Stocked Up

Button making kit

The wares assembled

Hand-dyed fabric

Alphabet stamps

On Saturday afternoon, I attended my first ever 'Crafty Christchurch', a huge craft supplies market held in an inflatable dome in Hagley Park. It was so nice being able to walk there (it's literally five minutes from our flat) and I met a fellow crafty friend to go in search of pretty fabrics and clever gadgets.

My first purchase was a set of Alphabet stamps from Aroha Vintage. I've had my eye on these for a while and the lovely lady manning the stall that day assured me they could be used on fabric as I would like to make some hand-printed labels for the clothes I make...just as soon as I can come up with a name for my brand!

I then came to a stall hosting fabrics from the very talented team at Distressed Threads. Their fabrics go through many processes, including rusting, roasting, screenprinting and stamping, before they reach their finished state. I was told some fabrics had even been dyed with shaving foam!

My other buys included a mini button making kit from The Make Cafe - which I am sooo so excited about! Kirsty from Sew Pretty is planning to open Make towards the end of this year, a cafe in which you can not only enjoy a cup of coffee and a pastry, but they will also be holding crafty workshops and classes and have a full craft supply emporium!

And finally, a fat quarter of birdy fabric from Berry Patch Cottage which I am planning on using to make myself a new sewing purse (I still have the plastic 'your first sewing kit' my Mum bought me for my textiles class at school!)

One of my favourite parts of the market was the quilter's exhibition held in the centre of the dome. Some pieces had incorporated heat-transferred photos, which was a really interesting effect when combined with decorative stitching and other embellishments. Certainly food for thought.