waiting...

yes, that's what i'm doing... waiting.
the clock is ticking, i have less than one hour until the 'delightful' members of the shed walk back through the door and i find myself waiting... poised to jump the minute etsy's 'back up' from their little maintenance thingy that's going on.

i was half way through listing dear cybil, an autumn apron wrap when she vanished before my eyes.


it might very well have been 'told' ahead of time but i don't loiter much on etsy looking for these things... perhaps i should, thus avoiding my waiting and "oh crap" issues of today

so as we wait perhaps i may take this 'waiting period' to tell you how much i appreciated your 'doily abuse' support of yesterday... i am no longer fearful to put them in my etsy store.
yes indeedy, for i arose this morning with determination in my 'self', to get some cracking good pics done so my 'doily whatnots' have a chance to shine in all their glory.
i'm not sure they are crackingly good pics, as there was a chill in the air and my little hands were a wee bit iffy, but they will suffice for today's listing attempts.

here's a little ganders of what else i am waiting to list, just to pass the time...





i am now off to open a belated birthday gift i found lurking in the mail box this morning, which i put to one side as a treat for 'after my listing' was done... i am most excited by this 'lurking gift' for i do believe it will once and for all, lay the 'panini episode of 2008' to rest...

she will return tomorrow with news of a 'tempter' living under her roof, who appears to not be fully onboard with her thrifty shopping habits (gasp, shock, horror) ~ Tif
footynote: and as if by magic, the wonderful world of etsy is back again... parcel will have to wait, my little store is calling me :)

Wish list Wednesday



RUBYrecycled




SallyTiffan

Have a very happy day! Leah

my 'doily doubting' ways...

i am busy today beavering away on something i wish to share with you next week.
(ah ha, yet another tale of intrigue and mystery to leave you 'hanging on')

however, before i get back to my 'beavering' ways i do have something else to share with you.
something i like,
but interestingly, i am quite 'hesitant' to unveil today.


usually i don't think twice, after all you are such a lovely lot when it comes to supporting me and my crafting epiphanies. this time however i'm 'hesitant' for it involves doilies
("oh blimey, Tif... what's the big fuss about? doilies are as old as the hills and you've had them in your work since time began")

you are quite right, dearest readers... but there is a difference.
this time i fear a hush will descend and then the term 'doily abuser' will start to ripple through the audience, whispered at first, then louder until a crescendo is reached and the chanting of "doily abuser" will be heard across all cyberland.

it started last week when the lovely dani emailed me with a question.
that little question prompted 'something' tucked far away in a drawer marked "for future crafting" to open, within my brain. it was like a "oh yes!" moment and so i got to work, and after the weekend i had the results of my efforts laid out before my clan.


they picked up my 'doily whatnot dishes', turned them around, inspected them closely... i might even add, marvelled somewhat as to how they were made...
then the question came
"are you going to put them in your etsy shop?" my man enquired
"i think so" i replied, still pondering, as to whether or not i had abused a doily


she is going to list them tomorrow (gulp) along with other goodies and perhaps locate some ear plugs just in case ~ Tif

Quick crochet makeover

Here we have Exhibit A: a filthy, horrible, tippy-over kitchen stool. Inexplicably beloved by all who live here, it would be unforgiveable to get rid of it, but the grubby state was driving me mad...
So, after a few evenings in front of the telly with hook in hand, a new cover was created. It was quite simple, so there's no pattern: just keep working in rounds, increasing about every 10 stitches. For the pink and green stripes, I worked in the back loops only, to create a ribbed stripe. To make the sides, just work in rounds without increasing until it is long enough, then for the final 2 rounds, decrease about every 10 stitches. (And don't worry if it comes out a bit uneven or lumpy... once it is pulled taut over the seat, you won't even notice.)

So. It's still tippy-over, but at least it's pretty.

Approval: granted

olive & crochet...

little olive received her 'blankie of the utmost kind' on saturday.


i finished it on friday, but once again had selfish thoughts of keeping it all to myself... on saturday little olive discovered my original 'blankie of the utmost kind', was overcome with it's loveliness, decided it was truly an 'utmost blankie' and took it for herself.

now before we exclaim at her 'wayward' ways, we must remember that little olive has known the delights of 'crocheted goodness' since ten weeks old, thus causing her to crave for it's warmness and 'nest ability' potential at all times.
in her defense, i do not believe little olive stood a chance when coming upon such a blankie that begged to be 'loved' and so she lost her sense of 'right from wrong', giving into the moment without thinking of the 'naughtiness of her actions'.

i discovered the 'crime' in action, seeing a 'streak of rainbow' whizz past my ankles, fly off the step into the living room and end at it's destination, little olive's 'other basket'. (the first one being in the kitchen). where all good things are taken to be loved, licked and treasured.

"i don't think so" i exclaimed running close behind, imagining all sorts of horrors that could befall my little blankie. but i was wrong to 'doubt' her intentions, they were all purely honourable... all she wanted was to love my little blankie like it were her own and how could i blame her?
there was nothing for it but to collect finished 'blankie number two' and trade.
now i'm happy
and she is happy


i have a small amount of yarn left and am thinking 'a chill' is in the air as we head into autumn and perhaps i need to fashion her a little 'sweater vest' to match.
thus when she sits upon her little blankie in her little crocheted vest, she can take on special superhero powers like 'invisibility' and go on to save the world...

she thinks she is on a slippery slope heading fast towards the title of 'mad dog' woman ~ Tif

Snippets

Hello, I have been very busy with my "real" job and scrapping away for CraftQueen for the past few days. I can't share any of my scrapping just yet.

Here are some little birdies I created last week.




and just a tiny little scrapping peak, (this kit is just gorgeous!!)




Have wonderful week! Leah

Painting the fence

One of the big advantages of owning a home rather than renting is that you can paint anything you like without needing permission. (Of course, the downside is that you have to pay for it too...) So, last weekend we did just that.


Here is the before shot. This fenceline was crowded with shrubbery which blocked out a lot of light, so we cut that back several months ago. That only left approximately 18 square metres of corrugated iron to paint...


I chipped off some samples of green paint from the fence that was already painted, and we took it to the paint shop to match. The colour we chose was as close as possible, and it looked fine... until the sun shone on it! Then I realised that the colour we'd chosen (a lovely deep, blue-based bottle green) was completely different to the previous colour (brown-based, more of a khaki green). But only when the sun shines directly on it - in the shade, they both look extremely similar.

There was a little bit of paint left, so I painted over the old paint. I ran out just before I got to the end, but at least it's not so obvious now. I'm very happy with the way the fence looks - it freshens the whole back yard up. And now all that's left is to fill the border garden with my summer vegetables.

snippets of color...

when it came to looking around the shed, with camera in hand, for all the 'extra color' i had been noticing of late, it soon became obvious to me that most of the 'extra color' came from piles of stuff like laundry and other such 'nonsense' that has appeared in recent days whilst i've been busy with miss ethel.

but i said i would bring you snippets of color and so i shall...
some you have seen before
some you may not
some you may find quite lovely
and some you may not
but i hope you will agree, they are indeed snippets of color...

thread in a bowl


bathroom towels


knitting needles




yarn in a bowl


family portraits by my brother


little olive's finished blankie


buttons in a dish


our #4's closet curtain


ceramic bird from freemont sunday market




and moi in the mirror, found at freemont sunday market in the most 'peachy perfect' color and yes! i am wearing pink... will wonders never cease


and before i head to my bed, may i just take a moment to say thank you for all the lovely birthday wishes you sent my way...
or in the comment section of my ramblings
or perhaps my dottie angel inbox.
you truly have been most generous with your good wishes
and i start my weekend feeling most lucky to have you as my friends.

she is quietly thinking how humbled she feels by the challengers that have joined her and their reasons for doing so ~ Tif

Weekend Deals

For more great Aussie weekend deals pop in
here Have a great weekend! Leah

to twitter or not to twitter...

"have you been on your twitter yet?"
my man asked late last night as he started his work.
"yes, but i'm not sure i'm any good at it" i replied dejected from the couch, with my blankie in hand... a billion loose ends needing to be tucked away.
my dejection, due to not only the mammoth task of 'finishing off' said blankie but also due to 'Mr thrifty devil', making it all up.
no such 'cardie of lust appeal' was on the racks in my thrift store.
it was all totally crappity crap...
and so it set me thinking about just how hard this challenge could get if one were to need a certain something. not just a 'happen to come across it, oh so lovely' thrifty find but a 'i need it to replace a broken something' thrifty find.


my man proceeded to take a look at my blog on his laptop...
we always go through the "what's the name of it again?" business (i know!) and then he marveled at how fabby his three columns were looking, which i then pointed out looked that way because i had come in afterwards to do a complete overhaul of the 'messy layout' i had been left with...
anyhow, after patting himself on the back for a job well done he clicked on my 'twitter button' and after a few seconds, he started to chuckle, then boldly laughed out loud, ending with what looked to me like tears in his eyes...
"what is it... what's so funny?" i asked becoming slightly alarmed, my 'non cardi thrifty finds' vanishing from my thoughts.

"well, it's like some computer generated system has twittered for you... it's like a code, like someone said you can construct a sentence but only use two verbs and one noun"
he then continued
"and what is a counch?"
"what!" i scrambled off my seat
"you've written 'olive is trying to destroy counch inners'... would that be a couch/sofa or were you talking about a conch shell we happen to have hanging around" to which he chuckled even more...
after his chuckling was done, he decided to offer some advice.
now dearest readers, this is where i imagine you are shaking your heads... for you too are thinking what i am thinking. there are times to pick, when offering advice and perhaps a 'wise man' may not pick this time to offer up such info.
but my man was not a 'wise man', he was a 'foolish man' and so continued upon his 'let me enlighten you' ways, when all he had to do was look up from his laptop screen and read my face like a book, to know the 'unwiseness' of his 'wellmeaningness'.
(that's rather an exciting sentence, i'm quite pleased with that)

"so Tif," he continued "you need to get interesting, you need to twitter from the thriftstore" (sore point indeed) "perhaps from the chicken coop, that sort of thing. i would also advise you to actually construct sentences that are readable, so people know what you are twittering on about".

i replied, quite in control i felt for one who felt a 'twitter fool' of the worst kind...
"but how do i do that when i have a cell phone built in the dark ages, i have no texting talent and no internet access. plus i do feel another thing not going in my 'on the road' twittering favor is the screen is jippy at times, it chooses not to divulge information other than a neon looking blob for viewing purposes? how pray, is one suppose to 'twitter on the go', with such a phone? plus"
i added
"i don't actually know how to twitter in normal sentences, i don't blog in normal sentences half the time. i can't write in a normal way... i fear i am, and i will always be, a creator of sentences who has a mental block when it comes to mainstream writing"
and with a sigh i added
"perhaps i am not cut out for twittering"
to which i promptly went to bed.
feeling like an utter 'twittering' fool... i should never have attempted such a thing.

this morning i mentioned to my man that i felt rather 'put out' by his amusement last night at my twittering expense...
to which he said "it's a new day Tif, just move on".
which 'put me out' even more, until i thought in my head
"oh, sod him" i then felt much better...
since my 'sod him' moment, i have spent many a happy hour with miss ethel, making apron wraps whilst 'little olive' licks off this morning's applied vanilla body lotion from my ankles.


and then dearest readers, i picked myself up off my sewing chair, dusted myself down and purposefully strode over to my desk chair and began to twitter...

she will return tomorrow with 'snippets of color' to start the weekend off on a happy note ~ Tif
footynote: if in anyway i have painted my man in a negative light, this is purely intentional... the 'power of the blogger' can be a mighty fine thing

Piggy tails


Our little girl has piggy tails, of course I couldn't get a good photo, but they are super cute. So much fun after 3 boys! ♥♥♥♥♥

the devil goes down to 'thrifting'...

tonight i should be going to puppy training classes, i have been going for five weeks...
but i alas i cannot go, for i have to play truant.
i may pay for my 'skipping class' ways, but i am beside myself with needing to get a thrifty fix, i have 'the shakes' and 'the sweats' and it isn't pretty.

i find it extraordinary that my puppy trainer chooses to run her class on the very same evening, at the very same time, as was my regular 'thrifting time'.
for five weeks i have driven past the thrift store and headed straight to class like a good girl. removed little olive from the car and taken her into the 'lions den' full of big, big puppies that all wish little olive to be 'theirs'.
for five weeks i have watched her look at me with those eyes that say "why? please tell me, what have i ever done to you?" ( i could list a few words like couch, carpet, chicken poo, but it seems unfair when in the lions den)
i was all set to go tonight, i felt strongwilled enough to put my thrifting evening once again to the sidelines and then it happened.

i blame my mother.
("ooooh, Tif... that's just wicked that is!" i hear you exclaim)
quite right you are dear readers, a very wicked thing to say, especially as my mother is a lovely caring soul who goes about her busy day in old blighty, traipsing the charity stores and vintage stalls on my behalf. apart from the lovely linens and lace she finds, she also sends me magazines from across the pond so i may enjoy a read with my cup of tea.

and that is precisely what caused me to fall from the straight and narrow, allowing me to lose my 'puppy training' driven ways and to start hearing
"just think Tif, could be something just peachy perfect waiting for you tonight" in my little ear... oh yes, the thrifty devil is back on my shoulder making me say such wicked words about my mother.

let me enlighten you...
yesterday, it was an ordinary evening in the life of moi, as i 'hopped, skipped and jumped' to the mail box (actually it was more like stumble, due to lack of daylight and street lighting) however it really doesn't matter how i got there, but i did... and within the piles of 'dullness' was an envelope from my mother containing


i love reading this magazine, i feel it gives me hope that one day, in years to come i may just have digested a piece of valuable 'country living' advice and put it into practise. thus far in my life, i tend to just gaze at the pictures of lovely back yards, prized veggie patches and fabulous cooking advice, daydreaming and a wishing.
as i flipped quickly through, whilst looking like i was clearing the kitchen, picking up used socks, shouting instructions to death ears around the shed, my eyes alighted
upon page 97.


and that is where i fell by the wayside.


the most loveliest of lovely fashion pages...


perfect in every way
showing me what i already know to be true


floral and knits are a match made in heaven...
and then i started to 'twitch'.
i 'twitched' several times further
and
by the time i reached page 102,


the 'thrifty devil' had appeared upon my shoulder.
"so what you going to do Tif, you can't buy new... but just think, a cardie of similar 'lust appeal' could be waiting for you on the thrifty racks as we stand here"
(gulp!)
"but i have no time this week dearest devil, my evenings are taken up in a perpetual round of dance, gym, soccer, school events and puppy classes" i fought back...
"you light weight, call yourself a 'handcrafted thrifty' mama, since when did you ever let family life get in the way of a 'thrifty kill'... you're going soft in your old age" and he continued to taunt me, even at bedtime as he made himself comfy upon my pillow.
as i fell into a slumber i recall myself making a 'pact with the thrifty devil' and his charming ways.

and so here i am this morning, already thinking of a 'fibbing excuse' for missing class and another 'fibbing excuse' to the kids as to why we can't go.
is it enough to say
"well your mama needs to go thrifting for a cardigan"?
no it is not
i need to get canny, i need to get good at deceit
i need to ask the advice from my new friend 'mr thifty devil' on my shoulder...

she shall return tomorrow, with news of whether the 'thrifty kill' was worth the 'fibs' and if not, she is thinking perhaps fashioning something from the underneath of her couch which has appeared upon her floor, courtesy of little olive ~ Tif
footynote: all images courtesy of the fabby 'country living' magazine that appeared in my mail box

Wishlist Wednesday



Finki





brokenhallelujah



Finki


Hello, here is my list for today ♥ Have a great day, we are busy with school holidays, lots on my "to do" list! Leah

little olive and a colorful moment...

i woke with a great long 'to do' list this morning.
all quite nice things as i failed to write the 'horribly dull' stuff on the list, thus making my list look rather 'arty and crafty', rather than 'maidy and cooky'...


i have not succeeded in any of the things as two other things not listed, have got in the way.

thing number 1: my blog...
the layout is doing my head in, having added an extra sidebar, courtesy of my man... i was left with an 'all so busy look' to bother my waking thoughts.
i have to say i don't usually give my blog layout much thought but this has been 'nagging at me' since sunday night... anyhow after a lot of 'toing and froing' from my photo folder to my blog, i have achieved a layout that 'pleases me' enough to move on, thank goodness.

and

thing number 2: miss pesky olive...
who is driving me to distraction today. i have decided she is an attention seeker, which is to be expected of a little puppy... when the shed is full of 'comings and goings' she is happy as a lamb and as sweet as can be.
when it's just dull old me and used dog, she starts to play the squirrel nutkin thing to a 'tee'.
this morning i applied my new birthday moisturizer kindly gifted to me by my girls... "ooo, lovely" i said as i applied it and breathed in the vanilla fragrance.
i then went about my day feeling quite special, as nice moisturizer is not something i usually buy for myself. (nor, can i from now on...)
"how thoughtful" i said to myself, thinking it most lovely my family had taken on board my challenge and given me 'useful and thoughtful' gifts for the coming year. (and yes, i did get woolly socks)

after several minutes of being downstairs, little olive made a bee line for my legs... for the past hour i have been continuously 'bathed' by her little licky tongue. i fear i will never beable to use my birthday 'oh so special' moisturizer again and more to the point, i am this close to running out the door and just hosing my legs down in the yard. as much as i love a 'little lick' every now and then, i draw the line at having dried puppy saliva all over my lower legs...
oh and here she comes again... and voila! as i am tippity tapping on the keys she sits below 'washing me'... i shall have to practise the art of 'ignoring' for me to get through this...

and so my plan today was not to talk 'dog saliva' to you but 'color', dearest readers.
i noted yesterday as i 'guest posted' for emma's lovely weekly feature 'colour your monday happy', just how much color has filtered into my life.
i do believe i am getting past my color phobia ways and along with my challenge i am embracing a new colorful me.
as i look around my shed, little vignettes of color are 'popping up' in a rather uplifting way...
i plan to bring you some pictures of such things later in the week. but for now i need to leave, and leave very quickly as i'm going to have a 'wobbly' in a mo...


i love little olive deeply, after all i am crocheting her a matching blanket like my own little blankie, but i cannot deal with the 'bathing' and now as i look down i do believe a rash is appearing...
could that be the lotion or the olive licks?

she is trying to get to Miss Ethel, as another crafting epiphany has appeared, but alas little olive is not 'on board' ~ Tif
footynote: i have to just say how wonderful it is to have so many of you on board with the challenge and also the fact that alot of you feel inspired to make changes, however small with the way you 'shop' even without taking the challenge... it's most fabulous, really it is.