My stand at the Fashion, embroidery and stitch show NEC.
My favourite dress from the Downton Abbey collection.
Keeping my hands busy during the show.Wow what a week it's been! This time last week (9:15 am) I was on the road to Birmingham with a boot full of exciting stuff for my stand at the NEC and feeling a bit nervous. After 4 1/2 hours I reached the enormous site that is the NEC, I've never been before and was was quite taken aback at how big it was! The hall was a hive of activity with other stand holders putting up their displays and arranging stock and the fashion show people testing the sound system and putting out chairs, the atmosphere was great.
I had an idea of how to display my work, but until I was there it was not a really firm idea. The top image shows part of my stand and the rug I had made especially for the show. I was thrilled with it and it made a real impact on the display. It was based on my design and hand tufted by the lovely people at Turnberry Carpets based in Scotland. It was held in place with velcro, nails and crossed fingers! Fortunately nothing had fallen off overnight, although Stacie and I did get to the show early on Thursday just in case it had.
The show opened to the public on Thursday 22nd and it was a very busy day. The embroidery I did for my fashion project caught peoples eye and drew them to the stand and then they noticed my other work. I received lots of lovely compliments and comments from "your work is lovely" to " you've really inspired me and I love the colours you've used". I may even have an order for a rug which will be fantastic! A few embroidery guilds have asked me to speak at a some of their meetings and I take that as a great compliment as they've all been embroidering for a lot longer than me.
All in all the show was a great experience and may even be tempted to do another. Madeira were very generous in giving me the opportunity and I'm really grateful for it.
