More Easter Baskets!

Vacations and holidays=busy, busy times. Sorry that I have had to increase my turn around time to 3-4 weeks. Normally clothing is 2 weeks to ship and all other gift/accessories are 1 week. When I return from vacations I will hopefully be able to adjust that turn around time back to normal. Thanks to all my customers for being so understanding!! Here are some of the items I am getting done this week before vacation. I did not make the pirate towel, you can find it at Target. I will be adding a few Lucy's Closet towels I am making for someone in the next few weeks.

I finished up 7 more Easter baskets this week. The top 2 are from Pottery Barn, I just added the names and the bottom picture are felt Hanna Anderson Easter baskets. These were a little trickier to do than some of the others. They are really cute, on the front of the basket is a duck. I put the names on the back.

I finally finished my niece's Easter dress to coordinate with her younger twin sisters. I love how they came out. This white pique dress is beautiful! I would not recommend putting the ball fringe on a dress for a child under 3 because if the child pulled the balls off it would definitely become a choking hazard. For the smaller sizes I can replace the ball fringe with a pink rick rack. This dress would be great for beach portraits and pictures. This same dress can also be made of white on white seersucker.

WEBSITE!!!

Okay, I did it! I made an "official" website lucysclosetbymandy.com This is definitely a work in progress but it tells customers how they can order, my #1 most asked question. It also has some pictures, just a small selection of my work. Eventually I may add a shopping cart option to this for standard items that I sell, like bibs, burp cloths, tote bags, backpacks, etc. I am still giving that some thought though because I like to be able to interact with shoppers (even if it is through email) to ensure they get exactly what they want. If you want to place an order now just check with me about turnaround time. I will be on Spring Break vacation from April 2-9. Thanks!

I love love love my newest dress, The CATERPILLAR!!!

I've done a couple more Easter baskets and have more to do! I did not buy these baskets, they were brought to me and I added the names.

I have started getting a lot of towels. This is a sign that summer fun is right around the corner! These towels are cute! I did not make them or buy them, they were brought to me and I added the names. I think they are from Target. I do have towels in bright pink, lime, aqua and orange and I can add an applique and name. My towels are $20.

TOTE BAGS!!!!! I have been busy with a lot of these this week. I love how they came out.

My kids were given these bags last summer from their swim team and I have added their names and they will be using them for soccer this spring.

Shopping Cart Website?

Last weekend we were traveling for my niece's Christening so I haven't posted in a week because I have busy working and catching up. Here are a few things I have been doing. The aprons are $20 and tote bags are $20. Bloomers are $10. Both can be found in Lucy's Closet etsy store.

On another note, I have a new project in the works....a website? Well, MAYBE! I might eventually have a site where you can purchase the products I sell and pay via a secure checkout process. For those of you who are wondering, and I get this question a lot, you DO have to email me to place an order or you can also purchase directly from my etsy store. Currently, I only have a select few things in my etsy store but I do also sell the things that you see on my blog and on my shutterfly website. If it is easiest for you to email me your order, I can email you an invoice from Paypal that will allow you to pay by credit card.

I have hesitated to have a website where you can purchase directly for several reasons; so much of what I do is custom work so the customer almost always has to be in contact with me through email and I am so busy that I am afraid going to a website will eventually mean I will need to hire people to do sewing for me, and the sewing is what I love to do myself. I do understand though that people like simplicity and having a website where you can add things to your "cart" and pay for them is easiest. I'd love feedback from any readers and customers - let me know what you think about this!

2 Machines!!!

My workhorse machine is back from the shop! I haven't gotten machine #1 out of the box yet but I am hoping to tonight. I am hoping to organize my office and get both machines running at the same time. Here are a few thing I have been doing over the last week.

This is my Virginia Tech football shirt but this one is a bit different because it says Lil' Hokie instead of Go Hokies.

I also did the bib,burp cloth, bloomers set.

The whale burp cloth is a little different because usually I don't do the name in navy but I think it looks cute like this!

Today I had coffee with a sorority sister and she gave me a picture (and permission to put it on my blog) of her daughter in a dress I made for her, what a cutie! Thanks J.!

I also did these dresses for a customer, I love how they turned out!

These pink and brown toile dresses are for my twin nieces for Easter and I will be doing a coordinating white pique dress (with pink pom pom trim) for their older sister. I will post a picture of that in the next few weeks when I get it done. For those who like this fabric, I picked it up last summer and haven't been able to find anywhere since then but I will be happy to search for it if anyone wants it. No promises I can find it though!

Wow!

Wow, wow, wow! I can't believe it! I got a call from sewingmachine.com in Atlanta that my machine is fixed and being shipped back to me...wow! I just shipped it to them on Tuesday. They received it and fixed it on Thursday and it is now on its way back. The man was super nice and told me that my machine was in great condition and that I should only need to get it serviced every 1 to 2 yrs unless it breaks. I am thinking next time I need it serviced I will pay the extra $ to ship it to Atlanta to be fixed. I can't wait to have it back to be able to run 2 machines. Hopefully this means I will be able to get more done but it also means I am going to need to rearrange my office again to fit 2 embroidery machines.

Anyway, here are the things I have been doing on my new machine this week. I had a customer who did not want to pay for Pottery Barn Easter baskets so she got these cute baskets and I added the names. I also did these 2 dresses this week and think they are precious. I love working with seersucker and this dress is a classic!

This adorable duffel bag was ordered by my sister-in-law for my neice. She needed a bag for weekend travel and I think it came out great. These duffels are $40 (includes personalization) and come in a variety of colors so check with me if you would like a different color. The bows are detachable and the inside of the bag is very roomy.

It is here!

Yeah! My new machine finally came on Monday afternoon. It is wonderful! I had a little tinkering to do to it but I think it is stitching out great now. Nothing like being days behind on work! I've been playing catch up since then. Here are some pictures of the new machine at work and some pictures of the first few things I did after my new one came. These play dresses are $28 and can be purchased in my etsy store or you can send me a message for a different color. They also come in a sleeveless version (picture to come soon of that style).