The Calico Show, National Craft Month And Crafts At The Library

I did something this weekend I haven't done for years...went to the Calico Craft Show out at Spence Field. It seemed an appropriate thing to do since March is National Craft Month. The event tied in with our crafts display here at the library, so it was nice to see what others out there in the world are doing with their crafts.
My friend and I did the Sunday event, getting there about 11 a.m. There were two big buildings full of crafts and an outside section.
We saw everything from cute yard fountains to jewelry to clothes to baked goods to all manner of wooden items, painted or not. And people were buying. My friend, who is making a Georgia basket as a gift, picked up several things...like Georgia-made pecan brittle and Georgia-made hot pepper sauce. We found our favorite candle maker, too. Naturally, I had to buy a candle and the matching body lotion.
But I have to admit the most beautiful and interesting items we saw were the decorated gourds! I never knew gourds had so many names, that there are so many kinds, and that they could be made into so many interesting things. The artist didn't throw away any part of the gourd. Even the smallest pieces were made into jewelry, carved on and/or painted. Some of them were so outstanding you could hardly believe what you were looking at were gourds.
Which brings me to this...we're in our last week of displays here at the library for National Craft Month. This week we'll be displaying stained glass work by Aileen McNair and gourds of all types from Elois Matthews.
We've had an exciting time displaying crafts by our library staff and community friends. The prayer shawls displayed this past week were outstanding. In fact, when I went to my book club meeting last night, one of our members was knitting another one.
That's why crafts are such a delight. They not only keep you occupied and happy, but you can make a craft to give or sell.
Be sure you stop by the library to see our final display. And look through all our books on crafts. You might find something you'd really like to do...model airplanes, dough flowers, pottery, scrapbooking.... Pick out a few books and sit in the comfortable reading area and see what you can find. And if you need help, that's what we're here for.