controversial maybe, handcrafted definitely...

our christmas tree is up in mossy shed

never has a christmas caused so much debate amongst my clan...

and the tree was no exception.

however, i am pleased to report,

despite the odd bemoaning about lack of greenery and lighting

(the latter due to little olive gnawing through the only string of lights i had),

it would appear that my 'lovely lot' have located their rose colored, handcrafted, thrifty specs...

so for this year

(and one year only, i am told by my nearest and dearest)

we have ourselves

a 'whatnot' gleeful tree to fit in with my handcrafted, secondhand year

she is hoping you can find your rose colored specs, if not pop next door and borrow your neighbors.... pleaseeeeee ~ Tif

a string of miracles...

several miracles happened over Thanksgiving...

miracle 1:

my sister-in-law and our #1 were sick but i did not get sick.

that i believe, is nothing short of a miracle... after last winter's bouts of flu, bronchitis and numerous colds i have become a 'lurgiphobe'. luckily my sweet doctor said "enough is enough Tif" when i went to discuss vertigo issues of the worst kind. after a lot of 'dosing' up on vitamins and other immune building 'goodness' i have stayed lurgy free for sometime, even when all around me in the shed are dropping like flies.

but being holed up for 6 days with two lurgified related people was testing my new defenses to their fullest. i obsessively hand washed and donned my man's world war II gas mask i found in the attic, greatly aiding my chances of good health

miracle 2:

(perhaps for this one you might wish to sit down, because it's quite a miracle and could cause some of you to feel a little wobbly)

i provided

three meals a day,

for six days

for eight mouths

and all eight people survived.

i'm now going to pause a while so you may recover...

for miracle 3 is coming up and i do so want you to be feeling back to normal, for it's rather exciting in the most exciting kind of way

PAUSE

miracle 3:

i had hoped to beaver away on shop stuff whilst our guests were in the shed, but as you all know, trying to be a host whilst sweating it out in one's studio is not really possible.

and so two days before family arrived and the kids had time off school, i started to feel that panicky feeling inside. knowing my hands could not stay idle for six full days and i remain all smiles and niceness.

but then a small miracle happened that led to a string of miracles and we all know how much a string of miracles is a good thing.

i stumbled across this piece of crocheted goodness

my stumbling led to lusting,

my lusting led to investigating,

my investigating led to Yvestown

and that dearest readers, is when i do believe the hint of a 'string of miracles' began.

for Yvonne had kindly shared her 'crocheted goodness' pattern for all to read,

and as you are fully aware pattern reading is not my strong point, but my desire to master her lovely granny circle/squares was so great that after several, okay multiple, ripping out moments i finally got it!

at that 'got it' moment,

a chorus of angels appeared above the shed

along with the 'inbetweeny' crocheting Gods

and yes,

a little bit of 'crocheting glory' shone down on me.

for the next few days, inbetween kitchen duties i crocheted like my life depended upon it, and trust me, i know my sanity did...

i set my sights on a chair cushion,

mainly due to lack of yarn and lack of time

and after many hours, low and behold, a crocheted cushion was born.

too big for the original chair i had wished to share my glory with and so our rocking chair became the chosen one instead.

i stood back to admire, asked my man to stand back and admire.

waited... then prompted, saying that perhaps this might be a moment he wished to remember for all eternity, the moment Tif followed a pattern and it came out right

after the 'hustle and bustle' of Thanksgiving died down, the kids went back to school and my sister-in-law headed back home with her little one.

i took a few hours to see if the string of miracles was still flowing.

with the help of Mr Hook i tried crocheting circles again. after nine rounds, the string of miracles had run out...

i took the little bit of 'roundness' and appliqued it upon a cushion i already owned. thus the original chair destined for my 'lordy i did it' cushion, did not feel left out...

and it doesn't... having spoken to it recently during it's photo shoot, it told me, it was most happy with it's little round cushion and then it mentioned the word 'nipple', after that i stopped listening.

did you see that? the 'flash of speed' above, of course you may very well have been so 'overcome' by my crocheting 'miracle' moment, not to mention the 'nipple' word, you missed it.

here's a closer look...

that would be our little olive.

since it turned December she has been doing laps around the inside of Mossy Shed, getting in training for christmas eve. i told her how Santa sometimes needs help and ever since she has insisted i play 'eye of the tiger' on full volume when she's working out. after which she does what she does best... sleeping

and just before i head out the door, into a lurgified world with gas mask upon my face, i must just say a few things.

("blimey Tif, it's a marathon of rambling today")

first, if you wish to add more to your crafty 'to-do' list, the lovely Jessica has some wonderful garland glee going on at the mo, one for big kids and one for little kids. definitely worth a look and i love that she has used recycled sweaters...

secondly, thank you for your lovely comments about my blog, when you gave thanks in my giveaway, i forgot my manners yesterday with all the excitement of Greta's death defying leap.

and thirdly, i must tell you... i missed you when i was gone, truly deeply missed you and i just needed to let you know

she is wishing you a 'string of small miracles' for yourselves and will be back on monday ~ Tif

and the winner is...

yes, i know... i felt the same when i first met Greta.

if you are sitting comfortably, perhaps with your gleeful 'to do' list almost complete then i shall begin.

earlier today i was having a little chat with Speedy, he noted before that life was pretty busy with all his remodelling and once again, when i approached him of my 'needs' he came forth with mutterings of 'way too busy' and 'not on your life, will i jump into a basket for you'.

i felt this most unreasonable after all it was for a good cause.

my little gleeful dishy had to be replaced by a gleeful basket due to an enormous amount of 'thankfulness' that has appeared in my comments and inbox of late.

as i was tearing and folding up little bits of paper, it occurred to me why some people chose to use 'random generator picker' things. as i am totally clueless as to how such things work, i have been left once again at the mercy of the inhabitants of my shed to help me with picking a winner.

but i digress,

and so there i was, having a chat with Speedy when i heard a little knock at the door.

as i was tres busy in deep conversation, 'used dog' kindly answered for me.

now she is known to be a bit of a 'scaredy pants' at times and so when she ran to me shaking and whimpering, i didn't heed too much thought. i marched over to the door, 'huffing and puffing' as to what could possibly be that important to interrupt my very 'important and busy' giveaway work.

it was my turn to do a little whimpering and shaking.

dear gods, i thought to myself, where on earth did this little forsaken soul come from and more to the point why was her scary forsaken soul upon my doorstep. i quickly composed myself, remembering it is the time for goodwill towards all men, pesky gnomes and forsaken souls...

"yes" said i "can i help you?"

the little forsaken soul began to tell me in very broken english, her name was Greta, that she had met a pesky gnome by the name of Big Daddy online in a chat room. he had promised her a life of untold 'good times', given her the name of his dwelling, that being Mossy Shed and voila! here she is now, having travelled for months, looking for the love of her life and a good time with Big Daddy.

and so dearest readers it has begun, not three days into december and pesky gnomes are causing me trouble. i rolled my eyes to the heavens and then i glanced down at Greta. one lone tear sliding down her cheek... at least i think it was. due to failing eyesight i thought it a tear but it could just as easily have been the bad 'paint job' upon her face. but in the trying circumstances it seemed most rude to stare too closely...

you will be pleased to know, compassion overcame me, and with a few words of comfort i told her that Big Daddy had moved on to the great Las Vegas for pesky gnomes in the sky, due to a tragic accident involving a soccer ball in the back yard one snowy day last winter.

yes, he may be gone but he was not forgotten... and perhaps she would care to come in and be a 'little passing stranger' and help me with my give away. as she entered into Mossy Shed, i failed to mention i was looking for a passing stranger with no fear of heights or sticky parcel tape.

some time later i was offering up words of encouragement "just close your eyes, it's not that far"

"oh, and if you could attempt a dive, it might help the sticky tape to adhere the winner"

of course i was now feeling a little crappy, as after a nice cup of tea and chat, Greta had grown on me in all her bright orange kitschy niceness

but do you know dearest readers, that is what is so wonderful about forsaken little souls that find their way into one's life, they have so much to give...

bless her heart,

she did jump,

she did pick a winner,

and she did survive,

thankfully...

congratulations to Cricket, hurrah! send me your details Cricket and the magazine, along with a gleeful wreath will be winging their way to you pronto.

i did enjoy reading all your lovely thankfulness and i think we can all agree it is nice every now and then to count one's blessings.

and with that all said and done, Greta is now resting on the couch, with a headache and i must away to Miss Ethel for a small shop update beckons tomorrow... i will be putting apron wraps out, hanging a couple of 'whatnot' garlands and hoping to find a 'forever' home for these sweet things

it will be my last update before christmas, so i'm trying hard to not procrastinate and spend wasteful minutes with Greta, Mr Hook and a ball of yarn

she will be back tomorrow with a small miracle or two, after all, it is the season ~ Tif