What's happened to all the
cotton?
A serious note to start our newsletter this month.
As you may have read, cotton prices have gone through the roof over
recent months. At a trade show in February, I chatted with the DMC
VIPs, one of whom had come over especially from the USA to meet with
all of us UK cross stitch manufacturers and to talk about the price
of cotton. If you'd like to know more, have a look at
http://realbusiness.co.uk/sales_and_marketing/cotton_prices_at_record_high
, for an in depth look at the issue.
Now as you can imagine,
cross stitch manufacturers do use rather a lot of cotton-based
products, from our threads to our fabrics so this price hike has
unfortunately meant that we will have a small price rise at the
beginning of April. Having absorbed the VAT rise here in the UK, we
simply couldn't continue with the increases in all of our raw
material prices.
So, firstly, apologies for the rise, but
secondly and more importantly, you have one month to get your
Stitchtastic orders in before the price rise!
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Our most popular camper van designs, for the next 4 weeks part of our £27.95 range. |
Lorries and Vans...finally!
Well, I've been promising to
take a look at our lorry and van designs for several months now, and
here they are. (For our US readers, you may prefer to call them
trucks.)
To start with, our most popular lorry design. The
Eddie Stobart design is our best selling lorry and definitely the
biggest and most colourful! Measuring 13.9" by 8.7", the design uses
20 DMC colours and certainly shows off the striking livery of an
Eddie lorry in our trademark caricature style. The kit is priced at
£33.95 for the rest of this month.
A surprisingly popular
design next, the Tesco fuel tanker. When I designed this, I wasn't
expecting it to be a particular best seller, but it has proved me
wrong! It measures 13.9" by 8.7" and uses 11 DMC colours. The kit
costs £27.95, until the end of March.
Let's move on now to
look at vans. The Transit van must be the most popular van in the
UK, and we have 2 available in stitched form on our website.
Firstly, if you know a white van man (or woman), they'd love this
take on their vehicle of choice from the rear, measuring 13.7" by 9"
and using 16 colours. It's priced at £27.95 during March.
The
Transit is also available as a Police version, ready for any
emergency. It measures 12.9" by 10.4" and uses 14 DMC colours.
Finally, take a look at the DAF 92 Truck
Rig, which I'm sure would appeal to any trucker. Measuring 11.7" by
13.9", it uses 15 DMC colours and is currently on sale at £27.95.
There are many more designs in our lorries and van section, have
a look at
http://www.stitchtastic.com/catalog/caricature-lorries-vans.aspx for
those I couldn't fit in here. |
Second month running for this stitched Eddie picture!
Surprising popular for a petrol tanker.
Stitch the transit for your very own white van man.
The Police Transit van is ready for anything.
Our DAF 92 design, one of a number of truck designs in our range.
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Stitchtastic
Stitchers
This month marks the return of Margaret, one of our
previous contributors. Her father in law is the stitcher in the
family and completed the brilliant Caterham 7 design pictured here
as a Christmas present for Margaret's husband from him and his wife.
Margaret says they're all very pleased with the way the design has
come out - I think it looks fantastic!
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Thanks to Margaret's father in law, this stitched piece looks amazing.
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Stitching show time
It's now crazy time at Stitchtastic, as it always in
in March. Following a very busy and successful trade
show in February, our attention turns to the 2 major
retail fairs in March, Stitch & Craft 2011 at
Olympia, 17th - 20th March and Sewing for Pleasure
at the NEC, 24th to 27th March.
So if you're
visiting either of these shows, what should you
expect? Lots of people, lots of gorgeous products to
look at and plenty to spend your money on!
Here's my quick guide to visiting craft shows.
1. Wear comfy shoes. You will walk around a
great deal and there are not that many places to
sit, so wear something that won't give you blisters
/ leg ache.
2. Make a list of what you want
to look at. Even if you're not sure what you're
after, at least write down some vague ideas, even if
they just say 'new projects to stitch'!
3.
Set a budget, but as part of that budget have some
pennies set aside for surprise purchases. You will
see something you love and that you're not expecting
to buy, so ensure you know what you want first, then
work out how much you have left for gorgeous
unexpected things.
4. Bring some snacks.
Lunchtime can get very busy, so either eat your
lunch early and then top up in the afternoon or
leave your lunch until a bit later than usual and
have a quick snack to keep you going mid morning.
(Doesn't have to be fattening, an apple will do!!)
5. If you're travelling by train, know what time
your train home will be and stick to it! The trains
around rush hour can be packed, especially at
Olympia. If you're driving (more common at the NEC),
try to avoid rush hour too as the M42 can be murder!
6. Take as many catalogues / info leaflets as
you can, then revisit online all of those stores you
didn't have time to buy from when you have a little
more spare cash.
7. More importantly, enjoy yourself! Go with a
friend if you can, or if you don't have a stitching
friend, take someone who would enjoy a trip around
London or Birmingham and send them off for the day
whilst you enjoy the delights of stitching!
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Come along and enjoy yourself at a stitching show this Spring.
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Next Month
I have to be honest, right now I'm so busy
preparing for the shows that I haven't a clue what will be in next
month's newsletter! It may be a little late due to the shows, but I
promise it will be filled with many more of our bright, colourful
designs and maybe a star stitcher or two - could that be you?
See you then! |
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Questions or comments? E-mail me at
sarah@stitchtastic.com or call +44 (0) 114 2353958
Until next time
Sarah
Designer
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