Sunday, 25 April 2010

Too cute!!

Hello all, hope you're having a good weekend :) Last night I was in Kilmarnock at O'Shannons Irish Bar seeing a band called the Troubleshooters and my Dad was the DJ for the night. Was a good night. Can't wait for All Tore Up! on Saturday to see The Ceazars. This weeks mission is to make a toga ready for then :)
This is just a quick update to show you my latest creation...a super cute reversible tie top!! It's the first reversible item I've made and it turned out really well. So well that I was very sad to see it go to a new home. Of course I snapped some photos before it went on its way:




I miss it already! I got some awesome vintage cowboy material so I'm going to make myself one from that :)
Enjoy the rest of the weekend!
Lottie x

Friday, 23 April 2010

One thing after another....keep it coming!!

Hey everyone :)
I've been having some rather exciting times recently! First there was Made In The Shade, then secret plans were made with Carrie from MITS (more will be revealed in due course), now I have a dress order from London fashion journalist Jas Tang who writes for Pretty Things magazine whom I met on Saturday and I'm now part of the Granny Would Be Proud family!! So you can see Miss Lottie Lou on 8th May in Hillhead Library :) Would be swell if any of you are around the Glasgow area and popped in to say hi! I'll blog more information on Granny Would Be Proud soon, but their Facebook page seems to be down at the minute.
Miss Lottie Lou is also doing the costumes for a local theatre company who's show this year is...dum dum duuummmm......High Society!!! Another very exciting development! I had my first production meeting on Monday and I got the show director's email through today for what she envisages the costumes to look like and so far I'm loving her vision and I have so many ideas :D
I also jumped on the Twitter bandwagon. I'm still unsure about it. Does anyone have any opinions on Twitter? Maybe once I'm up and running properly I'll like it and find it useful and what not but right now it's so bare and boring! If any of you have a twitter, leave a link to it so I can follow you! Next bandwagon I'm thinking of jumping on is Flickr. Again any opinions?
Other than that I have so many photos to show you of my latest fabric, clothes and shoe buys. And for some reason another addiction to add to my list is furniture. It's been creeping up on me for a while but I finally acknowledged it when I saw the cutest little art deco piece in Glasgow on Tuesday, dreamt about it that night, and then went up first thing on Wednesday to buy it! I have nowhere to put as of yet but it's beautiful! And totally worth the bruises I got lugging it round Glasgow with me!
I'm super tired now from all this excitement so I best get myself to bed. Tomorrow I'm making a super cute tie top for Miss Amelia ready for our Saturday night out, more on both of them tomorrow.
Hope you're all doing well :)
Lottie x

Sunday, 18 April 2010

I got Made In The Shade!

Well Saturday was the big day...Made In The Shade!! I was so nervous I couldn't write my price tags out I was shaking that much :( But it was such a good day and I had some sales!! Was awesome! I didn't get chance to have a look round at everything else, but I hear there were some cool things. My friend Lee bought loads of stuff! And another friend Kat was early enough to get a free goody bag and she was kind enough to give me her badge which had a pug dog on it!! I'm not sure if I've ever expressed my love for Pugs on here before, but I'm crazy about them! One day I will have one!
Anyways here are photos from my stall! I was going to take photos of the whole event but I didn't leave my stall all day! So check out MITS blog and Flickr for photos :)


My Mum and myself having a cake break!

Commissioned dress that was just for show. This got the most attention out of everything on my stall! Everyone kept coming over to touch it!

My table with fabric covered buttons and neck ties. In the corner you can just see my suitcase with fabrics in for people to have a look through.
Me stood next to my rail! I wore a vintage jumper, headscarf and dress Miss Lottie Lou and beautiful Vivienne Westwood shoes :D (I also have them in cream!) Originally I was going to wear a high waisted red Miss Lottie Lou pencil skirt but on the morning I went to get dressed and it was miles too big! Made me happy but oh so stressed! Luckily I had this trusty little black dress :)

My stall :) Well more space than stall. I had people signing up or my mailing list all day! Even if they didn't buy anything they jotted their email down which is ace :)

After the event was over I was so super duper tired but I had a 50th birthday party to go to and then at 11pm-3am I was working on the door for a night called Shout Bamalama which was super busy as they had famous London DJ Gaz Mayall up for the night. Was a good night but by 3am I had past the super duper tired stage and ended up being wide awake! Embarrassed to say I slept till after 2pm on Sunday and even then I only woke up because my Dad came and woke me up!
I've now applied for another selling space at a different event in May, still in Glasgow though. Fingers crossed I get that one too as I really enjoyed the day and the whole experience. I want to say a big thank you to the Made In The Shade girls, my parents and friends for making the day possible :) I also want to thank Leah over at Leah Halliday for all her tips and advice and her friendly chat before the event and on the day, much appreciated!
In other news my Mum bought me some vintage trousers in a pea green colour which have pleats going down the front of each leg...they sound pretty strange but they're beautiful!! Unfortunately they don't quite fit me :( I can do them up, they're just too tight to wear yet. Which is annoying as she'd bought them to replace my mustard trousers as they're too big for me! I need to wear a belt to hold them up which makes them gather. Doesn't look too bad but it's not ideal. Sigh the in between sizes stage of weight loss is most annoying!!
Eeeeee today me, my parents and my fabulous big sister Hana (not real sisters, we're just like sisters!) booked for the Rockabilly Rave!! I'm so excited!! Just short of 9 weeks to go woo! Anyone else going? I've never been to the rave but I've done the riot which is held in the same place. It's awesome going somewhere where you don't get stared at or asked what's with the costume as everyone is 40s/50s! Today when I was out charity shopping (I only got some wooden anchor buttons) I had several old ladies come up to me and tell me I looked like I belonged in Land Girls. This sort of thing I'm cool with, because I do haha! But when I'm getting asked what's with the costume and or why are you dressed funny or something else along those lines, it's just rude. So I'm rude back to them and just ignore them. There are nice polite ways to question my clothes and when this happens I'm more than happy to tell them about my look. Rude people really get my goat!
Sorry got a little ranty there!
My plan for today is to clear up my bedroom/workroom as my fabric and button boxes exploded all over the place...Hope you all have a much more exciting day!
Lottie x

Wednesday, 14 April 2010

3 more sleeps!!

Howdy :)

First of all big thank you goes to Beth over at refashionrecyclereuse for my latest blog award!!

It still pleasantly surprises me every day that there are people out there that read my blog let alone follow, comment and give me awards! Talking of followers I now have 21! Yeah 21 is nothing compared to some of you awesome bloggers out there but 21 to me is amazing! So thanks guys :)

As well as collecting awards, I've been busy working on things for Made In The Shade which is this Saturday!! That's right folks get down to Glasgow Lighthouse on Mitchell Lane between 10.30am and 5pm! For more info check out Made In The Shade's website and blog. Early birds get a goody bag!

Rightio back to the sewing machine! If you want a sneak peek at a few of the things I'll have with me on Saturday check out the Miss Lottie Lou Facebook page :)
I promise that after Saturday I shall keep up to date with my blogging and commenting!

Until then, hope to see you Saturday!
Lottie x

PS The job interview I had went so well I got the job!! How exciting!! Thanks for all the good luck you guys gave me :)

Saturday, 10 April 2010

Where has the time gone?!

Well happy April and happy Easter to you all...a little late yes, I hadn't realised it had been so long again. My poor neglected blog!
Right what have I been up to? Preparing for Made In The Shade that's what! I have Miss Lottie Lou stickers and different coloured tissue papers all ready for packaging items, business cards designed and awaiting print, card labels ready to be tied onto items with essential information on the back, and my stall set-up all sorted out! On top of the little bits and bobs I've been making clothes which I will post photos of shortly once I've taken them. Today I made a full skirt which, I know I'm slightly biased, but it is so super cute I want to keep it all to myself! And over the last few days I've been making fabric covered buttons both to sell at Made In The Shade and to use on garments. I can't believe how amazing they look! Makes me wish that I had been making fabric covered buttons forever. I can't imagine my life without making them now!
Also I have a confession. I'm addicted to buying fabric. Now it's not as bad as it seems as I never buy fabric from a fabric shop (unless it is a customer request) so I'm not going out and buying brand new fabric, it is only ever vintage or recycled fabric. Even so I'm running out of room and getting overwhelmed at all the prettiness!!! Some mornings I wake up and can't decide what I'm making or with what fabric as I want to use them all right away!
As I said though I can't stop buying fabric. Now I don't usually go on Ebay, I find it all far too stressful with the last minute bidding and the possibility that I won't get what I want or I'll end up paying more than I want etc. However a good friend of mine, Miss Amelia, showed me some cute peach and white checked cotton from the 1950s that had been woven in a Lancashire mill and asked if I would make her something from it. Well from there it spiralled. I ended up 'winning' that one and three others in the same style but different colours. Then my Dad showed me some beautiful silk kimono fabric again from the 1950s and I ended up with a green piece with bamboo and flowers and a bluey piece with flowers. By this point I felt I was on a 'winning' streak! So I bid on some vintage deep green with squares and a vintage burgundy piece. Then the guilt and realisation that I had to pay up hit me!! I'm waiting on the Japanese silk to arrive but the other 6 I have. I was really disappointed in the peach and white one though as it is filthy, like its lived on a dirty floor having people trample all over it for I don't know how long. Fingers crossed it's ok after a good wash!!
Along with the clothes I also have a whole load of new material to photograph :)
Of course amongst all this working and bidding I went out to play! I've mentioned before about All Tore Up! It's a 1950s record hop that happens the first Saturday of every month in Glasgow at a place called Blackfriars. It's always an excellent night that attracts a mixed crowd of students, hardcore 1950s people and those that have stumbled in off the street for a nosey. This month was particularly rock and roll as the DJs blew up a speaker! It gave off the most awful smell! Of course the night kept going and it gave everyone a story! At the next All Tore Up! on May 1st we have a band called The Caezars playing so if you're in Scotland come and see one of the most popular bands on the scene right now. I'll be there in a toga :) Seriously.
Right to try make up for my lack of posting and photos of things I've been making and buying, I'll leave you with some photos from All Tore Up! which was on April 3rd. Enjoy :)

Hana and myself

Hana and David

My Dad 'hard at work' DJing

Hana, my mum, Aaron the DJ and All Tore Up! guy and Ellie his wife

Valarie and Neil

Awwww!! Yup my parents are as much in love now as they were when they got together aged 15!

My mum dancing at the end of the night

My dad having a bop at the end of his DJ set

Lottie x