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.

Too Many Cameras…

…and not enough photos. The camera saga continues…sorry, I’m sure it will be resolved, just not sure if it will be this side of sanity. I haven’t been able to get to Norwich to the camera shop so I’m still snarling at the Olympus. In the meantime Tim, who is in the middle of the North Sea, has bought me a second hand Fuji on Ebay. We resolved the fact that it came without the Smart Card because I still had an old one from a past camera lurking in a drawer, complete with old photos I had forgotten about. I have managed a few reasonable pictures this afternoon, and in doing so discovered that the new old camera’s rechargable battery needs to be charged for six hours to do 10 minutes photography. Talk about swimming through treacle…

However, onwards and upwards. This is what I thought was just what I wanted in 1995…

It was my first attempt at ‘Folk Art’ painting, a little desk which belonged to my grandfather and destined for the scrap heap. It’s been in my studio and is crying out for something for something more ..er…restful …in the way of a paint job before it goes into the new studio.

And I have another doll. After I made the Fairy of Sensible Shoes I had to demonstrate how she was made to a class and so had another body tucked away in yet another box which surfaced in the clearout, naked and bald. I spent a whole evening working on her hair. I had some left over sock wool in brown, black and grey so I carefully cut all the grey sections out and painstakingly embedded each strand into her scalp with a felting needle. As I said, a whole evening. How long for Higgins to do his own version of hairdressing?

Thirty seconds…

Some raging, tears and a good nights sleep later I tried again with a new head entirely, without rips, teethmarks and spit. I abandoned the bandana and went for a miniature felt hat…

…with co-ordinating shoes…

I cheated with the socks, I now have a pair of gloves with the middle fingers missing!

Her little cardigan and bag are crocheted with Blue-faced Leicester wool left over from my hand dyed wool/scarf project, and the skirt is from the stash of fabrics accumulated during my recent ‘Polka Dot Period’ (any one can have a ‘Blue Period’), and here she is…

She sits on a VERY high shelf…

The Fairy of Sensible Shoes

Pink Tulips - because I need them!

Creativity has been a bit thin on the ground lately what with all the clearing out and packing that’s been going on. However I have turned up one or two bits and pieces you might like to see, and I thought a couple of ‘before’ pictures might be good so we can all be amazed at the eventual transformations.

I’m hopeless at dates, and the years rush past so quickly I can’t be positive about how long I had my studio. I was certainly using it before I went off to art college as a mature student so it must be around ten years. In that time the prevailing wind off the big field behind it ripped the roofing felt off at least once, and the whole building comprising the studio and Tim’s adjoining shed took on a drunken lean towards the house, making the doors ill-fitting and draughty. As I progressed through college and got bigger ideas and more ‘stuff’ the studio got more and more full and eventually went from being a rather small studio to being a very big cupboard.

You’re probably wondering where the Fairy comes in. She turned up during the excavations – the pleistocene layer I believe – while sorting the studio. About eighteen months ago I was staying with my mother while she recouperated from a knee operation, and the Fairy came into being when I was being creative with a limited supply of materials.

She started as a piece of embroidery, a short length of buff coloured linen and toning coton a broder thread, and grew from the need to give the embroidery a purpose.

Her body is calico, jointed with wooden beads and her hair, Wendesleydale fleece.

Her little socks were knitted with the remains of the lace weight Shetland wool with which my mother knitted a shawl for her first great grandchild. And if you are going to wear socks, well, I’m afraid it’s Sensible Shoes.

As I usually work in colour it was a challenge to use a limited pallette and to forage for materials. Now she’s going to preside over the kitchen while waiting for her new home to be built. She’s already threatened me with several nasty spells if she ends up stuck in a scrap bag again and it’s far too cold for me to end up in a pond with a lot of other frogs.

The Final Push

I’m sitting inside now trying to get warm having spent most of the day outside with Tim and Will doing the final clear out of the studio, store and shed. I have Higgins stuffed up my jumper, fast asleep and snoring. He makes a good hot water bottle. He’s had an anxious day, confused by all the activity and helpfully running backwards in front of anyone carrying a heavy box. I have been trying hard to remain positive by painting pictures in my head about how good it’s all going to be when I’m in the new studio but I do tend to get anxious and fussy when confronted by confusion. I’d quite like to be stuffed up a nice warm jumper to snore until it’s all over!

I’m stepping outside the bloggy thing of posting only loveliness to show the ‘before’ pictures, otherwise how will you appreciate the transformation? So this is ‘The Blue Shed’ in all it’s glory, the left hand side Tim’s, and to the right my little studio. With insulation and electicity it was a cosy little place to work until I just outgrew it. And last summer it looked pretty with window boxes and hanging baskets. In the far corner is my little wooden store shed, which has been the source of much fear and trepidation this week as I cleared it out because of the spiders!

Tomorrow the builders arrive, and the view from the back door will be very different by this time tomorrow.

P.S. I haven’t gone mad, I know I said I wasn’t doing photos, but the distance outdoor ones are fine, It’s the fuzzy close ups! Something else to sort out tomorrow…

P.P.S. Just discovered a drawback to having a dachshund up your jumper…wind, if you get my drift. I’m getting the drift, it’s all escaping from the neck of my sweater…phew!

I Haven’t Gone Away…

…but I am on the verge of committing cameracide, if that is what you can call flinging one’s new camera on the floor and jumping on it. I’ve given it two months now, I’ve printed out all 64 pages of the manual that came on CD – why couldn’t be in a handy handbag size book? I just can’t get the nice crisp photos I was getting with the old faithful Fuji, and I don’t want to put fuzzy photos on my blog. So the post I’ve been working on will have to wait until next week, after I have been back to the shop . Please bear with me, I will be back.

I shall leave my guard dog keeping an eye on things…

Woops, late again…!

I’ve been conspicuous by my absence so far this year and a m only slightly comforted by the fact that most of my favourite bloggers seem to be in much the same boat. I had such good intentions too!

So, an update. Firstly, Higgins is just a little less of a dog this evening having gone to the vets to be modified today. He is rather sleepy and subdued just now but we are assured in a day or so we’ll be struggling to stop him bouncing around while he recouperates.

Thank you for all the guesses for the use of my mystery object in the last post. I have had a lovely time reading them. I’m going to keep it running for a little while longer and see if I can find a couple of prizes, one for the most accurate guess and another for the one that makes me laugh the most so do please keep them coming in.

My final excuse for being a little tardy with my posts is an eye sight problem so I spent this morning while Higgins was safely at the vet with the optician. I’m hoping the amazing space age super duper lens being flown in from Germany in a week or so will do the trick. Judging by the price I should also have Xray vision and be able discover new planets without the aid of a telescope so seeing the computer screen clearly will be a doddle.

Normal service will be resumed as soon as possible…

Forward Planning

I decided quite a while ago I don’t really DO the New Year thing. I like the fireworks, but I’m not really into crowds, kissing strangers and Aul Lang Syne. And anyway, it’s just man made numbers, a hook on which to hang the passage of time, and get our taxes paid regularly. (Sorry, this sounds like a cue for a grumpy old woman alert!) We decided quite a while ago to turn our year around at the Winter Solstice on the 21st of December, a more satisfactory arrangement in tune with the natural order, and with the promise of longer days ahead. This is celebrated with close friends with much jollity, silliness, good food and wine. So my new year has already started.

However, having said that, there is much to be said for a review of the past year when looking at the last page of the diary and seeing the unsullied fresh pages of 2010. If I have a resolution it is to procrastinate less, and to be more creative. (If you’ve heard this one before, don’t all shout at once, I’ll be deafened!)

The big project for the next few weeks is a humdinger – a NEW STUDIO! I have a little shed which was great before I overflowed out of it into every room of the house. Now I have to find somewhere to store it’s contents (it has turned into a glorified cupboard) so it can be dismantled and transported to a new home leaving space for – the NEW STUDIO! So much hangs on this because I have been struggling for so long with not having all my materials and equipment easily accessible. by the time I’ve tracked down every thing I need to realise an idea, I’ve run out of time, or energy or inspiration. I’ll also gain space in the house, and it might (might) just stay a little tidier …well I can dream…

I’m off now, to pack a box or two, but I shall leave you with a little puzzle. This is my Christmas present from my dear friend Kit, who is also my creative partner in crime. What do you suppose it is? Do leave me your guesses…

…and in the meantime I hope that 2010 brings you everything you could wish for, see you in the next decade!