Pastimes of Past Times Part 1

I went to an Open Day and Craft Fayre at the local residential home yesterday afternoon.
It was within walking distance, and Hubby suggested I went on my own so as not to worry about the dog.
As things turned out, we couldn’t have taken her inside anyway, so I was free to amble through the stalls admiring the handiwork, skill and artistry of items on sale.

Some of the jewelry was stunning, ranging from enamel pins to delicate silver bracelets and earrings; one stall had beautiful hand knitted baby clothes, another handmade cards, another pots of jams and marmalades, and several of embroidery, tapestry or cross stitch.

There were three cake stalls, prices ranging from £1.50 for 6 cup cakes to £3 for a victoria sponge.
It was 50p to guess the weight of a dundee cake, but I only had a two pound coin or a ten pound note and the lady had no small change, so I told her to take a pound as it was all for a good cause. (I don’t think I won)

I paid £1 for five raffle tickets, prizes being for any ending in a zero or five, and won a small bottle of orange and fresh mint shower gel.
For £2, I had a generous dish of fresh strawberries and cream, then took a seat to watch a couple of senior gentlemen take each other on at table tennis.
Eat your heart out Wimbledon!

After that, I struck up a conversation with a man selling items made from hand carved wood.

I love wood. (When we were in the cottage, we used linseed oil rather than varnish to protect it and bring out the grain, and on warm sunny days the smell would waft through the property, much better than any air freshener.)
He had various bowls, clock casings, birds, animals and ‘mushrooms’ for french knitting. No varnishes were used, and everything was brought up with natural oils or a wax polish.
This is an exact copy of the french knitting dolly I had as a child. I made yards and yards of tubing, which was used for belts, hair bands and chains to hang Christmas cards from.
Although I never made anything as beautiful as these things below, such wares were also available to buy at one of the outside stalls. It’s hard to believe they could be crafted from something as simple as a cotton reel with four nails in it if you didn’t have a proper dolly.
He explained his prices were based on the time it took for him to make the article concerned using a rate of £10 an hour, so the £15 bowl I was looking at had taken him 90 minutes. It was truly lovely, but beyond my purse I’m afraid.
He also had a tuit, inset with the traditional ‘poem’.
I haven’t seen one of these literally for years, and would love to get one for Hubby. However, this too was out of my price range so for the time being, a picture will have to do.