Author Archives: penny
Planet Penny on Folksy – A Year On
I’ve just sat down at the keyboard with my Reasons to be Cheerful hat on, and realised I have an anniversary to mark this month. It’s a whole year since I needlefelted my first robin and my chums in our little Procrastinators Anonymous group said, “Just get ON with it!” So I put it in the Folksy shop which I had set up months before and then had a crisis of confidence, and I sold it. And it’s a whole year since I took a clutch of robins to the Pick’n’Mix Makers Market in Holt because Emma of Silver Pebble wanted to choose one, and she sold the rest on her stall…
And this time last year I was visiting the Market as a customer, and this time I’ve got a stall, so I think I’ve got a Reason to be Cheerful right here!
(While I was digging around in the archives I found a photo I can’t resist using again…how ridiculous is this…?)
Anyway, enough of all that silliness…
I’ve taken advantage of Tim being back in the middle of the North Sea to commandeer the dining table on which to sort out my packing for Saturday…
Oooh-er, putting it in a photo makes it look so darn little, but actually sitting alongside it I’m sure it’ll be fine.
Needlefelting does NOT lent itself to mass production!
I’ve had some fun with the baubles…
and I’ve made a Christmas Angel…
And I’ve put a bigger robin in a wreath which I’m quite pleased with…
I’ll hopefully have lots of pictures of this Saturday’s event to show you next week (note to self – REMEMBER THE CAMERA!)
So all that is jolly stuff, but before I share some other cheerfulness I just wanted to say a big thank you for all the lovely encouraging comments you have been leaving me. I might be beavering away on my own, but I never feel it while I have so many virtual friends visiting Planet Penny. And also, there’s been some interest in the whole needlefelting process, and what it’s all about. Excitingly, I’ve been asked to run some classes next year, I’ll let you know more as I get the information. Obviously that’s only any help if you live relatively nearby, but when things are a little calmer in the new year I can put a tutorial on line if you would like. Do leave a comment if you are interested.
So back to the matter in hand. I’m still finding loveliness in the garden but with the weather turning colder it seemed a good idea to bring it indoors…
After yesterday’s fog, this morning’s sunrise was beautiful…
…and it was fun getting a Higgins’ eye view of the toadstools!
And finally, and I know I’ve gone over the three reasons but that can only be a good thing, there was a glorious misty sunset the other evening…
…it’s just a shame it has to happen so early in the afternoon!
So, what Reasons to be Cheerful have YOU found this week? Please share them on your blog and link them through the Linky below and spread a little happiness. And if you don’t have a blog, feel free to add them to the comments on this post, I’m looking forward to hearing from you…x
Needlefelted Robins for Handmade Monday
It’s the final run down to the Pick’n’Mix Maker’s Market in the lovely market town of Holt, Norfolk on the 26th November which is NEXT WEEKEND!!! (Aaaah! Speak severely to self….’Calm down, dear!’)
Actually I am looking forward to it, panic aside, because I will see so many friends, especially Emma of Silver Pebble, Celia of Purple Podded Peas, Gabriella of Moobaacluck, Tracey and Craig of Faded Splendour, and the hostess with the mostess, Lisa of Bobobun. And there will be Daisy Boo’s Kitchen…and CAKE…and lots of other lovely stalls!
So as, much to my delight, my little Carol Singing Mice sold almost immediately I have made another group, and they are just waiting to collect their song sheets and bell…
…and I have been making more needlefelted robins, this time to hang on the Christmas tree…
Despite my efforts to remained focussed I did get somewhat side tracked by discovering the delights of the ‘hexipuff’. It came at me from two different directions, firstly in Vanessa’s post on ‘Do You Mind If I Knit’, and then on the UKHandmade website. Isn’t this pretty?
Such a brilliant way of using leftover sock yarn! These are my first efforts…
…and the lovely thing is that UK Handmade are collecting donated hexipuffs to make a quilt to raise funds for charity, and you can find out all about it here.
I think I qualify to enter Handmade Monday this week! If you drop over to Wendy’s Blog on 1st Unique Gifts you’ll find plenty more to see.
See you soon! x
Silent Sunday
Mid November Cheerfulness
What do you think of that for an Autumnal photo? Albertine usually only does her stuff, very spectacularly, for three weeks in June! She’s a little confused!
It’s been a little hectic this week, and again I’ve had moments of ‘Humph, what is there to be cheerful about?’ but it’s always there when you look for it.
We had a bit of worry over my mum. She struggles heroically with all sorts of health issues and keeps amazingly positive but this week new pills rendered her a bit more wobbly than usual and for the first time she had to use her alarm necklace and we had a call to rescue her. She’s less than a mile away so we were there within minutes to find that she had gently capsized rather than fallen, and had only damaged her dignity. It was so fortunate that Tim was home though as I could never have got her off the floor single handedly and probably would have had to call the emergency services. Knowing my mum, she’d have said, ‘Ooh, lovely, firemen!’
So for a couple of days I’ve been going round every couple of hours but now the doctor has been and the pills sorted out we are back to normal for the moment. Such a worry though.
Any way, The sun’s been shining through the last remaining cherry leaves this morning…
I think over the next week the rest of the leaves will be down, but there’s been a lovely sparkly carpet for a small dog to rush about on!…
If you look in the top left hand corner of the first Higgins photo you’ll see my Drummer Boy rose which is still blooming too…
I rescued it from the ‘Nearly Dead’ bin at the local garden centre some years ago and it has been gratefully flowering every year since! And talking of buying plants, I was very happy to find hyacinths to buy at the Farmers Market last Saturday.
You might remember last winter I had these…
…and now I have these to look forward too…
This morning Selvedge arrived…
Which has gone into the pile with Country Living…
…and Country Homes and Interiors…
…to be read, sometime, when I’m not wielding a a red hot felting needle!
Which reminds me. Thank you for all the suggestions which were made about listing the Felty Balloons on Folksy. I’ve taken them all on board, but I think I will wait now until after the Pick’n’Mix Market which is in 10 days time. It would be rather lovely if I don’t have any left to list, wouldn’t it? We’ll see!
Yesterday afternoon I went out to the studio with express intention of have a good tidy up, walked in, spotted a particular piece of fleece, had a brainwave and ended up needlefelting again! But it was very productive, because I made this little chap…
I thought if he had a couple of brothers, they could go carol singing, and here they are! This one has the music…
…and this one knows all the words!
They are quite wee, just over 2″ tall, and look SO cute on the mantlepiece. However, I will be sensible, and they ARE for sale! (Ed. to add: and were sold, the very next day! Another reason to be cheerful!)
I hope that you too have found some ‘Reasons to be Cheerful’ even if you felt it’s been a tricky week so far. And I hope too that you’ll be able to join in with the ‘Linky’ so that we can spread a little happiness about. I’ve really enjoyed popping off to other blogs, and sharing the cheerfulness. I’ve decided to start the Linky slightly earlier, Wednesday afternoon rather than Thursday morning to give as much time as possible for people to find it and join in and so here it is!
See you soon xx
A Hearty Handmade Monday!
Happy Monday! The beginning of another week, and I think now, like it or not, we have to admit that Christmas is coming. 41 days! oo-er!
Have you started the Christmas shopping yet? I’ve been so busy thinking about having things on my stall for the Pick’n’Mix Makers Market I just haven’t had a thought about actually buying things myself! I’m sure I’ll find the answer to several pressie dilemmas on the other stalls there. If you want to see just what’s coming up, have a look at this post about the June Market.
So what have I been making this week? There’s been more of the same with the baubles and the dolly peg dolls, which have already started to sell so I need to keep up, but the new thing was in response to a remark about the Duck I made for the Auction for Team Hannah (where you can bid for him!)…
…and his jolly heart shaped balloon.
So I’ve made some more. With spots!
It reminds me of the film Up…
I really love all those cheerful colours.
I would like to put these for sale on Folksy, the problem being the infinite variety, it would take so long to list them. I’m really not good at churning out masses of things all the same. I suppose if I listed them by the main colour, people could take pot luck on the spots, I don’t know…. What do you think?
I just think they look so jolly. Would be fun in a nice shiny green pot plant!
If you like Handmade Monday, go over to see Wendy of 1st Unique Gifts, where lots of other creative people have links to what they’ve been up to.
I must get back to my felting needle, see you soon x
P.S. To those of you who have been missing Higgins, he’s fine and full of mischief as ever. If you need a little mini dachshund fix, you can find a post he wrote a while ago just here!