Author Archives: penny

About penny

I live in Norfolk, England in a cottage on the edge of the Norfolk Broads where it can be peaceful and beautiful, or wet and muddy, or occasionally wild and windswept. With me is husband Tim, Henry the elderly and opinionated tabby cat, and Higgins, the miniature dachshund with a massive personality. You’ll find me chattering on about wool and textiles, knitting and crochet, recipes, books and patterns, exhibitions and shopping and of course, the adventures of a small dog! Planet Penny has a Facebook Page, you can find me on UK Handmade and I am featured on Channel4/4Homes Favourite Craft Blog List.

Feeling Sheepish!

I’m sorry, it’s been ages hasn’t it? There seems to have been quite a flurry of activity here and every time I’ve sat down to write, another distraction has taken me away again. And now I’m off on holiday for a week, and I didn’t want to go without saying ‘Byeee!’

I did manage a rush round the garden yesterday with the camera and my little assistant. The sun popped out for the day, I have to say he’s popped backed in again today!

The crocuses are still going strong…

even though they have to take a bit of a battering…

It’s really hard to get a good picture of a low-down dog in full sniffer mode…

Higgins went off on his hols this morning. He was collected by the lovely Sharon of Barking Mad and it took quite a while to check off all his luggage for the week, and to pass on all special instructions so his routine carries on as usual. Talk about a surrogate child, only another besotted dog owner will hear how I held out the toy box so he could choose the ones he wants to take with him and not think I am completely POTTY! He’s off to stay with two whippets, I don’t know who will be more tired at the end of the week!

I too, will be tired as I am attempting to ski for the first time for years! It might be that I spend the week reading with a hot chocolate or glass of Gluhwein in hand, I’ll let you know!

In between the packing Ihave done a spot more needlefelting. I had some suggestions after my last post, so may I introduce the sheep?

These three hang on the wall in the bedroom, waiting to lull you off to sleep.

And this one, well I tried her on the lawn to keep the grass down…

…but she was more interestd in eating the flowers!

Oh dear, is that the time? I really must dash off and finish the packing. I’m sure I have more thermals somewhere. Think of me next week, looking for my snow legs, and all being well I’ll be back very soon! I’ll leave you with a picture of my Mum’s birthday flowers, just because they are gorgeous! Byeeeee! x

P.S. For the cat lovers. Just to reassure you Henry has his own staff to keep him happy for the week too, no favouritism round here, and he get to stay at home with his!

Flying Pigs…

Thursday was a mild and springlike day, a relief after days of icyness and gloom. The door was open so Higgins could rush in and out of the garden and boss the birds about, and the sun retired in a blaze of glory.

Things are getting a bit busy here on Planet Penny as I get my head around the Open Studios in a few months time. The brochure entry has been proof read, and the form filled in for a place in the Open Studios Exhibition in the Forum in Norwich. It’s quite a feat getting back into the habit of sorting paper work and being organised after being out of the workplace for so long.

Now I can share an exciting secret with you that I have been sitting on for a couple of weeks! Those of you who have been following Planet Penny for a while will know that I have been popping off the Holt twice a year to the Pick’n’Mix Makers’ Market (and spending far too much money!). The very first time I went I was so impressed with the whole ethos of the thing. The organisers, Lisa of Bobobun, and Teena of Kitschen Pink had managed to go beyond the ‘Craft Market’ which has become so devalued over the years and had got together a really broad mix of artists and makers of beautiful things and put them into a charming Church Hall with a great retro feel. One day, I thought when I went to the first one, one day I’ll get myself organised enough to apply to take part in this.

So can you imagine my great surprise and excitement when, a couple of weeks ago , I had an email out of the blue from the lovely Lisa inviting me to take part in the next Market on June 11th!!!!! WOW! So, no more knitting and crocheting for a while, I shall be needlefelting like fury, watch out for sparks! I’m gradually building up sketches and ideas for the little woolly creatures who live on Planet Penny so I thought I’d ask, what do you think? If you were wandering through the fluffy undergrowth on PP, what would you expect to see? I’ll be gradually adding my creations to the Folksy Shop and obviously showing them to you here first so it would be lovely if you were to join in. I’ll have a think about how I could award a prize or something.

Where do the Flying Pigs come in? Well when the children were young, and they would promise to do something as asked, something monumental, like tidying their bedrooms, or sorting their laundry, Tim would mutter under his breath, ‘Hmm, and Pigs might fly!’ And I like the idea of a Flying Pig! Also, it’s also a really good analogy for realising the seemingly impossible dream…

…and they are flying in from all directions!

And finally, I will be taking part in this Exhibition, Little Bird at the Dukes Theatre Gallery, Lancaster. 22 March-17 April 2011 which is for a really good cause which you can read about here. And this is the little bird who will be flying up to Lancaster very soon…

Oh dear…as I have been sitting here typing away, the little burst of spring-like weather has become grey and overcast, and the Weatherman on ‘Gardeners’ Question Time’ has just assured me that ‘Winter hasn’t done with us yet’ . I’d better wake Higgins up and suggest a little walk, he won’t be pleased. He’s such a ‘fair weather’ dog!

I’m looking forward to reading your suggestions!

Back soon….x

All of a Twitter!

Is anyone else Tweeting? I was a very reluctant tweeter and stood by bleating instead as another member of the family set me up in order to follow Higgins on Twitter (I know, it’s mad, and now you know that madness runs in the family! And Higgins is hopeless at Tweeting, he’s too busy barking…)

And now I’m still in two minds. For all its good points – the networking, the information, it’s SUCH a distraction. I keep wandering off at a tangent, looking at other blogs, recipes, photographs and websites. I know it’s a really good way of finding a network of other people doing what I do, and as I tentatively start to offer my wares for sale I know that it’s a good thing but there’s just TOO MUCH INFORMATION! That’s the trouble with a butterfly brain, I keep fluttering off to the next pretty flower!

But I have been doing some actual, as opposed to virtual, fluttering in the garden. It’s been one of those days when you know that even if Spring hasn’t actually sprung yet, it’s going to do it very soon. I planted some pots to put by the studio door a couple of weeks ago and they are looking good…

…if a little windswept! As Higgins will tell you!

And in the front garden there are all sorts of little patches of loveliness…

Woops, there’s my little shadow again…

…probably worrying I’m about to find his secret bones stash. (He has this unfortunate habit which I’ve only just found out about. He sometimes has a little hide bone which always seemed to disappear remarkable quickly. I found out why when I cleared out the raised vegetable beds. As I was heaving out the old dead stuff Higgins leapt in to rescue…uurgh..what’s THAT…? Have you ever seen one of those dried hide bones when they’ve been rehydrated by a few weeks in the mud? They turn into a long, unravelled jellyish wobbly bit of blubber and look especially revolting when being dragged away by a frantic little dog who is convinced I’m going to snatch it away to eat myself. I don’t think so!)

But mostly, I’ve been needlefelting. My little Bluebirds have flown away, two of them all the way to Sweden. But another little creature has turned up on Planet Penny. It’s the Gardening Mouse! He scuttles around under the trees on Planet Penny arranging the wild flowers. would you like to meet him?

Although I’m very fond of him I must be business like, so if you need a little Gardening Mouse to help you, he can be found here.

So I’d better get back to work. Thank you for all the encouraging comments you’ve been leaving, it’s so lovely when you take time to stop by and say hello. I couldn’t do this without you!

A Little Flock of Happiness

I was SO excited the other day when I switched on my computer and PING! there was an email from Folksy to tell me that my little Bluebird was SOLD! I suppose it’s a symptom of working at home, mostly alone, that it’s easy to get into the wrong mindset , and have very little faith that someone, somewhere will like what you make. So PING! I was very happy, and packed my little Bluebird up…

…and sent him winging his way to his new home, where I hear he is singing cheerfully! And now I have an order for another one, so I am singing cheerfully too!

In the meantime I started on a slightly different Bluebird idea, and ran headlong into design difficulties. This time I wanted to have two birds and a little garland of hearts held in their beaks, which can hang on the wall. I made the birds, I made the hearts…but I was quite sure that I couldn’t use wool to join them together. So I tried this idea…then that idea..then I had to go out. Then it was too late and it was time to go to bed. And then – I joined them all together with a wool cord and it was perfect!!!

So here they are. The left hand bird…

…and the right hand bird…

..and all the little hearts.

It’s in the Folksy shop right now, verging on the almost-too-late for Valentine’s Day but actually I think it would look lovely over the cot in a nursery or little girls room. (Hmmm…or even in my sitting room…! )

Talking about sittingrooms, this is what Higgins likes to to do when offered a bit of carpet to lie on…

He’s not invited often!

(ETA. They sold the very next day!!!)

The Bluebird of Happiness

Sometimes its awfully tempting to be a complete slob, and NOT do the healthy dog walking thing but just to stay in out of the blustery weather and snuggle up with a book. Especially as the dog in question is equally unenthusiastic and dives under the covers at the sight of the little fleecy coat. But we’ve both got waistlines to worry about and perk up once we’re actually out there…

We were rather hoping to find snowdrops the other day and went off to Sheringham Park on the North Norfolk coast, which is a lovely place for walking, with added bracing sea breezes. There’s a woody area…

…and the spot where I know there will be bluebells in a few months time…

…there is the pasture around the house…

and the promise of masses of rhododendrons before very long.

In fact, a couple of brave and hardy ones were already showing what to expect later in the year…

But it was only at the very end of the walk I spotted what I had been looking for. A lone clump…

So if I can’t find drifts of snowdrops, can I find the mythic Bluebird of Happiness?

Oh yes, it’s at the bottom of my bag of coloured fleece, just waiting for the magic felting needle to conjure him up…

…and here he is, with his little pink felted heart…

just in time for Valentines day!

He’s destined for the Planet Penny Folksy shop so he could be yours!

And finally, the Pink Pooch has departed to be a star on the stage. Higgins found him to be far too much competition and barked long and hard every time he put in an appearance so he had to find theatrical digs elsewhere. He was happy to go though…

So with the competition safely out of the way, (and Henry the Cat safely ensconced in a chair) it’s safe to comandeer the prime spot in front of the fire…

Aaaah, that’s better…

Splash of Colour – February

I’m joining in with Silver Pebble’s Splash of Colour again, this is the last one. Hopefully by the time we get to March there’ll be lots of spring colour to enjoy outside Blogland.

I’ve made a montage of Planet Penny images which brought some colour during January. I hope you will enjoy seeing them again.

Don’t forget to pop over to Silver Pebble to see Emma’s colourful offering!