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.

All Better Now…

Thanks you all so much for all the lovely messages of concern about Higgins when he wasn’t well. He really enjoyed all the kisses and cuddles I had to pass on and it seemed to work. He’s finished all the pills, and is back on form, full of bounce and mischief. As you can see…

He really isn’t supposed to sit on the studio sofa, given that he’s eaten all the corners off the indoor cushions, but somehow, using that ‘bottom that’s made out springs’, he gets there.

After a big walk this morning I tucked him up in bed so I could sneak off to Norwich for lunch, a gallery and a little retail therapy. The King of Hearts is a lovely destination for all of those things and it’s such a shame that due to lack of funds it’s due to close very soon. After a bowl of warm and spicy soup we had a look round the Twenty by Twenty Exhibition, an eclectic mix of East Anglian talent covering print, sculpture, textiles and mixed media.

The retail therapy came courtesy of some of the little independent shops which are popping up in Norwich which is making it more amd more exciting, interesting and dangerous to the purse! Mrs Bobobun wrote about this one a little while ago but I only got there today. It’s lovely!

It’s full of all the stuff I love. I limited myself to a present for my daughter, and as it was so prettily wrapped up in tissue I can’t show you what it is yet!

Can you guess?

And I also indulged my wrapping paper fetish. I’m always falling in love with gorgeous paper, and then can’t bring myself to use it! This is double sided, so twice as nice…

Then there is The Book Hive…

..an extremely dangerous place for me since it’s full of books!

And you know what I’m like around books. I bought this one….

I’ve dipped into it , there’s another blog post in my head already!

I had to drop in to see the lovely wool lady on Norwich Market… Really. I had to. I found two more lovely colourways in the wool I used for the fingerless gloves in this post…

and some lovely bright sock wool.

I really need to knit myself some new socks. All my old faithfuls have started to go into holes, possibly helped by having my toes chewed…need I say more?

But I mustn’t start anything else until I’ve finished my latest cushion. I’ve done the granny squares…

…but the latest one has been a bit more ambitious, and has required a degree of ‘frogging’ to get it right. It be all ready for my next post.

Oh dear, there’s a beeping from the kitchen. Time to remove the Blogger hat and put on the Chef’s apron. I’ll leave you with the rose I rescued from the garden before the last bout of nasty weather…

Sssssh….

We’ve got to do the prize draw. Higgins was really looking forward to it. We were going to have fun with the hat, and interesting pieces of paper and possibly running round the garden trying to read the piece of paper before it got too soggy.

But Higgins is a poorly little pup…

We had to spend some time at the vet’s today because he couldn’t eat his breakfast biscuits and spat out his cornflake at Granny’s. And when he barked at the post lady, he squeaked. It seems to be a sore throat. I have been poaching chicken to serve with rice and he can manage that. No walkies, and no playing with friends…and Higgins can’t do that either!

So while Higgins sleeps off the injection and the antibiotic tablets, I am quietly enlisting the assistance of the online Random Number Generator (which isn’t quite so much interactive fun)

I gave everyone a number, pressed go..and…

…it’s…

Sarah Hickman!

Congratulations Sarah! Your Pompom Bunting will be in the post next week, I hope you enjoy it. Meanwhile, I shall put my nurse’s hat on again and go and check out the sick room…sssssh….

Town and County

I’d already been thinking about Town and Country life when the latest Selvedge Magazine landed on the door mat this morning. Isn’t it strange when that happens?

Last week we stayed in North Somerset for a couple of days visiting family and even though I left there when I was a child I still feel I’m going ‘home’. I love the hills, and the meadows. It seems so green after living in arable Norfolk where the fields are so often ploughed and brown. But I’m also very fond of Bristol as a city and we were lucky to have a beautiful day for a quick visit, and a trip across the river on the ferry to walk around the new development of what used to be the docks.

I love that row of icecream coloured houses perched precariously along the edge, don’t you? I do have an ‘If I win the lottery fantasy’ about buying an apartment just here, very streamlined and minimalist, and trotting off in the evening to a sophisticated little bar before moving on to the theatre. Spending sunday mornings on one of the boats that have been converted into a restaurant reading the papers over a leisurely breakfast and popping off to Bath in the afternoon for a cream tea.

It’s very modern…

This is the Planatarium. Could it be a planet for Penny?

The pigeons always make themselves at home…

The facilities don’t seem to be so good for dogs. Don’r show Higgins…

We also visited Bath, not for a cream tea, but lunch.

I love the warm golden look of Bath…

One day we’ll get there with more time to explore. I rather wanted to go lion hunting. There were apparently 100 lions all over the city to discover, decorated by various artists and groups. These were rather elegant…

But my heart was won by this one…

Isn’t he just fabulous?

Love the curled lip, all that’s missing are the blue suede shoes!

Back home, the lovely weather is over and we’re back to dog walking in the mud.

But there’s lots to see here too. Free food…

Beautiful colours…

A very brave poppy!

And these delicate, amazing toadstools…

So where would you rather be? With what you know about me now can you see me in a minimalist apartment without my mountain of yarn, and textiles and books and stuff? Nope, me neither!

P.S. Tomorrow is the day of the Pompom Bunting Draw from this post. If you are quick there is still just time to leave a comment and enter!

Compensations of the Season

Last year the Virginia Creeper was a solitary, spindly strand struggling to stay clinging to the wall. I was a little brutal and trimmed it back to door height during the winter and it’s done so well over the summer, despite being torn off in the wind several times. Now it is truly glorious, and I have high hopes of it spreading really well next year, and hiding the join between the old house wall and the extension.

I was a bit premature in a previous post when I said how well the sunflowers had withstood the wind and went outside to find one drooping miserably over the fence. Never mind, it’s all looking pretty good in a vase.

I’ve been playing around with my basket of Stylecraft Special DK and working on a cushion assortment to compliment the crochet blanket. Ikea came up trumps – again – on my last visit with small cushions, 30cms, for a ridiculous price, something like 79p a piece! I managed to hold back though and only got six.

My first two have been a colour experiment. A cool one…

…and a warm one.

I’m happy with how they look…

…and the quality controller is testing them as I write!

There’s another cushion in the making but for now I’ve got to persuade Higgins it’s time for walkies, just as he’s decided it’s time to get comfy…

The End of the Summer

I don’t think there’s any getting away from it now, do you? I’ve hung on to the bunting for as long as I can but it’s looking awfully frayed and windswept now and as I sit here in the studio listening to the wind howling and the rain lashing on the roof I can see all my little flags are wrapped round and round the tape like little sausages.

I’m trying really hard to be positive about Autumn. I’ve been looking at lovely blogs with gorgeous autumny images so I know lots of you out there enjoy thi time of year, but today isn’t one of the better days! Still, I musn’t grumble. We’ve just had a couple of days in the west and the weather was glorious and I have some great pictures of Bristol and Bath to show you soon.

I’m rather happy to discover I can knit in the car! Reading makes me queasy so I hadn’t bothered to try before but because I’ve had a hook or needles in my hands so much lately I found I was horribly fidgety on the car journey so I gave it a go. I’d already had a panicky moment when I realised that heaving a basket containing 17 balls of wool across the country to someone else’s house might be a step too far. I had a couple of balls of this lovely wool…

…which had been part of a birthday pressie, it makes me think of blackberries and heather.

I also really needed a new pair of fingerless gloves. (Somebody small and black and four legged having eaten my last pair…)

: Friendship fingerless mitts by Sophy T O’Donnell

I was happy to find this pattern on Ravelry and it works very well. Number one was knitted up on the journey there – and in odd moments when I wasn’t having delicious cuddles with my newest little cousin, and the second one polished off on the way back!

I do have a little flowery prettiness to show you which I captured before the rain and wind set in today. I have some wonderful sunflowers which have been in a vase for days and are still going strong…

The cosmos grew to ridiculous heights before deciding to flower but they are lovely now and also last well when cut.

Next year I must get more Zinnias. They are so jolly, and just go on and on…

Dalias too, although there is the slug problem as you can see….

A great big pompom of hydrangea…

…and fuchias too…

I can see there is a bit of overkill on Planet Penny pink going on here but I discovered a self sown nasturtium hiding in a corner…

I’ve been really pleased with the sunflowers I grew this year. So much better than the single flowered monsters which are a novelty but don’t do much else, the multi flowered ones have gone on and on despite the wind and rain.

…and I still have roses. I hope the remaining buds will open and not get spoilt by the weather.

While I’ve been typing this, Higgins has given up completely on the great outdoors. He really doesn’t like wet weather and hides in his bed if anyone mentions walkies. Like this…

Yes, he’s really there. Under two blankets and inside the mattress cover. You’d never know. But, if I say the magic word…’Bickies’… he suddenly appears!

I’d better go and get that bickie now don’t you think? And one for me too…and a cup of tea! Enjoy the weekend, and don’t forget to enter the draw for a chance to win a jolly pompom bunting garland to brighten up your day! x

Fairy Cakes and Bunting

Where has the week gone? I do seem to have been dashing around, hither and yon, but even so I managed a little hooking and knitting as I went. I’m still loving my new knitting book and have been going a little mad on teeny weeny socks. They’re all packed up now and winging their way as I type to keep tiny toes warm but I’m sure it’s ok to give you a little peek…

Aren’t they cute? And I love the yarn which is merino wool, cashmere and silk, lovely to work with…

I’ve also made a scarf from this pattern…

Which is incredibly cosy and warm, and very quick to knit.

I’ve also done a spot of baking. It was the first birthday of our very swish Eco built village hall and everyone was invited to the party. It seemed a fairy cake sort of occasion and I’d found some polka dot bun cases…

…and some gorgeous little mini smartie decorations I was longing to use…

They did show up rather well on the cake table!

It was a lovely excuse to meet up with friends for a cuppa and something sweet and sticky (I’ll get back on the Weightwatchers regime tomorrow- honest!)

As I said, I have been hooking too, but with all the little socks I’m not quite ready to show you what I’ve been up to just yet, so I’m going to talk about bunting again. This bunting…

Lots of lovely people have been leaving nice comments about the pompom bunting I made with my leftover wool and Vanessa over at Do You Mind If I Knit was kind enough to mention it and link to Planet Penny. It made me think I’d like to do something a bit special for all of you who have been visiting over the last months so I have decided to do a …

GRAND POMPOM BUNTING GIVEAWAY!

Would you like to join in? All you have to do is leave a comment on this post, and to be in with more of a chance if you put a link from your blog to Planet Penny I will put your name into the hat twice! The bunting is several metres long so will make a really pretty decoration, and being multi-coloured it will match most colour schemes. I’ll make the draw on Saturday 2nd of October so there’s plenty of time to enter the draw.

I’m looking forward to hearing from you all…enjoy your weekend x

P.S.I’ve just realised this post is enough to give you spots before your eyes!