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!

Merry Christmas!!!!!

Merry Christmas and a happy New Year to everybody!

Phew!

Well my final session at college was on Wednesday evening, so all I have to do is wait. Hopefully my certificate will arrive in the next few weeks. Then I will have to seriously start looking for halls to hold the day classes that I am planning to start in the New Year.

Ebay has been horrendously busy over the last couple of weeks with orders coming in thick and fast....Credit Crunch??????

I think it is the run up to Christmas and perhaps people are starting to think about making gifts this year. I seem to have sold an even number of ready made gifts and Craft materials. I hope so, it would be nice to see a return to a more traditional Christmas rather than the over spending on gifts that we have all been doing in the last few years.

Actually, I'm interested to see if this is the case. Why not vote in the poll?

Well, what a busy few weeks!

Since I last posted I have done my first ever 'microteach' session, received my Decree Absolute (at last!) and welcomed a new addition to the household in the form of Poppy a very 'springy' Springer Spaniel pup!

The Microteach.................

The 'microteach' was part of my Preparing to Teach in the Lifelong Learning Sector course. It took the form of a 30 minute 'lesson' for the 11 other students in the class (most of whom have no interest or experience in textiles). So the challenge was on to find something that was quick enough to fit into a tight time frame, easy enough to teach to beginners and interesting to even the most reluctant of students!

In the end I chose 'Experiments with a Tyvek Envelope' as a subject hoping that this would work. Sample packs were made with pre-coloured samples, equipment was amassed and a PowerPoint presentation was prepared (My first attempt). I then prayed that all would go well, that the other students would be interested, and that I could squeeze the subject in to 30 minutes!

Thankfully, all went to plan. The scientists amongst the group were amazed, the artistic ones were in there element and all had a great time. The only problem was getting them all to stop experimenting at the end - I think they all would have carried on all night!

On to Poppy.....................

Poppy is now 17 weeks old and is a gorgeous liver and white Springer pup. So far she has stolen numerous items of clothing (mainly dirty socks from the Kid's rooms), Dug a huge hole in the lawn and almost demolished the fence. Something tells me that she is going to be a handful!