Mooloo's little tapestry of life, 2016

Savvy_sewing

I do plan to have holidays, I just don't want to shut the shop for two weeks.
I want to try and get the staff to keep it open when I have a break. Even if it means reduced opening hours. The reason I suppose is that I plan for the retail side of the business and think that the loss of sales could be justifiable in paying wages. Well I have to pay the basic wages to them anyway. Time will tell.

Savvy_sewing

It appears quite a few traders are closed on a Monday. I was quiet but still had work come in. However I was not in the right frame of mind to sew today and luckily there wasn't a mass of work.

So I will tell you a story.
During the Summer I made quite a lot of Roman Blinds. One lady gave me the measurements, ( incorrectly it turned out), and I made the blinds to fit her measurements. She returned them as they were 10cm too short. I checked them, checked my measurements and I had made them as agreed. However she disputed she had given me the wrong measurements and as my staff had written it down, and not given the woman the top copy ( so she could have read and noticed a discrepancy, I gave her the benefit of the doubt, and as a guesture of good will, I paid for new fabric, and remade them. At a significant loss to me.
Suddenly in December, 4th, she wrote a letter to me complaining about the blinds and listed a long list of so called faults.
Needless to say I was distressed, amazed, worried, and didn't sleep much, lost confidence, worried etc
It took me 2 days to write a response. Of which I stated my surprise and dismay, and asked her to return them so we could look st them together X
I heard nothing until after Christmas when there was a telephone message to say she wanted to bring them in, but it didn't say when. So I rang, left a message asking her to make an appointment so I could be sure I would be there. I didn't hear anything until late Friday afternoon. When she telephoned to say she would come in Today at 4.30.
So my stomach was all in knots again. ( I hate confrontation).
I was a wreck all day today, had no staff and was very distracted. One of my good customers came in and asked me what was wrong, so I told her. She said She couldn't believe I would produce work that was supposedly so bad and offered to stop with me. But I said no it would be OK, but thanks for the support.
Anyway at 4.15 a man came in asking if his wife was there, and I said she was due at 4.30. so he went and said he would be back. So for the next 15 minutes I worried and fretted as I knew two of them would be in to deal with the situation. ( 2 against one loomed in my mind).
So they duelly returned and placed the blinds on the desk.
They complained the folds were not even, the mechanism broken, and pieces missing.
So I turned them over. All the pieces were still there, they had just come undone, the clips had been pulled off of the rods.
So I showed them how to clip them on.
Told them they need to decide where they want the folds and then gently press them, so you "train" the blind where to go.
Nothing was broken, nothing was in even. The only fault was I had left a pin in a tape at the end of a rod, it just needed 4 stitches hand sewn to secure the ends.
So from demanding £232 and telling me she will have to buy more fabric if she could get it, and find someone else to make them turns out that. They didn't look at the blinds after the person they paid to hang them had hung them. That there is nothing wrong with my work at all.
So I have been stressed and doubting my skills, and even turned away blind orders as I lost my confidence.

So I can hopefully sleep well tonight knowing that it was not so drastic and they have gone home to get someone to put them back up.

dktreesea

Goodness, you must have the patience of a saint to deal with a customer like that! Sounds like an unpleasant experience on top of everything. I would have also thought, after owning something for 6 months, the lady in question could have worked out how the blinds work by then? It's a long time to wait to complain, isn't it?


I'm not sure blinds are worth the hassle, short of doing like the lady downstairs does, - a list of terms and conditions as long as your arm. I laughed the first time I saw them, saying did she really expect anyone to read them. But she had been caught a long time ago making a wedding dress. Took the measurements and made it but in between time the bride to be put on a stone, so she had to do a lot more work she hadn't counted on altering it.


Customers. Can't live with them, can't live without them. Thank goodness you have Portugal to look forward to.

Savvy_sewing

The SW can't come this week now so it's a meeting at school next week now.
I really am concerned about DGD. We read the Big Bag of worries again tonight. after DGD had talked to her Mum on Skype, and she had to get ready for bed, she suddenly ran at the freezer saying she was naughty.
I didn't handle it very well as I told her I would have to take her to the doctors as she can't do these things . I really don't know what is going on in her mind ( hence another read of the book).
She is a very mixed up little girl. I told her nobody should hurt anybody, least of all them selves. Trying to work out why she seems to do one on her self rather randomly,?but I don't know.
Love and cuddles, trying to explain, nothing seems to work. I try to dig and get the odd reply. She seems to drag up something that may have happened but it was definitely a while ago, so she's got a huge bag of worries that needs someone to sort out with her. I'm trying but failing miserably.
After we read the book, I told her about my bag of worries over that blind.
How in the end I made myself poorly and stressed over something that was a bit of nothing in the end.
But I'm not sure I'm much help.

dangers

Who knows what goes on in the minds of those such as your dear gd?
Sending you both big hugs. Is there anybody at school she can talk to?

Savvy_sewing

dangers wrote: »

Who knows what goes on in the minds of those such as your dear gd?
Sending you both big hugs. Is there anybody at school she can talk to?

I will talk to the Deputy head tomorrow or email her if I can't.
This is where I feel I need training how to deal with her issues.
I had a brief fear of failure earlier, but then I told myself I'm doing the best I can. I have always done the best I can, and after today's little lesson on worries, that I must try and be more mindful, and stop the little nagging voices in my own head from steering me wrong. That showing her love and cuddles, keeping her bond with her Mum, and talking to her when she wants to talk is positive and I am doing my best. I can't go beating myself up over things I don't know about, and as long as I do my best, be open with her, and those who I ask for help, then that's all I can do.
On that note I am going to try to get some sleep, and will take some valerian too.

Savvy_sewing

Morning.
Well I had strange dreams, but not bad dreams and only consciously woke once in the night. I still feel tired, but hopefully my shower in a bit will wash that all away.
On the work front I am joined by the other seamstress today, and there is not very much to do. So I am going to get her going on the customers work and I am going to do the blinds ( another alteration that came in), up on the top deck. Then I am hoping to have another go on my big embroidery machine and see if I can do some Valentine themed work on it. I need to do some creating to get my mojo back after the (unnecessary) hit it has taken this last month. I need to fall back in love with sewing.

My Guardianship allowance has it been paid, and that is what I use to pay for DGDs after school club, the babysitter and the savings in to the ISA. So I have had to take money back out of the ISA today to cover the short fall.
I had hoped it would be in today, as it's usually paid on a Monday, but no such luck.
I also realised that with swapping my other bank account, I haven't yet got the on line banking sorted out, and the fact that my iPhone has lost the App Store will be a problem. I won't be able to download the app!

On the brighter side of life, I only have two more sleeps before my weekend away.

Savvy_sewing

Busy doing nothing, working the whole day through. ....
I never stopped but I hardly did any sewing, and didn't get to play at all.
Such was my day.
It started with a meeting at the school, then a meeting with staff about the work planned. A meeting with a customer about designs etc for her next jacket. Etc. Several enquirers and a few small repairs.
Tomorrow I have the dentist mid day. I had forgotten until I got a text. So my day will have to be changed around as the dentist is miles away.

dktreesea

Someone on another site put me onto this site (for the free knitting patterns);
http://www.craftsy.com/my/home
You join to access the site - I did it through an email I rarely use rather than facebook, but I thought some of their patterns might give you ideas for making things... I liked some of their quilt patterns.


I was an older mum. In some ways I regret it, which is silly because I am regretting something I couldn't possibly know, though I did have the chance at the time, being a teenage or early 20s mum. I found I didn't have the patience that I thought I might have had when I was younger. But you know what - I did the best I could, which is what you are doing. At least you are there for your DGD and helping out.

Savvy_sewing

Time for bed. I indulged my self with an evening in front of the telli. Silent Witness being my last indulgence.
I am beginning to feel in the holiday mode, but with so much to still do before we fly on Thursday breakfast, I probably will be regretting I didn't do more this evening. Oh well.

So the revised plan is to get up etc as usual. To take DGD to school, to come home and change the bed ready for twin1, then to do the general housework etc, defrost something for tea, and tidy my room ready for them.
To get to Weedon for the dentist. Visit Mum, X catch up with Biggest of Mooloo, ( her MSE name), then to get back to collect DGD, and to make sure all is well. Then after tea to go to my friends and stop there as twin1 will be here in my room, ( oh and pick up travel cot from DS).
We will need to be at the airport by 5am
But we will expect to land in Portugal at 10.10 am Thursday. Giving us 3 days there. We will be back Sunday Lunch all going well.
I see the forecast is changing and it's now expected to be an adverage16 degrees so a few degrees less then at the beginning of the week.
I'm hoping to visit Faro centre and portemio possibly as years ago when I used to go I never went to the town's as it was too hot and pools and beaches were the order of the day.

Can you tell where my head is?
Although it doesn't help that the guardianship funding hasn't appeared in my bank, so I haven't been able to pay the childcare yet, ( that's what it all goes on, childcare and a bit of savings for dgd.
Will need to call them to find out why.
I better go and get "mindful". I need to switch the nags and the un invited thoughts off, or I will never sleep.
Night