Tuesday, September 7

a big day...

today is a big day,
it is full of big things,
big mountains of laundry,
big hair due to crappity crap weather,
big piles of fabric waiting to be crafted
and probably thee 'biggest thing' to happen to me, in many a year.


indeed my 'big thing' is so big for my little world
that i shaved my pasty pins in honor of its bigness.
i think right there tells how big of a thing it truly is.
for my pasty pins, with the lack of summer
have bypassed all attempts at looking lovely and golden,
and gone into premature hibernation.

i have spoken to my pasty pins this morning,
told them this will not do,
that Fall may appear to be all around
but we must do our best to maintain some level of 'pasty pins' pride.
once i had divulged to my pasty pins the bigness of the day,
they realized it was time to shape up.
and so dearest readers, with my smoothy pasty pins
i am most delighted to share my 'big peachy news' with you today.

"Tif, for crying out loud, could you just get on with it,
we have pea soup on the stove, homework to be finished
and indeed our own pasty pins to sort along with the laundry"
you say quite exasperated with moi.

quite right too! i have rambled enough
so without further ado,
my big news, ney terribly peachy bigger than big news
is...
myself, my pasty pins and dottie angel are to be published!


i am trying to recall if i have ever had such a big thing happen to moi.
obviously i have had my share of grandness in parts.
i do recall a moment aged 12 on stage with my drama club,
then there was the time i played in the girl's brigade marching band in the Royal Albert Hall.
myself being the proud cymbal player.
and of course the moments my babies were born.

but a book!
now that is quite a different kettle of fish to get my head around...
indeed as i tippity type, my pasty pins are shaking somewhat!
and not just an ordinary book at that,
but an extraordinary book
made possible by the extraordinary talents of Janine Vangool

some of you may already know about UPPERCASE,
a wonderful magazine for the creative and the curious.
the likes of which i had never seen before,
until my soul sister Debbie gifted me a subscription...
and that dearest readers led to a 'happening of the utmost kind'.
Janine, the creative wonder behind UPPERCASE
also dabbles in publishing and designing books,
the type of books you wish 'to have and to hold'
and only ever lend to a friend when they have signed on the dotted line,
agreeing to treat it with the care and respect it so deserves.

one of these books is The Suitcase Series, Volume One
featuring the wonderful world of Camilla Engman.
when i read Camilla's book i could see firsthand
to be an artist in The Suitcase Series is a wonderful thing indeed.
for the book captures in glorious detail
the lives of artists and designers from around the world,
as Janine says herself, the books in this series are precious souvenirs of a creative journey
shared between the artist and the reader.
and so it is with great excitement and may i say a few tears of joy,


to be published in early summer 2011!!

the book is available for pre-order alongside three other wonderful books to be released over the coming months
all four books are being offered as a book bundle from UPPERCASE

i have mentioned the book to
Miss Ethel my trusty sewing machine
Carlos my camera,
Mr Hook,
the chickens in the yard,
little olive and Used dog,
the kitty cats,
speedy with his shell
and indeed

they have all looked back at me and my pasty pins, in silence...
i am taking their silence as a sign of how big this moment is in our lives we share together,
they are at a loss for words.
to see their ordinary lives living in suburbia with a slightly nutty woman
of an uncertain age,
who walks a crafty path each day
whilst dreaming of living dottie angel's life,
being made into a book
is a little too much for them to take in, after all it is only the begining of the week.

she is wondering if samuel whiskers in the attic wishes to be informed ~ Tif

84 comments:

Elissa said...

oooh congrats! you deserve it!

Marilyn said...

Congratulations to you and your pasty pins.... it's a long time coming.....that's all I have to say!!! WELL DONE old bean!!!!

amanda {the habit of being} said...

congratulations! i am now impatiently awaiting my copy ;-)

jodi said...

wonderful news! congratulations!!

Hege Synøve Kolstad Evensen said...

wonderful! Congratulation:)


Love your blog!!!

Betz White said...

Congratulations on your most fabulous news! Your blog is such a treat to visit, I can only imagine how wonderful your book will be. Cheers!

Ampersand Commodities said...

what amasing news! i am so happy for you! your dream come true! my name is going straight on the pre order list. well done lady, you deserve it!
xx

Nina said...

Wonderful news! Jeeeeeeeeeeeee!

SWEDISH HOUSE said...

CONGRATULATION!
What an accolade
LOVE PEACE and enJOY!
Julie
x

Jennifer said...

Congratulations, what exciting news. I can see why you are thrilled, how much fun. Can't wait till it comes out.

Elaine from L.A. said...

I've been reading your blog for a few months and kind of had a feeling as to the nature of your "big peachy news" :~)

Congratulations!!!

Elaine
{A Lady of a Certain Age, not to mention an Anglophile in Portland}

P.S. I am so impressed that you actually performed at the Royal Albert Hall :~)

elizabeth & harriet said...

dearest tif, congrat's of the largest kind ... this is a book long overdue and i shall look forward to a summer of reading about the life of dottie angel ...

Unknown said...

That is absolutely fabulous news!!! you and your pasty pins should be very proud! congratulations and thank you so much for sharing so much inspiration...:)

peace!

Sharon Stanley said...

oh my goodness!!!!! this is the most exciting news i have heard ALL day...not that there has been much exciting news so far.....jubel got in with the cows...semi-exciting....10 of 11 chickens laid eggs today...again, semi-exciting.....and the first day of the last year of school for my youngest went well....pretty exciting...but this....this...is over the top exciting...a jump up and down exciting and i am so very very pleased to hear this most grandly exciting news...many many congratulations to you!!!!! can't wait to see this....can't wait!

Anonymous said...

HUGE. delurking to say kudos.
-kim

Valula said...

Oooh, how very totally and utterly exciting!!

Best wishes to you Dottie Angel and to your smooth pasty pins :-)

Valula

Arthur Ransome said...

Ooooooooh, Tif! That's just wonderful news. Well done. You must be so excited. It's just like Swallows and Amazons all over again. Love from Arthur.

Rita S said...

Congrats Tif! That is such exciting news. I am so thrilled for you. Amazing. Amazing. Amazing.

Ana said...

Very exciting news indeed! Congratulations. No one more deserving for a little published glory than you and the pasty pins.

Rachaeldaisy said...

Oh my god!! What wonderfully wonderful big news!!! I want that book!!!

Amy said...

Cogratulations! I can't wait to see it!

Dogwood said...

That is so so so terribly exciting! I love your writing style and think you are the greatest and now this! What can I say. You are wonderful and I am so happy for you. Can't wait to get my hands on it once it is published...

Heather at Mad Rose Creations said...

oh congrats miss dottie angel. what a wonderous big news sort of day. how truly stupendous! i'm going to be so proud to be able to say i read her when she was just simple ole' dottie angel living in her mossy shed with her used dog and her precious, if albeit, tubby, olive. brava m'dear! (clap, clap, clap)

Michelle said...

Oh Tif...
Congratulations...and a huge hug...
I have always thought your dottie life was book worthy...I still believe it is tv series worthy too, and I will not hear otherwise...

I can't wait to have a copy in my hand...
I will be cherishing it forever...
and show many a passerby and family member within sight...

my dearest Tif has A BOOK!!!

greenrabbitdesigns said...

Congratulations Tif, that is indeed BIG news!!
Vivienne x

VickieC said...

Tif,

The HAPPIEST of congratulations to you - you sooooooo deserve it!!!!

Vickie in Seattle

Dana said...

Wow!! congratulations miss dottie! miss tiff!! o what a great news!! I want it!

Sweet Birdy Love said...

Yowzers Tif, how extraordinarily exciting for you.
Must've been tricky trying to keep that little secret under wraps.
A book full of Dottie Angel goodness to have and to hold, move over English Country Living.
Congrats.

Ashlee said...

How very thrilling!!!
I'm so happy for you - you deserve it XXX

Lian said...

ahhhh a big huge congratulations, miss!
i follow your blog and am always in awe of you and your work. not to mention your lovely writing. so i am so happy for you <3

oh i do have one question. i was looking at your photos of your lovely family, and did notice that your daughters wear lovely clothes and i was smitten with their boots. i have been searching ! the world wide web ! and shops abound, for boots like your #1's, with the shoelaces, are they doc martens ?

thank you kindly :)

-lian

Anonymous said...

This is the first time I am replying with a comment, after many months of reading and being continuously inspired by your creativity and your writing style. Congratulations on your big news! It will be an exciting venture for you and also for those of us who tag along on your adventures!

Kerri said...

Congratulations! You must be thrilled! How exciting to be published, I can't wait to see it. P.S If it's any consolation my pasty pins are pastier than yours!

Leah said...

A big congratulations to you!

Leah said...

Amazing news indeed! Congrats and have fun creating for your book, I look forward to reading it.!

Carol said...

Congratulations Tif, no wonder you shaved those pasty pins (something I share - not 'your' pins obviously!)in celebration.
I look forward to owning an extraordinary book.
Well done!
Carol xx

Clare said...

I had my legs waxed today but I cannot say it was to commemorate anything in the realm of this amazing news. Congratualtions!!!
I can't wait to own a copy.

willywagtail said...

Congratulations. Dottie. I am sure many , many will be happy to just hold your beloved book in their shaved mitts. It will be a real treat.

jen said...

Congratulations!!!!!! This is news of the most wonderful kind and I will have to investigate re international shipping to the lovely land of Aus. Being a woman of a certain age with a perchant for crafting your words and thoughts are most inspiring. So pleased that you enjoyed your time in ole blighty, it was a quite a dull winter here with you away and my neighbour and good friend also returning for a summer holiday in 'the old country' apparently it was not all that summery though.
Well congratulations again an accolade well deserved !

Unknown said...

Congratulations that is fantastic news !

Anonymous said...

yea, great news! i love UPPERCASE as well as your blog, so it will very much be something to look forward to next year - congrats! :)

Carine said...

I believe I've just been stunned out of lurking! How perfectly lovely! Congratulations, Felicitations, etc., etc., This is thrilling news indeed!!!

Violette Crumble said...

Exciting! I am so looking forward to seeing the book. Your work is a constant source of inspiration to me.
Hugs to you and your non-hippie-PNW legs :)

Claire White said...

congratulations! I'm utterly thrilled for you! can't wait to see/hear more!!

xoxo
kitty

Kyra said...

Oh my, congrats!!!!

dottie angel said...

thank you all so very kindly for the lovely words of congratulations! you have me beaming with your kindness...

and yes indeed, the boots upon Our #1's feet are Dr Martens... a chip off the old block she is :)
i have just finished skyping with her in england, she is now in her new college digs and settling in nicely. she is known as 'the american'!!

thank you again my dearies for sharing my 'big news' day and making it a truly special one, i feel most fortunate indeed :)

Tonia said...

Hooray! Many congratulations: I am off to tell my scruffy mutt and high-falutin' cat so that they may also run round in circles or sniff according to temperment and taste.

blue corduroy said...

that is WAY COOL!! of course, i would love to have a book full of YOU! those editors must be genius's. congratulations!!

Mette said...

Congratulations! I can't wait to see your book, Tif.

Anne said...

Yaaaaay! That is incredibly exciting for you and for us who will be reading it for sure! WELL DONE, you deserve it!

louise35flower said...

woohoo! congratulations, it shall be added to my Christmas list immediately :)

Selfsewn said...

ooh sign me up!!
Will it be sold in Blighty??

Clare

ps. I have no idea what a pasty pin is??

jen storer said...

That is truly the awesomest news for the angel and the tif and i am so thrilled for them. i will be awaiting the publication of said Beautiful Book with all the breathless anticipation of a nineteenth century herione! Bundles of best wishes! jenx

Jessie said...

oh Tif, how exciting! I will personally give you a congratulatory hug in exactly 16 days!

Regina said...

Congratulations and that is some amazingly peachy news. I can't wait to get my hands on it. So happy for you!

Gilli said...

Yay! Can you hear the thunderous applause from my little woods in Wisconsin? Love your blog, and will love your book.

dottie angel said...

gosh you really know how to make a woman of an uncertain age living in surburbia 'smile and smile' :)

as for 'pasty pins', they would be my little spindley legs that appear briefly below my frock hemline! always a relief when it gets to 'woolly tights' weather and i can tuck them away for another 9 months!

thank you again for being so wonderfully receptive to my book news! makes it all even more exciting to start work on, knowing you are alongside of me, dearest readers :)

paperbird said...

This is good news to all of us who admire the pretties that you create. Congratulations to you cute Tiff.

Kristen said...

I am so excited to hear this news! I can't wait to buy my copy. :)

Renee said...

Congratulations to you up north. I have been wondering when this goodness would happen (being published, I mean). You so deserve it!

sjeanne said...

Congratulations of the upmost kind! I have been reading your blog for several months, and feel that this couldn't happen to a nicer, more creative person. I love what you do with vintage items! You inspire me. Looking forward to the book...

britt said...

that is wonderful news.! congrats!

Francesca said...

well...how very, very la-di-da. i'm chuffed beyond words for you my peachy friend. i'm back from hols and got a lot of catching up to do i see. i'm raising my imaginary champagne flute to you. x

Jill said...

A whomping Congrats to you!! How very, very, wonderful!

kristena marie said...

Best news ever! I can't wait.

kristena marie said...

Best news ever! I can't wait.

Kate said...

Congratulations Tif!

Chloe said...

Congrats, Tif. It is an honor well-deserved!

Michelle Clement said...

Eeek! Amazing!! :) I can't wait - it's going to be the loveliest book ever! Uppercase rocks! :) So excited for you!

gypsysticks said...

my sincere congratulations to you!

Greedy Nan said...

I was so-o-o super-excited I nearly didn't check, then something said to me, go Greedy and see how much this is really going to be because $70 US seems a very high figure EVEN for Dottie Angel's book [plus postage]. It IS an EXTREMELY HIGH figure [over £40 in Sterling terms]. I'm afraid I will just have to love and covet it from afar [or save very hard] of I want to have a copy. Big bottoms!

Ada and Lilly said...

Sending you very warm congratulations from England. Please tell me that the book will be available in the UK....!!

Ann said...

Fabulous! Congratulations to you! But I want to see it NOW!! Hope we'll see some sneek peeks!

dottie angel said...

thank you my dearies!!!

just to be clear, the book on it's own, not in the 'book bundle' is $35 which i believe is around 20 pounds sterling. it is available to pre-order from UPPERCASE and when published, i believe other independent sellers around the globe, including myself :)

i am not altogether sure of the cost of shipping and all the details at this precise moment...
when i am, i will be sure to clarify things.


and yes indeedy! let us hope for sneak peeks, i will be sure to let you know :)

marian said...

yay-oh-yay i'm bursting with EXCITEMENT for you, Tif!
i can't wait to get my hands on a copy..eeeeeek! x

Greedy Nan said...

I am returned with my imaginary cap in my hand. As soon as I'd clicked the 'send' button I thought I shouldn't perhaps have typed the comment as it may have sounded like sour grapes and not sweet peaches and this was totally unmeant. I STILL think though, with postage, the entire package is EXPENSIVE and at the moment, a super-tad beyond my means. I am however, extremely happy for you because you just so-o-o deserve to be recognised more than you currently are.

Gorgeous Things said...

Congratulations! Very well deserved - I look forward to reading THE BOOK. You have a unique talent.I hope you'll still have time for blogging, though.

Emma Burgess said...

Congratulations again! It is such good news and I can't wait to read and enjoy...Emma. xx

Luna Levy said...

YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY - I read this yesterday in the Uppercase newsletter and I felt SO SO excited for you! I wish I could bake you cookies and give you a hug! So here's a virtual hug and I'm sending you a cookie right now - your favorite kind :)

Congratulations Tif! I've been telling you that you are brilliant for quite a while now, so hopefully this will make you believe it!

xoxo

Claudia said...

COngratulations, Tif!!! You deserve this so much!!! I understand the excitment, as I had a rather smaller thrilling news myself, but a book is a book!!! What an amazing thing!!! Congratulations again!!!! Hugs, Twiggs

dottie angel said...

greedy nan sweetie, do not fret nor worry... i totally understood what you were saying, the only thing i can say is the book comes with lots of extras and the pages within are not your ordinary pages, the feel, the texture, the pictures and the journey.
the amazing creativity Janine puts into producing her books is like nothing i have seen before...
i have waited patiently for a publisher who can translate what i see inside of my head on to paper, i am without doubt that Janine is the perfect fit for a dottie angel book and for that reason alone i am so terribly excited for the coming months and the final product.
i have high hopes there will be some available in england and thus, postage will be much better for you my dear :)

and yes indeed! my blog will still be loved and cared for!!! some days may be a little tricky, but we can get through 'a little tricky' i am quite sure :)

thank you again, i feel most humbled and at the same time, gleeful with your lovely responses to a dottie angel book!

Anonymous said...

CONGRATULATIONS! This is so wonderful!

Anonymous said...

OH MY GAWWWDDD - I go on holiday for a week and miss the big news - many congrats :) Also YAYYYY!!!!!!

p.s. Mr Shark looks sooo slick - I have one of those steam station ironing things - and with all the puffing and wheezing and hissing - I fear I can only think of the name Uncle Nasty ....

Christine Clemmensen said...

I have and hold Camillas book, and I think it's safe to say I shall have and hold your book too.

Congratulations!! This is wonderful for you. And for us buyers :o)

Chantal said...

bravo :-) !