May 31st, 2012

Ohhh dear...I have a poorly sewing machine :(

I think it was heading towards needing a service anyway but I've well and truly pushed it over the edge!  I think it was doing those thick canvas bags I was on about, they were too thick so I had to really pull them through the machine and I think I've pulled the machine out of line with itself, the needle is hitting the metal plate and snapping, so mid-stitch there's an almighty bang and a metal needle goes flying - not nice!

This happened once before when I was doing embroidery on some hand-made felt, actually it really knocked my confidence on the machine.  The bang is so heavy and you're right on top of it so it's quite un-nerving to start stitching again, you're poised waiting for the next bang!

So off to the doctors it's going, hoping it won't be away for too long, or too expensive!!

May 30th, 2012

Finally finished work and ready for a nice few days off!  In fact I only have one proper PO day in 13 days!  That's not bad going!

Really excited for some time off, we're having a little trip to London over the Jubilee weekend, and got three new fabrics on the way so hopefuly will have some new products to share with you all soon!  But apart from making those three bags, I do intend to have some time off and a proper rest before I truly burn out beyond help!!

And on that note I'm off to bed to get a good night's sleep before Day 1 of my rest!

May 29th, 2012

Typing this is going to be interesting...I've been sat making fabric buttons and it's really taking some force to get the fabric to hold in place against the little metal teeth, so I've ended up with the ends of my fingers burning and sore!

I'm really not sure it's meant to be this difficult to make them but it's taking ages, and I don't think I'm doing anything wrong, but it really hurts!  These are not going to be the quick product I intended!

In other news - 4 months to go until the wedding!

May 28th, 2012

Yet another lovely day, isn't it funny how much better the weather can make you feel?! 

Spent this morning finishing off a batch of custom order bags which really are fab, hoping to find time to take a pic before I hand them over, they're very thick fabric (like upholstery fabric) so they're like a little set of carpet bags, really love them!  Almost killed my sewing machine doing them but they were definitely worth it.

Back to the PO job tomorrow, just hoping the weather does cool down a bit, it's like a greenhouse in there so goodness knows what we'll be like by closing time!! 

Off to bed, to pray for a storm!

May 27th, 2012

Alert the media - I had a day off today!

OK, I made one bag, but for me I assure you that's a day off!  The weather's just been too nice to work, and let's face it it won't last so best make the most of it!  We've enjoyed the garden, got some jobs done (so we now have a shiny re-painted front door), watched the Grand Prix, all washed down with an oversized bowl of Ben and Jerrys - you just can't go wrong can you?!

Back to it in the morning, got 4 bags to get finished, but I shall tackle them happy and rested!

May 26th, 2012

I've had a right happy day today!  No specific reason, you know when you just have a really nice day for no reason?  It's been one of those!

We were up early though..loving this weather but it's too light to sleep in on a morning!  So we've had a day of DIY, clothes sorting, F1, sun and ice cream, it's been bliss (even if I am a little pink now!)

Going to take myself to bed and try rid my mind of the 3 hours of Eurovision we've just watched...oh dear!

May 25th, 2012

Today - I cleaned!  And not just sort of tidying up, I properly cleaned!

Our house, especially our living room, looks like a Lucy-shaped bomb's hit it.  I just don't seem to get time to really tidy up or clean things before  I'm starting the next job.  And it can't possibly be good for me, I surely can't think clearly if my environment is so chaotic (deep huh!) So today, armed with J-cloths and mops, I cleaned!  I must say I do feel better for it and actually quite enjoyed doing it....must try and make a habit of it!!

May 24th, 2012

It's been a funny one today, lots of sewing done and lots of decisions made - some small, some big, but all important!  All helped by this beautiful weather we're having, long may it continue!

May 23rd, 2012

What a beautiful day!  It amazes me how this country can go from freezing cold to burning hot overnight!  It's been an absolute scorcher here in Cheshire today, here's hoping it continues!

A little update on yesterday's Mouse-Gate...I'm sorry to report, the mouse is no more :(  Just so thankful Andy was here to deal with it, I was on my own yesterday, there's no way I could have got rid of a dead mouse on my own, not a hope in hell!  Where would I be without my man huh?!

May 22nd, 2012

Yet again, I have sat down to write my daily blog and I have absolutely nothing to blog about - how is that possible?  How can I go out to work from 9-5 and still have nothing to say about it?  That's not a good sign is it?

I think the most exciting thing that happened to me today was when I went to feed next door's cat...let myself in, walked into the kitchen and there's the cat...and a mouse.  It was a lovely little mouse too, not rodent-like at all, really cute little round thing straight out of a Beatrix Potter book.  So there I am, trying to distract the cat so I can get the mouse (though Christ knows what I would have done with it had I got to it), whilst trying to distract the mouse so I can get at it, whilst trying to protect myself from the inevitable mouse death than seemed imminent!  Anyway, the cat moved the mouse ran, I covered my eyes...all three of us are alive but I have no idea where the mouse is!  Hoping I find it before the cat does!

May 21st, 2012

Finally started the 2012 winter knitting today!  I'm actually super late with it but better late than never.  All the sites I sell through need Christmas organised and done by the end of June as that's when the press need their images, so actually I'm usually almost done by now, I can see me having a very woolly bank holiday!

Bed for me, before I have to head back to the mad house and do it all again!

May 20th, 2012

Finally got my wholesale order finished today, after the nightmare that was cushion-gate Friday I finally finished, so there are now 4 cushions and 15 pin cushions waiting to be shipped off to their new home in York.  Looked like postage stamp HQ in here today!

I'll tell you what though - and working in a post office there's no excuse for this - I've wildly underestimated the size and weight of these products!  Not got a box big enough so this is going to end up being at least 2 parcels, which is annoying but it's my error!

So now I'm left with a house that's covered in threads, literally looks at though a cotton factory has exploded in here, and no time to sort it before I have to start the next job, even now I'm blogging on one screen and adding a new product listing in another...I swear, when I come to power I'm bringing 36-hour days into force!

But until then, I'm taking myself to bed for some sleep before another manic Handmade Monday begins!

May 19th, 2012

Great day today, got our wedding flowers sorted!

Not saying too much as I don't want to give it all away, but they are beautiful, truly stunning!  The table flowers I may need a little more convincing on (although I hope to be massively proved wrong!) but the bridal party flowers are wonderful!

How cold is it a the minute?!  Driving back from the florist you'd have thought it was November if you'd seen us - coats, scarves, heater turned up....it's meant to be May!!

May 18th, 2012

Friday!  Finally here!!!

What a day...I've waited all week for my fabric delivery so I could get on with this wholesale order, I've literally sat for a week with everything else finished just waiting for this to arrive.  Today it arrived so it was all stations go to get the order done, and I don't think I could have done a worse job!  Knowing I needed to get it done I went at it way too quickly which turned out to be the most inefficient thing I could have done.

Got some of it done but I'll be starting it again with a fresh head I think! Off to see our wedding florist tomorrow so that'll give me a good break from it, at least being a cushion it didn't break when I threw it!!!  Oops!

May 17th, 2012

Do you ever have one of those days where everything goes wrong?  Today was one of those days, total write off!  Orders I can't make because the fabric's not arrived, arguments with online sites, problems with the bank...you name it it's happened today!

At least it all happened in one go though, and I got to finish the day with pizza, a g&t and Andy back who's been away working all week...so a crappy day but it couldn't have ended better!

Here's to a productive Friday!

May 16th, 2012

Just two words sum up today's blog.  Asos.  Marketplace.

Lucy Liz on Asos Marketplace

Chuffed to bits with this one!!!

May 15th, 2012

Thank you all for the lovely comments on my recent blog posts, means a lot!

So today (and I don't want to speak too soon!) but we might have just found the perfect maid of honour dress for the wedding!  My wedding gown - first dress I loved in the first shop, Maid of Honour dress - nightmare!  We thought it'd be really easy but nowhere has anything even close to what we had in mind...perhaps we're too fussy?!

But tonight we might have found THE dress, so it'll be all stations go tomorrow as if it is the one we want it needs ordering!!   That could be one major job off the list...wonder what's next! 

May 14th, 2012

So finally, after what feels like months of rain, the fabulous folks at Dobege Photography finally managed to get some outdoor pics of my bags!  Typically I needed them as soon as the weather turned and it's not been dry or light for long enough to get them done, but we got there eventually, and well worth the wait I think.

Really pleased with the outdoor shots, the natural light really brings out the colours in the fabrics, and in a weird way I think the bags look more in context than any of the other shots - outside, being held by someone wearing a coat is, I suppose, the exact setting we see handbags in every day, we just don't notice!

Back to some serious sewing tomorrow, expecting a delivery of fabric and cushion pads so I can get this wholesale order completed...I still get excited about fabric deliveries, and you know I really hope I never grow out of that!  Happy Handmade Monday everyone!

www.lucyliz.co.uk

May 13th, 2012

OK, a proper blog post!  I don't think yesterday's really counts does it?  It really was just a sentence telling you I wasn't blogging lol

But it's (almost) Handmade Monday so I have to do a proper one!  What a week it's been, certainly been a busy one!  A batch of my jubilee stamp pin cushions found their way to their new home at All The Fun Of The Fair, the most wonderful haberdashery on Carnaby Street - if you are ever in London, you must go!  You'll spend an absolute fortune but worth every penny!!

I also took a wholesale ordered for my pin cushions and some of my new house cushions, which is just such a boost as they're such a new product I wasn't entirely sure how they'd be received - I think they'll be ok though!  Lots of new fabrics lined up for these so I'm quite excited about them, I've been wanting to get into home textiles as well as "fashion" textiles for a while now so I'm hoping these will prove popular *fingers crossed*  As always you'll find them on Lucy Liz but I'm without my webmaster this week, so you'll have to see them properly on Facebook

In other news I've been having a clear out and I've listed a load of cabocons on Ebay - they're all gemstones and all brand new, so if there's any jewellers reading this, or anyone who knows any jewellery, point them in the direction of my Ebay page - here!

Right, I'm going to lie awake in bed - just watched The Awakening and it scared the living daylights out of me (which in fairness doesn't take much) so I'll be spending the next few hours convincing myself that the house is haunted by the ghosts of children...brilliant!

May 12th, 2012

I am so, so tired that I'm writing today's blog off as a bad job and promise to do a really good one tor tomorrow's Handmade Monday blog link up - I promise!

May 11th, 2012

Ah the weekend! It's a well-earned weekend too I might add! Had a few wholesale orders this week which I've been working through, so the next two days will mainly consist of Andy, me, the sofa, lots of tea and biscuits and the Spanish Grand Prix!

It's a proper Gp live on the BBC this weekend too - don't even start me on the whole Sky takeover business - so a super lazy weekend in store for us, bring it on!

May 10th, 2012

Excited!  With massive thanks to the wondeful folks at Dobege Photography let me show you the new-look Lucy Liz Facebook page!!

I think it looks brilliant, I personally find the new Facebook Timeline to be such a nightmare that my page really wasn't looking too well at all - dreading it being applied to my personal profile - but loving the new look, excellent work!

www.lucyliz.co.uk

May 9th, 2012

Well it's official, I'm back to the physio :(

Was seeing a physio last year for a buldginf disc in my back, and turned out the muscles in my neck are too tight too.  The result being referred pain in my legs, head and my wrists, which is a nightmare as it stops me sewing! 

Originally I was seeing a physio who decided that the pains in my wrists were RSI.  I pointed out that it would surely be extremely unlikely to get RSI in both wrists at the same time but she was having none of it and threw both wrists into splints, then asked what I do for a living!  Have you tried knitting with your wrists and hands in splints?!  It didn't go well!

Anyway, it's all flaired up again recently so I'm going back, I think lots of rest, TLC and a holiday are probably needed ;-)

May 8th, 2012

Don't you just hate the first day back after a bank holiday?!   Not that I was ever really "off" work, but it always feels rubbish to officially go back!  Oh well, only a couple of weeks until the next one!

Came home to a very nice email today from someone who found Lucy Liz and is interested in some of my products on a wholesale basis.  I just love that, it's always nice when someone buys something you've made but it's a great feeling when someone likes your work enough to put their own business name to it too!

Night all!

May 7th, 2012

Thank you all for the lovely comments on yesterday's blog!  I did make the cotton rack myself, quite enjoyed it actually, reminded me of being back at school doing DT!

Also pleased to share with you all another little magazine snippet, this time featuring one of my Keep Calm totes.  It was in Sew magazine, to be honest I only got it because I knew the bag was in it, but what a great magazine it is, really enjoyed the rest of it so the bag at the end was really a bonus!  Have also uploaded it to my Lucy Liz Press Page .

Hope you've all had a happy and relaxing Bank Holiday Handmade Monday - back to it tomorrow!

May 6th, 2012

I took the executive decision on Friday that for the bank holiday weekend, Lucy Liz would be "closed" to making products, as I need to sort this house out - it's a tip!  And the reason it's a tip is because, despite having an entire sewing room all to myself, the house is still full of my stuff!  I knew things were bad when Andy found felt in the fridge!

Anyway, I've been re-shuffling my room.  It's looking pretty good actually, hoping I'll get it done soon so I can take some pics and show you all. I think it's so interesting to see where creative people work, the things they have around them, the things they don't...perhaps it's the psychologist in me but I like it!

So today I made myself a couple of storage pieces!  The first is a stand for all my spools of ribbon, a dispensor if you like, as they're a constant mess, and the second thing - which I am epically proud of! - is my new cotton reel rack!

It's not quite finished, I massively underestimated how much cotton I have so it needs at least another 3 rows adding to it, but you get th idea!  It mounts up on the wall and all my cotton reels have a proper home - it's ideal!  Andy doesn't find cotton in his meals and the OCD in me gets to organise them!

The perfect product for a happy Handmade Monday !!

May 5th, 2012

I'm at home, and surrounded by plant pots, compost, tiles, paint..must be a Bank Holiday weekend!  We had a bit of a shopping trip this morning and got everything we need to decorate the hall and re-tile the bathroom - only went in for some compost!

Up early tomorrow, we're heading out to a car boot sale!  Not been to a car boot sale in years, so hoping to come back with a bargain or two!

May 4th, 2012

Just a quick one tonight...I am starting a major clearout of my workroom and am getting rid of a lot of brand new materials on Ebay, so for the jewellers out there he's the links to the gemstone cabochons I have for sale http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/lucy*liz/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=&_trksid=p3686

Spent the day listening to people say Happy Star Wars Day, I think they meant Happy One Year Until My Best Friend Gets Married Day!  Honestly...!

May 3rd, 2012

Today was day 1 of 5 - yes, 5 - days off in a row...I can't remember the last time that happened to me!  So I've decided to give Lucy Liz a weekend off and set about the enormous job of sorting our house out.

Doesn't sound like a big job does it?!  It is!  I have stuff everywhere, and I mean everywhere, I think my worst was the day that Andy found felt in the fridge.  I don't know if any of you other textile-people find this but because I work with fabrics and felt - which are essentially just fibres - there's constant mess, there is a constant layer of fluff on every surface in this house!  Very pretty colourful fluff, but fluff non the less.

So I shall be tackling the house, and if the weather holds we'll hopefully be getting out into the garden, though that's easier said that done living on the "wrong" side of the Pennines!

May 2nd, 2012

May I introduce you all to my new babies...these were waiting for me when I came home from work!  Don't think I need to say anything else, I am in love!

May 1st, 2012

It's May!  Already!  Where on earth is this year going?!  I'm quite sure I'm only going to blink before I'm sat writing this with a wedding ring on!

Today's been a long one but a good one, we got the final piece of the puzzle in place with regards to our wedding planning, so it's really all done...just got to wait for the day now!  It's been so easy and such a joy to do - kinda sad we only get to do it once! - but it's a relief to know that everything's in place.

A job well done ( I think!)