Me and mama took a long planned daytrip to Oulu for a big handcraft fair. We’ve previously been several times to the biggest one in Tampere, and checked out the pathetic one in Jyväskylä, but this one was a first for us in Oulu. I’d say it falls between the two and is quite perfect to walk through in a few hours, not too much to see but also not so little it’s not worth the trip. Tampere is insane, you have to stand in line for everything and you can’t browse in peace because there is an old lady poking you at the ribs to move it along.
It’s basically an unwritten rule to wear something you made yourself when attending a handcraft related event, so I wore my new super long cardigan.
We suspected, as long time craft fair goers, that it’s best to be there early so we were already parked a few minutes before the doors opened. I snapped a fast pic on the parking lot, which was almost full already with more cars coming in and long lines at the door.
Fuck off! I’m knitting.
Didn’t buy the mug, or anything actually because our approach is basically that we go to look for ideas, talk to other crafters and only maybe buy something. Mom managed to find some speciality needles she needed and that was enough.
These super colourful yarns are all the rage right now in the knitting world and while they are really pretty, I know I don’t really have use for them so I stayed (surprisingly) strong, even after the tenth stall selling them. There might be a package in the post office waiting for me with super special colourful tweed yarn so…
Natural dyed yarn is the craft technique of the year, so there was some showcases for that and I thought it was interesting to see this example of colours you get from onions different plants. I’ve tried hand dyeing yarn way back when but I’m not really that into the technique because it’s a lot of work and waiting for results that are often lackluster and not very lasting. The examples above are quite the extreme and it’s very hard, if not impossible, to get those kind of colours to last in a yarn with these methods.
Tufting has been pretty big for a while but I had never seen it in real life so we had a go at it at one of the stalls. Relaxing for sure but a bit too simple for us, maybe it’s better suited for kids or elderly people.
When we came upon a mother-daughter duo showcasing an old and excuisite technique of bobbin lace, mom was ecstatic. She does bobbin lace too so we spend quite a bit talking to the ladies. There was this gorgeous handheld fan behind them so of course I asked my mom if she can make me one if I buy the wood structure, and she said yes! I need to order that online and discuss patterns but I guess my next birthday gift is sorted.
I didn’t take many photos at the fair because I was not that inspired, it’s starting to get a little too predictable after decades of combined crafting knowledge. We always hope for more demonstrations and special crafts and techiques,something we can’t see or do every day ourselves. It’s still nice to see crafts and touch all the yarns.