Monthly Archives: November 2011

Reasons to be Cheerful – Week 7

Hello again, what do you think of my happy jingly heart? I’m always on the look out for heart shaped pretties and this was irresistible. One day I will have to go round the house with the camera and make a heart mosaic. One day…when I have nothing to do!

I’ve been busily sorting out orders after the weekend, and I just have one left…a hamster. And not just any hamster, I have photos of a dearly departed much loved pet to guide me so this has got to be right. Quite a responsibility, I’ll let you know later how I get on!

I’ve also been catching up on correspondence, which is why I bought some cards last weekend at the Pick and Mix Market. The trouble is, I’m finding it really difficult to spoil the beautiful presentation! I mean, look how lovely this looks…

…and I couldn’t resist buying these jolly Christmas cards from Moobaacluck…

(although I should probably have kept them a secret, I hope no one is looking!)

I must bring in Higgins as a Reason to be Cheerful this week, although he manages to be that anyway (99% of the time!) I had to chuckle this morning as I watched him carefully dragging the throw off the sofa, across the floor to the patch of sunlight streaming in through the french doors. Having arranged it carefully into a Higgy shaped nest, he selected his current favourite toy from the toy box and settled down to warm his tummy! But he’s come into his own getting me out of the house on days when without him I would NOT have ventured into the great outdoors, what with the wind, the rain, and the mud.

It hasn’t been like that every day, and today we had a lovely walk.

Finally I have a Reason to be Cheerful up my sleeve that I can’t tell you about just yet, but which me made me very happy this afternoon! Hopefully in the next couple of weeks I can share it, if it come off.

So what are your Reasons to be Cheerful this week? Please join in, just click on the Linky at the end of the post. It’s lovely to be able to read all the things, both big and small which have raised a smile over the past few days. And if you don’t have a blog just share your thought in the comments column.

See you soon! x

A Pick’n’Mix Handmade Monday…

Hello, Good Morning and Happy Monday! I hope the sun is shining where you are. It’s a perfect Autumnal morning here, bright low sun, and frostiness. The weekend’s strong winds have subsided, and now the last few leaves have been whipped off the cherry trees, the sun can stream in through the french doors unhindered.

I must admit to being very, very tired! There are times when the only way to have a bit of fun and life is to ignore all the ‘management’ advice about M.E., go for it, and pick up the pieces afterwards, which may take a while…

However, enough of all that…

Would you like to see some pictures? I’ve got lots, but I’ll try not to go over the top! If you want to find out more about any of the lovelies that you see, click on Pick ‘n’ Mix Makers Market in the side bar for the details.

My stall will look very familiar since I’ve featured most of my makes on here at some time…

But here are some of the rest…

We were next door to a lady selling beautiful glass pieces, but can you see who is modelling in the background?

…and I discovered she too was a member of the Dachshund fan club, and I met Monty!

Always a popular theme!

I suffered some serious yarn love looking at these…

…aren’t they gorgeous? I wish I suited a hat!

I did buy some lovely raspberry yarn from High Fibre, which I will show you when I have knitted it up, and some jolly Christmas cards from Gabriella, whose whole stall was an explosion of Jolliness!

(and where you will also find dachshunds!)

If you want to see the whole thing from another angle, pop over to Purple Podded Peas where Celia Hart has posted the day from her perspective…

The only new make I have to show you is the Robin brooch. I made one for Kit and one for me to show where we belonged…

but if I’d made lots I think I would have sold them! I sold all the robin baubles very quickly, I think that thanks to the Kirsty Allsop effect, everyone wants a needlefelted robin this Christmas!

(and that gorgeous necklace is a Silver Pebble creation, created for Kit from the contents of her granny’s button box!)

I had enquiries about the robin baubles before the weekend and will be making more for Folksy but if you’d like some you’d better let me know…

I must stop chatting, I have two men in the garden erecting scaffolding and I’m on tea duty. Do visit Wendy over on 1st Unique Gifts to find the Linky to all the other participants of Handmade Monday.

See you soon…x

Silent Sunday

Planet Penny on Folksy – A Year On

I’ve just sat down at the keyboard with my Reasons to be Cheerful hat on, and realised I have an anniversary to mark this month. It’s a whole year since I needlefelted my first robin and my chums in our little Procrastinators Anonymous group said, “Just get ON with it!” So I put it in the Folksy shop which I had set up months before and then had a crisis of confidence, and I sold it. And it’s a whole year since I took a clutch of robins to the Pick’n’Mix Makers Market in Holt because Emma of Silver Pebble wanted to choose one, and she sold the rest on her stall…

And this time last year I was visiting the Market as a customer, and this time I’ve got a stall, so I think I’ve got a Reason to be Cheerful right here!

(While I was digging around in the archives I found a photo I can’t resist using again…how ridiculous is this…?)

Anyway, enough of all that silliness…

I’ve taken advantage of Tim being back in the middle of the North Sea to commandeer the dining table on which to sort out my packing for Saturday…

Oooh-er, putting it in a photo makes it look so darn little, but actually sitting alongside it I’m sure it’ll be fine.

Needlefelting does NOT lent itself to mass production!

I’ve had some fun with the baubles…

and I’ve made a Christmas Angel…

…or two.

And I’ve put a bigger robin in a wreath which I’m quite pleased with…

I’ll hopefully have lots of pictures of this Saturday’s event to show you next week (note to self – REMEMBER THE CAMERA!)

So all that is jolly stuff, but before I share some other cheerfulness I just wanted to say a big thank you for all the lovely encouraging comments you have been leaving me. I might be beavering away on my own, but I never feel it while I have so many virtual friends visiting Planet Penny. And also, there’s been some interest in the whole needlefelting process, and what it’s all about. Excitingly, I’ve been asked to run some classes next year, I’ll let you know more as I get the information. Obviously that’s only any help if you live relatively nearby, but when things are a little calmer in the new year I can put a tutorial on line if you would like. Do leave a comment if you are interested.

So back to the matter in hand. I’m still finding loveliness in the garden but with the weather turning colder it seemed a good idea to bring it indoors…

…and Sweet Peas in November?

After yesterday’s fog, this morning’s sunrise was beautiful…

…and it was fun getting a Higgins’ eye view of the toadstools!

And finally, and I know I’ve gone over the three reasons but that can only be a good thing, there was a glorious misty sunset the other evening…

…it’s just a shame it has to happen so early in the afternoon!

So, what Reasons to be Cheerful have YOU found this week? Please share them on your blog and link them through the Linky below and spread a little happiness. And if you don’t have a blog, feel free to add them to the comments on this post, I’m looking forward to hearing from you…x

Needlefelted Robins for Handmade Monday

It’s the final run down to the Pick’n’Mix Maker’s Market in the lovely market town of Holt, Norfolk on the 26th November which is NEXT WEEKEND!!! (Aaaah! Speak severely to self….’Calm down, dear!’)

Actually I am looking forward to it, panic aside, because I will see so many friends, especially Emma of Silver Pebble, Celia of Purple Podded Peas, Gabriella of Moobaacluck, Tracey and Craig of Faded Splendour, and the hostess with the mostess, Lisa of Bobobun. And there will be Daisy Boo’s Kitchen…and CAKE…and lots of other lovely stalls!

So as, much to my delight, my little Carol Singing Mice sold almost immediately I have made another group, and they are just waiting to collect their song sheets and bell…

…and I have been making more needlefelted robins, this time to hang on the Christmas tree…

Despite my efforts to remained focussed I did get somewhat side tracked by discovering the delights of the ‘hexipuff’. It came at me from two different directions, firstly in Vanessa’s post on ‘Do You Mind If I Knit’, and then on the UKHandmade website. Isn’t this pretty?

Such a brilliant way of using leftover sock yarn! These are my first efforts…

…and the lovely thing is that UK Handmade are collecting donated hexipuffs to make a quilt to raise funds for charity, and you can find out all about it here.

I think I qualify to enter Handmade Monday this week! If you drop over to Wendy’s Blog on 1st Unique Gifts you’ll find plenty more to see.

See you soon! x