The Bellingen Crafternoon Tea Party

A Crafternoon Tea Party was on Saturday, and the time went by in the blink of an eye. It was a really lovely afternoon and something I'd definitely love to run again. The afternoon was held at Cedar Bar & Kitchen in Bellingen, which is the most gorgeous venue. Running Crafternoon alongside me was Megan of Dolly Henry, and over the last few months, we've had many chats about Crafternoon, tweaking things and finalising details until the day was finally here.

We wanted to create an enjoyable afternoon where people could simply relax into making, enjoy chatting with other crafters and also learn some things. One of the things I always hear at my knitting workshops is how nice it is to spend some dedicated time crafting; because not very many of us get to just sit and make for several hours, do we? Spending time with others who 'get' our love of making things is precious too, and always fills you up with more inspiration and energy to go home and create.

Crafternoon was such a busy afternoon for Megan and I that after the initial photos at the beginning, neither of us thought to take any photos of the day in progress, aside from some snaps Megan took of the beautiful bouquet that Naomi from Paper Leaf Press made. Naomi showed us how to construct the bouquet as part of Crafternoon, and she made it look so effortless as she took a bundle of branches, leaves and flowers and created a stunning arrangement. While she was working she also gave us some information on the different kinds of arrangements you can make, along with some information about the flower industry and why it's important to look for more sustainable florists.
Following on from Naomi was Lyn Green, a local spinning expert who is incredibly passionate about spinning yarn from natural fibres.

Lyn walked us through the spinning process and showed us the different stages of an alpaca fleece - from raw right through the spun yarn. Lyn also brought along some other fibres, including a blanket she crocheted years ago using the hair from two friend's dogs. I found the reactions to this interesting to watch as some people thought it was amazing while others clearly found it a little repulsive. This also led me to think that's its almost odd that we are more accepting of wool that comes out a paddock than the hair from a dog, an animal that a lot of us share our homes with.

I love that everyone went home at the end of the day with great big smiles and their hopes of coming to more gatherings like this in the future. It was certainly a lot of fun


Sarah 

Subscribe to receive posts via email and never miss out again