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 ~

liberty and the selvedge fair...

on the saturday morning, the day before i left to cross back over the pond, Our #1 and myself took the train back into London. first stop was TopShop on Oxford Street, we pottled amongst the humongous display of bags. as i stood bedazzled by the array of goods on offer and the young and old pretty ladies rushing around picking up and putting down the goods on display it dawned on me. i was now standing in TopShop on Oxford Street just as i had stood many moons ago aged 19, only this time i had my 19 year old daughter with me and despite a little pang of 'where have the years gone' i felt really rather fortunate for this moment of watching her pick out bags, trying them on, searching to find the exact one to meet all the needs of an art student carrying around her supplies and turning to me, asking for my opinion and when i gave it, listening to it. yes, how fortunate for small moments such as these.

after our bag testing in TopShop we headed to Liberty. i was pretty giddy about this and so i picked up the pace and walked faster. i cannot believe i have never ever been to Liberty before. actually i have stood outside before but never stepped inside its peachy Tudor walls.

we perused every department and i poured over every little thing on display. i have noted i am a 'touchy feely' shopper, everything i am attracted to must be touched, so therefore i did do quite a bit of touching in Liberty, i hoped they did not mind and i did make sure i had clean hands and only did light touching just to get a feel of the material and not a full on big 'rub-e-de-dubby' which would not have been suited to such lovely items on display in Libertys. no sirree, i save my 'rub-e-de-dubby' touchy stuff for the thriftstore where it is most important to get a good feel of things. yes i do know how to behave in public i assure you :)

after a lovely look at the insides of Liberty it was time to grab a light lunch 'el fresco' just off Regent Street. i am not making it up, we did indeed share a panini outside in the beautiful early spring and it was wonderful watching the hustle and bustle of folks in the sunshine. whilst we ate, i do believe i fell in love with London on a spring day.

then we were off to catch a tube to head on over to the Selvedge Fair and meet up with Debbie. upon meeting Debbie at Highgate tube station i was put in charge of directions to the Fair. i marched us off up the high street, after some marching and noting there really did not look like anyone else going to a grand Spring Fair, i halted our marching and poured over the little 'iffy' map printed off the web. i then turned my little 'iffy' map 180 degrees and noted to my two companions who had been marching alongside of me, it would appear we needed to go down the high street and not up.

see right there and then is a classic example dearest readers why i should not be put in charge of such important duties, i am brilliantly brilliant at following and looking out the side windows, whether in a passenger seat of a car or a companion on foot. after a bit of 'sighing and tutting' we were on our way again, arriving at the lovely Selvedge Fair in time for a much enjoyed pottle around and a nice cup of tea before the stall holders packed up and went home.

we caught up with the 'ever so lovely' Emma Lamb and her girls, looking so peachy and perfectly granny-ish. obviously i am talking about Emma's girls looking perfectly granny-ish and not herself, however the 'peachy' bit was about Emma though.

my fabby friend Fran was there too! after so many years of knowing her and her clever arty ways it was a sight for sore eyes to finally get to spend a little moment of snatched 'real life' quality time together.

and then there was my lovely friend Gloria (left of the photo), who so kindly displayed our dottie angel ltd tea towels on her stall and then let me stand behind her stall which truly was most kind.

how grand to have a chance to chin wag about this and that... truly what a peachy way to spend the last few hours of being on a small island... at the Selvedge fair with my lovely cyber buddies Emma, Fran and Gloria. the fair was full of crafty and arty goodness and it was wonderful to see all the stalls and their creative owners.

and then just like before, in the blink of an eye we were riding the evening train back to suburbia to pack up my 'vintage fabric heaven' treasures in my little suitcase and bid England a fond farewell. as i lay in my bed that night going over the whirlwind of the past 10 days, visiting five different counties, the family, the folks and the places i had seen, i could only marvel again at what a peachy trip it had been and best of all, perhaps the besty thing of it all, i got to spend a whole week with Our #1.

she has made old blighty her home now, when i look at her i see an adult standing before me, one who does not read her maps upside down, can train hop like a pro and knows how to be a canny thrifty shopper with her pennies. and as much as i miss not having her living here in our shed i am so positively beaming as i tippity type this post, knowing she is living out in the big world and doing such a brilliantly peachy job of it, far far better than i ever did.

she is particularly liking something in particular ~ Tif

vintage fabric heaven and Caravan...

i must confess to being distracted over the past few days by my little office space.

no longer Our #1's bedroom,

no longer a catch-all for my crappity crap

no longer with mauve walls to do my head in.

things are coming along a peachy treat and as i tippity type this little post in the corner of my new office space (gosh that does sound terribly businessy busy like doesn't it!) i am looking at freshly painted walls, old frames spiffied up, a nicely made bed in one corner for when Our #1 visits and in t'other corner, a place to house all my collection of lovely things to do with dottie angel stuff.

i will be sure to show you more but first shall we carry on with the thrilling adventures of Tif, Debbie, Lou Dearie and Our #1 in the big smoke? after all it is a day which will be forever etched on my little brain...

after our pottle around Spitalfields Market, Lou Dearie took us to 'vintage fabric heaven'.

now perhaps i need to tell a little tale within this tale for you to truly appreciate this moment. when the lovely Lou turned up in Seattle last September, she bought with her a suitcase full of vintage and retro fabric goodness, the likes of which i have never set eyes upon before. when she opened the lid to her case i can only liken it to the moment a lid is lifted off hidden buried treasure and a glorious light shines from within and angels chorus all around. well that was Lou's suitcase and as she lifted out the most wonderful bark cloth curtain with perfectly peachy rose clusters upon it, 13 dearies and myself gasped 'thee gasp'. after which Lou told me of a place, a place so splendid in it's retro vintage glory fabric goodness that she just knew i would think it was the closest thing to fabric heaven this side of the pearly gates.

roll on several months and here i was in London with my lovely day trip companions and embarking on what was to become one of my top ten all time besty best days ever. first Spitalfields Market and now a trip to vintage fabric heaven.

i have no idea where vintage fabric heaven is, Debbie and I dutifully followed Lou Dearie as she weaved through the side streets of London, Our #1 choosing to catch up with us later as she wished to check out the vintage stores along the way.

what can i say dearest readers, Lou did not disappoint. vintage fabric heaven was in a little side street, in a little shop crammed to the ceiling with piles of secondhand fabrics. all clean and folded and treated as they should be. sorted into piles of 'likeness'...

drawers overspilling with doilies and lace, granny blankets in a rainbow of colors, retro curtains and bark cloth yardage, all of which brought tears to my eyes.

we left vintage heaven with my purse a lot lighter and our hands a lot fuller...

feeling a little faint from two peachy ports of call and knowing we still had one port left to go, we found a lovely cafe to recharge our batteries and for me to yabber on and on about what we had seen and done whilst everyone else ate their lunch.

after which Lou had to leave, so we said our 'fare thee wells' and the three of us continued on our journey. our final port of call being the world of Emily Chalmers, Caravan. stepping off the street into Emily's shop was like stepping into a little imaginary world, Emily's lovely world. if you ever get a chance to visit then do so, for it is beautiful and interesting and quirky, just like Emily herself.

Emily was waiting for us, looking perfectly peachy whilst we looked windswept and bedraggled from our day out in blustery London, but such details did not matter, no sirree, what mattered was the wonderful couple of hours spent sitting and nattering over a cup of tea in Emily's room above the shop, marvelling over my vintage fabric haul, 'ooohing and ahhhing' over Emily's lovely collections and spending quality time together.

before we left the wonderful world of Caravan, Emily and myself had our photo taken by Leonard and he did a pretty good job considering the awe of the moment he needed to record. you will be able to see the results of the photo in my 'dottie angel' book alongside of Emily's lovely foreword she so kindly wrote for me.

and then we were on our way, off to catch a late train home to the suburbs. as we sat amongst other train travellers eating our M&S sandwiches and munching our crisps, i could but only marvel at how fortunate i was to be able to share this incredible day in my life with my soul sister and my eldest daughter.

knowing when i am old and grey, with perhaps a few marbles missing, i will be sure to tell the tale of this day to any passing random strangers who happen to pass by my granny chair in my old folks home. recalling the day i got to visit SpitalFields Market, Vintage Fabric Heaven and Emily Chalmer's peachy Caravan World many many moons ago. and when those passerbys doubt my 'tale' i will merely nod in the direction of the granny chair next to me and say

"if you do not believe me, then ask my soul sister, for she was there too..."

and we will smile the knowing smile that only soul sisters can smile who share a lifetime of memories

she is happily playing with her little forsaken souls and hopes to have results of said playing in the shop soon ~ Tif

footynote: upon my return to the shed i have noted gremlins are playing around with my shiny place, hence the lovely wide spacing between the sentences and other such mischief :)

home again, jiggy jig and a jig, 'cause how nice to do an extra jig...

gosh, how odd. i am a little nervous at being here, what is that all about then? have i been gone so long, is it nerves of excitement or fretting, i do not know. all i know is i have missed you dearest readers and despite my shakes, i am most delighted to be back in my shiny place :)

actually now i think about it, perhaps i forgot to have my orange juice this morning, yes that is it, nothing to do with being here but more to do with being forgetful.

my trip to old blighty was perhaps one of my top ever trips in the past 10 years of tripping over the pond. Leonard and his trusty lens did not let me down. he did a fine and dandy job of snapping shots here and there. i now see it is not him but me who is not allowing our relationship to move on, after spending days of carrying him around and whipping him out to record a moment or two, i still do not love him. however sometimes it takes time to fall in love doesn't it and so i will continue to nurture our little bit of friendship as he deserves so much more than i am giving him.

since arriving home stateside i have holed up in my little shed and pottled, shuffled and shifted until i can pottle, shuffle and shift no more. that is the peachy thing about going away, the fog clears and you can see a solution where once you only saw a problemo. so upon returning i set about working on my solution, and the solution to my problemo is shifting Colin the Computer upstairs into a little corner of Our #1's old bedroom. which actually is no longer her bedroom but a useful room full of things i have accumulated from years of thrift store frequenting and now of course Our Colin.

i am most delighted, for downstairs in the heart of the shed is still my little studio, with Miss Ethel waiting patiently for me and cupboards full of linens and a large sofa under the window. forsaken souls dotted around, smiling at me and it now feels like the creative space it once was when we first moved to Mossy Shed... a space to beaver away in without Colin distracting me and on some days 'playing heavy' on my mind, watching me, never letting me switch off.

and so it is with great delight on monday i will be dealing with my 'itching to be stitching' mood which has been inside of me forever and a day. do you like that? i do too, 'itching to be stitching', surely that would be perfect on a wall hanging above a little trusty sewing machine who waits patiently for the moments she gets to beaver with her owner.

next week in between my stitchery ways i would be happy to share a few of Leonard's snap shots and a few tales of what i got up to if you like. today you can see a little sprinkling of Leonard's capturing moments in blustery old London. i happened across some bunnies to love, i seem to be finding bunnies all over the place but these ones had me overcome with bunny lust. what i really wanted to do was take them home and place them on an acre of moss and crochet them all lovely little bunny ear warmers in happy bunny ear warming colors. when i whispered this thought in their lovely bunny ears they seemed quite keen and started talking amongst themselves as to what colors would suit their lovely ears best...

she has bunnies on the brain alongside her 'itching' mode, oh yes her crafting cogs are turning ~ Tif

and off she goes, exotic fringe, granny undies and all...

righty ho, just counting out 10 days worth of my little vitamins and wondering why i chose today to cut my bangs/fringe with the kitchen scissors. i am now sporting quite an interesting looking fringe line. i have told myself it is perfectly acceptable for it to curve up in the middle above my nose and that in fact many may think it the latest look from hair catwalks from glamorous places such as Paris. i am thinking a little exotic here...

however, i do not have time to fret about my exotic looking fringe, for i have critters and children to sort.

upon my pottling around the shed with 'post-it' reminders stuck to my chest i noted my daffs are looking peachy and springy. i am wondering if they will still be there upon my return, looking not so peachy and not so springy, it is kind of comforting to think they may well be... things like that make one feel like life may whizz on by some days and be a little surreal, but the things which matter most like family and their little habits, stay the same. yes it is quite true to say, i hope i do arrive home to find my daffs bedraggled and way past their best on the windowsill.

gosh blimey i am getting all melancholy on you dearest readers, i guess that happens from time to time especially when i am flying on my own.

let us move on from such thoughts and before i head off on my red eye to old blighty this may be the perfect time for me to mention my up and coming workshops on the beautiful Suffolk Coast in England, this summer.

yes indeedy i need to rustle up a few more peachy dearies so we may have a perfectly fabby time of things in a beautiful cottage over looking the sea, vintage fabrics and lots of time to stitch to our hearts content whilst Angela does a brilliant job of providing us with wonderful homecooked food. walks on the beach, tea around the firepit and quality crafting time with some lovely likeminded crafty souls...

if you like the idea of being a peachy dottie angel dearie this summer (i know i do), you can find all the nitty gritty over at Angela's lovely place. any questions or other such things you may be wondering about, do not hesitate to contact Angela at ritchieacecamps@yahoo.ca

if your questions are more along the lines of

"Tif, why would you chose to cut your fringe with kitchen scissors the morning of leaving to visit England and meeting all those lovelies you have lined up?"

or indeed

"Tif, instead of darning three pairs of tights in their heels and leaving it to the last moment, do you not think a trip such as this is worthy of a new pair of tights?"

or perhaps

"Tif, when will you be getting your derriere into gear and making summer apron wraps for your little shop?"

then may i suggest you do not send those to Angela because i am quite sure she does not wish to talk about my exotic fringe shape, nor my darned socks and quite possibly not my derriere.

however the little bit about the apron wraps, may i be so bold as to answer here and now since you asked so nicely. for indeed upon my return from recharging my british batteries, i have plans, big plans which involve me, my ever-so-lovely Miss Ethel and dottie angel's newly adopted auntie and her trusty sewing machine. together we will beaver like we have never beavered before and after we are all 'beavered out' i hope to have summer apron wraps, lovely high hope flags and little sunshine sacks hanging in the shop window ready to meet Mr Spring and Master Summer.

oh yes! i am positively looking forward to claiming back some quality stitching time for dottie angel

she is wishing you a peachy few weeks, perhaps a little beavering of your own and will be back before you know it, exotic fringe, granny undies and all ~ Tif

homeward bound...

"well that's that then"

i announced to my man in early january as he arrived home late from work to survey the leftovers on the table from our chinese takeout.

"what's what Tif?" he asked with a little trepidation in his voice

(gosh isn't that a spiffy word, Darren dictionary is aiming a little higher these days)

i held in my little mitts a tiny piece of paper,

"it would appear the fortune cookie gods have spoken" upon which i read their wisdom to him as he helped himself to the remains of supper

"you will soon vacation in a place of cool climate"

i gave him credit, he did not bat an eye, just calmly pointed out as he always does when i claim every fortune that comes out of a cookie to be spookily accurate, that it is possible to read anything and everything into them.

i allowed him to digest his meal before i pointed out 'Old Blighty' is a place of cool climate, this time i noted his eyes rolled heavenwards. he agreed indeed it was and how fortunate i was going back there this summer so i was able to once again claim my cookie fortunes have a canny knack of coming true.

"ah ha!" i chimed in, "my fortune says 'soon', therefore it must be talking about sometime closer than July." i waited... nothing.

and so i bided my time, waiting and watching for the moment to strike and like all canny plans one sits upon, the time eventually comes. my time came in mid February and with it a cheap flight back to Old Blighty for a few days to spend quality time with Our #1 and recharge my british batteries.

tomorrow, me, my three pairs of clean undies, along with three frocks, three pairs of woolly tights (which still need darning) and one pair of clogs will be winging our way back over the pond for a whistle stop tour of a small island. Our #1 and myself will be doing a whole lot of travelling but it will be grand for we have so much to catch up on since we last met in December. we will be meeting and greeting peachy folks where ever we go. those peachy folks include (and not in any particular order)

my mother and father

my brother Ben

my soul sister Debbie

Joanna, lovely editor of soon to be released Mollie Makes

(will be sure to talk about that on my return)

Louise Dearie from my dottie angel camp last september

(she will be kindly taking us on a trip around Spitalfield market and brick lane)

the peachy Emily Chalmers (eeeek!)

and lastly, the day before i head back to my shed

the SELVEDGE spring fair,

where upon i will meet

my friend Gloria,

my buddy Fran

and plenty of other lovely dearies who will be at the fair

as you can see there will be lots of miles to cover inbetween the happy meet ups. this is grand for it will give me time to sit and natter with Our #1 whilst i do a bit of crocheting. along with the undies and frocks i will be packing some yarn and a special hook, her name is Grandmother Hook and she belonged to my grandmother Jane. there is real age to this hook of mine and it shows when looking at the lines upon her.

together we will be working on some 'itty bitty' garlands like the one you see in the pictures today, upon my return i will be finishing off the appliques and then popping them into my little shop window. all profits from the little garlands will go to relief funds aiding Japan.

i have noted everytime i crochet or stitch something for another, i spend all the time i am stitching thinking of them... these little itty bitty garlands will be no different.

Carlos my trusty camera, will alas be staying behind for he is unreliable as a travelling companion these days, so instead i will be taking a new fellow. he is called Leonard and he has a trusty lens and appears to have a liking for dim and dingy corners...

i have twiddled with all his bits and despite extensive studying of his manual (causing me to break my 'no reading manuals' rule) i cannot find his soul. however i have told myself Leonard has a lot to live up to and therefore i need to give him more of a chance, so together we will be taking pictures of our travels and with a bit of high hopes, will have a nice lot of snap shots to show on our return. i have put him in a fine and dandy floral travel pouch to make him feel worthy and therefore heighten the chances of him showing me his soul and thus, me and him getting along nicely.

righty ho, i am away to gather up my undies, frocks, tights and clogs. leave penciled scribbled notes all over the shed for remaining clan members to heed and as i see Mr Sunshine has come out to play, i may well take a few moments to stand on an acre of moss with my chickie peas and enjoy his rays. just for a moment though, for tights need 'a darning' for i do not think i can possibly get away with 'stirruped' tights in clog sandals...

she will be back tomorrow with a final 'ta ra' ~ Tif