Issue sewing bulky fabrics on LSZ-1

I've had my LSZ-1 (I call him Popeye) a few months now; I make 'handbags'.   I recently tried sewing a bag that is inconsistently lumpy and find that getting it under the presser foot was very difficult.  It seems that when the needle is raised, the feeddogs are 'up' interfering with moving the fabric underneath.  Upon checking closer, I find that to get the feeddogs lowered, the needle is in the down position which interferes with putting the fabric underneath.  Am I missing something that I should know? Anybody familiar with this scenario or have any suggestions?  "bscuzz"

Thank you Matt Grant for your reply.  

I had a similar problem with some loosely woven upholstery fabric which just did not want to go over the feed dogs without catching.  I solved the problem by placing a piece plastic cut from the side of a gallon milk jug over the feed dogs.  With the plastic in place I could slide the fabric over the plastic and under the presser foot.  When everything was aligned, I pulled out the plastic and started sewing.  It was a little troublesome, but it worked.

I agree - very clever!  Thank you for the suggestion . . I think a piece of milk jug plastic is gonna be a permanent part of my sewing bucket . . right along with my seam ripper, ruler, stiletto and Sailrite handbook!    bscuzz