Redland Spinners and Weavers Open Day 2013

A beautiful sunny crisp winter’s morning dawned today for the Redland Spinners and Weavers Open Day in Cleveland. Ironically it is only around the corner from my home but because I can’t be trusted not to buy much I have to take my car and I am so glad I did because I had to offload my purchases on one occasion.

I arrived just before 10am to be greeted by a long line of enthusiastic fibre / spinning ‘junkies’ lining up to pay their $5 entrance fee (which included morning tea and lunch) and purchase raffle tickets. No cup of tea for me to start with; it was straight to the tables to offload the weight of those notes in my wallet!

The Gold Coast Spinners and Weavers’ table always has lots of goodies; this is where I spent a bit of money at last year’s open day.

My eyes scanned the tables of fibre goodness and locked onto the following wool tops / rovings (never sure what they’re called).

I bought three of these – a 100% merino – 250g each and cost $17 each.

I bought one of these – a merino / 15% silk – 250g and cost $18.

And one of these – a merino / 20% alpaca / 20% silk – 250g and cost $21.20.

And one of these – a 100% merino – 250g that cost $17.

My visit to the Open Day would not be complete without visiting Desley’s stall where she sells exquisite machine embroidered goodies. I just love her tote bags which I use as knitting caddies. These totes are so adorable. This one has a tapestry front and a beautiful silk type of material on the back. The bags are sooooo well made and lined inside. They are a work of art.

I just couldn’t resist this one….especially the saying on the back.

When I joined the Redland Spinners and Weavers Facebook page, I discovered VivianneK Handmade soaps as Vivianne was advertising she’d be at the Open Day. Mmmm I cannot resist handmade soaps and bought these little beauties.

Two lemon myrtle, one rose and one violet and birch which is a soft blend of cedar leaf, musk and amber with notes of violet, clove bud, orchid and white birch. Aren’t they simply delicious!! They certainly smell delicious!

Something else that grabbed my attention was an array of shawl pins on Lindy’s stall. How many times have I been after a pin to tie a shawl or the front of a wrap to stop the wind from blowing it off. They were so cute I had to buy two!

And because Lindy is an Ashford distributor here in Brisbane I took the opportunity and purchased an Ashford Maintenance Kit and a couple of extra tension springs for my spinning wheels.

After that mammoth shopping spree I grabbed a cup of tea and some lovely cakes, sat down and got out my knitting. Yes, I knew I’d be able to slip in a few rounds of the beanie I am knitting my son. I have to finish it soon as this week is the coldest we’ve had this winter and I don’t want to finish it just as the cooler weather finishes. As I sat there women came and sat with me, drinking tea and chatting and moving on to be followed by others. It was just so much fun relaxing and chatting whilst knitting and observing everyone else. Beats going to work any day. Unfortunately, that’s where I’ll be tomorrow.

Now I’ve been a bit selfish in this post so far and just showed you everything I bought! Just prove there were other people at the Open Day here are some random shots of some of the visitors. There were even spinning wheels for sale but I resisted the temptation!

Desley’s stall with all her machine embroidered delights.

And lots of fibre / yarnie goodness on Lindy’s stall. Pity I couldn’t buy more!

All in all an exceptionally enjoyable day was had by all. I am quite exhausted and all I did was shop, eat and talk! I have so much spinning stash now to match my yarn stash. Just as well I’ve started selling off my massive collection of aromatherapy books on Ebay. I need to fund my new obsession.

Until next year’s Open Day…..I can’t wait!

Melanie