Thornbury in Bloom......

Thornbury is my favourite place. I have lived here for more than 40 years, and have never fallen out of love with it.  I have always loved the High Street - I've watched it change so much over the years, and fondly remember some of the old shops that used to be here.....Dorothy Gubbins and her penny sweets (we used to get 4, yes 4 blackjacks for a penny!), the old pipe makers shop next door and the smell that used to come from there, Mrs Rugman and the pet shop, and many more including my favourite shop ever and the reason I am owner of a wool shop now - Pats Wool Shop. Here I bought my first ball of wool when I was 14 years old, and here I thought.....'I'd love to own a wool shop, what a great job'.

 

(Photo above is Thornbury High Street in the 1960's when I moved here and as I first remember it!) 

Well, several careers (and many years) later, I was in a position to do just that and The Wool Stop was created just over 2 years ago. I am 'living the dream' and having the most fun in any job I have ever had, however its not as simple as it seemed all those years ago when I just thought I could sit and knit the day away.....customers, stocking up, ordering, accounts, orders, cleaning, tidying, workshops, banking, posting, supporting and marketing via social media take up most of my days. And on top of all this there's the charity knitting - always something on the go for a charity, always lots of wonderful knitters out there willing to help out. Most recently (and the point of this post!) is the Thornbury in Bloom project. Thornbury enters the Britain in Bloom competition every year, and wins prizes every year. You cannot fail to see the beautiful hanging baskets and floral displays around the town, and this year I very proudly got to be a tiny part of it......I was asked by the Thornbury in Bloom team to make some hanging baskets for some of the empty brackets on some of the shops. With a wonderful team of ladies working with me, we managed to produce 11 beautiful flowery baskets which today went up on show about the town for judging day. They look fabulous, and there have been so many comments from customers and non customers popping into the shop it has made all the hours of knitting, crocheting and wiring worth it. 

What I am most chuffed about (apart from all the ladies who made such an effort to help!) is the fact that little old Tina Mason, quiet as a mouse and picked on all throughout school, is now running a shop in my favourite town in my favourite High Street and that shop is becoming part of the Community  - a community where most people care about their surroundings and the people in it. I am today, very proud.

A huge thankyou to all of my ladies who knitted and crocheted their fingers off to make the baskets, you are all fab! Drinks are on me at Knitter Natter :-) And thankyou to Guy and Andrea from Thornbury in Bloom for asking us to take part - I really hope the judges liked the pretty flowery town as much as we do!!

The woolly baskets will come down today, as they are needed next week for the National Judging day on the 30th July - good luck to Thornbury, the town looks beautiful.

And now I have finished knitting flowers, I just dont know what to do.......

(I'm sure I'll find something though!!)

Hope to see you soon

Tina xxx