Time flies!

my baby boy was 4 yesterday! ♥♥♥ I have lots to share, we have been away for a few days and have been attending celebrations++! Only 25 days until Christmas, how exciting! Thanks for dropping in! Leah

Ripple on

This is one of many current projects... a ripple blanket. The pattern is from Lucy at Attic24 and it's really rather fabulously easy to do. The stitches are basically repeats of 4 which makes it a good one for sitting in front of the telly, or when you're sitting at the computer waiting for the painfully slow internet to load.
Align Center
Sadly I've had to put this blankie aside to work on other, mostly Christmas-related projects. I've also been tackling the weedy garden. Yates Woody Weedkiller is said to work on convulvulus, if you mix it up in a jar and paint it on the leaves. You can also get a little plastic bag, put some solution in the bag, put some cut stems (preferably root) into the bag, and it will hopefully suck all the weedkiller into its roots and kill the whole thing. That is what I'm hoping for, organics be damned if it gets rid of this pest!

I'm getting a reasonable harvest these days - like this rhubarb and these sugar snap peas. The sugar snaps are going mad - I get a good double handful like this every 2-3 days. The dwarf massey peas are going well too (at least the ones in the container are - the ones in the garden were planted next to leeks which they didn't seem to like, and were very stunted in growth). I have green tomatoes on 5 plants in the glasshouse. At least in there they are protected from the cold northeasterlies which have been a constant part of spring this year. Broad beans are still going strong too (shame I'm sick of eating them.)

As for harvest duds - all the apples fell off as flowerbuds. One tree had one tiny fruit remaining, but after a while I noticed that it was brown and cracked. I think they were probably hit by one of the many late frosts we had. My pumpkins were slow to germinate and I had a low strike rate - I haven't grown them from seed before so I'm not sure if that's normal. The plants aren't doing much outside, again probably due to the cold winds and low temperatures.

Stay tuned, I have some more creative projects coming up to share, plus Lui has been acting weird (mind you, weird is normal for him) so there will be another Weird Cat Behaviour post coming up.

Wishlist Wednesday

Hello, I wish that I could sit down here.... or here..... and quietly create some of these!
I'm just a bit time challenged! Leah

a 'thankfully glee' giveaway...


whether you celebrate thanksgiving or not, it is always good to every now and then, count one's blessings and give a little thanks.
i am thankful for many things in my life that go without saying,
my family that have strong opinions on doilies,
my aging but healthy body and dubious sanity,
my creatures that reside at mossy shed and don't talk back,
my nostril hair of the worst kind and the path it took me down,
and one other thing...

a 'thing' that has been my constant companion for 41 years, sometimes i've used it and sometimes i've neglected it, but it has always been there, lurking in the background patiently waiting for the moments i allow it to shine.

so this thanksgiving
i am thankful for...


my imagination...
quite simply i would not be who i am without it.

and so dearest readers it is now your turn to count a blessing or two, for some this is not always an easy thing to do, for the road can be quite rough at times. but i do think with a little thought, even the smallest of things can be worth being 'thankful' for.


and when you have done your 'thankful' thinking, leave me your 'giving thanks' comment here or send it in an email to tif@dottieangel.com and i will pop you in a 'thankfully glee' dish and announce a winner on Thursday Dec 3rd.
i'm hoping that Speedy will pick out the winner but he has just informed me that he's busy redecorating his 'pad' and so might not be available. if that's the case then i am hoping for a 'passing stranger' to aid me with this giveaway...

of course it has just occurred to me, that i haven't actually mentioned what i have to 'giveaway'.
i can assure you, it will not be,
my family with opinions on doilies,
my aging body and dubious sanity,
my creatures that reside at mossy shed,
nor my nostril hair of the worst kind
(i hear cries of relief over at least two of those things).

no dearest readers,
i have to offer in the way of thanking you most kindly for being nice and lovely people,
("ooooh, Tif, that's special"... i hear you gasp)
but wait, there is more
one yarn ball wreath, from the archives of my crafting epiphanies, made in November 2007, yes i do believe it could almost be called 'vintage dottie angel'.
so there it is,
a magazine and a ring of yarn balls,
surely that makes for an excitingly 'thankfully glee' giveaway.

so it just leaves me to say, my sister-in-law and her little one are coming to stay at mossy shed tomorrow, and so i shall be gone until the 3rd.
but do not fear dearest readers as i have made you a 'to do' list in my absence.
for some of you that don't craft, it may be a little tricky but i'm sure this may be the very 'to-do' list that gets you going down the crafty road i travel everyday...


1. make a 'grandma twinkle' garland courtesy of the fabby michelle
2. find someone else to clean the toilets and wash the floor
3. make a wonky crocheted tree courtesy of my dodgy directions (and you will have to scroll down on the post to actually find the directions, because as usual i have waffled a whole ton before the instructions)
4. avoid looking at your nostrils up close for a whole week
5. visit the 'challengers of the utmost kind' on my sidebar and be inspired by their thrifty handcrafted 'gleeful' creations
6. eat lots of chocolate
7. make a grandma tree courtesy once again, of the wonderfully generous creative brain of michelle
8. cut up a 'boiled' gleeful sweater belonging to your man, or mother-in-law and make a simple but gleefully charming garland
9. be thankful and gleeful as much as possible, it's quite contagious and spreads rapidly

she is looking forward to reading your 'thankfully glee' comments and wishes you a 'gleeful' 10 days without her ~ Tif

Twelve Twelves

This year I'm again participating in the 12 Days of Chistmas swap. It's the fourth year the swap has been running so I managed to be a little bit more organised this year and started making my gifts in August! Then I put them aside for a while until suddenly the mailing deadline was upon me and they still had to be wrapped and photographed. A frantic weekend was spent doing that and I mailed them out. Now I'm just sitting back as the other gifts come in.

My gift will be opened on Day 12... that's Christmas Eve! So you will have to wait till then to find out what's inside. Until then, check out the 12 Days blog. From December 1st Lelainia will be posting photos of each wrapped gift, and from December 13th she'll be posting each gift as it's unwrapped. You can also find links to the participants' blogs and websites. You can also see photos of the previous years' gifties at my Flickr set.

Another tutorial!


I have been collecting doilies from op shops and would love to make purses with them too, check out this cute tutorial! There are so many things on my "to do" list! Thanks for stopping by! Leah

A free tutorial!


I would love to make some of these for Gracie, they look very festive too! Have a Happy Saturday! Leah

a 'week of glee' ~ day five

i thought it most appropriate, seeing as today is the two month anniversary of starting my handcrafted thrifty challenge, that we focus our final day, within this gleeful week...
upon 'vintage and handcrafted' glee
"hang on a mo, Tif... surely that's what you've done all week, it's all handcrafted and vintage gleeness as far as we can see"
and quite right you are, it has been, hasn't it.
i am it would appear, most predictable...

in the space of two months i have found many lovely secondhand finds for the shed, and many i have left on the shelves... wishing to give a home to, but knowing my man would leave.

in the space of two months i have found, but only one item for my closet.
a rather dubious vomit colored leather coat that i am telling myself the color is so mesmerizing, passersby will not notice the pen marks,
and after all, what can one expect for $15

in the end my need was so great for paint, as it truly plays a big part in the transformation of my thrifty finds, that i could not do what i wished to do with a scrapping of leftover gloss white and my 'neverending' can of scary pink paint.
i confess, i bought some eco paint...
when all is said and done, this has been my only new purchase since the challenge began

and so to end our 'week of gleeness'
i bring you,
'snippets of glee'
little bits of secondhand or handcrafted 'loveliness' to bring a gleeful mood to mossy shed this season...

a lovely red midcentury modern, lamp base, found in ethanollie's etsy store


a kitschy angel, perfect in her colors, made in japan and as if that weren't enough, she's a money box as well (i know! isn't that peachy)


yarn balls in a thrifted red dish (always a winner in my books)


a seasonal tin tray sporting a 'gleeful' design


a pair of glossy red clogs for the wall that any little elf would be proud to own


the 70's gleeful tree 'wall hanging' found on etsy and waiting to be turned into an advent calender when a creative moment appears


and the insides of my little box of 'glee' from the attic, waiting to shine this 'gleeful' season


i do hope this 'week of glee' has been most 'gleeful' for you dearest readers and that you may go forth into your own 'gleeful' worlds and spread the word of 'glee', making the world we live in a bit more 'gleeful' for others, so they too can 'feel the glee'...
(did i really just pen that last paragraph, truly quite a 'gleeful' message i feel)

she will return on monday with a 'thankful giveaway' full of glee ~ Tif

a 'week of glee' ~ day four

for today's dollop of 'glee'
i have delved into the 'gleeful' past to bring you something i made two years back...
it is quite truthfully my favorite 'gleeful' item of all time.
i look forward to getting it out of the attic and i dislike having to put it back in the attic after the 'gleeful season' is done and dusted.
it is i believe, to be a perfect example of how a handcrafted piece made from 'leftovers' can bring 'glee' year after year.

so without further a do, i bring you
a 'cluster of glee'


quite simply made
and
brings a whole lot of 'glee' to a front door this season

as i said above, i did this in 2007 but i am willing for you, my dearest readers to delve into the archives of my crafty memory and tell you how i made it,
so in turn you can go about your 'gleeful' day, gathering odds and ends, to make your very own 'cluster of glee'



now here's the tricky bit, i did start with a string of bells as my base.
i had these lurking in my christmas box...
this could be a problem for any on the handcrafted thrifty challenge, and then again perhaps not, for you are a crafty lot and have plenty of inspiration of your own.
my thoughts are perhaps some vintage baubles hung on a cord or lace may make for a nice starting base,
i could just see a wonderful little grouping of colored ones,
or perhaps just plain silver.

i took some
yarn
(wrapped into snowballs)
felt snowflakes
(i saved from a gift given to me)
red felt hearts
(a garland from ikea i chopped up)
odd scraps of lace
(you could cut up old doilies for this)
and
large vintage shell buttons

i made seven strands, all varying lengths,
finishing off by handstitching them together at the top
of the cord, holding the bells.

this looked a little messy and so i hand stitched a nice piece of vintage lace over the 'mess', thus disguising the 'messy situation' that had occured and making it look like it was all part of my master plan in the first place...


and that's it.
i do like a 'gleeful' project that can be made from leftover crafty bits,
has the potential to shine in it's handcrafted 'gleeness'
and does what handcrafted things do best,
makes a house into a home.

and she is thinking, one can't ask much more than that from a little 'cluster of glee' ~ Tif
footynote: just a thought, as it's impossible to tell the size of my 'cluster of glee' in the pictures, this little sweetie measures 26" or 66cm, from top to toe :)

Wish List Wednesday on a Thursday!




chrdesigns






namolio



homesteadtreasures

Hello, I'm a bit late with my wish list this week, I do wish that it was a bit cooler, it must be in the mid 40s here today. I will pick the boys up from school and we will have a nice swim. I hope that you are keeping cool! Leah

a 'week of glee' ~ day three

there is nothing quite like the anticipation of giving a gift,
be it new, handcrafted or thrifted.


if the perfect gift is found in advance,
the anticpation can begin several months before the gift needs to be given.
or in the case of my man it can happen the day before, and even then it's not the perfect gift and even more importantly (perhaps men take note, across the land), do not leave the receipt lying around.
i can only imagine that when i met my man at the age of 16, he did not think he would still be with me as i turned 40, thus instead of taking 24 years to think ahead... he suddenly went "oh crap, Tif's 40 tomorrow, i know i'll go to Costco, buy her a panini maker and leave the receipt lying around so she knows how much it cost and the date i bought it")

"STOP TIF!!... enough, this is not good for a 'gleeful' post, this is bringing down the tone of 'glee' and also you promised 'closure' on the panini episode of 2008" i hear you exclaim, dearest readers
and quite right you are, thank goodness i have you to keep me on a 'gleeful' track and not drift off on a negative 'non-gleeful' note.

for today's dose of 'glee' i would like to bring you...
the gift of giving 'glee'.
i do believe that giving a gift of 'glee' is a terribly exciting thing to do and even more so if it's wrapped up 'gleefully'

i like to do this, just as i do my etsy orders, with thought and consideration
and a whole lot of lovely catalogues that come my way...


for Etsy i now use recycled tear outs from magazines that i have ferreted away,
inspiring images of lovely interiors,
but when the 'gleeful' season rolls around i produce my pile of 'specials'
i'm talking anthropologie
i'm talking toast
and
i'm talking noa noa
for their pictures are beautiful
and they really do make for wonderful recycled wrapping paper

for today's purpose of showing you how i wrap a box of 'glee' i have retrieved
one half used box of tissues
one box of chocolate pudding mix
one box of banana pudding mix
one dvd from our #2's collection
and
one something else,
that i cannot remember for the life of me what it is
(only wrapped it yesterday, for goodness sake)
and as it looks so lovely all wrapped up i'm not willing to undo it

if i'm giving a gift that isn't conveniently box shaped, then i find a box to fit it, even if i have to go looking in my food cupboard
and then i get to work,
tearing catalogues
sticking tape
and when my little bit of glee is covered
i wrap some cream thrifted yarn around it
and finish it off with a vintage button card


and that's it, quite simple and i am quite sure has been done a million times before but i thought i would share how i like to give glee

and as if that wasn't enough
another 'glee giving' idea is to customize your 'gleeful seasonal' cards
i was fortunate to stumble across a set of unused vintage ones at the thrift store a few weeks back and i was really rather happy with the little birdie on the front.
but i couldn't leave it alone,
i have added some frayed little rosettes to the branches
i do believe these little cards are now a 'gift in themselves'



and wait, there's more glee going around
the lovely Victoria has been sharing my little gleeful garland over at her place
and just before you are all 'gleed out'
the talented Ingrid has just unveiled her new 'gleeful' website, it's in english and best of all, you can order her beautiful crocheted wares direct from it.

i don't think it gets more 'gleeful' than that dearest readers...
but then again does it?
only tomorrow's 'day four' knows the answer to that

she is spreading 'gleefulness' wherever she goes and hoping you forgive her 'bah humbuggy' panini begining ~ Tif

a 'week of glee' ~ day two

when i decorate my shed with glee i do the usual 'gleeful' things,
i put up a tree, no higher than 5ft, add ornaments and then i decorate our two fireplaces with such 'gleeful' delights as garlands, fairy lights, pesky gnomes, little trees, yarn balls and other such 'gleeful' things and then i tend to stop there.

my reasons being, if i continue with adding 'glee' all over the place,
within the week it's doing my head in, i can't breath for feeling i'm being attacked by 'gleeful' things wherever i look and i am just counting the days until i can remove all the 'glee' and put it in the attic.

now we all know this does not make for a very nice 'gleeful' atmosphere and so i have learnt over the past few years the best way to add 'glee' around my shed is to put out things i would usually have around but they just happen to be in the colors of 'glee'.
white, red and green
and best of all
they are handcrafted or vintage.
thus i am less likely to have the urge to purge
(you got to love that last sentence, it just came over me and i was like "oooh, Tif, that's fab... the urge to purge", one could almost say it 'gleefully' and in a sing song voice.
"i've got the urge to purge")

so i thought it might be nice if we went looking on Etsy today for 'gleeful' items that lend themselves to the season, but actually would be things i would happily have in mossy shed any day of the year.

so without further a do, i give you
a 'little Etsy glee'...


a lovely set of green canisters from



a sweet garland from



a wonderful vintage dutch tin from



a little bit of peace from



a pop of red dansk ware from


a beautiful paper doily garland from



a perfect home for pesky gnomes from


a vintage ornament in 'granny chic' colors from



a festive feeling stool from



a little collection of jolly colored spools from



a gleeful grouping of vintage ladies from


i do hope you have found that to be a nice filling 'quoter of glee' and that it puts you in a gleeful mood for the rest of the day

she has counted the use of 'glee' for today as over 16 times and she is thinking that's not bad for day two of glee ~ Tif

Bringing the outdoors in

I love fresh flowers, and lately I've been making an effort to have at least one bouquet in the house at all times. I'll pick whatever's blooming, including herbs and veges which have gone to seed. The jug above holds purple sage and bright green starbursts of parsley.

Dainty sprigs of sage and linaria are perfect for this little vase.

A lovely rose... the easiest cut flower of all! Just cut a stem with a bud and a couple of leaves, plonk it in a vase, and it will do all the work for you. It slowly unfurls over many days, and even spreads a gorgeous perfume. Even the fallen petals of a rose look beautiful.

Home again!


Hello, we had a wonderful "girls weekend" this is a little pic of where we stayed, right on the beach. Our poor little Harry has had another operation today, so plaster for another 6 weeks, he is a bit sad ♥♥♥ Thanks for dropping in! Leah

a 'week of glee' ~ day one

i thought it might be nice to have a 'week of glee'.
of course for some it may seem super duper early to be thinking about 'gleefulness' and all it encompasses, but i do believe the 'crafty masses' think way ahead of time.
knowing the hours that go into creating handcrafted goodness, means we must be 'one step' ahead...
therefore we shall spend the week on the topic of 'glee' and things that make us 'gleeful'... well actually it will be things i find to be 'gleeful' and as you are all the 'gleeful' type, i am hoping you will find the 'glee' i have to offer, to be most appealing.

today's dose of 'glee' is
a little 'gleeful' garland


because quite honestly, there is nothing more gleeful than a garland...
this little garland is so 'gleeful' in her simplicity that really, very little direction is required
and like always dearest readers,
all you will need is a little imagination to take what i have to offer, and make it your own...

my little 'gleeful' garland is crocheted,
but you could easily knit it.
i made all the little flags whilst twiddling my thumbs waiting in the car during chauffeuring duties.
yarn garlands are most perfect for that sort of occasion...

i used worsted weight yarn,
one thrifted cream
and
one lovely speckly red,
kindly donated by my friend Trish down the road, who listened to my sad tale in the grocery line about little old me trying to crochet up some 'christmas glee' without any red yarn. not two minutes after arriving back at the shed, she was on my doorstep with a bag of red 'odds and ends' for me. truly a grand neighbor indeed, sharing her bag of 'glee'...

i double crocheted
(american terminology)
10 cream flags
and
5 speckly red flags


and went for a rectangle shape
measuring roughly 4.5" x 3"
or roughly 11cm x 8cm
the beauty is you can just do what ever size you wish

next, i took some wide vintage lace and cut five pieces off,


lay them upon my red flags and hand stitched the lace in place.


i then laid my little flags out nicely to admire,
being careful not to leave them where little olive would also do some admiring.

i then rummaged around my lace stash, but alas i had no lace skinny enough for the string,
so i rummaged some more and found a thrifted packet of skinny cord in cream, a little shiny for my liking but our #4 assured me as it was a 'gleeful' garland it could surely take a little 'shine'...
i threaded the flags onto the shiny cord in a pleasing order,
hammered two pins in the wall and voila!

so simple i know, and some of you clever ones are perhaps 'rolling in the aisles' as to the simplicity of my 'gleeful' garland, but i wanted to 'show and tell' this little piece of joy because i think it most important to remember that bringing a bit of handcrafted 'gleefulness' to the home this holiday season, doesn't have to involve lots of steps, knowing lots of techniques and spending hours of time on a project.

quite honestly, i'm thinking if you can't knit or crochet, another way to do this would be to get a woolly christmas sweater that your man insists on wearing every year, boil it alive in the washing machine, bemoan the terrible tragedy to him, then quick as an 'elf' get out your scissors, chop out 15 rectangles, add a few bits of lace, sew on the string and voila!

your man can admire his sweater on the wall,
where we all know,
it looks a lot more 'gleeful' as a garland,
then it ever did on him...


she is thinking you may tire of the word 'gleeful' by the end of the week but then again, perhaps not ~ Tif
footynote: i have to just say once again, your comments here and in my inbox over the weekend have been most wonderfully received... truly without a doubt, you have been most generous with your kind words
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