Everything seems to be happening in the merry month of May 2012!   In the spirit of chasing along so as not to get left behind…

…and before I run out of time…

I know…sorry!

I’m squeezing in an extra post so I don’t get completely overwhelmed with things to say, photos to show and no time.

So, May….first of all, there are three birthdays.  Poor Tim drew the short straw having to go back to work on his birthday.  The Carrot Cake recipe must come out in time for his return home I feel!   Then of course there was the wedding… I do have some more photos to share, don’t worry, but they won’t be of the Mother-of-the-Groom.  A line must be drawn!   And, my own big news, Planet Penny is now officially a business.  Not perfect timing but things were running away from me, and I needed it all to be official.

The Norfolk and Norwich Open Studios event is fast approaching, in fact it’s the weekend after next.  There is still loads to do, but we’ll get there, and if anyone is in the Norfolk area it would be SO lovely to see you.  You can find out all about it here.

The next big exciting thing though is next week, and it’s the launch of my son Thomas’ debut novel in Heffer’s bookshop in Cambridge.  Obviously I’m a proud mum, but I’m not alone in thinking he’s pretty special and you can read a bit about the launch here.   And of course if you are in the Cambridge area you could join in too, and come and say hello, I’ll be the one with a proud grin from ear to ear!

Thomas is going to write the very first Guest Post for Planet Penny in the next few days, too, so do look out for that.

But back to the wedding, and the decorations.  We had Wedding Trees!  It had started in the back of my mind as painted branches on which to hang little pretties, but with the help of St Serendipity again, we found two beautifully shaped Japanese Maples in pots.  At the time they were completely bare, but just in time they put out the most beautiful red leaves which were still small enough for an overall lacy effect, and I draped them with little white lights, tiny white calico hearts and paper doves…

But the thing which occupied most of my time in the run up to the wedding was the cake topper.  I’d had a particular idea in mind from the moment  I heard it was going to be a cheese cake.  and I don’t mean a cheesecake, I mean a cake made of CHEESE!  Wallace and Gromit would be proud!

It had to be mice, didn’t it?  And I didn’t let the fact that there weren’t actually any bridesmaids, or even a pageboy put me off…

And the chef made an amazing job of putting the whole construction together…

I have to say it was delicious too, and very much appreciated by all the family, complete cheese fanatics every one!

Finally, a Planet Penny Cotton Club update.  I have just moved the yarn packs, Rainbow Mouse Kits and patterns on to the Folksy shop.  I’ve been a little overwhelmed by the administration involved selling them directly, I need time to be creative or I just don’t function!  It all seems to be working well but let me know if you have a problem.

See you soon…x

This is going to be a very short post.  We’re still coming back down to earth after a wonderful wedding weekend, and I haven’t got my head together enough to process photos, or write much.  I hope you’ll forgive me, there’s lots of other news as well, so I’ll wait for the champagne bubbles to clear out of my system so I can write properly!

Thanks so much for those many sun dances and fair weather vibes being sent our way after the last post.  It worked!  After days of truly dreadful weather, the wedding day was as bright and shiny as anyone could have wished for.

We spent Friday afternoon decorating the venue, and serendipity decreed that the 60, yes – SIXTY- metres of bunting I had stitched was exactly the right length to do the whole room, not one flag too many or few.  ( I of course, tried very hard to pretend it was down to careful planning!)

I also stitched many metres of paper hearts for the doors so my sewing machine was not happy, but it looked pretty!  The bride’s mother did beautiful things with flowers and between the combined families we transformed the room.

The main thing I made for the wedding I have given a little hint of it in the Silent Sunday post, but I’ll save the main photos for the next post.  Don’t forget to come back for a peek!

In the meantime I will leave you with a link to this week’s Handmade Monday which Wendy is now hosting on her new blog, Handmade Harbour so you can see what else has been going on, and also a tiny glimpse of a wonderful, magical day …

It’s been a funny old week, and time to take a reflective pause.  We’ve known for months that this particular part of the year was going to have a lot going on, with our son’s wedding next weekend, our niece’s three weeks later, and Norfolk Open Studios.  And strangely several other invitations turned up – and had to be turned down – because they were all for things taking place during that exact period.

So it’s probably not the time to be making monumental decisions!

I started writing a blog for myself to start with.  I certainly didn’t think anyone else would want to read it!  And although I’ve read the articles, and joined in discussions on how to build a blog following, it has grown up organically over the last couple of years, and I’ve felt it a cosy place to be, with friends dropping in for a chat, an opportunity to share ideas and generally ‘spread a little happiness’ if I can.  I started the Cotton Club idea because I liked the idea of sharing something I had found and really liked, and I’ve been amazed at how popular it’s been. I’ve been particularly surprised at how the Rainbow Mouse idea, the Wreath and the clock seems to have struck a chord, and it’s been shared on UK Handmade, and Pinterest, and Facebook and who know where else.

I have been happy to share the few patterns I have on Planet Penny too, as it’s been a thrill to see my design turning up as a make on someone else blog, and I also wanted to give ideas to the people who have bought the yarn..

But the World Wide Web can be a big scary place, and it’s all too easy to think you’re sitting in a cosy little corner sharing your stuff with a few chums as I found out this week.   Imagine you’d invited a few friends round for coffee, and when you opened the door half the county streamed in, and started helping themselves to the soft furnishings…That’s how it felt on Tuesday, when someone, somewhere with a big following,  I think I’ve narrowed it down, mentioned I had a free pattern for the Rainbow mice.

I had seven and a half thousand hits in less than 24 hours!!!

Thousands of hits on all the patterns, but obviously most of all on the mice, and it completely ‘freaked me out’ as they say!  It felt like a smash and grab, or a raid!   It has had some positive points, I’ve picked up some lovely new followers, who have said very kind things,  and I do appreciate that.   I really don’t want to make anyone feel unwelcome, if you are a returning visitor then this is obviously not aimed at you.  But I feel the bulk of those 7500 hits won’t be repeated now they’ve gone through my assets!

So I’ve moved the Rainbow Mouse Pattern to my Folksy shop, where it can be bought, after Paypal and Folksy have taken their cut, for a nominal sum.  I shall do that with future patterns that are in the pipeline too.

BUT….I still want to share things with the Planet Penny Cotton Club Members so the patterns will always be free to anyone who has bought the yarn already, or to future purchasers.

On a lighter note, I went to a Tweet-up this week!  Several makers who Tweet together, but without necessarily knowing each other getting together for lunch, and a chat and a bit of a brainstorming session.  I already knew Gabriella, of Moobaacluck who organised it, and Lisa of Bobobun, but I was also able to meet Penny of Penny Lindop Designs, Suzanne Lake who sells on Folksy and Jane Pennington who sells her jewellery here.  It was so nice to put faces to Twitter names, and swap tips, ideas and horror stories over pizza and coffee!

Nearly all the creativity that’s been going on this week has still been of the secret variety I’m afraid, but I have had a play with the little flowers I made last week…

…and I think it’s something I’ll return to when things are a little quieter.

I’m hoping that qualifies me to join in with Handmade Monday again over with Wendy on 1st Unique Gifts where there will be lots of lovely things to see.  Do go and visit…

In the meantime, see you soon …x

Edited to add: The mystery has been solved with an apology from an American TV Show ‘Knit and Crochet Now’ which had forgotten to warn me they were featuring the Rainbow Mice on their Facebook Page (which has rather a large following!)  I’m glad I know, I can now feel flattered they noticed, rather than scared of the attention!  

The weather is still appalling, I’m hoping it will get all this rain out of it’s system so we can have just one sunny day on the 12th.  Surely that’s not too much to ask?

I’ve been in and out of Norwich getting the last few bits and pieces so I don’t let the side down, and now have proper Mother-of-the-Groom shoes, no boots or Fitflops for now, and a trip to Get Ahead Hats for a smart titfer.  I probably ought to get a very large brolly too!

I fitted in coffee and a ‘team talk’ with the Mother-of-the-Bride which was lovely, and a satisfactory plan was hatched involving a champagne bucket and two straws!  Well, we can dream, can’t we?

Kit and I went to the Norfolk and Norwich Open Studios Exhibition private view last Monday in the Forum in Norwich and there were lots of beautiful pieces of work.  There is certainly going to be  masses to see over the three weekends that it’s running, with studios open all over Norfolk and Norwich.  I really hope that if you are in the area you call in to see us in our little corner.

I’ve also been beavering away with the Planet Penny Cotton Club yarn putting the packs together…

and the Rainbow Mouse packs have also been very popular…

And in my spare moments in the evening I’ve been wielding the crochet hook, using up all the oddments of cotton left over from all the other projects.  I’ve been making little flowers…

I’m not quite sure what I’m going to do with them yet.  To be honest, by that time of the evening I haven’t many functioning brain cells but it’s a simple little pattern I can do on auto pilot and I’m sure a cunning plan will present itself  eventually.

But, I hear you cry, what about the draw?  Who is going to giving a good home to Goldie the sheep?

I’ve been all through the comments, and I firstly have to thank you all for all your good wishes for my trip to the dentist.  It was worth all the trauma of the visit to know that the problem tooth has gone and all is well, and I’m sure all the positive thoughts you sent my way helped, so thanks again.

However, back to the comments… I added up all the entries, with the extras for Facebook and Twitter, and there were 68!  Then allocated every entry a number, and used the Random Number Generator to choose the winner…

and….

it was…

Natalie, of Free Spirit Design!

Congratulations, Natalie.  I’ll be in touch to get your address very soon!

Thank you to every one else who entered, and commiserations.  Not to worry, I’m sure there will be another excuse for another draw before long!   But now it’s time to link up again with Handmade Monday over on 1st Unique Gifts, where you’ll find plenty of places to visit, and lots of lovely crafty things to see.

I’ll be back soon….x

I’m sitting at the computer in the gloom, listening to the rain hammering down.  This is certainly the wettest drought I’ve ever experienced!

In fact now it’s hailing, so that’s going to do for the blossom on the cherry trees, what a crazy mixed up spring!

I’m just praying that Mother Nature will get it all out of her system before the 12th May, and the wedding.

This morning Kit and I went off to the Forum in Norwich to deliver our pieces for the Norfolk and Norwich Open Studio Taster Exhibition, which starts tomorrow, so I no longer have  my branch of woolly birds hanging on the wall.  I’m rather missing their colourfulness!

Once again my creativity this week has been of the secret kind, with the wedding in mind, but I do have a completely scrummy cake recipe to share. Hands up who likes carrot cake!

Unfortunately I didn’t get to it quickly enough with the camera, but you can get the impression of yumminess from this last remaining slice I’m sure!  I’ve put the recipe in the Planet Penny recipe folder, or you can find it here.

It’s been a little quiet on the Planet Penny Cotton Club front of late because I have been awaiting an elusive out of stock colour, but it’s now on it’s way, so if you are on the waiting list, please bear with me, it’ll be here very soon. ( If you are a new visitor you can find out all about it if you follow the link.)

However, I have been plotting, yet another ‘cunning plan’!   I’ve had a huge amount of traffic on the Crochet Rainbow Mouse Pattern page and it’s been pinned on lots of Pinterest boards and ‘liked’ on Facebook  hundreds of times, and people have asked to buy the finished articles.

It occurred to me that if you really wanted to make the whole set of mice in all the rainbow colours, but didn’t want to end up with lots of unused balls of yarn left over then it could be good to buy a Rainbow Mouse Pack, with the required amount of yarn to make one mouse in each colour, which would make it much more economical.

So, that’s what I am offering, and at the moment I have just three packs, on a first come first served basis.  The pack contains 14 balls of yarn, each ball enough to make one crochet Mouse…

…with the pattern and instructions on how to make it into a mouse wreath, plus the beads for the eyes and noses.  All you will need to add would be a 3mm crochet hook, toy stuffing and some black sewing thread, and if you want to make a wreath, I used a florists wire base which cost 75p.

I’m offering the packs at £15.00 each, plus £3.50 P&P (UK)

If you would like to purchase a Rainbow Mouse pack, please contact me here and let me know your address, and the email address linked to your Paypal account and I will send you a Paypal invoice to pay.  It’s as simple as that!

Don’t forget, if you haven’t already entered, the draw to win Goldie, the needlefelt sheep is still running.  I will be taking the winning name out of the hat  next Sunday in time for next week’s Handmade Monday, so there is still time to leave a comment on the post, and for extra entries, ‘like’ Planet Penny on Facebook, follow @woollyplanet on Twitter, or become a Planet Penny blog follower and let me know about it.

In the meantime, I shall leave you with the usual link to 1st Unique Gifts and the Linky to all the other creative bloggers taking part, do go and have a look, and I’ve just joined the High Tea Linky Party at Black Cat Originals where you’ll find some more yummy recipes.

So even though I’m still finding plenty of newly emerging flowers…

The view is still decidedly wintery…

…and it would actually be really good to get some rain, and I don’t say that very often!

I’m going to share some other people’s handmade lovelies with you now, before making a very exciting announcement!  So first of all, have you come across a book called Best in Show – Knit Your Own Cat?

One of the ladies at our Knit and Stitch group was given this for Christmas, and has been knitting her own cats ever since!

Aren’t they amazing?  Imagine knitting a tail, with 4 stitches, on 4 needles!

And, since I am running out of time in my life to make anything for me, I went off to Folksy to find myself a peg bag and found just what I wanted from Plum Pudding, and couldn’t resist these little heart fridge magnets as well…

There are so many pretty things in the shop, and the fabrics are right up my street.

And now for my big announcement…

This is my 300th Blog Post!

Added to which, I have just galloped past 100,000 visits on the Planet Penny stats, so as a thank you to all you lovely people who have loyally followed, and commented and generally joined in,  I’m going to have a prize draw.

This time, I’m offering a very special prize.  Do you remember my needlefelt sheep?

There haven’t been any sheep in the Folksy shop for a while, something I mean to address very soon, and they usually sell for £30.00. But, I have one very special sheep looking for a good home, and because this is an occasion worth celebrating, I am offering her as the prize.  Meet Goldie…

Goldie could be yours, all you have to do is to leave a comment on this post for a place in the draw.  If you ‘like’ me on Facebook or follow me on Twitter  you’ll go into the hat again!  It’s that simple… I’ll keep it open for a couple of weeks to give you all a chance to join in.

And can I make a plea for some healing vibes to be sent my way on Tuesday?  I dashing off after teaching the needlefelt course at The OutHouse Studio on Tuesday morning to have a tooth out in the afternoon, at two thirty would you believe…(tooth hurty!?…sorry..) So I may be a bit feeble for the rest of the week.

Anyway, off to 1st Unique Gifts now to link up for Handmade Monday again, do go and see what everyone  else has been up to.

See you soon x