Clear skies and comfortable temperatures made it a perfect day for the kickoff of the two-day fall Picayune Street Fair on Saturday.

Vendors from all over the state lined East and West Canal Streets as well as Main Street, selling items such as ironworks, clothes, jewelry and antiques.

June Smith, a resident of Carriere, had set up on East Canal to sell her handmade Afghans and other crocheted products.

“I’ve been crocheting since I was five years old, and I’ll soon turn 70,” Smith said. “My grandmother taught me to crochet, and I started out doing rugs. I’ve made hundreds over the years.”

Smith had several beautiful Afghans, as well as crocheted caps and lapel pins, and said this was her first time trying to sell them.

“I usually just make them and give them away to friends and family, but I finally decided I needed to sell some to get rid of them,” Smith said.

Smith said she doesn’t like to make custom Afghans, but will make an Afghan for anyone who wants one.

“I don’t even make custom Afghans for my family. I’ll let them choose their colors, but that’s it. They don’t get to choose the patterns,” she said.

Over on West Canal, Lynn Owen, owner of The Gold Magnolia in Madison and her friend Josie Grubbs were selling handmade Christmas stockings and stocking stands.

Owen said she has been making stockings for about four years.

“I started out making the military stockings for family members. Then I started getting asked to make other ones, and Josie and I started collaborating to make different ones,” Owen said.

The two women had several different patterns available, such as animal paw prints, John Deere, the Saints, and a camouflage hunter’s stocking, which featured shotgun shells on the cuff. Owen said she also does special orders. The stockings sell for between $18 and $20, while the stocking stands, which are also handmade, sell for between $30 and $35.

“We can make one in about an hour,” she said.

Owen said she has been coming to the fall street fair since 2005, and loves the area.

“We love Picayune. We love to come here. Our first year was right after the hurricane hit, and we had a great time. The people were great, and we had a great show,” Owen said.

Also on West Canal, Diane Davis and Wanda Crager were selling hand painted gourds and birdhouses.

Davis said it takes about four hours to paint a gourd, which were painted in various themes, such as animals, Christmas themes and Halloween themes.

“It’s very time consuming. You have to let the gourd dry, then clean it, paint it and seal it,” Davis said.

Davis said she has been painting gourds now for several years and has been coming to the street fair since 2005. She doesn’t have a shop, but instead travels to various craft shows and fairs, selling her products.

“We found the street fair in a Mississippi tour book and have been coming ever since. We didn’t get to come this past spring, but we’re back now,” Davis said.