Thursday 10 October 2013

Rejoice! Rejoice! Immanuel ...

The tenth of October already - nearly Hallowe'en and I live in Pendle Witch country, as you can see from the bus!


A double-decker bus of the 'Witch Way' route, with a flying witch painted in the side, and the name 'Elizabeth Device'.
The Flying Witch bus - and very
comfortable, too, with leather seats!

Yesterday I braved the wind and the rain in the morning to go to my favourite fabric shop - Immanuel Fabrics in Burnley. By the time I'd got to Burnley Bus Station the rain had stopped  and there was a big patch of blue in the sky. 



Immanuel Fabrics, front entrance in the sunshine. No shop window, just a narrow doorway.
Immanuel Fabrics front entrance.




A few minutes later as I arrived at Immanuels, the sun had come out and the sky was very blue - it wasn't only my mood which lifted as I approached Immanuels, even the weather's mood improved!

I've been a regular customer there for almost two years now, and as a result have a stash so big I could probably open a shop of my own - the less said about it, the better, probably..

However, as usual I found lovely things to buy. And a couple of things I actually needed, too.  

There were lots of new full and part rolls from Prestigious Textiles, and other similar quality fabrics. One of the reasons I like the PT stuff so much is that it is all dyed and printed here in the UK, which not only keeps jobs here but also ensures that the environmental pollution from the dyeing process isn't just 'shipped off' out of sight, out of mind to somewhere with far less stringent controls, regulation and environmental policing than we have here.

The fabric is sold as 'possible seconds' and that is what nearly all of it is - no more than 'possible'. Normally it is indistinguishable from 'perfect' on short-to-medium length runs. On longer lengths - say 15m and above - slight offsetting of the print register by 1 or 2mm is often detectable between the two ends. That's what makes it a 'second'. I fully understand why this can't be supplied to contract upholsterers, commercial curtain makers, large retailers and the like, and very much appreciate being able to buy it for my purposes at bargain prices!

More on my favourite shop tomorrow.


2 comments:

  1. hahaha! It's not just me that breaks into song at the sound of the name then!

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    Replies
    1. Indeed not! I keep intending to reword the hymn to make it more relevant to fabric ...

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