Craft Camp



Lily's interpretation of Craft Camp - lots of stairs and stars apparently



Suse's beautiful old Singer. Similar vintage to my old Singer from my banner



A peek under the table




Laying out my drunkard's path quilt



By the end of camp I had 4 unfinished objects

 

A lot of work and a bit of unpicking needed before this one is finished



Turns out socks are excellent thread magnets

First night after craft camp I had one finished object

What is the oppostie of a vanguard? That is me. Late to blogging, late to Instagram, never joined Facebook, or Pinterest, tipped a toe in twitter but it wasn't for me. I'm not an early adpoter, I couldn't predict a trend, I know nothing about fashion in any form. When I started reading blogs, they were probably already on the wane. The hey day of local crafters connecting through the internet had, no doubt, already occurred. Certainly by the time I started blogging myself I noticed that some of the blogs I'd read had fewer and fewer posts, interspersed with the occasional note of apology or a promise to 'do better' and sometimes just a post to say 'thanks folks but this is it'. The fading of 'the blog' seems to have accelerated recently, possibly as a result of the rise of Instagram and other forms of social media. On how many platforms can one be bothered to remain engaged?

This weekend just past I discovered that those crafters no longer on the blogging landscape, some whom have even (gasp) deleted their blogs, are kicking on crafting and connecting in all sorts of lovely and interesting ways. I was lucky enough to get an invite to Sewjourn, which I'd seen on many a blog over the years and which seemed a sort of crafty nirvana to me - uninterrupted sewing time with like minded people in a dedicated space. It was all those things and more; such good people, such crazy skills, such abundant talent. I liked that people sang along to the music and no one cared. I liked that the food was delicious but not intimidating. I liked that everyone kindly blamed the oven when my cake didn't rise. I liked that some poeple made a zillion things and others made a couple and some people took naps or baths or drew or read. I liked that apostrophes mattered and hair/clothes/makeup didn't. I liked that these women were as keen to get into their pyjamas and get down to some handwork as me. I liked that everyone drank lots and lots of tea - real tea, with milk or not, with sugar or not, but actual tea. In a pot. I liked that everyone now calls their overlocker 'The Overlord' courtesy of Kate's little boy. I liked hearing stories - of families and mothers and the blogging/crafty world I know only a fraction of, of jobs and passions and children and fan fiction and auditioning for 'Stomp' without ever having learn to tap dance.

Such a nice weekend, so hard to return to real life. Upon returning home I sewed up the binding on one little quilt, finished another bunny from the 'Posie Gets Cozy' pattern and wished myself back at Craft Camp.