Manchester Craft Mafia at the Whitworth

I had a great afternoon, I'd planned to go to the Whitworth for a second visit to the Cloth and Culture exhibit. In spite of the frustration of not seeing all the pieces that are shown on the website, it was still time well spent. But there was an added bonus of a craft sales event hosted by The Manchester Craft Mafia Small but very friendly is the best overall description that I can think of. My first thought was Christmas shopping, and though I did shop, I didn't tick off too many of the people on my Christmas list as I'll find it hard to part with any of my purchases:

http://www.ildiko.co.uk/index.htm

This gorgeous felted 'flower' is already attached to my boring 'going to work' coat. That should give me a lift in the morning!

I can't resist buttons - this collection came from several of the stalls, the large wooden button has a brooch pin attached. Now why didn't I think of that?

However, my favourite by far was the work of Jackie Cardy. I loved her monochromatic combination of different fabrics - the heart brooch is mainly silk and velvet and her velvet and tweed pieces are gorgeous. Jackie had brooches, cuffs and bags on display, not to mention different versions of 'Harris tweet' that she was working on as we spoke. Apparently yesterday's collection flew away so fast that several more had to be made to re-stock for today! Even now I'm wondering why I didn't buy one of her bags! (Though there's always Etsy I suppose!)