a 'sabbatical of sorts'...

my philosophy

"if i go to sleep at night

knowing i have visited my imagination,

however fleeting it may have been,

then i know i have spent

my day wisely"

most of what i do relies upon,

my spontaneity,

my imagination

and

my family

those three sweet things in my life

have got buried of late,

and so i have decided to take

a 'sabbatical of sorts'.

to dig deep 

and recover the things 

which make me happy and whole.

allowing me to continue 

upon my chosen path

clearing away the draining debris

which has become a daily distraction.

for now,

my store is closed

and my blog posts will be sporadic.

i will continue to pen postcards

across the pond 

and dabble with Ivor when inspired

darren dictionary has informed me

a sabbatical is taking time out 

to rest, 

to grow 

and 

to learn

and that is exactly what i plan to do,

alongside of spending quality time with

my lost spontaneity, my misplaced imagination 

and my patient family

i wish to live by my philosophy again.

and in doing so, 

i truly believe,

one day soon,

i will look over my shoulder

and see standing beside me, 

in all her bohemian, eclectic glory,

dottie angel

waiting patiently for me...

~ Tif ~

discoveries of the utmost kind...

i love a day when a discovery is made,

a discovery of minute proportions in comparison

to many in the world,

but one which changes something within your own.

i would not say my discovery is worthy of calling our local paper,

nor climbing upon our roof to shout for all to hear.

however i do marvel at its discovery

for once again i am left, 

upon discovery of my discovered thing,

marveling how something you have had all along,

can upon one moment of 'ah ha'

become of use.

" we are a little sad, our lives in the kitchen no longer required, due to worn out spots & blobs of cooking "

last week,

 upon wrestling my growing braids into place

upon my bonce.

i noted as always the front looked done,

and the back did not.

i noted this is because in fact, i had done the front

and as always, neglected the back.

after 2 nights sleep, 

the neglect was even more in evidence.

to tame the matted back and highlight the smooth front

i rustled around in my scarf collection.

but just as i had thought before my rustling began,

all scarves in my possession just would not suit.

and so as one does,

i thought of ties, and when one thinks of ties

one thinks of apron strings

and without further ado,

this very thought led to some careful snippity snipping.

after keeping waistband and ties intact

i had myself a natty bit of vintage string 

to adorn and control the growing nest upon my head.

such was my delight, upon seeing it from Ivor's point of view

several more half aprons 'volunteered up' for the chop.

 " yippee! yippee! a new life, how thrilling to spend our days wrapped around Tif's birds nest hair "

they did not fret nor fear 

their bodies would be left discarded and unloved.

for i told them of my crafty plans... 

" oh how loved we feel again, our strings in Tif's hair & our body bits as a perfectly peachy cushion "

Tif

GIRL CRUSH ~ seattle... having no doubts about it

for most of my life Mr Doubter has lived in the shadows. sometimes he casts his shadow in my direction and other times he leaves me be. the days he leaves me and my creativity alone, those are the days my creative soul gets to shine, the sky is the limit, it is just me, my imagination and my hands to make what we will. 

and the days he looks my way with his shadowy presence, well those are the days i tell myself, i am not alone, i tell myself all creative artistic souls have their own Mr Doubter and the shadow he brings. i have never asked if this is the case, for it is my comfort inside of my head, that on those doubting days, i am not alone and i do not wish to learn otherwise.

and so that is why today i am really rather happy to be introducing my friend Danielle to you. Danielle is the brilliantly creative brains behind The Jealous Curator, an extra ordinary presence in cyber land. just her tagline of  'damn, i wish i thought of that' really says it all. she curates and highlights creative souls from all over the world and she does it brilliantly as The Jealous Curator. however very few folks knew until recent times, Danielle is also an artist of mixed media collage work and like so many, it was not an easy thing to put her work out into the public eye. through talking with other artists and creatives, it became apparent she was not alone. with all the incredible works we see daily, it is indeed very easy for us to let our Mr Doubter slip from the shadows, take position upon our shoulders and question our creative worth.

Danielle's cogs turned and with it a wonderful idea was born. why not talk about this, but not in cyber land, but together in reality, in a creative environment, where we can discuss how we get past staring at a blank canvas, how we can believe what we create is worth something, where we can find confidence within a group of others and in time Mr Doubter can for once and for all slink back to his shadowy corner

GIRL CRUSH workshops & tea parties are in my books, the bees knees!

and i am more than a little chuffed to be collaborating with Danielle and the peachy Andie & Emily from Assemble Shop in Seattle to offer a day of talking, creating & eating fine food. at the end of which, we will have 'assembled' a collaborative, mixed media piece of artwork which will be displayed on the gallery wall for others to see!

you can see all the nitty gritty details here and also the list of fine and dandy artists Danielle has lined up throughout the USA. 

i know for me, this will be a defining moment, i have no doubt on this. it will be good to share with others the 'whys and wherefores' of my Mr Doubter and how i have come to terms with him in my life and how indeed perhaps his very shadowy existence is the very reason why i do what i do. for i love to create. apart from my family, friends and critters, it is the very thing that makes me want to get up out of bed everyday and live. there are no words i can find to describe how much it makes my world happy and therefore i cannot allow that shadow to take 'the fragile happiness' away from me. and so you see, in a way, his very presence makes me even more determined to continue listening to my creative soul, not be riddled by self doubt and to allow myself and my creative soul time to shine

Tif 

a dar~ing, clue~ing, hint~ing kind of day...

today i have donned my businessy nitty gritty cap 

so i may tackle my businessy nitty gritty stuff with authority. 

i thought my cap rather bedraggled 

leaving me no choice but to perk it up 

by wearing a bright green floral frock & cardi avec elbow fabric patches. 

so far i have dibbled and dabbled upon Colin the computer for near on two hours, 

all the time dingly dangling the carrot of a 'gold sticky star' so i may stay focused. 

do you like clues?

 hints?

 possible snippets of something interesting? 

i have no idea if monday is such a day for such things, 

but whilst wearing my businessy nitty gritty cap

 i am overcome with throwing caution to the wind, 

gathering up my authority on such matters as 'hints and clues' 

and saying

 "why yes it is Tif, it is the only day of the week worthy of such matters"...

how daring, how clue~ing, and yes, how hint~ing can one get?

Tif 

'thing' friday...

thing one:

it is tres gloomy in the shed today, i know this to be true for just now i saw from the kitchen, that the family room looked tres dull and marched in there to pull back the curtains, only to discover i had already done so earlier. this tells me two things (within 'thing one'). it is tres gloomy and my ability to recall what i did ten minutes earlier is on rocky grounds

thing two:

a chance comment by a peachy reader reminded me of my lost 'little happy monkey' tray. i had two, one for display and one for use. a little while ago i lost my 'one for use'. i do not recall taking him out of the shed for a walk. i tried without vain to recall my last movements within my shed with my little tray, but alas and alack, the old recall cogs just will not turn. it has been over 5 weeks since i last saw my little tray. just thinking about him somewhere lost in our shed makes me sad... looking out and seeing perhaps me walking past, thinking i would spy him and gather him up and then no, i just walk on by, unable to spy him amongst the piles

thing three:

this sunday, when the weather will be at an all time 'gloomy low' i will be at the Assemble shop, beavering away with lovely dearies. i think this is a fine and dandy way to pass a gloomy day and i am actually rather giddy about it

thing four:

my rippley blanket is complete and i am most happy indeed. despite the fretting of colours, i do believe it turned out 'a-okay'. i know i am happy with it, because i have feelings of not wishing it to be shared with my clan members. this is a sign of me liking it very mucho. here is a few things you may wish to know if you are interested in what i did. if you are not, then you are welcome to skippity skip this bit. i do not mind one little bit.

* i used chunky yarn, 

* i made my own chunky yarn for some colours by doubling and tripling strands of yarn together

* i did a basic chevron pattern i learnt off YouTube

* i used a Mr Hook size 7

* i did four rows of each colour in double crochet (triple crochet UK)

* there was method to the madness of the colour placing

1 row of cream

1 row of colour

1 row of cream

2 rows of colour

1 row of cream

3 rows of colour

1 row of cream

4 rows of colour

1 row of cream

* i have discovered that when i add a healthy dose of cream to my crocheting it always appears to pull it together.

* i finished off my rippley blanket with an edge, the edge consists of

1 row of single crochet

1 row of picot crochet

and there you have it, you can make it any size you like. mine is perfectly sized for one large being and one small being to share. as i do not have a small being in my shed, i am debating allowing a little critter to snuggle in next to me. but no large beings. no they can have the other pile of blankets i have made over the years which are now looking rather loved. this will be my very own exclusive Tif's blanket... 

i am wondering now if i need to put a note pinned on it, reminding others they may look but not touch. then again, that would make me seem like a meanie, so perhaps i'll just hide it somewhere so others cannot find it. but what if i did that and then my recall cogs do not turn and i lose my lovely blanket along with my lovely 'monkey tray'? would that serve me right for being a meanie and not sharing? oh my goodness, i am now left with a quandary within my brain of what to do here...

thing five:

i don't have one, i did but its fallen into a black hole in my brain, due to anxiety coming on through fretting about the safety of my blanket. i'm sure it was super thrilling and really interesting, but once again, alas and alack, we will never know.

she is wishing you a happy dandy weekend with recall skills in tippity top condition ~ Tif 

giddy...

i awoke with a giddy feeling today, 

as i ate my breakfast i pondered all the reasons for giddiness within my day. after which i went out, upon returning i had promptly forgotten all but one of the reasons to feel giddy. i think that is the story of my life these days. if i do not make a note of things, they vanish into the little black hole in my head, never to be seen or heard of again.

whilst hoping for a bit of giddiness recall to happen, i waited for a break in the rain clouds, so i could photograph my one remaining reason for giddiness today.

'perfectly peachy pinnies'

for the joyful shop update

they make my inner granny soul giddy with a wave of nostalgia for days gone by. the time when one donned a pinny in the morning and took it off last thing at night. yes i like to think my 'perfectly peachy pinnies' would be most suited for any 'granny loving' soul worth her 'granny loving salt', spending her day happily wearing them.

there is a front, a back and best of all, they are reversible, thus two pinnies in one, just like my granny wore.

tomorrow we are off to my adopted auntie and her little grey cottage for bonfire night, this of course is the perfect reason to wake up all over again with giddiness...

she is wishing you a weekend of giddy ~ Tif 

footynote: hurrah hooray! one giddy reason has been retrieved from the black hole. yes yes, how could i forget, i am all giddy over my new knitted wrist warmers which turned up in my mail box a few days back! do you see them in the photo, well they are handmade by the lovely Jane and her spiffy ancient knitting machine... i wonder what his name is, i imagine him to be quite the sturdy fellow and quite hard work some days when he is playing up. the stitches are itty bitty and there are 24,716 of them, in my one pair of gloves. can you imagine that many stitches in one pair of gloves? not me, because i am crappity crap at knitting itty bitty stitches. plus i suffer from 'second sock syndrome' so even if i wished to make some, i would only ever have one hand warm at a time. no, much better i wear a lovely pair that Jane made, that way i have two warm hands at the same time... i am looking forward to a whole nesting season with these sweeties on my hands without a doubt.

questions & answers...

1. Tif, how is your crochet coming along?

well thank you kindly for asking, despite starting off with what i felt a dodgy combination of colours, i am thrilled to see things are not as pants in the 'colour combo' department as i first thought.

2. Tif, have you paced yourself this time whilst dabbling with Mr Hook?

actually i have dearest reader, i have indeed! this time i have just dabbled short spurts of dabbling and thus far, the blanket is progressing, Mr Hook is feeling loved and my wrists are feeling dandy.

3. Tif, when are you going to continue with the three c's, the anticipation of your words of wisdom on clog wearing is causing me to be distracted at work and home?

do not fear nor fret dear reader, i do plan to pick up where i left off in the next week or so and with that bit of information i hope your distracted ways will mend themselves.

4. Tif, you mention you have been beavering on a joyful shop update but have yet to announce the day of said update?

ah yes, tomorrow i will be doing a bit of rambling about this very subject, as tomorrow is wednesday and i do think it lends itself nicely to such important businessy busy things such as rambling on about shop updates. in my rambling will be the date of my joyful shop update and other nitty gritty details which maybe of interest (or not as the case maybe for some)

...and glory hung at mossy shed windows in the shape of flannel floral curtains

5. Tif, was that you i spied over on Holly's peachy blog Decor8 this morning, whilst having my morning cuppa?

gosh, yes it was... i must tell you i was most fortunate to meet Holly whilst doing what i was doing in Minnesota in september. if you recall Janine and myself went to The Creative Connection to sell our wares and launch the book. Holly very kindly invited me to do a book interview upon her peachy place, i do hope you will take the time to read it, because way, way on down, once you get through my rambling answers you will see at the bottom, where i list my blessings of the internet, you are amongst them dearest readers. for i have said it before and i say it again today, i would not being doing what i am doing without you by my side and for that, i am truly thankful

she is also thanking Holly most kindly for asking her some very nitty gritty questions and being most peachy about the book ~ Tif

blankets on the brain...

i have several drawers in my little brain 

and within them are stored many things to ponder.

they are labelled and they are quite a nice set of drawers. 

i would not say until the other day they are painted glossy custard yellow,

 but now they are.

for if i cannot achieve a custard yellow cupboard in reality

i can at least have one in my imagination.

one little drawer is labelled 'crafty must makes'

and a few weeks back i opened it.

from out of that little drawer in its fine and dandy coat of glossy yellow

leapt 'fabric lappity lap blankets'

"ah yes" i thought to myself, 

"of course that is where i popped you well over a year ago to keep you safe"

for the first time in yonks i feel like i can stop still,

open these drawers and see what lurks within,

waiting for their moments to shine...

'tis a good feeling.

over the coming weeks with high hopes, 

myself and Miss Ethel,

my adopted auntie and her Mr Bill,

and a pile of vintage and used fabrics

we will be beavering away on 'lappity lap' blankets.

two sizes of course!

one for little critters and small beings

and one for medium beings who perhaps care to share with another,

or perhaps not.

and then when we are all beavered out,

i will hang them in my shop window in a cluster,

for in my little drawer marked 'crafty must makes',

alongside the scribbled note saying "lappity lap blankets"

was a side note saying

"Tif, hang in a cluster, for a cluster of lappity lap blankets

 truly will make your crafty heart beat a little faster"

a 'lappity lap' blanket, this one will live at Mossy Shed for she stole my crafty heart

she has dallied in the yarn aisle whilst her #4 kicked a ball around the soccer pitch with a coach who appears to have lost his watch ~ Tif

random things to note...

random thing one:

i am guilty of using the word 'spiffy' too many times, i need to curtail my usage for fear of 'spiffy overload' which is not good, just the thought of it and what it may cause is fearful enough

random thing two:

despite saying i would not twiddle, i could not help myself and thus proceeded to do a little itty bitty twiddling with Gladys, therefore i am thinking i may be forgiven, because it was so itty bitty it really doesn't count.

random thing three:

a little jealousy can be a good thing sometimes, especially in the case of Danielle Krysa the peachy Jealous Curator no less. i am most delighted to see she will be running a fabby camp this October in Palm Springs. i have never been to Palm Springs, but my thrifty senses tell me it is full of granny goodness to be found. i noted Danielle's camp would be well suited to me except the bit about pilates, however i noted this was optional. as my dabbling with yoga and tai chi was pretty pants i can only imagine how i would be at pilates. the rest of the blurb is well worth a noting. so yes, i am a little jealous of those who will be going

random thing four:

i have finished reading my book, i read it from back to front to add an element of surprise. surprisingly i noted it read equally as well backwards... not sure what this says about the book but i like to think it adds an element of uniqueness to the whole thing

random thing five:

cellar door magazine is a spiffy magazine (just one spiffy today) i was most happy when they ran a little article on mossy shed. this may be my first printed article in a magazine which says 'by Tif Fussell'

random thing six:

shop window was filled last week, thank you kindly to those who dropped by. i will be adding more things when i return after my trip to Minnesota

random thing seven:

am testing out my market stall set up today with my adopted auntie. she has kindly agreed to come by and give me words of wisdom on the stall, me fretting about traveling alone next week and indeed doing a better job at pulling up my knee socks

random thing eight:

my doorbell went yesterday morning and a Brit was on my doorstep. i noted she may have been sent from above, even though she said she have moved in 4 houses down. i am hoping she did not notice my frightfully birds nest plaited hair-do, going on 3 days worth and deranged look in my eye due to lack of sleep the night before when Mr Lurgy visited Our #4. i am also hoping i did not scare her off with my huge enthusiasm at having a fellow Brit in the neighbourhood.

random thing nine:

a bear took a bath in my next door neighbours pond two days ago 

random thing ten:

i cannot say the word 'skipping' in a normal voice, i tried all morning whilst doing the washing up. it is not possible to say it without actually a skippity skip tone to my voice. interesting, very interesting, i wonder what other words are like that

random thing eleven:

nope its gone, my mind has gone blank, the cogs have stopped turning, yep this is as good as it will ever get for today.

she is wishing you the most agreeable weekend ~ Tif

snippets of...

ah yes, 'tis been a while for sure. but today we have 'snippets of...' but just like always, before the snippets, there must be a ramble. of course you could just scroll on down and skip the ramble, quite understandable and i will forgive if you do. for those that are not skipping, then here's the blurb...

(the word 'skipping' is a most spiffy word i think)

yesterday i practiced the 'fine art of avoidance', some days i think i could get a degree in this form of fine art.

there i was sitting staring at a 'pressing' blank word document, Colin the Computer was so kindly holding up for me, when the little voice inside my head piped up

"do not put off till tomorrow, what you can do today"

wise words indeed i thought as i stared blankly at my screen. then another little voice butted in reminding me of the little spiffy can of paint my magical paint man had mixed for me. the most perfectly perfect greeny aqua colour, the exact match of our kitchen chair.

the first little voice pointed out this was not what it meant, the second little voice said, surely these wise words apply to anything, including a little pot of paint and a laundry room cupboard waiting patiently.

i then proceeded to ponder how it is, i see my laundry room as a luxury space. is it because i am a Brit and until moving stateside always had my w. machine in the kitchen? i think perhaps it is, and so therefore i love my little laundry space with quite a passion. however i do not love dirty laundry with any passion, but as this is part and parcel of the life i lead then how spiffy to have a small space to do it in. when we first moved in, the little space was filled with old Formica cupboards, i removed some doors and painted others.

as i was practicing the fine art of avoidance, it seemed only fitting i listened to little voice number two and switched off little voice number one. whereupon i spent a happy half hour freshening up the laundry room cupboard. upon which i noted afterwards, it needed a new curtain, so i took some of the fabby nylon tablecloth i found in the thrift store a few weeks back and made one. after which i noted my little laundry space needed a clean, so i did. and then after all that, i felt such a love for my little laundry room i invited 'frankly frank' in to record my afternoon efforts.

so today i have

snippets of... a laundry room

thrilling stuff!

and the besty best snippet of all

Bingo Bee...

she now finds herself one day later staring at a blank word doc, kindly held up by Colin the Computer, more pressing than the day before and this time she has no choice but to listen to voice number one ~ Tif