This week I've been doing some intensive crafting for the Christmas Market. Many of my WIPS became finished projects (hurray!) and I sewed, stitched, folded, pressed, ironed, labelled, packaged and tagged. I decided that I would double my efforts for the market because anything that's left over is going to go straight towards stocking my Etsy shop which is due to be opened next week. These are exciting times at bakercourt!
This is my market stall. The table was a bit smaller than what I was expecting (can you tell?) but it was described by all as a "treasure trove" filled with lovely things.
I had tea cosies and fabric envelopes (pouches, in front), buttons and bobbins and hanging wooden hearts. I also had chalkboards, hair clip roses, felt cupcakes, giant ric rac and lavender/buckwheat heating packs. I was generous with the lavender in the heating packs so everything had a really good smell! I also had Miriam's Mum's Whisky Marmalade, and Elizabeth's lovely Christmas Cakes on my table.
I particularly loved the twinkling fairy lights that Julie of Kip&Fig lent me for the night - aren't they grand? As you can tell, this is the view from behind the stall.
There were so many great stalls to look through with lots of chats to have (and mince pies to eat). I even found a few minutes to zip over to The Violet Iris and Girl With Beads for some festive goodies. Plus, I had the added benefit of buying one of Elizabeth's amazing Swedish Hearts at the U-Turn charity stall:
Complete with gifts (top left) and badges from Violet Iris (bottom right). All in all, a lovely, successful market. Tonight is the last Knit & Natter for the year and I plan to cast on for a pair of chunky mittens. I'm looking forward to crafting something for myself!
There's nothing quite like getting up on a Saturday morning and heading out for a day at the markets. Oh, and we are spoilt here in London with so many beautiful markets to choose from! This Saturday, however, we headed to the eclectic Hackney for an amble around Broadway Market.
It's a lovely market with filled with oh-so trendy vintage decor, clothing, antiques and oddities like bicycles, guitars (and a banjo!) and farmer's produce all hustling and bustling in tarpaulin-covered stalls.
Such beautiful flowers, gathered in bunches, waiting to go home with happy Londoners. They're nice and bright, despite the sporadic showers, downpours and menacing grey clouds hanging over the market.
Broadway Marketeers may be trendy, but they're also very humorous.
Here are some miniature cupcakes from 'VIOLET', a popular bakery and cupcake school in Hackney. They have some traditional flavours (like those above) but also some interesting ones like Rhubarb Mini Cakes and Violet Blueberry.
And here are some beautiful (and clever) meringue-topped cupcakes! Not sure what the ones on the top shelf are: red velvet cupcakes? Deep brownie cupcakes? Hmm.
If cupcakes aren't your thing, how about some fudge? There's a wide variety of delectable treats in store, whether you have a sweet tooth (like me) or you prefer something more savoury like spicy curry, vegetable falafel, or farm-style hamburgers.
There's loads to see and do in the markets (London Fields is there too, as well as Netil market) and the surrounding area is very beautiful as well - filled with graffiti, parks and a canal (with canal boats!).
This is a sign above a door at the London Fields Primary School (built in 1925). There's so much to see around London Fields! Plus, we found a great antique market section that sold all sorts of bizarre things and made excellent fodder for G's photography.
We left Broadway Market with a bag brimming with delicious goods: balsamic glaze from the The Olive Oil Co., herb feta cheese from Borough Olives, fresh Apple Juice from the farm stall, and the pasta (above) from La Tua Pasta where we met up with Isabella, the charming marketeer who happily sells pasta to hungry Londoners. Also, we work together :)
Here you can see inside my delicious tortelloni that have been filled with pumpkin. You cook the pasta for about five minutes in boiling water and then they're done! Just like that! The pasta itself is really tasty too, not something I'm used to with my aversion to Fatti's & Moni's. Served with a side salad topped with yummy feta cheese and balsamic glaze: delicious. It makes me want to buy a food processor and a pasta maker and sit in the kitchen for hours making my own pasta. Sort of.
It's a lovely market with filled with oh-so trendy vintage decor, clothing, antiques and oddities like bicycles, guitars (and a banjo!) and farmer's produce all hustling and bustling in tarpaulin-covered stalls.
Such beautiful flowers, gathered in bunches, waiting to go home with happy Londoners. They're nice and bright, despite the sporadic showers, downpours and menacing grey clouds hanging over the market.
Broadway Marketeers may be trendy, but they're also very humorous.
Here are some miniature cupcakes from 'VIOLET', a popular bakery and cupcake school in Hackney. They have some traditional flavours (like those above) but also some interesting ones like Rhubarb Mini Cakes and Violet Blueberry.
And here are some beautiful (and clever) meringue-topped cupcakes! Not sure what the ones on the top shelf are: red velvet cupcakes? Deep brownie cupcakes? Hmm.
If cupcakes aren't your thing, how about some fudge? There's a wide variety of delectable treats in store, whether you have a sweet tooth (like me) or you prefer something more savoury like spicy curry, vegetable falafel, or farm-style hamburgers.
There's loads to see and do in the markets (London Fields is there too, as well as Netil market) and the surrounding area is very beautiful as well - filled with graffiti, parks and a canal (with canal boats!).
This is a sign above a door at the London Fields Primary School (built in 1925). There's so much to see around London Fields! Plus, we found a great antique market section that sold all sorts of bizarre things and made excellent fodder for G's photography.
We left Broadway Market with a bag brimming with delicious goods: balsamic glaze from the The Olive Oil Co., herb feta cheese from Borough Olives, fresh Apple Juice from the farm stall, and the pasta (above) from La Tua Pasta where we met up with Isabella, the charming marketeer who happily sells pasta to hungry Londoners. Also, we work together :)
Here you can see inside my delicious tortelloni that have been filled with pumpkin. You cook the pasta for about five minutes in boiling water and then they're done! Just like that! The pasta itself is really tasty too, not something I'm used to with my aversion to Fatti's & Moni's. Served with a side salad topped with yummy feta cheese and balsamic glaze: delicious. It makes me want to buy a food processor and a pasta maker and sit in the kitchen for hours making my own pasta. Sort of.
