Flower Power

I'm keeping up with my habit of buying flowers, and I thought if I blogged about them then it might force me to buy them when I'm feeling lazy. Gosh golly my mother would be so proud of me. I like the moodyness of this late night shot, it reminds me of some of the photography I did in college with really long exposures.

Dresses Galore

Yey I have pictures at last, not of the best quality in the world but at least you can see what I'm up to. I'm delighted that the fashion world is obsessed with dresses at the moment, so that's what I've decided to focus on. I made 5 in the past day and a half(well 6 but one was a disaster that I had to abandon). Hopefully I 'll get a couple more done today in preparation for D-day tomorrow. The sun is shining beautifully today so fingers crossed for the rest of the weekend.

Tired Feet

Yuck I just finished an extra hideous split shift in the restaurant. Please next time you eat out have a little extra patience for your waitress...we work our asses off. I've nothing interesting to report today as all I did was run around like a maniac with plates and glasses.

On my break I did do the design for the City Council opening, it's looking pretty promising and I can show you pics when I get approval from the client. They went for a soviet propaganda feel for the poster as the guy they are commemorating(Robert Byrne) is heavily linked with the foundation of the Limerick Soviet in 1919.

I'm off now to put my very tired and stinky feet up, it's just after 1am, I'm shattered but wide awake, oh joy.

Radio Gaga

The other thing that I've been doing lots of recently, apart from watching lots of dvds, is listening to the radio. I have officially turned into my mother. I only like Larry Gogan and the Golden Hour, or alternative stuff that's played late at night that I always miss. Inbetween they play endless rubish, I don't like any of it. Is this my official ticket to being old that I don't like pop music? I like all the chitter chatter that's inbetween the songs just not all the insincere warbling they play. I'm also gonna put my hand in the air and admit that I don't get Lady Gaga. When I saw her image I was expecting something exciting and edgy, but no we just go another vacuous pop princess just in odd Knickers. Maybe I'm just too near getting a free bus pass to understand her...surely not I'm only 26!

Tv or not Tv

Due to our recent move we do not have our tv reception sorted out, and to be honest I don't even know if there is any cable wired in. It's nealy a month that we are in our lovely abode and it's been nice not to have the reliable fallback of tv. I found I was watching way too much of it, even when there was nothing on I still watched it, it was a horrible time and energy sucker. I find I'm going to bed at a more normal hour now and waking up without a big grumpy head on me (this is quite helpful as we have 4 skylights in our bedroom so sleeping late is very difficult).

But let me clarify I'm not a complete saint who sits and listens to the wireless and does needle point by candle light. We do have a dvd player and I have been watching lots of films over the past 4 weeks. I somehow see this as less wasteful than sitting down and watching back to back 'house doctor' and 'property ladder' though. I'm really proud of John for sticking with it, he was a complete tv addict, but now he seems quite content not to have it, fingers crossed it will last. I had no tv for 3 years when I was in college so I didn't find it that much of a shock to the system. Our joint compulsion to hoard dvds has come in useful though and I've been rewatching all those films I've been saving for a rainy evening.Here are a few highlights

Casino
Keep The Aspidistra Flying
Howards End
The Land Girls
Juno
The Holy Grail
Conan The Barbarian

Wet Sunday

I'm just back from a very wet day at the Sunday Market today. Even though customers should have been non-existant due to the weather I did fairly well, selling some nice dresses and t-shirts. I always find it impossible to guage how a day is going to go, I suppose it's quite random. My lesson was learned after last week though, as last Saturday I went for a quiet couple of pints that led to a very fuzzy head last Sunday. So this morning I was bright eyed and bushy talied, you see sometimes I can be quite well behaved. Unfortunately a few sellers didn't turn up today, sorry to anyone who ventured down and found the selection a bit sparse.

All my energies now are geared towards next weeks Riverfest Market, which will be on the Friday till the Monday. I'm planning on doing some of more outlandish pieces, just to stand out from the crowd and get noticed in the large selection of stalls. Sometimes this tactic works really well, during the week I made a silver, lilac, sky blue and mint green dress...I know it sounds hideous but I really like it in a wacky star trek kind of way, and it got lots of good feedback on the stall. It's also more fun making the crazy stuff, it just involves a bit more time staring at a blank wall trying to figure out what to do with a garment.

I'm gonna sit down now, turn on the heating, do some hand sewing and watch Twin Peaks(back when Kyle Mclachlan was very hot, before he did SATC and Desperate Housewives).

Busy-fest

I'm back into busy season again. Firstly the Limerick Riverfest is coming up on the May bank holiday weekend, I will be trading on the Friday-Monday. Last year there was a fantastic atmosphere and heavenly weather, hopefully this year at least equals it. This year it will be a little more complicated as my friend who sells clothes and jewelerry at the stall beside me won't be there for the first two days, so I'll be doing her stall too, eek. Last year I had loads of extra stock made but I still nearly sold out, so I want to be way more prepared this year.

I also really need to do an order for the shop in Ennis, Olive, but that keeps on being pushed to the back of the list. I got two very exciting custom orders, one a mother of the bride dress that is very funky that I'm really looking forward to doing it. The other is a bunch of things for a regular customer who is really into my fun colourful work which I love doing. I also got a call from a friend in the Limerick City council and they want me to design some invitations for an opening of the Robert Byrne Memorial Park on Clancy Strand.

It's a hell of a list, but I'm more than happy to have lots to do rather than nothing.

I'm MOO! happy

Yey my Moo cards arrived. If you have heard of these cute little darlings go check out their website.They are a London based print firm that deal with all you business card need. They are affordable and offer lots of uniquely tailored products. I heard once you catch the moo bug that's it, you're hooked, I now know why, they send you loads of discount vouchers for your next order. I must admit I'm a sucker for lovely packaging and design...check out what I opened up this morning. I'm a happy lady. I'll be usng these to distribute free badges, on the back of the card there are images of my clothes and on the front all of my details. I give them to people who are browsing at the stall, or I include them as a little gift with my online sales, and I give them out at a local music venue. It's cheaper than paying for ads in magazines and papers and I think it's far more effective.

Domestic Bug

It's official the new house has turned me into Martha Stewart. I was in Pennies today and I was more interested in the chair cussions then their jackets. I also couldn't help myself and I bought some lovely flowers. When will the madness end, soon I'll be making buns and scones and giving them to the neighbours kids(who are really sweet by the way).

Photoshop Hell

This week I've been doing lots of design things rather than sewing. My boyfriend John has been working on a medival map of Limerick city for the Civic Trust for the past year and a half, and it's due in this week. Many months ago I convinced him not to collate his book by copying and pasting old style with glue, scissors and a photocopier. I said I would help him with photoshop and that it would be properly designed. A simple task of colouring in a map, developed into a 20-odd page booklet with illustration and an A1 size map. It was at this point that I realised he didn't know how to copy and paste, or even how to open a document in photoshop!! Eek. What followed was not an idylic scene of a young couple working from home together in bliss, chatting holding hands and drinking coffee. No it turned into a bickering mess. It's true when people say don't teach your other half to drive, it becomes a bit power struggle, and nobody learns anything. So many months later he has become fairly handy with the programme, although now and then he asks me shockinly simple questions, I think it must be just to annoy me. So for the past week he has been surgically attached to our lovely computer, while I sit in the background and answer questions every 5 minutes. We got there in the end but I must put my hand in the air and admit that we are not one of those couples that work well together.

Ps; I saw the most shocking style faux pas today, white velure tracksuit bottoms with an illuminous yellow thong popping out of the top. I would have taken a pic to show you all that it really happened but A) that's really creepy B) I do believe if I was caught the girl in question may have strangled me with said thong

Brian Cowen laid bare

In reaction to this incident my bloggy friend Fustar has decided to rally the nation together in a movement of artistic anarchy. He has proposed that people do their own nude sketches of the Taoiseach Brian Cowen( to those of you of the non Irish persuasion that's the prime minister), with the eventual aim of having an exhibition of all these wonderfully bare assed images. The postcards can be as simple or as lavish as you please, for more information check out Fustar's blog I will definitely be contributing to this wonderfully quiet fuck you to the establishment.

Winner

And the winner is....

Modern Lunacy

Congratulations, and thanks to everyone for entering.

Good Luck next month!

Full List of Entrants

Herre is the full list of people who entered my draw, with links...as much as I could find them. Sorry the draw wasn't yesterday as promised but I got a tooth extracted and spent most of the day in bed wimpering. I'll announce the winner in a few minutes in a seperate post.

Modnaros
Doe Studio
Nick Carswell
Vannie
Laura O'Mahoney
Declan Shalvey
Red Lemonade
Balanced
Magatha-May
Killer
Hippie Dippy Designs
sMac Thoughts
Made Marian
No Nonsense blog
The Fresh Prince of Kildare
The Biologista
Fustar
Lette
Orla's Art
L.A.S Pottery
Lorcan
Tilt
Janil
Cabootique
Julie Cornewell
Gretchen
Niamh
Lucy
Vulgar Moon
MJ
Mj-Note to Self
The Anti-Room
Kevin
Applied Signs and Displays
Cherry Blossoms
TsTreasures
Nina
Modern Lunacy
Heidi V.
Hana
Joby
Trashy Knitting
Suanne
Jen
Lydia & Pugs
Love and Lust
Amanda Oaks
Aik
Cyclona 66
Lubica Kotmanikova
Custardbydesign
Elissa Minor Rust
Lubasa
Windy Cindy
Kaycee Williams
Samadhya
Gerard
Donna
Michelle McMahon
John Galvin
Di
Cathy Horner
Lilly
Crystal
Mini Shoes
Crystal
Zoe
Elisabet

Hungover with room with a view

After the traditional Good Friday party I'm feeling a little worse for wear today. My delicate condition was helped a little by rewatching one of my favorite films A Room With a View, I don't really know why I love it so much. It's adapted from a fantastic book which I read at the formative age of 17, I think the theme of the transformation of a young woman really stuck with me. Also the fact that it has the beautiful Julian Sands really helps too, a strangely wooden actor, but a joy to look at.

Anyhow this was a brief treat as I start into a long night of sewing in preperation for tomorrow's market. All I've managed to do was to get 5 mens t-shrits made, if I don't sell them the I will have photos of them for you guys sometime this week. This evening I will try to make a few recession busting t-shirts for the ladies. There will be huge amounts of people in the city tomorrow due to the Heineken Cup match being played in Thomond, and that crowd will have the budget of cheap and cheerful. I think I'll focus on making lots of red clothes, for the fashion conscious ladies wanting to wear the Munster colours. Wish me luck it's gonna be a long night....

Another day in Limerick

If you are in Ireland and you are reading this you will probably have heard about the shooting of Roy Collins in Limerick City. I couldn't quite believe it when I heard the news, he had been my boss for 3 years in a pub I had worked in a few years ago. It really hit home today when I was listening to the news and heard the heart breaking statement his father made about his sons brutal murder. I have always defended Limerick and it's bad reputation to friends at home, but at the moment I'm thinking about all the things I've seen over the past few years. This is the second person I have known that was killed by the senseless violence that is accepted in this city. My heart goes out to the family, and his two young daughters. He was a genuinely lovely guy who was not involved in the gang fueds, but yet he and his family have been victimised over the past. It's odd I hadn't seen him in a few years, but he came into the restaurant a few days ago, and I was chatting to him-catching up. It's unreal to think that someone I just bumped into is dead now.
Something really has to change in Limerick, and I'm hoping that all the proposals that have been made by the government in the past two days(as a result of Roy's murder) aren't empty promises that don't address the real issues.

Sunday Market returns

Today has been spent reorganising the madness that is my studio. I naively thought I could do this in a few hours, but 6 hours later it still looks like a junk shop. But at least I now know where most of the essentials are. I think I'll spend the rest of the evening pottering around in there trying to find suitable places for all those frustrating odds and ends(even my vast collection of cute boxes can't contain all those things I've horaded over the years). I have one large factor pushing the urgency on this unpacking endeavour.... the Riverside market is starting back this Sunday. With all my break-taking and moving house lately I've been left woefully unprepared. I do have stock, just not enough, and not an even balance of sizes. Ideally I would like to get more mens t-shirts done, a few jackets, and some cute tshirts for girls. So a mad sewing marathon will be starting on Friday morning. I always work best when I'm under pressure, so I'm not overly worried. After two years of selling at markets I've learned that the world will not fall apart if I don't meet my expectations, I'll just be a little disapointed in my self, but I can live with that.

So if you live in Limerick, spread the word, this Sunday we start back, 12pm-5pm on Bedford Row, yummy gourmet foods, hand crafts, and fabulous me.

Ps; the girl in the picture above really looks like me when I was a kid

Prize Draw

I know I've been non existant over the past month, but that is no reason not to have my monthly draw. I will extend the deadline from my usual 10th to the 15th of April. As usual all you have to do is be one of my lovely readers, so that involves following my blog, or linking to it on yours( if you do that then leave a comment here). Here is the list so far, join the gang, they are all very cool. I've decided this month to give away one of my t-shirts. When I pick the winner at random, I'll email them and ask for their size and style preference.

Good luck everyone

Modnaros
Doe Studio
Nick Carswell
Vannie
Laura O'Mahoney
Declan Shalvey
Red Lemonade
Balanced
Magatha-May
Killer
Hippie Dippy Designs
sMac Thoughts
Made Marian
No Nonsense blog
The Fresh Prince of Kildare
The Biologista
Fustar
Lette
Aik
Orla's Art
L.A.S Pottery
Lorcan
Tilt
Janil
Cabootique
Julie Cornewell
Gretchen
Niamh
Lucy
Vulgar Moon
MJ
Mj-Note to Self
The Anti-Room
Kevin

Applied Signs and Display

Unendingthough
Samadhya
Michelle McMahon
John Galvin
Di
Cathy Horner
Lilly
Crystal

Domestic Heaven

At long last we are in the house. The big move happened on Wednesday, although as you can see we still have some up packing to do. The last two photos are of my studio, which is slowly forming as I excavate the masses of boxes. It's actually much bigger than it looks, but it was hard to manouver in such a cluttered space. I'm delighted with how the living space has turned out, open plan living is wonderful(albeit a little chilly), myself and John are able to spend much more time together as the computer, tv and eating space all merge as one. The three main highlghts so far have been 1;the first night in the house, when I was lying in bed I felt like I was in a posh hotel 2; waking up on Friday when all of downstairs was unpacked and nearly have to pinch myself to check I wasn't dreaming, I couldn't quite believe I live here 3; unpacking my sewing machine and placing it in the new studio, my heart skipped a beat with excitement.

I feel very warm and fuzzy on the inside, I now understand domestic pride.