river that runs through it, the cute little shops and cafes on main street. I know that it's a place where I could live.  It's like the Wakefield of Ontario, a small town with kind people.

The show was held at the old town hall on Water street.  The hall is a magnificent red building made of wood like an old barn.  It's one of those buildings that when you stand in it you can feel the history and stories it holds.

Emily and Colleen from Blackbird put so much love into Handmade Harvest and it showed with every detail. 

decorated water bottles

50 swag bags for the first people at the door.

All the efforts they put in showed with a lineup starting at 09:00 with doors opening at 10:00!

 The highlight of my day was meeting such wonderful people.  I often found myself standing beside my table chatting with people for long periods of time and being so enthralled by what they had to say.  A few people stand out in my mind.  One women who was I guess in her 80's. I love talking to people who have lived long lives.  They usually have interesting stories and this lady talked about her school days as a little girl in England.  She spoke of learning to knit as a group in her class.  She spoke with a smile and a glint in her eyes.  She told me of going to the principals office for talking in class.  It's amazing how things have changed in a century. One of my most exciting conversations was talking to a group of 3 women who gave me information on a local sheep farm from which I can buy local wool! I was so stoked.  I have been ordering wool from Alberta and having a local source would be ideal.  They also gave me a lead on a local sheep sheerer. Karie and I want to learn how to sheer sheep, wash the wool, card it and dye it and make a little documentary of our experience.

 

Here is the hat that I bought.  It's made with re-purposed material.  I purchased it from Kathleen Nicholson from WWW.2BIRDSINTHEHAND.ETSY.COM.

Here is my table.  I loved selling my moon dolls. The best part were stories for who they were for.  One mother bought Mother of Love for her daughter.  I will keep her privacy by keeping the story to myself but just to say that I had tears in my eyes.  

I hope your Mother's Day was most amazing.  Enjoy the sun, whoohoo!