The Peachy Crafty World of Dottie Angel

I know many of you will be familiar with the Blog The Ramblings of Dottie Angel it is one of my favourite Blogs.  Dottie Angel is the Alter Ego of Tif Fussell.  Tif is a Brit who has put down roots in America.  Her blog is filled with her craft pursuits and her wonderful Granny Chic Style.  This is her fantastic book that I thought I would share a few pages of with you.  It is the perfect book to 'look' at and read with a cup of tea and a biscuit to dunk.

Each page is a visual treat of crafty goodness.  The majority of Tif's work has been rescued from, what Dottie calls, "The Shelves of Despair", that are present in every thrift or charity shop.  Tif works her magic and turns beautiful fabrics and objects into something more beautiful.  I recently rescued three crochet doilies for the princely some of 20p, they are destined to be turned into something lovely or "Peachy" as Dottie would say.  Dottie uses her own vocabulary and has names for inanimate objects, there is a glossary at the back of the book explaining these terms, most are self explanatory like my favourite 'Crapitty Crap'!

It will eternally perplex me why my 'Lucky Finds' and clutter do not look this aesthetically pleasing.

There are 'How to' pages in the book with simple Dottie Angel projects that any fool could make to beautify their living space.

There is a touching little story about this rabbit and how he found himself sitting on "The Shelves of Despair" and then he found a forever home with Tif and she even made him his own handmade crochet cape.  Doesn't he look lovely in it?

He is now rather a special rabbit and has been seen by a global audience.  I am a sucker for a happy ending.

The simplicity of each piece of work really appeals to me I think it is all lovely.  It is the perfect Coffee table book.  There are even 'Chicken Pics'.

There are also some great photographs of Tif's dogs enjoying their home made blankets.
I shared with you in a previous post my 'Happy Tray'.  This is a firm favourite with everyone in the house now.   It has pride of place in the living room and is in use daily.  It does make us very 'Happy' to use it.  Every house should have a 'Happy Tray', chickens and at least one crochet project on the go.

A craft book is not quite complete for me if it does not have 'Crochet' projects in it.  Tif also loves to crochet.

What a lovely sentiment to share.  If we are having sunshine this weekend it will be accompanied by a crisp frost, in most places in the UK we are having a cold spell.  Brrr.  I really recommend this book, the snippets I have shown you are a very small sample of the whole.  It is a very funny, uplifting and creative read.   A book to show you how to turn your 'clutter' into 'treasures'.   A charity shop will never seem the same again as you man your 'Rescue' missions.
Hope Your Weekend is Positively Peachy.   X 

Crochet Dishcloth (Pattern Download) - Kinder to the environment and Thrifty, Reduce Your Paper Towel Usage

This is my latest finished project.  It has been my portable project.  I have worked on it when I have been a passenger in the car.  I have also worked on it in waiting rooms for appointments with my son.  My proudest 'public' crochet moment has to be last week, I took it to the Cinema when my six year old and I went to watch 'Rio'. (Which is a fabulous movie by the way.)  I crocheted in the dark wearing 3D glasses, so please forgive any technical errors you may spot!  It is made with two strands of 4 ply cotton and a 5mm hook and is a simple double crochet square.  It turned out rather larger and thicker than intended, but it should be durable and last a long time. I am trying to cut down on Paper Towel usage for thrift and environmental reasons.  I intend to make a collection of these.  I remember my Grandmother knitting garter stitch 'String' dishcloths when I was a child.  They would then be boiled to clean them on the top of the oven.  I will chuck mine in the washing machine. 

Download Pattern for 'Simple Durable Double Crochet Dishcloth' Here

Remember These

Come From Trees!



I took this photograph standing inside my front door.  We love this huge Sycamore Tree.



Paper Towels - 3,000 Tons of Landfill Waste Each Day by Sam Greyhawk

"With over 90% of US households taking advantage of the convenience of paper towels we produce over 3,000 tons of waste each day. Is this problem insurmountable? No - if each home simply replaced one roll of their traditional paper towels with paper towels made from recycled paper, we could avoid wasting 3.4 million cubic feet of landfill space and prevent 864,000 trees from being cut down.

The Benefits of Recycled Paper Towels

By using recycled paper towels we are doing much more than just reducing landfill waste. According to Ideal Bite, "For every ton of 100% recycled paper that is bought, about 4000kWh of energy and 7,000 gallons of water are saved. It also avoids releasing 60 lbs of pollutants into the air."

Reducing Paper Towel Waste

Even using recycled paper towels people tend to have wasteful habits. What can you do to graciously help remind people to reduce their paper towel consumption? You can participate in campaigns against consumer paper waste. It is these very wasteful habits that motivate projects like "These Come From Trees."

"Remember... These Come From Trees"

(Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/1070655)

Ginger Beer Scones

I am turning in to The Queen of Scones!  I have posted the recipe for Cheese Scones then I posted the recipe for Easy Peasy Lemonade Scones, one for the boys, I posted the recipe for Cheese and Beer Scones.  Now let me bring you ............The Ginger Beer Scone!

Makes about 12-14 scones.

325g self-raising flour
170ml cold Ginger Beer (use the carbonated type)
170ml Double cream (It needs to be a heavy cream as no other fat is going into these scones.)
25g of finely chopped Crystallised Ginger

Preheat oven to 225 degrees Celsius (205 degrees Celsius fan-forced). Line a baking tray with baking paper.

Sift flour into a large bowl add the crystallised ginger. Combine Ginger Beer and cream in a medium bowl. Add Ginger Beer and cream mixture to flour and gently fold ingredients together until just combined (don't over mix the dough as this will make tough scones). The dough should be fairly soft and sticky.

Place dough on a lightly floured work surface, form into a round and press out to about 3.5cm thickness. Cut scones using a floured 5cm diameter cutter.   Use a quick, firm motion to cut the scones to gives them a better shape and it makes them less likely to stick to the cutter. Form the offcuts into another round and cut some more scones.

Place scones close together on the tray, so they are just touching. Bake for about 12-15 minutes, or until pale golden and cooked through.

If you like your scones to have a soft crust, cover them with a clean tea towel for one minute after removing from the oven. Delicious served spread with butter and  a drizzle of honey .

Scones take no time at all to make and are very economical as a quick snack.  It also makes sense when you already have the oven on to use the fuel economically and bake goodies alongside dinner.

Kiwi Spinning Wheel Trolley - A Thrifty Invention

I love my Ashford Kiwi Spinning Wheel but it is not very portable.  I found this shopping Trolley in a Charity Shop last weekend.  (The dog wanted to be in the picture and I didn't want to argue.)

The Spinning Wheel did not fit on the frame like this.  So my parents found some old board/wood.  Then my Dad attached these bracketty type of things.  They hold the board tightly onto the trolley frame.

My Mom found some old carpet and my Partner found some strong glue (it was seriously called 'Sticks Like S**t'.)  It seems to have done the trick anyway.  The carpet stops the wheel from slipping about.


The wheel can be strapped on using strong elastic cord and there is still room to put the trolley bag on back to front to carry my stash!  I have no idea where I am going but now my wheel can come too.

Is this ingenious or what!