Monday 25 May 2020

Lockdown

In this Time of Pandemic, lockdown has forced a few changes (!) and for me, one or two of them have been positives. One of those is that I’ve never seen so much of The Coven. We usually try to get together once a month for a pub supper and catch up, and once a month we all go to the Artful Angels crop. as you know though, gentle reader, we gals have to be flexible and it’s sometimes 3 months before we can all be together either at Crop or in a pub. That’s real life, innit.
Over the last eight or nine weeks though, we’ve managed at the least, to get together online once a week to craft whilst we chat . It means that I’ve disciplined myself to be ready for the call, and have done many more scrapbook pages than I would have normally in two months! I’ve also sorted through some old photos and been ‘inspired’ to use them. You can tell they’re old because in some cases, the colour in the picture is decidedly iffy, and other big clues like the fact that you know already that our baby gal is actually a grown woman who chooses not live with her Mummy and Daddy anymore. 
I’ve also been using my Basic Grey collections. They no longer make/print scrapbook papers and I think I felt it might be wrong to use them. But of course, I’ve seen the light. Even if I use them, they’re still in my possession after all. This may be subtle way of saying you may never get a card made with scraps of BG from me! They are, in the main, frighteningly busy patterns, which makes me sort of shut my eyes and just get on with it! I’m still scrapping in that one photo format, it clearly is my formula. although these pics are old, I also think that I’m aware that this is my formula because despite digital photography and that thing where you take 10 pictures of the same thing because you can, I often don’t now. Subliminally unable to cope with the choices I end up with!
I’ve made quite a pile since The Coven began meeting once a week. When this is all over, some sort of ‘normal’ returns and my furloughed friends have to return to their real days, I wonder if I’ll miss this feature of lockdown? I would very much like the opportunity to find out!

6 comments:

Helen said...

I haven't done any online crafting, barely any full stop.. I almost envy people with lots of time on their hands. Enjoy your new normal for as long as you can! I too am looking forward to the old normal!

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

I have to agree those Basic Gray pages are very busy. I really like them, though. I think I have a few that are 8 inch square and they are printed on both sides, which means I lose half what I paid for.

Regardless, I love what you have created. I have no software for visiting other like minded artists. I might be more motivated if I did. Right now, I'm just enjoying when people walk past my home and we wave to each other. So different from before when people flew by in cars with not a care in the world. In a way, I actually like this new normal. So does Planet Earth.

Kathryn Frantz said...

Enjoy your fond speak of the Coven! Wish they all were closer to me!
I Skype or FaceTime with a friend in Idaho, but we do not craft together. We do share the recent Happy Mail or the new technique either of us has tried. (note: the new stencil technique by Jennifer McGuire is really messy! Perhaps because I do not have the same brand of baby wipes....ya think?)
Thanks for being "here" Julia! Say "Hi" to the mister!! Is he bored with the lockdown business?

K

Sue said...

Hi Julia, Lovely LOs.

Glad you are able to keep in touch with The Coven.

Take c are and stay safe. Sue

Lisa-Jane said...

We've been the same. It's making me set aside some actual crafting time every week, because we have an appointment. No idea why I can't make an appointment with myself every week anyway but it sort of legitimizes it when other people are involved doesn't it?! I've loved our scrappy zoom sessions and I really hope they continue and "normal" doesn't get in the way. There have certainly been a lot of lovely things to come out of this awful awful time.

Doone said...

hello Mrs D long time no contact.. my fault I forget its wednesday as we live in permenant self imposed hermitude, I've started painting again now we have a roof over our heads ( though no kitchen or bathroom to sepa of) and I was looking through my photos to gather potential portraiats, found one of you form the pottery day from Morti's hen do - may i ask your permission to make a protrait from it? Hope you are all riding the birus wave safely it is a profound changer of lives... dxxxx