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