St Ives Craft Market

The countdown to Christmas has begun!  Officially!  The Christmas markets and the craft markets are in full swing across Sydney so I suppose that might explain why the St Ives craft market wasn't as busy as we'd expected it to be today.

Stall owners were commenting on how much quieter it was than what they'd expected... the brilliant weather might have been a contributing factor, or the fact that Sculptures By The Sea started again this weekend (must go and see it again this year!).

The Newcastle Pudding Lady was doing a roaring trade!  I met the owner today, he's such a gentleman and he's very 'aware' of all things healthy.  I was delighted to hear his concern about 'coeliac' and 'preservative' and 'free range' issues and felt totally justified in supporting him by buying a (totally delicious) date and toffee pud to take with to New Zealand.  Apparently, it's great sliced up finely and served alongside crackers and cheese so I bought a log shaped pudding (you'll see them on their website) for easy slicing. 

It was really tough making that decision... there were so many new recipes to try out... Christmas pudding is no longer just pudding.  It's an art form.  A very delicious artform. 

RoseyChick accompanied me today and we had a ball trying out everything on offer.  We found some great hand made jewellery and some lovely (absolutely huge) Christmas stockings.  Lots of children's clothing (some stunning smocked outfits!); handmade soaps; woodwork; artwork etc on sale. There was honey, cheese,vegetables, ice cream, cakes, bread and of course, food on sale too.  I bought a huge bag of fresh brocolli for $2! 

Now I'm home, my feet are aching and I'm feeling very guilty about all that material in my kist... must get around to doing something clever with it at some stage of my life. 

Next weekend I'll be visiting the Sculptures By The Sea... hopefully, I'll have a camera I can use so I can post some photos for you all.

April Blackbird