planes, trains, automobiles and pom poms...

it is always a toss up between yarn and undies, this year just like every year the dilemma of what i require for a month on the road 'attire wise' and what i require for 'sanity wise' is a little tricky with one bag allowance. and just like every other year, the yarn will win out, for this time i have pom poms on my crafty mind.

ever since i saw the picture of Erica and Lauren's pom pom garlands in the first issue of Mollie Makes i have been smitten by thoughts of pom poms. however it was not until last week when the peachy Allie Jane and i were in convo it dawned on me they would be the perfect traveling craft. how easy peasy to carry around on trains, planes and automobiles. this dawning has now resulted in my crafty snug upstairs being strewn with yarn and pom poms. for myself and Our #4 had no self control and we foolishly thought, maybe we could just make one, you know, just to see how it all works and then pack it away and save it for our hols.

yes well, with the pants weather this weekend, it was rainy day recess at the shed and why waste our indoor hours on packing undies, cleaning a shed, writing lists for clan members left behind, when pom poms were calling our names. i am mighty impressed with Our #4's brilliant pom pom making skills. i confess i was doubting he was up to the task, which is really quite rotten of me. however by the second pom pom, he had over taken me in pom pom making abilities and it was full steam ahead. at the end of our pom pom fest we counted over 40 lovely bejeweled yarny balls of fluff. we have many, many more to make and i am delighted to report my pom pom making companion is up to the task. despite the mocking from his older siblings about being seen in public aged 13 with his mother, pom pom making together. he is willing to ride above it all, for he is addicted, truly addicted. as we sat at dinner last night in the Indian Restaurant, our final family dinner for a while altogether. he turned to me and said "i wish i had brought the pom pom maker with me". my crafty mother's heart quickened to hear such words.

whilst travelling this summer i will not only be pom pom making but also proof reading my book, this is tres extreme exciting for me. i mean, how often does one have a chance to do such a thing. i have a visual of sitting in the train carriage, pencil poised for action and my book pages laid out in front of me. i think i would like a packet of Walkers crisps to help me along and obviously a seat with a table in-front of it and in one of the less noisy carriages, yes that would be grand and whilst the little scenario plays out in my head, the little voice is saying "blimey Tif, it will be a surreal moment indeed"

after our travels of a small island we finish up this year's homeward bound trip in Amsterdam, i am pretty giddy about this, not only to show my boys a really wonderful city but also meeting up with my long time cyber buddies Ingrid and Jane where upon we will spend a day and a night together. to think after years of cyber friendship we will actually be sitting together in person chatting about this and that, gosh it is quite a thought indeed.

yes this summer is looking good, getting to spend time with Our #1 and even better still, she will be coming home for a few weeks in August, so she can see her sister. i am thinking a road trip to Portland will be in order, actually i am thinking we may aim bigger and further a field, i may suggest the three of us drive to San Francisco. yes, that just shows how keen i am on this summer... willing to throw away my fear of freeway and city driving.

for a few weeks i will have my girls back together again before Our #1 returns to her studies in England and Our#2 flies the nest to study on the East Coast of US.

so there we have it. tomorrow, me, my yarn and a few pairs of undies will be heading home, but before i shut up shop i must just say how kind you all have been to me. once again, just like every summer i am left marveling at how generous and kind folks are. you take time out of your days to come visit, you leave me lovely comments, always are most nice about my crafty moments, spend your well earned monies in my little store and send me wonderful emails sharing your lives with me. truly you are beyond kindness... truth be told it's been a little busy around these parts, things i cannot always share until the right moment, however i hope you all realize you brighten my days, day after day and without you doing so, i would not be sitting on a train, proof reading a book or making pom pom garlands to decorate a book launch. no sirree, i owe it all to you...

she is truly thanking you most kindly and wishing you all a spiffily and 'tufty squirrel safe' summer ~ Tif

a bit of 'lo and beholdness' continued...

ta dah! a 'lo and beholdness' circle of crocheted goodness becomes a 'lo and beholdness' warm and woolly coat for a cold mid century stool.

yes indeedy, it never ceases to amaze me what lovely yarny grandness can come from a few balls of yarn and stick with a little hook. when my little warm and woolly coat was finished up, my little crafty heart swelled with pride. i am not saying this is a big headed kind of way, no sirree, not me. i am saying it in a 'blimey, did i really make that bit of yarny goodness with my own hands' kind of way. oh such is the fabbiness of craftiness. after all it is a circle and up until now a crocheted circle has been out of my crocheting ability reach.

once again however i am reminded, with determination and a little bit of patience and many many moments of not succeeding in the ways of being a 'roundie', my perseverance has paid off. my lovely little stool with his woolly coat is living in my crafty snug upstairs. such is my love for him i have warned all clan members, with or without fur, it is out of bounds.

within seconds of placing my little 'lo and beholdness' jacket upon my stool, Our #3 said "oh, you've finished, great can we sit on it now?" and plonked himself down on my 'moment of roundie glory'. the shriek that followed alerted him to the fact, yes it was finished and no, you cannot.

i have noted over the past few weeks the petals are slowly flattening, and at times the cover appears to have shuffled to the side a bit. i have no evidence that others are sitting on my stool, or resting their feet, however i have sneaky suspicions 'when the cat is away, the mice will play'.

if by chance you fancy yourself a little roundie woolly coat for a cold stool, or indeed just wish to continue making a larger circle of petals and head towards a lovely rug for the floor, or a smaller one to make a cushion cover, then i am happy to share how i did it.

however before we begin, let me tell you several nitty gritty things.

1. this is not a 'how-to' for the petals, i am assuming you have already studied Mille's lovely pattern for petals, she so generously shared with us the other day

2. i used chunky yarn and a size Mr Hook 6.5mm K. where i did not have chunky in the colours i wished to use, i doubled up a worsted weight yarn. in fact the aqua colour i used is made up of two different shades put together and it came out spiffily in my books (do you like that! i do too, it is so much more than just spiffy, it is most spiffily, my new favourite word)

3. if you have understood how to make Mille's petals then you will understand what i am talking about below, if you have not understood, then i fear it will all read like gobbledy de goop.

4. i did have to rip out several rounds as the circle grew to keep it flat but i was determined not to be beat. you may well have to do the same.

5. all along i continued to check the fit with my stool after every round, just to make sure i was on the right track. each stool will be different so this is just a rough guide to help you along.

so hey ho, let's go

round 1, 2 and 3: as written in Mille's pattern

round 4 and 5: repeat round 2 and 3

round 6: repeat round 2

round 7: alternate between single petals and double petals

round 8, 9 and 10: repeat round 2

i stopped here as this was big enough for the top of my stool. if you are going on to make a rug, you will have to decide if rounds of single petals or alternating between single and double petals in a round will increase the circle nicely and flatly.

after my last round of petals, i half double crocheted (US term) all the way around joining at the end of the round and chaining up 2, to begin the next. you do no wish to increase as you are now working on the edge. i ended up with seven rounds of half double crochet to fit my stool's side.

to make the cover sit still and not move around or slip off (the stool is vinyl underneath) i then did a final row of single crochet missing out every other stitch from the row before, giving it a nice almost elastic edging to it.

i carefully placed the cover over the stool, not wishing to stretch the final round of stitches too much and damage them and Voila! it flipping fitted! it was indeed a small miracle.

i think a cushion cover would be most peachy and i have plans to work on one if i can find the printed out instructions of Mille's fabby pattern. i placed them somewhere super duper safe so i would not forget to pack them for Old Blighty. so safe, i have lost them...

she is hoping it all makes sense and wishes you a few crafty moments with your Mr Hooks this weekend ~ Tif

footynote: Mr Spell Checker found over 22 issues today, he particularly found 'spiffily' to cause him fretfulness like never before

'once upon a time'...

i like the color green a whole lot,

always have.

i like grolly green

all the way through

to pretty pastel minty greens.

i like green with hints of blue

and i like green with hints of yellow.

in fact i think it quite true to say,

if i were only allowed one colour in my life

it would have to be green.

if i spy an article of clothing in a store

and it happens to be green,

all sense of what suits me or not,

goes out the window...

i only have eyes for the green.

finding vintage fabrics in green

and indeed clothing

can be a little tricky at times,

hence when i stumble upon them

i can get a little emotional

about the stumbling moment.

however i do not do luminous green,

no sirree,

no way,

no how,

having lived through the 80's

i cannot bring myself to dabble

with such wrongness again.

yesterday i decided to buy a small pot of paint,

a brilliantly cunning plan to distract me

from another of my flock getting ready to fly.

it did not take me long to spy my green,

it was called 'once upon a time'.

well surely upon surely,

if ever there was a green paint

suited to our shed,

it had to be this one.

upon arriving home at the shed

i noted i have a couple of hours

before high school graduation.

ignoring the piles of laundry,

the dried crusted breakfast dishes

and the dog hair courtesy of Used Dog

i only had eyes for a thrifty find

and my can of green paint

my thrifty find

was a wall sconce in brown metal,

upon discovering its charms on the shelf of despair

it told me it liked the colour green,

obviously i was left with no choice...

after two coats of 'once upon a time'

and a couple of vintage decals,

i was smitten,

completely and utterly

smitten with my new paint.

whilst driving home from Graduation,

i noted all the Freeway road signs in Seattle

are painted the same colour

as 'once upon a time'

she is thinking upon her return from across the pond, a certain cupboard in her laundry room would look peachy dressed in 'once upon a time' ~ Tif

footynote: if by chance you wish to paint a find in your life the same colour as Freeway road signs in Seattle, here's the nitty gritty

Benjamin Moore, Aura ~ semi gloss

574 once upon a time