Hey, Lucy? Where is your eBay store?

OK, we did not get kicked off eBay or anything. I decided to suspend our eBay store (only), lucysfabrics, from July 15-August 15. We are still very much in business, still shipping orders and accepting payment for items that have not gone out yet, and still available to answer any questions.

Since many of my customers are also former, current or prospective eBay sellers, I wanted to give you some background. I have met many wonderful and highly valued customers through eBay, but as many of you may know, eBay is not the place it once was two years ago. And neither is Lucysfabrics.com. Our website revenue far dwarfs the eBay business. It also takes a fraction of the time to list products and fulfill orders compared to eBay.

I always say, "Never underestimate the ability of people to kill the goose that laid the golden egg," and eBay is a perfect example. eBay has made a lot of changes lately, which while irritating, I can live with -- if they were bringing in eyeballs like they did even a year ago. eBay is the most expensive selling venue on the Internet, which is why you will see 15% higher prices on eBay compared to lucysfabrics.com. That does not even cover the additional labor eBay orders take. In the past the additional traffic made the cost worthwhile, but my website pages actually have more traffic than my eBay pages do now.

When you own your own business, and you are not happy or inspired, you have only one person to blame. Something has to go. What is stressing me out the most? I have to say it's eBay. There is a threat of having to revise and re-revise over 100 listings due to constant policy revisions, as well as a significant pricing change looming "before the holidays." Uh, has anyone at eBay ever looked at a merchandising calendar? From a retail buying perspective this IS the holidays.

So, maybe in a month I will discover that the stress is worth it, that I really do need eBay. Or maybe, since they are constantly revising and re-revising their new policies, they will settle on some changes, pricing or otherwise, that make business sense.

We are still here to support our customers 100%, in a fast, friendly and professional manner - as always since 2004.

Click on the above link to see the specials - there are 3 pages worth!
I have gotten in so much new stuff, please help me make some room!

Now on to the NEW STUFF!
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I have acquired several European rayon-jersey prints and solids, which won't last long. Nothing beats the comfort of this luxurious fabric for summer. Some of the prints are extremely groovy.

See the full selection here: (2 pages) http://www.lucysfabrics.com/Fashion-Knits/Rayon-Jersey/

CONTEST TIME!

Enter the "One Fabric: Knits" Contest on Patternreview.com

Check out the Patternreview.com website for the rules and instructions. Mainly, it needs to be made of A KNIT fabric (only the best, of course). And, you must have been a member of Pattern Review for at least 90 days by the contest starting date. Free or paying membership qualifies. (So in this case, April 2nd or earlier qualifies).

So unfortunately if you are not already a member, you can't enter, but I highly suggest becoming a member anyway because you will get lots of cool ideas and support from the group.

First prize is a $75 gift certificate, second prize is a $50 gift certificate from yours truly. Thank goodness, it is not I who decides. The members will vote. I sponsored the costume contest too, and it was amazing! The winners made costume ensembles that could have been in movies.

So, get goin' since the deadline is the end of this month. Here are some new knit fabrics to get you started...

Ooops! Did you check out the sale? You might want to check it again. When the sale announcement was made, some fabrics in the "MORE Fashion Knit Fabrics" category were not discounted, due to a technical issue. This is fixed now and everything in the category is 20% off,
as intended. Like these new adorable little 4-way stretch polkadots -


Sale goes through midnight CST this Sunday, June 29,
Three pages worth! (on the left, Fashion Knits category ---> MORE)

http://www.lucysfabrics.com/Fashion-Knits/MORE/

And as always save even more based on your order size (see our website for details)
5% off $50 or more * 10% off $100 or more * 12.5% off $200 or more

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Matte Jersey fabric is a favorite for a wide range of fashions. I have customers make everything from close-fitting, trendy tops and dresses to loose-fitting tunic tops. Some customers have even used it for bridesmaids dresses. We have just added chocolate, olive and a new art-deco inspired print while it lasts.


Product Discontinuation Notice - 3/8" Rhinestone Buckles #1080

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Unfortunately, the 3/8" square rhinestone buckles - http://www.lucysfabrics.com/Rhinestone/Rhinestone-buckle-3-8-square/
are being discontinued by the manufacturer. I have ordered as many as possible, but once they are gone, they are gone. There is no exact replacement, particularly at this price point (when you buy $200 worth or more, these are only 87.5 cents each). However, they are available now, so in case you have projects underway I wanted you to know.

Save 20% on MORE Fashion Knit Fabrics! Sale ends Sun. Jun. 29!

Three pages worth! (on the left, Fashion Knits category ---> MORE)

http://www.lucysfabrics.com/Fashion-Knits/MORE/

This includes brand new new yarn-dyed striped fabrics!


Hurry - sale ends at Midnight CST this Sunday. 

Special Event Sat. July 19, 2008: Fun for the Entire Family! Cars! Bikes! Lucy's Open House!

All 400 people in the town of Westminster, Texas are hopping with excitement because for the first time in history, all of the streets in the town square have been paved. We have hit the big time. Willie Nelson's daughter, Paula, is even coming to town in August to play a show.

But before that.... bring the menfolk & youngins' and come to the 2nd Annual Car and Bike show, hosted by Big Slicks Bar and Grill. This is a famous biker bar in the area, but not to worry - these are harmless Collin County bikers. Even on regular weekends, people stop and take photos of all the beautiful Harleys lined up outside. While the guys check out the classic cars and hot rods, Lucy's Fabrics will be having an open house from 10 AM - 5 PM with specials, free stuff, and snacks to celebrate our 1-year anniversary in this location. For more info on the Car & Bike Show, click here. http://www.bigslicksbarandgrill.com/page0003.html

For directions, click here. http://www.lucysfabrics.com/information/Our-N-Texas-Store/
The car show is right outside our shop, so you can't miss it. We are not usually open on the weekends, so come on down and check it out!

We don't have a Chamber of Commerce but if we did, my suggestion for the slogan would be: Wesminster, Texas: As Seen on TV as a Rural Panamanian Village in "Prison Break."

New Category: Sewing for Men and Boys.
If ready-to-wear is just not good enough for your man, check out our new collection of fabric for mens' and boys' apparel. With plenty of time to get ready for fall we have some really great technical camo stretch fabric including x-static fabric which has silver fibers. The silver reduces odors.

I will keep on the lookout for new things that will appeal to men and boys (for those of you who sew for male dogs, I know it's hard to find cute fabrics for them and I have not forgotten you!).

On a completely unrelated topic, please note that many of our rhinestone buckles are now special order for quantities of 100 or more. This means that they may take 3-4 weeks for delivery. If you see the image at left on the description, that means that the 3-4 week leadtime applies. So, place your order 4 weeks before you need them in-house and they will be shipped upon arrival, and your credit card will not be charged until they are ready to ship. PayPal and Google Checkout charge automatically (there is no way to control the timing -- it just happens immediately).

For quantities of less than 100, we normally will be able to ship your order the same or the next day. If you have any questions please feel free to ask.

To say thank you for your business and to celebrate the many new arrivals
for Spring and Summer....

Sign up for our newsletter and receive a $10 off coupon code good through April 30. This code will be in your "Welcome" e-mail. This applies to all
orders of $35 or more on lucysfabrics.com. Click on the link below:
http://visitor.constantcontact.com/email.jsp?m=1101746578337&p=oi
After you do this, you will receive a "welcome" email with the coupon code.

If you don't receive it within a few minutes, check your SPAM/bulk mail folder and then
add us to your address book so that you receive future newsletters.
The newsletters are sent a couple of times a month and most, and announce new products,
sales and specials. Of course your information is never shared with anyone.

But hurry - the coupon expires after April 30, 2008.

If you are already signed up, thank you!
If you use the same e-mail address, the sign up form will tell you that you are already on the list.
You will receive the coupon today through our regular newsletter.
Enter the coupon under the payment information, and click"Redeem Code Voucher."

Here is a funny thing - if you live in Texas and use PayPal, it will not compute due to
the sales tax. So, if you live in Texas either use a credit card or we will refund the coupon through PP after the fact.

If something goes wrong please do not hesitate to let me know and your total will be adjusted. We don't mean for it to be tricky - sometimes coupons are like that

check out the newest items here: (4 pages worth!) http://www.lucysfabrics.com/products_new.php Sales, Specials and Coupons: Are valid only for website, telephone and in-store sales. They are limited to stock on-hand and not on special orders. If you have not visited us in a while, check out our new Beautiful Knit Fabrics! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Metallic Knit Group with 4 coordinates: These colors are perfect for Spring & Summer weddings and vacations. The fabric is soft and light with just a little sheen. There is a pleated and a smooth version in saffron and soft pink. (click on the below images to get to the product detail pages). Rayon-Lycra Jersey Prints from Europe: Camo Butterflies and Lace Group in 4-way stretch tricot:

Thank You! Contact Information: Lucy's Fashion Fabrics & Trims www.lucysfabrics.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ toll free: 1-866-544-LUCY / In TX: 972-924-8080 / mail@lucysfabrics.com blog http://lucysfabrics.blogspot.com/ "Bossy Baby Twin" wishes you all a Happy Spring! The blog will explain... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In-person shopping at our brick-and-mortar store - please call for hours.

There have been no blog entries for a while... every spare moment has been consumed with finding our way though our very first Lambing Season. Now we are done having babies! I will miss the excitement of watching the births but I am glad that the moms have all gotten through their pregnancies and births and stayed healthy. We have 6 ewe lambs and 4 ram lambs out of 6 ewes (we have a 7th ewe who got away with not being pregnant this year!).

Here are some of my favorite moments and favorite lambs. Top left are our first babies getting the zoomies. Now they are 1 month old, huge and chewing cuds. Below, left to right: Tinkerbell, who was born half the normal size and required hand-feeding for 4 days but is now doing great under her mom's watchful care. Here she is sitting in the chair, at 3 days old. She is over 2 weeks old and yesterday's newborns still came out taller than she is now. Then we have the opposite end of the spectrum, massive Nigel, our first ram lamb.

Then we have Longface and one of her twins at just a few hours old. She is so named because she has a really long face. She had two longfaced ram twins with huge ears. They look exactly like her. They are all great moms, but she is particularly vigilant.

Below left, Bossy and her babies. The next picture shows her ewe lamb at around a week old. She is in the top 3 of our cutest lambs. The prototypical white, fuzzy little cutie. I am partially bottle feeding her and her sister because sometimes mom's milk is not enough for them. They come running for the bottle when they see me. Happy Spring everyone!