Category Archives: Crochet

And the winner is…Daylight Lamp

This grey and gloomy day seems a very good time to announce the winners of the Daylight Lamp Giveaway.  It’s going to brighten the days of the two lucky recipients Gail and Pauline!Smart Light D20 - Daylight company Daylight Lamp

The main prize was won by Gail.  I love her description of the sort of winter days I enjoy most…

“I live in a town called Horsham, in the south East of England. The thing I love most about winter is the frosty mornings, when all the cobwebs are highlighted in droplets of water, when you  can see frost patterns on the window panes and best of all when you see the children on the way to school breathing out just so they can see their breath. It’s just magical.” 

…I just hope we get a few of these mornings soon and not the wet and windy gloom which we are currently enduring in the UK… I think Gail is going to need her Daylight Lamp!

If you have noticed I have been conspicuous by my bloggy absence, please forgive me. We’ve had a special delivery in the family, my very first granddaughter, and I’ve been somewhat distracted…

crochet blanket

I can only take credit for the blanket! crochet blanket - Daylight Lamp Giveaway

See you soon…x

The Crochet Butterfly & Flower Mobile – Ta-DAH!

At last I can share with you the project I have been beavering away to finish, the crochet Butterfly & Flower Mobile,  made using the new pastel selection of Planet Penny yarn.Planet Penny Cotton Yarn - New Pastel Shades for Crochet Butterfly & Flower Mobile

I’m really happy with this pastel version of the rainbow shades and hope you like it too.  I’ve got lots of ideas for pretty pastel blankets and cushions, but for now I’ve been having fun surrounding myself with loads of butterflies and flowers.  We may not have had much sunshine this year, but it’s definitely been summer on Planet Penny!

Crochet Butterfly & Flower Mobile - pattern & cotton yarn from Planet PennyCrochet Butterfly & Flower Mobile - pattern & cotton yarn from Planet PennyI made lots of butterflies in different colour combinations, used the Lemon Sherbet to make the flower centres and saved the Peppermint Cream for the leaves (and then had a happy half hour arranging them for the photos!) Crochet Butterfly & Flower Mobile - pattern & cotton yarn from Planet PennyCrochet Butterfly & Flower Mobile - pattern & yarn from Planet PennyBut the ultimate goal was to make a mobile.  I used a wooden hoop as the base and crocheted round to cover it (but actually it would be fine left ‘au naturel’ or painted)…covered hoop for Crochet Butterfly & Flower mobile…and added three crochet chains for hanging.

After arranging and pinning the flowers to cover the hoop…crochet flowers for mobile PDF pattern - Planet Penny…I used my trusty hot glue gun to fix them securely.Crochet Butterfly and Flower Mobile - PDF pattern - Planet Penny(and then got very excited about the idea of a coronet bed head with filmy drapes over a little girls bed, or a bridesmaid headdress, or framing a mirror…or…or… shhh…calm down dear!) 

Anyway, for now it’s butterfly time and I added these with nylon thread which is nearly invisible, hanging each butterfly at different lengths and… da-DAA…! The finished Crochet Butterfly & Flower MobileCrochet Butterfly & Flower Mobile - PDF pattern - Planet PennyAnd then the sun came out so I was able to let those butterflies loose to flutter in the breeze…Crochet Butterfly & Flower Mobile made in Planet Penny Cotton Pastels _PDF pattern & yarn - Planet Penny You can find a downloadable PDF of the instructions here:  Crochet Butterfly & Flower Mobile and the yarn is available in the Etsy shop.

I’ll be back soon…x

Just a little post…

…to say thank you!

Thank you for all the positive comments on my last post.  It’s lovely to hear you are happy to read my ramblings, and Higgins is positively swollen headed at the thought that you want a bit more ‘Dachshund Action’…  He’ll do his best to provide it!

A lot of the things which have been keeping me away from the day to day Planet Penny stuff have been related to getting to grips with sorting out my parents home, my mum’s stuff and all sorts of things I had stored at her house and forgotten about.  It’s an unwritten law, isn’t it, that you always have something left in your parents’ attic, even when you have a home of your own? I know we still have all sorts of odd boxes full of our off-springs’ stuff and they’ve long left home.  I’m being hopeless at parting with things too, even things I actually don’t like, like this Toby jug which has scowled at me from a shelf for as long as I can remember…Toby jug

He’s been banished to a cupboard now, but we haven’t parted company even though he obviously disapproves of everything I do!

And then there are clothes, especially things my mum knitted.  How fabulous is this Patricia Roberts cardigan she made me in the eighties?  I thought I had lost in in one of my many moves, but no it was safely in the attic.  Quite a good incentive to diet, but probably not to have another perm!Patricia Roberts CardiganSitting out here in the studio listening to the rain on the roof it’s hard to believe how hot we were over the weekend.  Higgins is very fed up right now because he hates the rain and would prefer to stand around with his little cabriole legs crossed rather than got out into the garden.   It was a different story on Saturday when it was 28°C, a steamy hot August afternoon… A little post - Norfolk in AugustHe really was a hot little sausage!dog_walk hot_dogSo for now I’m indoors and working on a crochet project with the new Planet Penny yarn. Here’s a sneaky peek…Planet Penny Yarn PastelsI’ve also finished a bag that I started on the Crochet Retreat when I decided to go outside my comfort zone with chunky yarn and a size 12mm hook. I love the bright shades of this DMC XL Cotton…
DMC_XL

DMC XL cotton yarnIt turned out to be a little more XL than I had planned.  Just as well I’m 5’9″ or it would drag on the floor but it’ll be great place for a yarn stash!crochet bag DMC XL yarnI’ll be back with a new post to share those pastel butterflies, see you soon…x

 

Planet Penny Cotton Colours – Ice Cream Shades

Those of you who signed up for the newsletter will know that the new Planet Penny Cotton Colours Ice Cream Shades selection is now available in the Etsy shop.  And despite the ensuing flurry of of orders I’m pleased to say there are still some packs available!
Planet Penny Colours Ice Cream Shades

I’ve really enjoyed playing with this new palette of colours, especially as I have got just a little bit obsessed with making these gorgeous crochet roses from the Frank & Olive Crochet CAL.  It’s a super simple pattern, and if you would like to join in you can help Ruby with her wedding flowers! 

Planet Penny Cotton Colours Ice Cream shadesThe yarn is exactly the same super quality as the Planet Penny Cotton Colours Rainbow Shades, a lightweight DK, and the packs of 10 different Ice Cream colours in 50g balls is £26.00.  It comes with a 3mm crochet hook, which I recommend if you are making amigurumi and need a denser stitch.  For blankets, throws etc I use a 3.5mm hook or knitting needles.

Find it in the Etsy shop right HERE

I’m off to work on the second new collection, a Pastel rainbow this time.  It’s going to be soo pretty for baby things, and with a new baby for the family putting in an appearance in the Autumn I’m going to have fun with it.

I hope you love the new Planet Penny Cotton Colours as much as I do…

I’ll be back soon…x

 

The Crochet Retreat with Frank & Olive

Well I’m home, bright eyed and bushy tailed from a simply stunning weekend at the very first Crochet Retreat with Frank & Olive and can’t wait to tell you all about it.

I hopped on a train to York on Friday afternoon and after the taxi driver had negotiated the rush hour traffic I arrived in the peaceful Yorkshire countryside at Deighton Lodge, a converted farmhouse.  Here I was welcomed by Ruby and Kim, of Frank & Olive Crochet.Ruby & Kim - Crochet Retreat with Frank & OliveRuby is a fabulous crochet designer as seen in Mollie Makes, Simply Crochet, Inside Crochet and Kirstie’s Handmade Britain.

As the other ‘Happy Hookers’ arrived we were given a very welcome glass of Prosecco to sip while we gazed with wide eyed wonder at the heaps, piles….mountains of gorgeous yarn which surrounded us.  Just yarn heaven!

Crochet Retreat with Frank & OliveI really wanted to bring this sheep home! DMC sheep - Crochet Retreat with Frank & OliveThere were pattern books galore to inspire us and it wasn’t long before we had all dived in and started new projects and we were a little reluctant to stop to eat.  That is until we saw the gorgeous Greek themed feast which had been prepared, just scrumptious!

And that is how the weekend continued, with fabulous food and drink, more yarn than we could ever use, inspiration, lots of laughter and new friends.  It was exactly what I needed and I’ve come home thoroughly inspired.Marna Lunt - Crochet retreat with Frank & OliveRuby had arranged a workshop with  Marna Lunt the textile artist who is lovely and had us all crocheting, cutting and stitching to make our own creations, I’ve nearly finished mine…Marna Lunt workshop - Crochet Retreat with Frank & OliveThe final luxurious touch was a massage with Nassira, who was fantastic – it just added that extra relaxing element…

So I’ve come home full of enthusiasm and have only been slightly daunted by discovering that our internet is on the blink! So. I might get this published, who knows but hey…I am sooo chilled…

If the Crochet Retreat with Frank & Olive sounds like it might be right up your street you can find out more about it here… and I’ll be back soon to share a few more of my makes…x

Spinning a yarn…

Probably the last thing I need right at the moment it a large consignment of yarn…

My home is full, the studio is full and also the shed.  Full of masses of stuff I’m just not ready to part with at the moment.  But hey, why not just add to the fun and throw in a mountain of colour!

And it’s worked…

Planet Penny Cotton Colours Yarn New Colours

Great excitement today when the yarn arrived.  I had samples of one of the colour collections over the weekend so I’ve already been experimenting and I’m itching to have a play with the other colours, a pastel rainbow.Plant Penny Cotton Colours pastel yarnI hope to have these ready for the Etsy shop very soon, I’ll let you know.

As a little aside, do you like cross stitch?  I’ve inherited sooo many knitting, crochet and needlecraft books from my mum and I’ve had to be stern with myself and say that the one thing I’m not going to have time for is cross stitch.  But I do have these lovely books…Cross Stitch books

…from Donna Kooler, Jane Greenhoff, Katrin Cargill, Patrice Boerens and Better Homes and Gardens.  If you are interested do get in touch via the contact form.

So, I’d better to get to work.  I have a basket of cotton yarn beckoning to me!

See you soon…x

 

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...