Saturday at the Waterford Fair

I spent the morning having the timing belt on my car readjusted, and the afternoon at the Waterford Craft Fair. My car no longer squeaks, so I can focus on the glories of this amazing community effort: The Eighty-Sixth Waterford Homes Tour and Craft Exhibit. This area of Virginia was settled in 1733 by Quaker farmers. It was an abolitionist stronghold during the Civil War.

This weeekend, this tiny town hosts a fair that attracts thousands of people who come to tour the historic town and support the creative craftspeople who participate in this "teaching fair" for 18th and 19th century crafts. Today I watched a potter throw clay on a foot-spun wheel, weavers and basketmakers weave, woodworkers plane and drill, broommakers tie and twist, and a variety of other craftpeople share their trades. Many of them helped children to hammer tin, dip candles, and twist red-hot iron into hooks. The streets were crammed with visitors and the air hummed with live folk music performed at several different venues.

I wore these hoop earrings that my cousin David's wife Jeanne sent me last month, one of the many I received, bubble-wrapped, that she acquired at craft festivals. I love the malchite, just as she did.

Today I bought some gifts, gathered some crafting ideas for home and for school, and bought a pair of earrings at the consignment shop for local craftspeople. The jewelers at in the juried show sell wares way too pricey for me, although I greatly admired many of their creations in precious gems and metals.