Knit a square and do something great this Christmas!

As the festive season approaches and money is tight we are going to have a traditional Christmas this year.

I have been looking for something to get the kids to do that would give them a real sense of Christmas. I was sent an email via a group I belong to on ebay and thought it fitted the bill perfectly.

Knit a suare is an organisation who asks you to knit an 8" square and send it to them, they then make up blankets for AIDS orphans in Africa. Please click on their logo below and join in. We could all make a difference with just one square each!

My First Kit Launched Today!

Needle Felted Poppy Panel kit launched today
Create a beautiful needle felted poppy and learn the basics of this addictive and relaxing craft.
CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS.

The Instructions are available as a free PDF in 'our have a go yourself' section of the website if you already have left over fleece laying about. CLICK HERE To go to the PDF

R.I.P Iggy

It is with great sadness that I have to announce the passing of a much loved family pet, Iggy. Who was sadly put to sleep on Saturday morning.

Iggy had been with us for about 9 years, having been rescued by the Cat's Protection League. He was an individual, quite possibly the daftest cat I have ever met and a survivor. When he came to us he had lost the sight in one eye, had a chunk missing from his tongue and one eyelid and we were later to discover that he had previously had his jaw wired back together after an accident.

Despite all this he was well mannered and so friendly, never passing up the chance of a cuddle or fuss. Goodbye Iggy we will miss you.

New stock now in the shop!

I've spent the last few days listing the new goodies onto the shop. The Brusho products are all done as are the new Kid's craft ideas. I've also had a play with the layout to give the shop a more modern look - I hope you all like it! Anyway I won't be adding anymore over the weekend as I am playing Steam Engine again. Time to get dirty!

Exciting News!

The online store is going really well now and I have just ordered some great new lines for textile artists! These include: Brusho, Lutrador, Devore and Discharge paste and Discharge catalyst. This is really exciting for me personally as I love these products.

Brusho is so great for designing and paper crafts. For those of you who are not familiar with it Brusho is a powdered ink. It can be mixed with water to be used as a watercolour paint, sprinkled onto wet paper and allowed to spread and used with salt or wax to create great effects.

Lutrador is a non woven fabric with a slight sheen it can be dyed or coloured with practically anything and does not fray- it is THE fabric for textile artists at the moment.

Devore paste is used to make your own devore fabric. It is painted on to velvet and when dry, ironed to remove the pile, leaving only the backing fabric in place. Wonderful for scarves!

Discharge paste is mixed with the catalyst to remove colour from certain dark fabrics. the 'bleached' area can then be re-coloured as you wish.

Well off it goes - again.

The Peacock Evening Jacket should have been safely delivered to the organisers of the Festival of quilts show to be held at the N.E.C later this month. The show is organised by Twisted Thread who also put on the Knitting and Stitching Shows at Harrogate, Alexandra Palace and Dublin. If you're able to get to Birmingham between the 20th - 23rd of August it is well worth a visit. For more details CLICK HERE!

So cute - take a look!

The haberdashery supplier I use has some new card making kits in stock. I couldn't resist these they are so cute! I am busy listing them on the shop site at the moment. They are priced at £2.49 per pack and each contains: 1 x topper sheet, 2 x co-ordinated papers, 1 x C5 & 1x C6 blank cards and envelopes. I think they are good value for money and very individual. Why not take a look at www.julytextilesandcrafts.co.uk?

Busy weekend!

Well no sewing or creative things happening this weekend.... I spent the entire weekend cleaning 'Edna' The family's pride and joy. She has not been out for three years now and has been hibernating all this time in Dad's engine shed. She emerged early on Saturday looking decidedly dusty and a bit unloved.

Two days later she was positively gleaming. It is her 100th 'birthday' this year (It is also Dad's 60th) so we are having a huge party for both of them this weekend. 'Edna' has to undergo her steam test on Thursday along with our other engines before we can take them out, so whilst we were cleaning we steamed her up and checked everything was ok. All went well so we hope it will all be fine for the test.

Tweet Me!

I am now on Twitter! I love the idea of this - short 'tweets' just to let everyone know what I am doing now. What fun! I must get a decent photo taken of myself though (I don't have any that I would want anyone to see) so if you want to take a look or if you would like to 'tweet' me and let me know what you are doing right or if you would like to ask me a question or see if I can help with a craft related problem goahead it would be great to hear from you. My twitter URL is: http://twitter.com/julytextiles

I don't believe it!

Just thought I'd pass on the great news. I received a call last night from Grosvenor Exhibitions who run the National Quilt Championships informing me that I had won the wearable art section - For the second year running! So I'm off to Sandown on Sunday to collect the cup and have a look at all the other exhibits, there is always so much to look at and so much shopping to do there that I will have to leave early! See you there!

I got there in the end Mum! (Unveiling, my entry to the National Quilt Championships 2009)

The last few months have been something of an uphill battle. What with various family health issues, teenage angst and mad dogs; not to mention an upsurge in sales via the website, I have had very little time to be creative. This was very unfortunate as all this coincided with the National Quilt Championships 2009 looming large.

The design for my entry has been in the planning for sometime but, (as my mother will tell you all too readily) I always seem to leave everything to the last minute. I usually disagree with her but this time I must admit to it. My house now looks like a bomb has hit it, the garden is completely overgrown and the kids are moaning that I haven't done the washing, but I have completed my 'Peacock evening jacket' in time. It has now been safely delivered to Sandown and I hope it goes down well and everyone enjoys it.

The jacket is based on the wonderful displays put on by the male Peacocks at Hollycombe Steam Collection where I am a volunteer. It depicts not only the display but also the very sad eventual loss of the tail feathers once the mating season is over.

The technical bit....... The free machine embroidery is worked in metallic and rayon threads on a sheer ground with Angelina and painted Bondaweb additions.

New Online Shop!

My new online store is now up and running at www.julytextilesandcrafts.co.uk

I haven't managed to get a lot added to the inventory as yet but I am going to set aside some time every evening to add to it, I have also started to invest in more products so the range will be growing all the time!

The website has now been completely over hauled with a clearer typeface and updated links. The new Exhibition List for 2009 is now up on the site, and I have added a bookstore affiliated with Amazon which will hopefully interest everyone. I have also nearly completed the first of the projects for the 'Have a go yourself page' on the website which I will be posting by the end of the week.

Take a look at the Website: CLICK HERE

Happy New Year!!!

Well that's over for another year!

Everything is at last returning to normal in the Hooker / Williams household and I have already been hard at work on the program of courses for 2009. I have also been toying with advertising on 'Etsy'. For those of you who don't know, Etsy.com is a site where you can buy great quality handmade items direct from the artist. I haven't got round to listing anything yet but why not take a look, just click the link below!