Markets and Heatwaves

Well, summer arrived with a bang this year. No gradual warming of the days until we reached our 'normal' average temperature but a week long heatwave which I am sure none of us who live in Queensland like one little bit. However, we just have to find ways to survive...without aircon! So the Mango Ice Cream has been made and Icy Poles will be the next on the 'To Make' List I think. The heatwave has coincided with a couple of markets I was looking forward to but the heat didn't seem to deter anyone as the venues were quite crowded.

Today a friend and I arrived at the Bush Christmas Exhibition just after the doors opened so that we could find a park and also to beat the heat. I had no plans to buy anything but just wanted to look at the very creative handiwork of some of our rural and remote artisans who must have worked all year to produce the volume of items which were on sale.

However, I kept coming back to the tote bags which were made from old doileys and vintage ties. In the end I succumbed and bought the one in the photos above. It was the Crinoline Lady that did it! She reminded me of my childhood days.

It was so hard to choose as I loved them all.

This one featured vintage ties. Sorry the photos are blurry but it was quite crowded so I tried to take the photos quickly. These bags were made by Zoe Designs and I wish I could find a website to show you but there weren't any business cards there that I could find and a search didn't bring up any such business. If anyone lives in the region and would like to buy one of these I would suggest you get your skates on as they won't last long. 

The tin animals are always popular and I just love them.

We went to the exhibition later in the week last year and there were hardly any of these left so they are usually scooped up quickly as well.

There is so much variety at the Exhibition and you can see on the left sidebar of the Bush Christmas website just what is available if any Aussies are looking for something in particular. If you can't make it there during the week and are interested in something on sale you could contact the organisers and I am sure they would put you onto the relevant person.

Because I am such a gad-about last night a friend and I attended the Handmade Under the Stars

market which I had been intending to visit for years but kept forgetting when it was on. Once again the items were handmade and of good quality plus there were plants for sale as well. I met up with an online friend, Dyani who was selling her handcrafted stationery....

including these teeny, tiny notebooks. You can see some more of her work on Little Deer Studio.She also has a blog Little Deer in the Doghouse.   

So I think that is it for the craft markets for me for this year. The Farmers' Markets are still on every fortnight so it will be an early visit there tomorrow as it is going to be 37C. At least it is cooler here than Dalby which isn't all that far from here as it should be 41C there tomorrow! I might just have to fly up to Mt.Isa to cool down I think :-)  

By the way, Chris from Gully Grove has just written a step by step sourdough making tutorial for those who were at the Simple Living Toowoomba workshop a couple of weeks ago and anyone interested in making sourdough. I will be printing it out and will give this method a try in the not too distant future. I still have her Griffin and my Gertrude in the fridge and enjoying being neighbours on different shelves so I might combine them like I did with my last batch. They both love this hot weather and bubble away quite happily. 

Have a great weekend everyone and if you are in the heatwave areas don't forget to stay hydrated.