Lucy Loves Fabric

I’ve been a bit quite in fabric blog world this week. I’m sorry. I hope you have all had good weeks, we at LLF have.. it’s been busy which is what we like.

I go to an auction every other Wednesday, I can be lucky there with furniture to re-upholster. Or vintage linen and curtains. This week was the best week ever… look what I won… I love her, I’m calling her Florence as I name my sewing machines you see. My day-to-day sewing machine is called Bob.

Isn’t she beautiful. One day she will sit in my shop, but for now she’ll sit in my workroom looking glorious. She works too!! I will love her forever.

Speaking of sewing machines Bob and I have been busy with LOTS of cushion orders this week. Everyone perking up their sofa’s for Spring me thinks. It certainly feels like Spring is on the way now that we have had a little sunshine.

I plan to soak up some vitamin D this weekend.

What do you have planned?

I have an idea of embroidering a lampshade. Sounds different huh? If I do manage to claw the time to do this I’ll take some photos for you and show you next week. I also have a spa day booked with friends on Sunday… we are all very excited about that. I love pampering, I have a thing about scents… I am currently in love with the fragrance of Bergamot. I have a facial and massage booked and after this busy week I feel I deserve it. : )

I hope you all have a lovely, creative sun filled weekend.

See you Monday!

- Lucy xx

I went to London Fashion Weekend yesterday. It was good fun, although very secondary to London Fashion WEEK. But a good evening all the same. Me and a good friend had a mooch around the designers stalls, and then on to the catwalk show. A few very unprofessional photos below, taken on the blackberry as I didn’t think we’d of been allowed a camera. I was wrong. The photos I hope give fun, fashion excitement and inspiration.

- Lucy xx

I thought I would share some photos of our lovely Monday knitting club. They are a lovely bunch, I took these pics this week, but it probably wasn’t the best week to do so as a few of our girls weren’t able to come. But they are lovely pics all the same. : )

Our club meets every Monday in Brentwood, for more details please give me a call on 07739718672.

I’ll take some more next week too.

- Lucy xx

CHECK this out… from the book ‘Granny Crochet Favorites’ by Jean Leinhauser and Rita Weiss.

I am so envious of the crochet apron. I think I’m going to have to brush up my crochet skills as I’m more of a knitter.

LOVE it!

I’m signing off for the day, I have neck ache from using the laptop so much today.

Have a good evening everyone.

- Lucy x

Does anyone else subscribe to UK Vogue? Well I do, and I love it. As I mentioned in my ‘25 things about me’ article Vogue, Elle Decoration and Living Etc are my favourite mags.

Well in the March edition there is an article on Tracey Emin’s ‘Blankets’ (which we would call quilts) called ‘Pieces of me’.

Tracey is so inspiring, and as someone who also falls in love with a lot of her fabrics and clothes I can totally understand where her design ideas are coming from. Each quilt is made from the heart and made using fabrics that hold a lot of special memories for her. She tells us how she ‘grew up within a tradition that everything could be useful and nothing should be wasted’ – how necessary in today’s society with the economic climate.

The article is her story how she used to raid her closet for items of clothing she didn’t wear anymore but was holding onto for sentimental reasons to cut up and use as material for her meaningful ‘blankets’.

I am going to quote directly from the article the paragraph where Tracey describes what it was like to sell her first quilt.

‘When it sold, on the third day of the art fair, I curled up in bed with it tucked around me and cried at the idea of it going away. A lot of love had gone into it, and on the final days of getting it completed in time for the White Cube show, different friends had helped me complete the patches and sew them on.’

Sometimes when I part with some of my fabrics, its quite a heart wrench. I haven’t yet been brave enough to part with any that hold memories for me. I have only parted with pieces that I have fell in love with design-wise, not the pieces holding memories of my life in every thread.

The article is a fantastic read and I recommend you all go and buy March 2010 Vogue!!

I’ll also be going to “Quilts 1700-2010″ at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London in March. I cannot WAIT for this, which was another reason I was so pleased when I turned the page into this article.

All of Tracey’s work show very ‘large’ messages. I’ll leave you with a couple…

(Images: V&A)

For more info on Tracey, visit her site here.

- Lucy x

Make do and mend. Turn a vintage or recycled head/neck scarf into a cushion cover.

I don’t know about you but I tend to have a lot of silk scarves. I love to collect vintage scarves as I scout around for other fabrics, I also like to pic up brand new ones in colours I adore. They are a nice perk to an outfit and an easy way to lift a dress you have had for a while and just brighten up your wardrobe in general. Well now they can brighten your interiors too.

If you are looking around for a project to do and want to keep the budget down. Why not upcycle one of your scarves into a cushion cover? Create an eclectic, non matching look on your sofa, bed or just place an individual one on your fav comfy chair. A silk scarf is nice for a bit of luxury and extra gloss. Below are a couple for sale at Lucy Loves Fabric made from vintage silk scarves.

You’ll be so pleased when you see your scarf move from your wardrobe to your interior space. It’s refreshing and a great, cheap project.

Enjoy!

- Lucy x

As I’ve mentioned before I read the blog of Decor8 daily. I fully recommend you do too. Holly who writes Decor8 also writes a more personal blog called Haus Maus. Also a fantastic read. Lucy recommends.

Holly did an article on Haus Maus, 25 things about herself also inspired by a blog she reads. So I thought I would get on and do this too, when you work online sometimes it can feel so impersonal… lets try and change that for today. If anyone would like to let me know something about themselves I would be really interested to hear. : )

Here we go…

1 – My maiden name is Powell, getting married is the best thing – but loosing that identity is weird and a little hard.

2 – I have a cat, a goldfish and a tortoise.

3 – I live a happy little life in a little detached house and now work from home.

4 – I find the hardest thing working from home and running your own business is getting a lot of people to actually believe your working and not playing housewife at home all day. It takes time and effort to prove you are more than that.

5 – I am 26 years old.

6 – I have blond hair and am 5′8”.

7 – If I could LOOK like anyone who is famous… style wise I would say Kate Moss.

8 – My favourite book is A million little pieces by James Frey.

9 – My most inspiring interior book is Flea Market Style.

10 – A habit I couldn’t give up is drinking tea.

11 – My favorite magazines are.. Vogue, Living Etc and Elle Decoration. I also like to read The Sunday Times.

12 – At the weekend I love wake up late with my Husband, eat a leisurely breakfast with sun pouring in the windows, go clothes or interior shopping and see friends for food and drink in the evening.

13 – My cat makes my day when working from home.

14 – I drive a cream convertible Beetle.

15 – What is making me happy at the moment is thinking about one of my closest friends who had her first baby on Friday. Welcome to the world little Laurence. I’m already knitting for the little chap.

16 – If possible I only ever want to live in a house with high ceilings. I love high ceilings.

17 – I LOVE my job.

18 – I am an only child, my husband is too – it troubles me greatly to think I’ll never be a proper Auntie, or my husband a proper Uncle. If we have children they won’t have any Cousins, Aunts or Uncles. That saddens me.

19 – I prefer Summer and Spring to Autumn and Winter. I know, I know there are lovely things about Autumn and Winter but I just prefer Summer and Spring. I am so ready for them now.

20 – I have called my sewing machine ‘Bob’ and I love Bob.

21 – Knitting or Crochet…..!??!!??!….. KNITTING!

22 – My parents names are Pam and Mick. No they aren’t anything like Pam and Mick in Gavin and Stacey. Phew.

23 – I am on the panel of speakers for the Women’s Institute.

24 – Another of my many skills is that I am a qualified Reflexologist. Bit different hey!

25 – My last ‘thing’ is totally dedicated to my loving and supportive husband. His name is James and without his belief in me I wouldn’t have started Lucy Loves Fabric. He is the best husband in the world.

Well that was tiring!!! I’d love to hear something about you guys out there!!!

- Lucy

I watched ‘Coco before Chanel’ yesterday late afternoon with candles on. I knitted whilst I read the subtitles. I’m not very good at reviews, so really all I can say is that you really must watch it. It’s fantastic.

Revolutionary.

Here is this weeks project idea for you all.

I must have a thing about lampshades after this post.

This one I did myself and the photo below is of the shade I actually did using Amy Butler fabric that I sell in my store.

We used a recycled lampshade, passed on to me from my in-laws. It’s a LARGE one as most of the older ones are. I would lay money that if you asked people in your family someone will have one stored in the loft.

I used the Decoupage technique. Firstly choosing three fabric designs with the same colours running through each. I chopped them in roughly the same size squares, I did it free hand as I didn’t want the look to be too regimented. I used pinking sheers to eliminate the worry of fraying.

I stripped the shade of the old trimmings at the top and bottom as I had purchased the lovely brown that you can see in the photo. I then got to work, I used fabric glue that you can buy from any craft store. I painted the glue straight on to the shade and some onto the piece of fabric and I just placed it where I wanted. I overlapped slightly when adding the next square and just built the design up, covering all of the shade. Once all of the fabric pieces were stuck onto the shade and I was happy I then got PVA glue (which is thinner than the fabric glue) and painted all over the shade twice, letting it dry in between applications.

This seals your work and keeps your design totally in place and also gives it a glossy look.

Once totally dry I stuck on the brown trim and *Ta-DAH*. I was very pleased with the outcome and so was my husband as ‘Mr Shade’ is now happily in our bedroom.

Why not give it a go?? UPcycle! : )

Lucy x

How were your weekends?? Did you meet all the tasks you wanted to?…Or did you give in and totally chill out, leaving all jobs and tasks to wait another week? I don’t blame you if you did!

I had a busy weekend… no sewing I must say though, I had a Hen Party… of course a LOT of fun. But amongst that mix of fun, laughing, giggling, dancing and not a lot of sleep – I managed to catch up with friends on the sofa, with LOTS of cups of tea and a constant supply of food. I also chilled with some yarn between my fingers whilst I knitted away in a beautiful colour wool. Nothing better than some gorgeous colour to pour over. I read some mags, posted some orders (Saturday was a busy day for orders I must say). Oh and I read some of the books I have on the go at the moment (see pics of titles below).

I LOVE a good book, and always tend to have a couple on the go. I can then suit my mood, but most days I have a read of both if I have time. A lot of people ask if I get confused – I don’t somehow, not sure why.

I know I’m not talking MUCH about our lovely world of fabrics today, but I think it’s important to embrace ALL things in life… so this post I’d like to let you all know that I am embracing the below:

* My close friend who is about to have a baby any day now. (If you are reading this – ‘I love you’!)

* My friends who I had a wonderful time with all weekend.

* Knitting – because it’s such a wonderful, therapeutic pass time. I can think and enjoy doing something at the same time. And appreciate some colour along the way.

* Literature – because sometimes as inspiring as images are, words are what is needed.

I think it’s good for us all to have a chat like this now and again, I ofter wonder about people behind the words who contact me. All of you out there!! That is the hardest thing working in a virtual world – I would love to know more about you all. People that support Lucy Loves Fabric, and who obviously like what I have to offer. This weekend my husband and I are going to look at the locations of some shops/studio space that we have seen available. That will at least mean I can meet SOME of my clients and keep you lovely online people at the same time. : )

I hope Monday has found you well and inspired for the rest of the week. I promise to post a more inspiring blog later this week.

Any of my knitting ladies reading this – I’ll see you tonight!

Lucy x