Yesterday we went to the Rock & Gem Bead show at The Maltings in Farnham. I've only ever been to the Gem & Bead version of this, so was very interested to see the collections of semi-precious stones, crystals and fossils on display for sale. Most of it was way out of my league price-wise, but I did think this trilobite fossil was definitely worth £3!
Strings of these fabulous mother-of-pearl ammonites were a breath-taking £95...but round the back of the stall was a table of bargains, amongst which I found a lonely ammonite for £4. It has a hole drilled through it and I am so looking forward to making a necklace with this as it's focal point.
I just love fossils and find them absolutely fascinating - an interest which must have been started by my mother's enthusiasm for fossil collecting. We spent hours as children pottering around beaches and quarries in the Isle of Wight looking for ammonites, sea urchins, belamnites and many more. In the cliffs above Compton Bay, you would often see an enormous ammonite embedded in the soft stone but you knew that as soon as the cliff eroded and fell, the fossil would be smashed onto the beach below. The Isle of Wight has been the source of many dinosaur bones too - dinosaurs seem to be this week's theme!
This weekend saw the Iknit Weekender up in London and I had planned to go with Sybille from Magpie Magic, but we ended up calling the trip off due to a shortage of cash all round....we knew it would be an expensive outing, what with train fares, entrance fees, lunch, and of course, feeding a pair of severe yarn addictions. But I was quite happy to settle for a trip to the Interknit Cafe in Farnham instead, where I picked up a couple of balls of Bergere cotton yarn in their bargain basket and some gloriously bright red sock yarn - the camera is not doing it justice here.
One lone bargain skein of Louisa Harding Thalia ribbon yarn just got stuck to my hand as well - I'm knitting up a very quick scarf using immense wooden needles made from DIY dowling pole. So the yarn addiction was fed without spending loads of money - what more could a girl ask for!
3 comments:
You've had an exciting weekend. I am so glad you managed to get yourself some yarn (and some other bargains) to keep you in yarn and jewellery supplies. Love your lovely snail. Looks fab - how big is it? Lovely yarn too. I love both Lang and Bergere but have never been able to do much with my ribbon yarn. I don't think I could cope knitting with needles that big - 7mm are the biggest I've been able to use. xo
I've never seen a mother of pearl ammonite before, how lovely! cant wait to see what you make.
Penny.
x
Dear Caroline, how nice to 'see' you again! I don' know why I couldn't catch your blog few days ago. I love stones and have them all around me but these are something special! You have got very lovely yarn and Tyrannosaur is lovely in the garden! Best Wishes from Crete Teje
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