Author Archives: pennygj

The Crochet Retreat with Frank & Olive

Well I’m home, bright eyed and bushy tailed from a simply stunning weekend at the very first Crochet Retreat with Frank & Olive and can’t wait to tell you all about it.

I hopped on a train to York on Friday afternoon and after the taxi driver had negotiated the rush hour traffic I arrived in the peaceful Yorkshire countryside at Deighton Lodge, a converted farmhouse. Here I was welcomed by Ruby and Kim, of Frank & Olive Crochet. Ruby & Kim - Crochet Retreat with Frank & Olive Ruby is a fabulous crochet designer as seen in Mollie Makes, Simply Crochet, Inside Crochet and Kirstie’s Handmade Britain.

As the other ‘Happy Hookers’ arrived we were given a very welcome glass of Prosecco to sip while we gazed with wide eyed wonder at the heaps, piles….mountains of gorgeous yarn which surrounded us. Just yarn heaven!

Crochet Retreat with Frank & Olive I really wanted to bring this sheep home! DMC sheep - Crochet Retreat with Frank & Olive There were pattern books galore to inspire us and it wasn’t long before we had all dived in and started new projects and we were a little reluctant to stop to eat. That is until we saw the gorgeous Greek themed feast which had been prepared, just scrumptious!

And that is how the weekend continued, with fabulous food and drink, more yarn than we could ever use, inspiration, lots of laughter and new friends. It was exactly what I needed and I’ve come home thoroughly inspired. Marna Lunt - Crochet retreat with Frank & Olive Ruby had arranged a workshop with Marna Lunt the textile artist who is lovely and had us all crocheting, cutting and stitching to make our own creations, I’ve nearly finished mine… Marna Lunt workshop - Crochet Retreat with Frank & Olive The final luxurious touch was a massage with Nassira, who was fantastic – it just added that extra relaxing element…

So I’ve come home full of enthusiasm and have only been slightly daunted by discovering that our internet is on the blink! So. I might get this published, who knows but hey…I am sooo chilled…

If the Crochet Retreat with Frank & Olive sounds like it might be right up your street you can find out more about it here… and I’ll be back soon to share a few more of my makes…x

Spinning a yarn…

Probably the last thing I need right at the moment it a large consignment of yarn…

My home is full, the studio is full and also the shed. Full of masses of stuff I’m just not ready to part with at the moment. But hey, why not just add to the fun and throw in a mountain of colour!

And it’s worked…

Planet Penny Cotton Colours Yarn New Colours

Great excitement today when the yarn arrived. I had samples of one of the colour collections over the weekend so I’ve already been experimenting and I’m itching to have a play with the other colours, a pastel rainbow. Plant Penny Cotton Colours pastel yarn I hope to have these ready for the Etsy shop very soon, I’ll let you know.

As a little aside, do you like cross stitch? I’ve inherited sooo many knitting, crochet and needlecraft books from my mum and I’ve had to be stern with myself and say that the one thing I’m not going to have time for is cross stitch. But I do have these lovely books… Cross Stitch books

…from Donna Kooler, Jane Greenhoff, Katrin Cargill, Patrice Boerens and Better Homes and Gardens. If you are interested do get in touch via the contact form.

So, I’d better to get to work. I have a basket of cotton yarn beckoning to me!

See you soon…x

Moving on, new ideas…

There’s nothing like climbing out of a rut with a flash of inspiration and some new ideas.

And I’ve had to work hard to get into the right frame of mind, but I’m getting there! A lot of the problem has been the ‘swimming through treacle’ effect of mountains of STUFF. I’m really bad at parting with things, and my little cottage is filling up rapidly with all the things I can’t bear to part with from my mum’s home, not just yet anyway. (I’m also filling my studio, my shed, the veranda…)

So you can see that with all that going on, there hasn’t been much room to be creative and have any new ideas at all.

However, here’s the first one, a Planet Penny Newsletter. I wanted to be able to add a little something extra to what goes on in my woolly world so I investigated MailChimp and found it was actually jolly good fun finding out just what I can do. If you would like to find out more the sign up is on the sidebar, it’s a work in progress!

Planet Penny Products photo practice digital SLR camera

I’ve had some new ideas about the Planet Penny Cotton Colours yarn too. So many people have commented on how lovely it is to work with but I know those gorgeous rainbow brights aren’t everyone’s cup of tea, and I can do subtle as well, you know!

So this is the first proposed set, delicate pastels which work beautifully together and also with the white ‘Snowdrop’ yarn. I can really see these as a baby blanket or something cuddly for the cot.

New ideas Planet Penny Cotton And the other collection is this… new ideas - Planet Penny yarn I think it’s just scrumptious,and I can’t wait to try out some new ideas with these soft colours!

It’s all in the planning at the moment so I’d love to know what you think. And maybe I will be able to do some limited editions via the newsletter.

I’ll be back soon…x

Clever Crafter’s Guide to Wool

In the interests of all things woolly I’m sharing this great infographic, the Clever Crafter’s Guide to Wool from Clippers Ireland. It’s amazing to think that when you snuggle under your wool blanket you are actually covered by seven sheep!

I think I’ve knitted and crocheted with wool from four out of the five animals below, I’ve never tried rabbit though, how about you?

clever-crafters-guide-to-wool (1)

I don’t think I’ll be needlefelting with Vicuna any time soon!

A Crochet Retreat with Frank and Olive

Way back in March, when I had no inkling of how life was going to change so irrevocably, I booked a weekend away, on a crochet retreat with Frank and Olive.

Crochet retreat with Frank and Olive

It’s taken quite a while to get my welcome pack, and with so much else to think about I’d almost forgotten about it. However it was a lovely and welcome surprise to receive this pretty box of patterns and information, and promises of jolly things to look forward to at the end of next month. Crochet Retreat with Frank and Olive welcome pack

I’ll be relaxing with fellow crocheters, there will be surprise guests and a special workshop, all in a lovely B & B a short distance from York. I’m looking forward to taking lots of pics so I can tell you all about it when I get back! Special guests at the crochet retreat with Frank and Olive

I have so much to sort out as you can imagine it’s meant I’ve been struggling to get my Planet Penny mojo back. Today a lovely lunch with a friend, Kay of Arts Desire, when we arranged dates for a couple of needlefelting workshops as well as having a general brainstorming session, has been a great help. I’ve found some amazing ‘blasts from the past’ to share with you while sorting through my mum’s house, my old home, so I’ll be back soon.

And meanwhile I am really looking forward to the Crochet Retreat with Frank and Olive, do go along to the Frank and Olive Facebook Page to find out more.

See you soon…!

…And Now…

Barton Hall Wood

Hello again… I’m so glad to be back here among friends. I can’t tell you what a huge comfort your many messages have been to me over the last month, I thank you all from the bottom of my heart.

Everything culminated in this last weekend’s farewell to my darling mother; a few days of sadness and laughter, tears and memories, spending time with loved ones who are usually too far away. The funeral in the little country church, the choir, the woven casket smothered in early summer blooms and yellow roses… the singing of ‘All Things Bright and Beautiful’, the voice of her youngest little great grandson chattering to himself while the vicar spoke his comforting words, everything was a perfect tribute to a wonderful brave and loving woman. Her passing has left a huge gap in my life, and I need to go on, to continue to strive to make her proud.

So I’ll be back here very soon. There are all sorts of exciting projects in the offing for me to share with you! There is one weekend left of the Norfolk and Norwich Open Studios and I will be about on the Saturday if you would like to call in.

Thank you again, and I’ll be back very soon…x