Hello and welcome to the March edition of HotHive Textiles Newsletter. February has been a busy month for HotHive Textiles with our exhibition on show at Forge Mill Needle Museum. The exhibition closed on Sunday and we hope many of you managed to get there! If you did we would love to know what you thought of it.

We have also been getting very technical here at The Directory with the launch of a Twitter account and setting up RSS feeds – to allow you to keep in touch with all the latest news and events without having to be logged on to the site. You can read more about both of these opportunities below. There are an abundance of opportunities out there for artists at the moment. The Pfaff Art Embroidery Challenge has just been announced, with the theme for 2009 ‘Landscape – Let us Travel’. To find out how to enter please click here.

The organisers of The Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair have also just announced their call for entries so for more information about this please click here. For more great articles and features please keep reading!

Best Wishes Sara

HotHive Textiles is changing it's name
	In the next couple of weeks HotHive Textiles will be changing its name to Hothive Textiles as its publishing company, Word4Word, re-brands to The Hothive. The Hothive will be branching out into lots of new publishing areas, including business books and cookery, and HotHive Textiles will become the textile branch of the new Hothive brand. In light of this we are being treated to a fabulous make-over to change our look to match the rest of the brand. The content, layout and navigation of the site will be completely unchanged, we will simply receive a vibrant and exciting new look. The Hothive brand will also undergo extensive marketing in the national media, which will mean more visitors and customers heading your way very soon! Take me to the Full Article

Sale of items by Fine Cell Work
	Fine Cell Work, the charity that teaches prisoners superb needlework skills and sells their work on their behalf, will be holding a sale of their designs in April. There will be items on sale to suit all pockets from spectacle cases and napkins rings to patchwork and tapestry cushions and beautiful quilts. Styles range from the traditional to the modern so there will be something to suit all tastes. However if you don't happen to see what you are looking for the Fine Cell Work team will be on hand to discuss specific commissions. Visitors to the exhibition can find out more about the inspirational work by the creative charity when Dr Katy Emck, Fine Cell Work's Executive Director, gives two talks about embroidery behind bars and the transforming affect that it has on the prisoners that do it. Fine Cell Work teaches professional needlework skills to 350 prisoners in 26 prisons around the country to help give them hope for the future. Their earnings are sent to their families or saved for clothing and accommodation once they have served their time, helping reduce the likelihood of re-offending. As one inmate says, "Instead of smashing up your cell, you channel your aggression in a positive way. I usually spend about two to three hours an evening doing tapestry work. It helps you to realise that there are alternatives to committing crime." Take me to the Full Article

Join our textile community

Take a listing in HotHive Textiles to get in touch with the textile community and be sure your work will be seen by the people who matter!

A basic listing in the directory is absolutely free and there are some fantastic low-cost packages available for those of you who would like to promote your business even more.

To list yourself today please click here or for more information give us a call on 01386 760406

Careers in Craft: Getting Back on Track
	If you are finding it hard to exhibit, need to test out a new idea, find a new sales direction or just work out where you are going then the Devon Guild of Craftsmen has a great opportunity for you. Their critical review day is a unique opportunity to have work and ideas reviewed and gain expert feedback from a panel of professional artists, educators and curators in craft: Paul Harper, Helen Carnac and Mary La Trobe-Bateman. Paul’s background is in furniture design and making and he has worked in arts management since 1999. Helen Carnac is an artist and educator who has won a number of awards as a freelance enameller. Helen has exhibited throughout the world and is currently working as a senior lecturer in silversmithing and jewellery mixed media at London Metropolitan University. Mary La Trobe-Bateman is a freelance curator, writer and lecturer in the applied arts with an extensive knowledge of exhibiting and commissioning craft. Take me to the Full Article

HotHive Textiles is now on Twitter
	Twitter is the new craze sweeping the nation, with celebrities such as Phillip Schofield and Stephen Fry using it to communicate with their fans � so HotHive Textiles has decided to join them! From now on you can follow all the latest news and features from around the textile world via our new Twitter page. To join us please click on the link below: https://twitter.com/TextileInfo We look forward to Twittering with you! Take me to the Full Article

Make a special gift for your mum this Mothers Day
	Sunday 22nd March is a date which should be in everyone’s diary as it is an opportunity to show our mum’s how special they are. HotHive Textiles has been delving into our listings again to ask some of our fabulous artists and designers to provide us with some great Mother’s Day gift ideas, but first we have been looking into how Mother’s Day first came about. Research suggests that the origins of Mother’s Day began when many people moved away from their hometown to work and then attended Sunday worship at their nearest parish. It was considered important for people to return to their original hometown church for at least one Sunday a year, which became an occasion for family reunions, particularly as it was common for young children to have moved away from home to work. Therefore the in the middle of lent the return to the ‘mother’ church became a tradition. By the seventeenth century, Mothering Sunday had become a public holiday and was known as ‘Rose Sunday’, as children would arrive at the church with bunches of roses, and other wild flowers, to give to their mothers. A special cake, called the Mothering Cake, was sometimes also brought along to provide a festive touch. It is believed that this was the beginning of the tradition of gift giving that still exists today. Take me to the Full Article

Get HotHive Textiles News without even visiting the site
	If you want to make it even easier to keep up to date with all the latest news and events from around the textile world then HotHive Textiles has a couple of great new features for you. Bookmarking HotHive Textiles By bookmarking HotHive Textiles you will be able to visit us easily as soon as you start up your internet browser. To bookmark us simply hover your mouse over the ‘bookmark’ link underneath the purple arrows on the directory homepage and select the ‘favourites’ option. Choose whether you want to see our alerts in your bookmarks folder or toolbar and select your preferred option. You will then be able to see new articles we have added, without having to visit the site. Take me to the Full Article

The House of Mouse
	When browsing through the Etsy website www.etsy.com – an activity that can easily pass away an entire afternoon! – I came across a fabulous shop called The House of Mouse www.thehouseofmouse.co.uk. This shop sells every kind of mouse you could possibly imagine, and a few that you wouldn’t even have thought of. Anna Greaves, owner of The House of Mouse, has been making her mice since November 2007, when she created some for friends and family as Christmas presents. After Christmas she was inundated with requests for more mice, which inspired her to set up her Etsy shop. So, what was it that she loved about mice? “Mice are cute, fuzzy and small and I have always adored them, but they are loathed by so many people,” Anna explains. “That contradiction between cuteness and disgust has always fascinated me. I have had many emails from people who are terrified of mice – some of them with extreme phobias – expressing how surprised they were that my store actually made them smile.” Take me to the Full Article

Ann Walker and her Wonderful World of Wool
	By Sarah Daly Ann Walker has a passion for wool. After spending her childhood within a sheep farming community in North Yorkshire, her lifelong enthusiasm for wool and weaving has now finally developed into her own business, Kisdon Originals www.kisdonoriginals.com. Her beautiful range of large wraps, throws, scarves, wall hangings and stoles combine her passions while demonstrating hand weaving as a serious creative art form. In today’s modern financial climate, many are suggesting a return to the use of practical crafts and an understanding of efficient ways to utilise our surroundings. Ann Walker’s early rural upbringing gave her an awareness of the practical uses of textiles. “My mother used to undo old sweaters and re-knit them in order to keep us warm”, Ann says. “Basic textile activity was an essential ingredient for survival.” Knowledge of textiles and their insulating properties was crucial, and Ann explains how freezing houses were customary and therefore “a good knowledge of how to fashion textiles to meet a very real need was universal.” After moving to London, Ann then learnt to appreciate the aesthetic aspect of textiles, and a post-war London became an exciting environment to “huddle over the latest styles, patterns and fabrics with like-minded boarding school friends”. She tells us how at this point in her life she “gradually began to understand…how fabrics and yarns worked and which were suitable to achieve a foreseen end product”. After being inspired by her godmother to turn her passion into a career, Ann discovered her own talent for yarn and fabric design and undertook a textile degree at Leeds University. She then went on to work alongside the CEO of Lister & Co. plc where she was able to meet a broad selection of the textile industry, and learn how the various sectors were linked. Take me to the Full Article

Giveaway
	This month we have five copies of The Sewing Book by Alison Smith to giveaway. This fabulous book was published last month by Dorling Kindersley and is a must for all sewers. The book takes you through lots of techniques, projects and tips, as the author shares a lifetime of experience with her readers. For your chance to win one of these fabulous books simply email your name and address to textiles@thehothive.com with 'sewing book' in the subject line. You can try a taster project taken from this book in our Mother's Day article, or read our review below. Congratulations also go to last month's competition winners, who all win a copy of Di van Niekerk's new book Flower Fairies in Ribbon Embroidery and Stumpwork, based on the books by Cicely Mary Barker. The winners are Steph Phillips from Ampthill, Ann Bunston from Taunton, Lynn Whitehead from Sedgley, Diane Jones from North Walsham, Katie Liew from Birmingham and Maureen McWilliam from York .Your prizes are on their way to you! Please note that HotHive Textiles and Dorling Kindersley will not pass on your details to any third party at any time. We will only use your email address to administer the competition, however in the future we may use your email address to send you details of offers, giveaways and promotions that may be of interest to you. If you would prefer not to receive such information from either HotHive Textiles or Dorling Kindersley please indicate this on your email.

The Sewing Book
	By Alison Smith Published by Dorling Kindersley ISBN: 9781405335553 Format: Hardback Price: £25.00 Reviewed by Liz Hunter This is an ambitious book that covers a wide range of sewing skills and is a timely reference book as the interest in dressmaking and sewing for the home are seeing a huge revival. Beginners and experienced dressmakers will find it a useful reference source. There is an excellent glossary and a comprehensive section about fabrics but I was disappointed to find only one double page spread about Sewing Machines. The Technique section is clearly illustrated with step by step photographs that really do show every stage of each process. There are instructions for good range of techniques for each process, for example hems, and plenty of information about when to use each different technique. All stages from cutting out to completion are covered with easy to follow instructions. The Project section shows how to put skills into practice with 18 projects including Roman Blinds, bags, placemats and a jewelry roll. Alison Smith is a very experienced teacher who shares a lifetime of experience with her readers. Click here to purchase

Diary Dates
5-8 March 2009	Hobbycrafts - SECC, Glasgow
5-8 March 2009	Creative Stitches and Hobbycrafts - SECC, Glasgow
6-8 March 2009	The Spring Quilt Festival at Exeter - Westpoint Exhibition Centre, Exeter, EX5 1DJ
6-8 March 2009	Desire - Jewellery and Silversmithing Show - Queen Charlotte Hall, Parkshot Centre, Richmond upon Thames
7 March 2009-18 April 2009	Brighouse Art Circle at Smith Art Gallery - Smith Art Gallery, Halifax Road, Brighouse, HD6 2AF
12-15 March 2009	Hobbycrafts - Birmingham NEC
12-15 March 2009	Sewing For Pleasure - NEC, Birmingham
13-15 March 2009	The Spring Quilt Festival at Chilford - Chilford Hall Vineyard, Linton, Cambridge, CB21 4LE
14 March 2009	World Textiles Day - The Minerva Centre, Llanidloes, Wales
19-22 March 2009	Stitch and Craft Show - Olympia II, London
21 March- 4 May 2009	The Art of Embroidery - Bankfield Museum, Boothtown Road, Halifax, HX3 6HG
31 March-26 June 2009	Tibor Reich: a Life of Colour and Weave - University of Leeds International Textiles Archive, St. Wilfred's Chapel, Maurice Keyworth Building, Moorland Road, Leeds LS2 9JT

Word 4 Word Design and Publishing, Suite 8, King Charles Court, Evesham, Worcestershire, WR11 4RF
To unsubscribe, please click: Unsubscribe