Although the long weekend became dominated by Sunday’s storm, that wasn’t all that we got up to!  Other than spending quality time with my parents, we took the kids to the annual Woodturners of the Goulburn Valley Wood Show, which this year was also part of the SheppARTon Festival.  We love the “Woodie Show”.  Dad has been playing with wood since his retirement, and it’s always fun to go in and watch the woodies demonstrating with lathes and other equipment.  There’s plenty of wooden articles to admire and to buy, and despite the noise and power tools it’s relatively kid-friendly (if you keep Stella restrained in the pusher, that is).

Clare had an absolutely ball learning to make bobbin lace. Women from the Victorian branch of the Australian Lace Guild were demonstrating their craft and were happy to show beginners how it was done.  Clare took over the beginner piece for most of the afternoon and was even given her work to take home.  She really clued on to it very quickly!  The lace is just exquisite, and I think it’s worth learning even if only to play with all those beautiful bobbins and beads.  One of my Dad’s mates turns the tiny wooden bobbins that were being used.

As with most crafts, there are particular trends that come and go in woodturning. Lately many of the woodies have been assembling and turning segmented bowls and vases. This is one that Dad made for me.

Dad was happy with his takings for the weekend – he was selling timber blanks for turners and some small side tables. Dad is in his 80s now and no longer makes large heavy items, but is still actively involved in woodturning and the local woodturning community. He worked hard for the couple of days of the wood show and throughout the preceding months. It’s a terrific group of men and women and I don’t know what Dad would have done with himself over the last 25 years or so if he hadn’t discovered the joys of playing with wood.

One of the Festival’s free exhibitions is the Inspired to Create – Creative Textiles exhibition.  I really love textile art.  Not only was there a diverse range of textile art on display, but there was a group of women learning how to scrumble.  They were very happy to chat to us about knitting and crocheting scrumbles and to let us squish their yarn and examine the scrumbles they’d made.   The textile works ranged from quilts to bags to soft sculpture to crochet to basket weaving to garments to wall art to … well, you name it!  So many talented local women.  Because most of what I make has a function, I particularly admire the pieces that are made purely as artworks.  Maybe one day…

Before the power went off on Sunday I did manage to finish off some crochet projects.  My husband has been asking me to crochet a braid for his akubra, which lost its original trim in a river somewhere.

I used 4 ply cotton from Bendigo Woollen Mills and a pattern from 150 Crochet Trims.  Now I can cross that off the list!

However, he still wants me to crochet him a Dalek…