Creative Stitches and Hobby Crafts Show

Today I took a trip with my good friend Emily (http://madebymily.blogspot.co.uk) to the Creative Stitches & Hobby Crafts show at London ExCeL. The show ran from 4th-6th April, with lots of stalls for purchasing a variety of crafty items! Among those exhibiting were suppliers of materials for jewellery making, quilting, knitting and card design. A list of most of the exhibitors can be found here: http://www.ichf.co.uk/csh/?show=london. 

There were also some arty displays of quilts and pictures people had made from fabric and other materials, including a knitted walk through aquarium created to raise money for the RNLI (http://www.all2knit.co.uk/page2.html). Here it is from the outside:
 

RNLI Above and Below the Waves, all2knit project

RNLI Above and Below the Waves, all2knit project

RNLI Above and Below the Waves, all2knit project

On the inside was a sea of knitted fish and mermaids, including a giant shark!

The exhibition was probably at its busiest today, being a Saturday. Stands selling ribbons, fabric and sewing kits seemed particularly popular. A "Decopatch" stall was also extremely busy, selling small versions of model animals and patterned decopatch paper to stick to them. Here's a giant decopatch cat on display:

Decopatch Cat

Another stand I particularly liked was Janna Hodgson's Enamels from http://www.jewellerythatworks.com.
She makes a range of colourful enamel jewellery, including some really cute animals (http://www.jewellerythatworks.com/enamel-jewellery/zoo.asp).

We enjoyed a free talk by Clare John from Resin 8, who makes gorgeous resin jewellery. Having had a go at making resin pieces before, I was particularly excited to hear her tips. I've also found that you can view some of Clare's work on her website (http://www.resin8.co.uk), as well as download free instructions and purchase supplies.

Clare talked about a material called Angelina Fibre which is great for coating in resin jewellery. It has a lovely shine to it. Here is some I found via a quick Google search: http://www.ihanna.nu/blog/2009/04/angelina-fibers-melted-shimmer-for-fabric-artists/. She also explained how she made this Inca inspired pendant, using wire and epoxy glue: http://www.resin8.co.uk/article.php/28/inca-inspired-pendant.

Emily came away with some fabric to make a tablecloth, some fabric paint and wooden beads, while I bought some Italian Millefiori beads from Finding Beads 4 U (http://www.findingbeads4u.co.uk/). We're very pleased with our purchases and had a good day out!

Millefiori Beads