Sewing for Pleasure (Part 2)

Now I have recovered (nearly) from my adventures at the NEC on Friday, here is all my beady type stuff that I bought.

The first purchase of the day was beads from a place called The Pearl Girl. The website is currently being updated so may not give you any info. The beads were lovely though!

They look like sweeties. The red beads are to go with some pretty beads I picked up at Mary Clare after my jewellery course. I fell in love with some and knew I needed to get some more to go with them, as nearly all my other beads are in the blue and green spectrum of colours. I have NO idea what to do with the purple beads, I just really liked them. Each string was on a couple of pounds each so I think I got a relatively good bargain.

My next stop was The Button Lady. If you have ever been to a craft exhibition you have probably seen her stall. It is amazing. She has such pretty buttons and clasps that can completely transform an outfit. She does have a mail order side to the business but it is really hard to choose from her gorgeous collection based on a printed catalogue. Her website is not great, but I can understand her reluctance to photograph every button she sells, as she would never leave the house. If you do go to a show where she is exhibiting, it is well worth seeking her out as she has lovely items you won't find anywhere else in the UK. I bought two sets of buttons from her. I got 6 of these paua shell buttons.

Each button is different because of the nature of the material, but they are so gorgeous and will transform a quite ordinary outfit into something special. Now all I have to do is choose the project to show them off! The other set of buttons I got was a bit different. I only bought 4 of these celtic beauties.

Aren't they striking? I could have bought so many more things from this stall, so I had to be strict with myself and walk away while my friend Linda browsed. This was a mistake as I faced another beads stall and ended up buying this:

I shall probably just string this on a pretty ribbon, as I don't think it needs anything else. I love dichroic glass and I think this is a particularly pretty example. I didn't get the name of the stall as I was so giddy with my find.

My final bead splurge of the day was at Spell Bound Bead. I had passed this stall once and didn't look at it because there were too many people crowded round. I knew I wouldn't get my wheelchair anywhere near to check if I would be interested. Our second trip round the stalls meant I caught a glimpse of a corner of a display and nosed myself in. I am so pleased that I did! Look at my haul!

Aren't they fab! These beads were the only thing I put on my debit card as I had around £2 less in my purse than I needed. I also got some headpins to take me up to the minimum £10 card spend, but they were good value and they will get used. Here is a slightly less confusing picture.

Here are the red ones to add to my growing red collection.

I am pretty sure that I will buying from this website again. The beads and findings are all reasonably priced and they are good quality. I shall look forward to playing with these in the near future. I can't wait to see what they will become!

So that is it. The tale of my purchases at the Sewing for Pleasure Show 2010 at the NEC. The pretty pictures tell only part of the tale as there were so many other amazing stalls where I couldn't buy things. The purchases also don't tell you about how friendly all the people at the show where, both the vendors and the attendees. Everyone was really helpful and allowed me space (where possible) to get my wheelchair in close to the stands.

Big thanks also goes out to the NEC who not only provide free undercover parking for the disabled close to the location, but they also have lots of mobility scooters you can use. I find wheelchairs better at exhibitions as you can get closer to the stalls, but I know if I didn't have someone to push me around (thank you Linda) I would have really welcomed a scooter. It was also free for Linda to get in to the show as she was the woman who was helping me get to the show and pushing me around.

My only complaint about the NEC is the signposting to get out of the complex and on to the correct motorway - who knows which direction on the M42 takes you the right way???? Other than the problems getting home, it was a great day out and I have been filled with inspiration and good memories. Now all I have to do is work out where to start!