book week... day four

yesterday i was distracted by Miss Ethel and Miss Margery,

i do not often speak of Miss Margery

and there are reasons for this.

Miss Margery belongs to Our #1

and on many an occasion i have sat in my studio

hearing the floorboards above shake with her usage.

i feared for Miss Margery and the sewing traumas she endured

at the hands of Our #1

actually, her name isn't Miss Margery,

Our #1 gave her a name quite unsuited to her lovely stitching ways.

so upon discovery of Miss Margery holed up in the back of the closet

after Our #1 left the shed for the bright lights of old blighty,

i took her out,

dusted her down

and called her Miss Margery.

she travelled alongside of Miss Ethel, to the big city

for our grand dottie angel workshop weekend.

upon returning to the shed,

i have placed Miss Margery in my studio

and yesterday she showed me her coat of many stitches,

let us just say, i was smitten.

together a threesome of the utmost kind,

(not seen since the days of dorothy, mr hook and dr hook)

resulted in handcrafty goodness

soon to be hanging in my little shop window.

but for today, we will continue our grand book week

hip hip hooray!!

Lotta Jansdotter needs no introduction i am quite sure,

she is a crafter, designer and artist extraordinaire.

Lotta appeals to me,

in the way japanese craft books appeal.

in all their pretty, handcrafted, inspiring goodness

combined with the clean lines i look for,

when living with handcrafted.

most of all she appeals to me for a particular reason,

many moons ago,

when i first stumbled across Lotta Jansdotter

i read a little bit of blurb

and the blurb told of Lotta being a self taught crafter.

i gasped 'thee gasp'

and knew right then and there,

i wished to hug Lotta on the spot,

thank her for saying it with pride.

it is interesting to look back now, quite a few years on

and see it was a defining moment for me and my crafty soul.

to know Lotta had succeeded with her own crafty soul,

wonderful aesthetics and beautiful self taughtness,

gave me the confidence to start up my little shop on Etsy,

to ramble upon this here shiny place

and

to continue along the righteous and goodly path of handcrafting.

Lotta's lovely book Handmade Living opens the door to her world,

showing how she creates her signature scandinavian style

within her beautiful home and studio.

allowing the reader to truly get a glimpse into her handmade world,

highlighting her inspirations,

her family traditions

and her decorating style,

page after page of a handmade life is revealed,

it truly is a lovely book indeed

she is trying to muster up some of that same confidence and drive to the big city on her own, gulp! ~ Tif

reassuring to know...

1: book week will resume next week with 3 more to show and 1 of them up for grabs

(yes indeedy, a give away!)

2: despite waking fretful this morning worrying about the safety of a certain squirrel, recalling my days of being a 'tufty member' (gosh that sounds a little dodgy), i am delighted to report Tufty Squirrel is indeed live and well, 57 years of age and not looking a day over 3!

(i wonder what his secret for eternal youth is)

i fear i have failed my children by not introducing them to Tufty and his pals Willy Weasel and Minnie Mole. i plan to rectify the failure of my mothering skills and today after school we will sit down and become well versed in the ways of Tufty and his wise words.

i will also be sending Our #1 the link so she may swot up on road safety across the pond. just thinking of her living in an urban setting with parked cars lining the streets adds another thing to my list of 'things to worry about Our #1 living in the big world without me'.

3. how wonderful to know folks are taking a stand when it comes to laundry lines in some neighborhoods.

they are campaigning for basic rights to hang out their grundies and such in their own back yards.

i am so excited by this revolution, for indeed i felt the constraints of such rules in our last abode. i am overcome with the urge, despite the low temps, to hang our undies out in support, showing my solidarity for their cause

4. my latest predicament being how to leave the shed and continue my need to crochet little woolly coats for glass jars! can i just say, this predicament has not caused me sleepless nights, perhaps a little pondering before dropping off but not actually tossing and turning, fretting as to how my little jars and moi can continue our bonding on the move.

so thrift store grandness being what it is, i found the perfect solution, vintage Tupperware in all it's granny green glory! gosh just looking at vintage Tupperware washes a wave a nostalgia over me.

my handy dandy little find is perfectly shaped for a few balls of yarn, Mr Hook and a couple of jars on the go. it sits nicely on the seat next to me as i drive where ever i happen to be driving.

when parked it allows me to access my yarn and jar easily without worries or concerns as to my jars safety (gosh this could be one for the Tufty club rules i'm thinking) and best of all i can carry it around in public without random passing strangers thinking me odd.

actually scratch that last bit, anyone seen carrying a Tupperware box full of glass jars and yarn will look odd, but i am thinking it will be 'odd with a bit of granny chic charm' and that my dearest readers is good enough for moi.

she is wishing you the peachiest weekend with perhaps a trip outdoors with some Tupperware yourselves ~ Tif

book week... day three

for day three of book week,

i have a wonderfully fabby book to share

which may indeed be known by quite a few of you.

it is a brilliantly inspiring book

full of 'handmade crafts for a cause'.

yes indeed, it is the peachy Craft Hope book by Jade Sims.

dadadada dahhhhhh!

Jade is a buddy and a dearie,

a dearie of the utmost kind in more ways than one.

i met Jade when she came to Seattle

a few weeks back for my dottie angel camp.

i think now you can see why i was a little nervous,

the standard of my dearies was tres high!!!

a little while ago Jade was inspired to start Craft Hope,

an organization that combines a love of crafting with a desire to help others.

such was the success of Craft Hope there are now

tens of thousands of crafters in over 100 countries

following the Craft Hope site

and making handmade goods for causes all over the world.

the Craft Hope book is chocker block full of charities

and peachy ideas, crafters can make for them.

many talented designers, artists and crafters

have donated their time and their tutorials

to make this book the wonder it is.

having spent a few days in the lovely Jade's company

i can tell you she is one incredible person.

she is a mother and a crafter,

she is funny and silly,

she is kind and generous

and

she is thankful to the many who have,

and continue to make,

Craft Hope the success it is.

this book will warm your crafty heart,

leaving you marveling at the crafting community

and what it does for the greater good of others...

she is thinking at this rate, book week may turn into book fortnight ~ Tif