Last Day in Paris
14/02/2010
It’s the last day of L’Aiguille en Fete today, and I have to say it is such a fantastic show and the name says it all “Festival of the Needle”. The creations that are on display are truly exceptional, the hours of dedication and skill is almost overpowering.
Every stand is bursting with different styles of embroidery, knitting, and sewing – all crafts that use a needle! It is also a very special show in another way – you have to be invited to exhibit at the show by the organisers, who scour the world to bring together a truly unique collection of exhibitors. It is now in its sixth year, Crafty Ribbons have exhibited for 5 and we have our fingers crossed we will be invited back!!!
I took some time out to walk the show – well I had to, how could I resist all those tempting stands, they were calling “Ali come and see me!!!” I do love my embroidery, although I am unable to follow charts or designs, much preferring to “go it alone”. Fabrics, threads, books where should I start?
There is a display of costumes from L’Opera de Paris. What do think about this new outfit I found for Tony?
I think he would look great wearing this on the exhibition stands, that ombre ribbon just makes it!
Or maybe this one with the ribbon waist trim?
How about this one for me, not sure if I have a small enough waist!!! Dream on Ali! There were so many more and they were all fantastic, works of art!
I woke up yesterday with a cold, I was so pleased that I had avoided everyone’s bugs from the office. But someone in Metz must have got me! Feeling dreadful and not looking forward to breaking the stand down this evening. We leave Paris tonight heading for Brittany for a few days rest, so all I have to do is make it through today then Tony can fully pamper me at home!!!
Friday FREEBIE 6
12/02/2010
HAPPY BIRTHDAY SAM
It's our little Sams second Birthday today and I am missing it - boo hoo. Have a great day and enjoy the ball pool, I love those!
So many of you last week voted for Swiss Dots as your favourite ribbon collection so this week your dream could come true.....
..... a collection of 20mtrs of different colours of Swiss Dots - you can all go dotty now!!!
All you have to do is leave a comment and let us know what what you would do with all those dots. We will pick the winner on Monday as usual from our "Bingo" Bag.
If your comment is being blocked by our spam filters please email the comment to us here craftyribbons@gmail.com and we will add it for you. Your email address will then be verified and you will be able to leave further comments without any hassle.
I have taken lots of photo's from the show and hope to share them with you. Have a great weekend - have you got snow again? We have in Paris and it is freezing -7!!!!!
Phew!
11/02/2010
Phew what a busy day, I am so tired but wanted to show you the washing line.
Your cards caused quite a stir today and many photos were taken.
I am off to bed, another long day tomorrow - show is open 9am to 7pm!
Day Off
09/02/2010
We have had a wonderful day, driving through the French country side, seeing what is going on - not a lot. To be honest you hardly see a soul in the little villages, they appear to be deserted. Tony insisted on driving for miles to see a Maginot Line Fort. To me it was a large ugly lump of concrete with rusty bits. But he seemed very happy and that is what counts.
The monday we left I received 2 envelopes from the Valentine challenge, I had hoped to share the photo's with you sooner, Carol spotted hers on the Metz stand. Only a few more days to make those special cards, so here is the last inspiration from our Ribbon Challenge 11 "Valentine"
Carol this is so cute, I adore the picture - oh and the ribbon flower is great too!!
Carol is our first international challenger, all the way from Cyprus. Great card Carol, the backing paper matches the ribbon perfectly.
I was asked all the time in Metz for the Broderie Anglaise Carol, I was sorry I could not help them, but we did sell the ribbon!
Wendy went for the traditional ribbons and don't they look fab.
I love the ribbon woven effect that Wendy has created here. I am a fan of ribbon weaving it is so easy to do, and makes great cushions. Sydney has a collection on her bed, all in bright colours.
Thanks to all that took part in the Valentine challenge, your creations are, as always awesome. We have a larger stand in Paris and I plan on using Tracey's washing line idea. I have lots of little wooden pegs and I am going to peg them across the open sides of the stand, like a washing line - yes I will take pics!!
This is a delightful Auberge we are staying in, but we didn't realise that we are the only 2 here, until we went to dinner last night. They had set up a table for two in front of the log fire - oh it was so romantic!!
Off to Paris tomorrow.....
Winner is
08/02/2010
Hi everyone, I managed to get online but it is not the speed of light!!!!
When I said in an early post that I packed everything for this trip, I truly did - the famous Crafty Ribbons "Bingo" bag came too! Who could I get to pick this weeks winner for our Friday FREEBIE, have you met Ettley? He is my teddy bear and comes everywhere with us (much to the disgust of Tony). Ettley has done the honours this week and he has picked........
.....our Friday FREEBIE winner is
16 - Sharon Neil
Sharon's favourite ribbon collection is the bling - it would appear you are not the only one Sharon. The bling is just blingtastic!! Please email us your address craftyribbons@gmail.com so the girls can send a WANT IT ALL Bling collection to you.
Thank you to everyone who left such wonderful comments, it was great to read them all last night and catch up.
I am not speaking to Bev and Rachie, do you know what they did today. I sent a text to say that we were having a delightful lunch and I got a reply saying they were far to excited to eat, they were piling into a delivery of NEW ribbons. NO, NO they are mine!!!
Metz Over
07/02/2010
Sounds like I caused a little bit of a dilemma asking you to pick your favourite ribbon! It has been great catching up on your comments. These French show hours are exhausting, and next week they are even longer in Paris.
There was a huge display of pergamano at the show, something I have never tried. The work was exquiste and they allowed photography.
This picture looked so delicate.
This was taken through the glass frame, it is so fine. I wonder how many hours of work it took.
This little basket caught my eye, Spider web roses made from silk ribbon.
Metz is over for another year, the trailer is all loaded, we must have sold a fair amount of stock, it was not such a tight squeeze fitting it all back in!!!
We are heading off tomorrow to a Auberge in the middle of a forest en route to Paris, something a little bit different. Tony booked a room with a hot tub, but forgot to ask if they have WiFi or if there is a mobile signal - men! So you may or may not hear from me!!
Friday FREEBIE 5
05/02/2010
Wow our 5th Friday FREEBIE of the New year!
What is your favourite ribbon collection?
Does Bling make you zing?
Do you see spots with all our dots?
Let us know what is your favourite collection and we will make a Friday FREEBIE just for YOU!
So what do you to do to win your dream Friday FREEBIE is to leave us a comment telling your fav ribbons. We will pick the winner from our "Bingo" bag on Monday afternoon.
If your comment is being blocked by our spam filters please email the comment to us here craftyribbons@gmail.com and we will add it for you. Your email address will then be verified and you will be able to leave further comments without any hassle.
Have a fun filled weekend.
Luminaire
04/02/2010
The show we are exhibiting at is called "Creativa" which means creative. So not only is there cross stitch, wool, papercraft, stands you would find in all UK shows, but there are also stands for all types of creation. The stand just down from us is selling silicone baking moulds, so all day they are baking - ooh the smell!! The nut crisp he makes is so tempting, he rolls it between two flat sheets of silicone. I have to be so careful not to watch his demonstration all the time! We also have the Tupperware stand, yes proper tupperware in some wicked colours, not like the ones my mum had. Although I am pleased that we are not near the "Spice Man", think it would be too heady for me.
The show closed at 7pm, but I managed to nip off the stand to take a few pics for you. There is a display of lamp shades, but not plain boring ones, these have had a "make over"! Let there be light - although I am not sure how much light will shine through these lamp shades!
Only lamp shades here.
Look our ribbons and buttons!
Great idea for a childrens room, or even a craft room.
Not sure I have a room to accomodate this one.
Thanks for all your wonderful comments, I do hope your are enjoying Crafty's tour, it's great to read them as I always get a little home sick, silly I know. I like your idea Gail, sell all the ribbons and come home with cakes - party at Crafty's house!! Your cards are on the stand Dorothy, at the front above the buttons.
Don't forget tomorrows Friday... FREEBIE day
Very Pink!
03/02/2010
Oooooh! Very PINK! This is what we found when we arrived at the exhibition centre today - this is our stand and yes that is our electrics scattered on the floor. Wooh! a bit of a change from the normal grey we get in the UK. The colour of the carpet is a dark violet - think there maybe a bit of "clashing" going on.
I was very surprised and didn't think it looked too bad by the time we had finished.
Look at all your cards and goodies, there is more stand, but I could not fit it all in the photo.
We have lots of NEW ribbons on the stand, and plan to get them on the website soon, BUT I could not resist showing you these beauties....
.....silk ribbons to die for! I will have great difficulty tomorrow parting with these hand dyed wonders.
Thanks to the girls in the warehouse the stand went together like a dream, it all fitted in as planned. And not one item missing!! So with half the day still to enjoy we headed into Metz.
As you walk out of the car park you see Metz catherdal, Tony and I have only ever been to Metz in January when it is cold and grey. One day we will visit when the sun is shining and all the little cafes have their terraces open.
I try very had when away from home to keep up with my "Five a Day"
.....this will do nicely for today, there were FIVE different fruits. It was pure heaven!!
Crafty's Tour de France
02/02/2010
We've arrived in Metz and everything went as planned, something we are not very used to!
The ferry crossing was a dream and and not at all rough, although we did not leave on time. Why is it that it doesn't matter what time we turn up at the ferry port, or what vehicle we are driving or what lane number we are sent down, the men dressed in yellow see us and say "Arrh Crafty Ribbons are here, we will load them last". Always, everytime!!
It was a cold night and I was frozen by the time we got to the cabin, thankfully Tony always books a 4 berth outside cabin with window , why the window I have no idea, you can not see anything -it's dark when we leave Portsmouth and dark when we arrive in France. Anyway it means that there are always 2 duvets going spare, so pinned down in my bunk with 3 duvets I soon got warm!!
We seemed to have been driving for hours before we saw our first Metz sign, yippee we only had 282 clicks to go!!
Lunch time, well we are in France! It would be rude not to stop and enjoy their cuisine. You would have thought that we had taken a detour and arrived at some off the beaten track ski chalet. The waitress said it had been snowing since last Friday, thankfully several of our customers had warned us and we were well prepared - warm clothes - shovel - water - food - you name it and I probably had packed it.
Honest this is not a ski resort Bev and Rachie!!!!
Look I can prove it.....
....get your maps out girls and you well see that the A4 takes you to Metz. We do not get to see snow like this in Dorset, I know that most of you are bored of it by now, but all I wanted to do was jump in and make snow angels. I have been promising to do this with Sydney for so long, all that has been missing is the snow!!
After a wonderful lunch we continued to Metz, where we are tucked up in a comfy warm hotel, ready for the delights that setup tomorrow will bring!
Untill next time.
my basket