Markets begone!

Gasp. Pant. Wiping of sweat from brow. My markets for 2009 are FINALLY over.

Good bye markets! I love you, I really do, but sometimes you get just a little bit .... stressful. Especially in the lead-up to Christmas. You get a little bit needy. You start to demand too much of my time and attention. So I am more than just a little bit glad to shut the door on you a bit and leave you to sob quietly to yourself.

And that means I am REALLY looking forward to January. January rocks! January is my month off. No markets, no fetes, no whatnots at all. Maybe a special order here and there - but no schedule, no bookings, no places to be.

This means I have a full month of recreational sewing ahead of me and I Cannot Wait. I have a pile of patterns as high as my head that I want to try out, and mountains of fabric that are threatening to swallow up not just me and My One True Love, but the three pussins as well. They're teetering, they really are. I have to be careful not to slam any doors in the house in case they come crashing down and take out the floorboards.

I already know what one of my Christmas presents is too - this fabulous dressmaker's ruler from Nicole Mallalieu design - and I am longing to try it out. Bless My One True Love, he totally picked up on the hint: I sent him an email with a link to her site, effectively saying PLEASE BUY THIS FOR ME. Yay for him.

Ah January, you can't come fast enough for me!!

Why do you like markets?

Right, since I'm at home at the moment (and yes, it's a Saturday night at ten to nine and my life is so wildly exciting that I'm blogging .....) - let's leave that aside for the minute - I have decided to post a few photos that have been longing to make it into the big wide world.

In order, they are "Up All Night" Hoot [primary fabric Tablecloth something or other by Anna Griffin], "There's A Butler In My Garden" Hoot [primary fabric Lotus Garland by Amy Butler and Sway by Heather Bailey on the wings' reverse], and "Mirabella Magic" Hoot [out of Mirabella by Alexander Henry plus some Vintage Dots by Michael Miller on the inside of the wings and Bijoux in Cinnamon on the outside, by Heather Bailey].

I made these Hoots up for my recent Rose St Market, which was a bit of a rubbish day in the end because I was fighting a massive headache on the day. The kind of headache where you try to stay as still as possible - as much to try and not throw up on anyone as to reduce the strobing pain in your skull. Coz, you know, throwing up on a prospective customer is not a good look. It's really not.

I find that on the market days where I can't really engage with people; either because of the sort of incredible pain which is capable of killing a small pony (truly, I never really had an appreciation for what a migraine means, before I had one) .... or simply because I've had a hard week at work and I'm tired, or because it's a cold day and the wind is blowing and I can't feel my fingers anymore, or something equally banal ..... those are the days I don't make as many sales.

Is it because when I'm bubbly I'm naturally more engaging, a better salesperson?

I don't think so. I think it's because when you go to a market - ok, let's take that out of the third person - when *I* go to a market, I like to look at all the stuff on the stall, sure. But what I really like is hearing the artist's story. Why do they make their own particular sort of crafty stuff? What gives them their ideas?

I enjoy hearing about all the curiosities that make up a certain person's approach to things. That's what makes a market personal to me. And so when I'm feeling rubbish, I don't chat about my own individual stories to my customers, and so there's no connection there for them. Just products. And products on their own ... well, they're lovely of course, but it's the stories that bring them to life, don't you think?

What do you like best about markets? I mean, aside from the fantastic and marvellous products we all create, obviously. And our clear and stellar talent, of course. And our patent good looks.

But besides that - what do you love about visiting markets, whether you're a crafty maker yourself, or simply someone out to enjoy the adventure?