Category: Random Thoughts

Random thoughts and Stuff that I need to share

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Holidays

We should have been in Spain over the Easter holidays, as usually by then I am in desperate need of some sunshine.  It became quite obvious it wasn’t going to happen so we made the most of our #staycation!

In flight movies… 

Eating lovely home made burgers outdoors… (ok it was freezing and we won’t be doing it again)!

Lazy mornings and pancakes for breakfast…

Having small teenager show me how to make proper barista coffee served in my favourite mug…

and in the main, I have been sitting outside in the sunshine reading lots of books, which is just what we usually do on holiday!  It certainly has cost us a lot less money, or it will do when RyanAir give us a refund on flights!!

I am a couple of weeks behind the boredom threshold that most of you will be feeling due to being ill, but what have you all been doing to survive your lockdown?

Stay safe and enjoy the weather if you can.

 

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NHS support

Recently I have been contacted by a few folk making things for the NHS as they were short of supplies.  I have been out of the loop for a couple of weeks due to being poorly, but a quick internet search showed that PPE was sorely needed.  I have a fellow small business owner Claire@waistcoatsunlimited who is making scrubs for the NHS, plus I read that Patrick Grant (yes him from the Sewing Bee) has turned his Northern factory into full time scrubs production. 

         

The first lady to contact me wanted elastic and buttons to make headbands for the nurses as their ears were getting sore.   I donated the supplies in return for some information in case any of you out there wish to contribute.  Here is the info she sent to me, although I don’t know who wants them or how to get them there at the moment!  I am sure that with enough local contacts we will find out soon enough and I will update here.

Reversible Scrub Cap Tutorial (1)

Pattern plus Hair Pocket instructions

PDF_Full_nhs_coronavirus_bag_tutorial_from_Sew_In_Brighton

 

Mr McGregor has been doing his bit to help and has been busy 3D printing headbands that go with an acetate face shield. 50 of these lovelies went to a collection hub yesterday. He got the pattern from the National 3d Printing Society website with all the details.   https://national3dprintingsociety.co.uk/

 

I hope you are all staying safe and if you’re bored, give me a shout, I can arrange an appointment to get to the shop or get some crafty package deliveries going if you are local.  Time for lunch!

Sue

 

 

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The best laid plans

Welcome to Corona Crafting lockdown week 1 blog!

Boris has closed me down for the time being as I am non essential retail (although you try telling an avid crafter they cant get supplies and see where that gets you).   A 3 week business hiatus I thought would be doable, I would accept it with grace and treat it like an enforced holiday.  I had all these grand ideas about what I could fill my newly gained time with;  make a patchwork quilt, sit serenely knitting, or  finally learn how to put on eyeliner with that little flick at the side? 

What have I done so far? Nothing.   Actually, that’s a lie.  I have spent a week reading teenage fiction in the sunshine, catching up on the last few books of a series that I started some years ago in a bid to stay conneced with my large teenager, who very soon won’t be a teenager any longer.    I usually only read for pleasure on holiday, when I voraciously demolish half a dozen novels of varying types although I am partial  to a good thriller.  I love escaping with a book, especially a well-written one that takes you to imagined countries with an exciting life of derring-do and adventure. 

I am having serious problems of late though, as my fiction is clashing with reality just at the moment due to watching a series on TV called “Under the Dome” (Mysterious dome covers small town, panic ensues in the lockdown) and “The Last Ship” (Virus wipes out the world, Navy ship saves the day).  Plus the books (Time travelling teenagers can’t save the world from a pandemic virus from china in 2070)  I am really having problems waking in the morning and wondering what’s real and what isn’t anymore!

This might be my view for a bit longer, as despite taking my Dettol wipes and being REALLY careful, I have managed to come back from a supermarket food shop with some kind of mini lurgy. (Don’t panic, i’m sure it’s nothing)! and just at the moment, I don’t really feel up to making a business plan as to how I can keep the shop afloat for the next 3 months.  Week 2 of lockdown might just involve staying in bed or sitting quietly reading with a constant supply of paracetomol beside me.  I will, however, need some new reading and TV material – Please help me with your suggestions!!!

Stay safe and lurgy free.

best wishes,

Sue xx

 

 

 

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Nearly Advent…

It’s nearly that time of year again and this year I aim to be far more organised! We have the town Christmas lights switch on this Sunday 1st Dec so I shall be wrapping up warm and showing my dad the delights of town on a special event day. It’s always buzzing with lots to see and do regardless of your age. Check out ‘Love Somerton’ on FB.

There are lots of ChrIstmas gift ideas in the shop, ranging from a variety of ready to make kits including candle making, sewing, lino cutting and fimo through to serious buy-all-the-bits bits and bobs and make it from scratch. I have some great box packaging that you can decorate yourself with paint, pens or stamps to make an eco friendly reusable wrapping, or sew your own drawstring bags from fun Christmas fabrics. More of those ideas later as I vow to do a bit more on the bloggy website along with step by step instructions for those who might need them.
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Spring at last

It is lovely to feel that it is spring at last, mind you we have had the daffodils out for quite a while down in Somerset and they are well and truly over now.  The blossom has flowered early due to our mini heatwave and it’s gone cold again so i am back to 3 layers of clothing and my thermal vest in the shop.

The theme for April here at Mrs McGregors is animals, so all the workshops this month have an animal theme. I very carefully made loads of plans and dates and promptly left the notebook at the shop so i can’t populate the online calendar, what a muppet!!!

I do know some of the themes for workshops are making the felt bear from January’s edition of Mollie Makes magazine, felt chicks for Easter, decorated glittery and papery easter eggs and  3d felted bumble bees.  We do have a rogue felted fairy workshop with Steph on Sat. 27th April if you would like to join us do get in touch.

There is still some papercraft left in the shop from our March sale, so if you need 12×12 cardstock, promarkers, stamps, inks and die cut decoupage come on in and have a rummage.

Enjoy your spring and let’s hope for the weather to warm up just a bit.

Hope to see you soon.

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Customers!!

Customers are the blood of any business, it’s what keeps us going.  I  think mine are the best customers in the world.  Three years in, I now have regulars that know what I sell, a few that still say “I never knew you were here” and folks that just pop in to say hello.  Some want advice for projects, some just need a hug and some browse for ages.

We have had conversations aplenty ranging from tucking your vest into your pants (it really IS sooooo much warmer)! Debates about politics, religion, TV and family.  There is a lot of support from my customers  in my little corner in various guises.  The photo is from one customer who sent a pressie when I couldn’t stop crying when my eldest left for university. “Cheer up, chin up and flaming shut up” was the message.

I love my customers and I am thankful for all of them.

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Poppies!

Just at the moment, my life is full of poppies.  This Saturday, Steph Baker is coming to do her monthly crochet workshop and guess what? She is making poppies.  There are a few places left if you fancy coming along. The same afternoon and for most Saturdays in October, I will be outside the shop inviting passers by to make poppies from plastic bottles and give them an upcycle with a bit of paint.

I loved the poppy gates at the entrance to town which gave me the idea.  It took a bit of tracking down to find out that our Scout and Beaver groups had made them back in May for the Forces March that comes through town.   Our landlord Dean is happy for us to decorate the big gate that closes the precinct every night and we thought it would brighten up the place now the hanging baskets are all finished.

If you fancy making your own (with or without the kids), bring them to the shop and when there’s enough to make an impact, i will put them on the gate.

The last poppy related thing is that a beautiful bowl has been donated to raffle off to raise funds for the Royal British Legion. It’s currently in the shop window to view and tickets are available at £1.00 a strip so if you fancy donating or even winning, do pop in the shop and buy some tickets.  The draw will take place on Saturday 10th in the precinct.

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Warmth at last!

Warmth at last!!

Although I am now finding it too hot after this little run of weather. I haven’t blog posted for so long as I have been super busy serving customers and running workshops.  Sometimes we get so busy as the weeks and months seem to slip by and we wonder if or what we have actually achieved.  If I wrote a list of what I did in a 24 hour period, it would reach the bottom of a page, however when it’s mundane stuff like getting the washing out on the line before going to work then we think it’s not worth anything.

There is a movement called “slow stitching” going on at present. It means exactly that: enjoy your stitching slowly. We are always in such a rush to get onto the next job, we forget to enjoy where we are right now.  I am going to try and enjoy right now a little more often.  I am sure it won’t help me achieve more, but at least I will be happy living ‘in the moment’ for a bit.

Slow down, do less, go deeper, be still.

Sue 🙂

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Happy New Year!

Well my New Year has started a day late due to flu hitting the McGregor household, but that really doesn’t bother me, as this year I have some extra thought time about making resolutions.  It has been quite some years since I consciously thought about New Year Resolutions, probably the last one being to do more coffee and cake with friends (yes it really was)!

This year, however, I have given serious thought to being thankful for what I have and my whole mantra for the year is going to be “Making the Most of What I have Got”  (MTMOWIG ??? maybe not..).  This might involve using up what’s in the cupboards for tea, upcyling my current wardrobe, using that stash in the shop, being thankful that friends encourage me to close the shop for 30 mins and steal me for coffee in the precinct, looking at what’s on my doorstep or in my town already rather than going elsewhere or shopping online. OK, I might have to concede there with teenage boys birthday presents, but hey I can give it a try for everything else can’t I?

I would also like to get the hang of social media this year and get to grips with the whole bloggy thing, so apologies if you really don’t want me droning on, just skip past your Facebook feed there and just keep your eye on the website for workshop details instead.  After a lovely catch up with Jo @adventuresandteaparties before Christmas, she also gave me a boost to go for some online sales, so those of you that live far away can access some lovely handmade Mrs McGregor’s goodies hopefully before the end of the year!  I may be asking some of you to test drive the products or the postal system for me as a bit of market research, so do let me know if you are interested.

Well, our belated New Years Day tea beckons, along with the Christmas crackers that I forgot for Boxing Day and the puddings that went unmade and uneaten due to the lurgy are still in their boxes.  It doesn’t matter, as I am making the most of what I have tonight, which is a slightly less germy bug free tea time with the people I love most, for which I am seriously thankful.

 

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Tools of the Trade

Some of you may know that occasionally on a Saturday, I demonstrate for docrafts, an art supplies company and often sit in The Range stores making cards and showing customers how to use all the equipment and materials they sell.  If you have come into Mrs McGregor’s and met my glamorous, talkative, large teenager on a Saturday, this is why he is manning the shop.

Obviously, being a papercrafting professional, many tools are required to do a neat and tidy job and your bag should be packed and ready for all occasions.  Sadly, this week, I opened my bags to find my best toolkit missing AND I had completely neglected to pack utensils to eat my lunch with.     I considered ringing hubby to do an emergency leather-clad dash on his motorbike to bring me said toolkit, then found out it was Weston Air Show that day and considering all things, the shop was likely to be rather quiet, given the scorching day it was and that everyone would be down the beach.

So, not to be defeated, I had a serious rummage in my handbag and managed the following (see above).  I can’t say that cutting out intricate stamped shapes of crabs to adorn my cards was easy, nor cutting fine ribbon to make bows. However, the tiny fold up scissors were better than nothing and I said a silent thank you prayer to my mum who always had a pair in her handbag.  I am so glad to have followed in her footsteps by carting various items of oddness around with me in my own handbags these last 20 years!

Well, I ate my salad with the spoon (interesting), stirred my coffee with the pen (before finding the spoon..) and had a fairly quiet day to myself making cards whilst everyone in Somerset was out in the sunshine or down the beach.  It’s a good job nobody was seriously interested in the tools of the trade that day.  Needless to say, on arriving home I found said toolkit right on top of the cupboard where I keep my papercraft stash.

Until next time, have a great creative week, whatever you are up to.

Sue