Author Archives: pennygj

Happy Friday Number 5

Helloooo…! What’s made you smile this week? Here’s one of my own Happy Friday moments…

Pink & Blue Crocs for Happy Friday …it doesn’t do to get dressed in the dark!

As mentioned in my last post, I got my mum knitting again. This not only made me happy, but all the rest of the family too…

Knitting Nan for Happy Friday

And I finished and posted my lovely ‘Zing’ squares to Lisa of Bobobun for the ‘Do You Mind If I Knit Blanket’ so I had a great sense of achievement.

Stylecraft Life 'Zing' Squares for Happy Friday

So now it’s down to you. What’s made you happy this week?

Tell us all about it by joining in via the Linky below. If you haven’t done it before, don’t be shy. You can find out just what to do here. It’s a great way of making new blogging friends, and for people to discover you and your blog. Please remember to mention Planet Penny in your post and link back to the Happy Friday post here so that you send your readers to the Linky Party and all the other participants

Enjoy a Happy Friday, have a lovely weekend and I’ll be back soon…x

Simple Stylish Knitting Magazine – A Bit More..

Back in November I reviewed a new part work series, Simple Stylish Knitting Magazine which I was very impressed by.

Simple Stylish Knitting Magazine

Unfortunately it seems it was a victim of it’s own success, selling out quickly and having to go to reprint. I know there were a lot of disappointed people because I followed the story via the Simple Stylish Knitting Facebook Page. However, it’s now back and available via subscription and very happily I received a bulky parcel in the post containing the next 4 issues and a folder in which to keep them. I really like that sort of mail, don’t you?

Each issue comes with a new stitch to learn and a ball of yarn with which to knit a sample square so eventually these can be sewn together to make a blanket.

This couldn’t have come at a better time because I have just persuaded my mother to try knitting again. As I’ve mentioned, my poor mum has had health problems over quite a few years, but once upon a time she was never without some knitting on the go, complicated fair isle and aran, baby clothes, a cobweb shawl… nothing fazed her. But once she was ill this all seemed to fall by the wayside, and when she couldn’t sit and knit for hours at a time, she just stopped all together, and then said she couldn’t do it any more…

So sad…

But I’ve just taken round a pair of needles with cast on stitches, handed them to her and said, go on, give it a go, and it worked! I’m really, really hoping that she’ll get back into it, even if she has to do a few rows at a time and then rest…all my fingers and toes are crossed, knitted squares could be perfect for her.

I’m sort of overwhelmed with projects I want to make having four issues arriving at once (so many things, so little time!) but I’ll share some now and some in another post. I love the moss stitch cushion, but I’d have the Planet Penny Moth to contend with…

Simple Stylish Knitting Cover 2

I really wish I had pink wellies, but I don’t think they’d go well with Norfolk mud…

Simple Stylish Knitting Boot Toppers

and there are no baby girls on the horizon at the moment but when there are…

Simple Stylish Knitting Baby Slippers

Adorable!

Issue 3 with it’s ball of golden yarn has these jolly little egg hats…

Simple Stylish Knitting Cover 3

…and a fabulously cosy cowl…

Simple Stylish Knitting Cowl

So I’m keeping my fingers crossed that I’ll be able to take the Simple Stylish Knitting Magazine folder round to my mum very soon and see if she having a go at something a bit more adventurous than the garter stitch I’ve started her off on. Wish me luck, I’ll let you know!

See you soon…x

Happy Friday Number 4

I can’t believe Happy Friday has come around again so quickly!

I fully intended to have written a blog post earlier in the week with all sorts of news in but it was so busy happening I just haven’t had time! So I’m not going to try and shoehorn everything in just here, but instead make sure I add in extra posts and catch up.

My own happiest moments this week was all about friends…

Firstly Higgins met a new friend. Little Dexter, who is seven months old, came round to play and rang rings round poor Higgins.

Mostly things were just a blur…

Miniature Dachshunds - Happy Friday

But with the aid of a bribe or two we managed a long enough pause to get things into focus…..

Mini Dachshunds for Happy Friday

I toddled off into Norwich to be a ‘lady who lunches’ to meet up with Gabriella and Lisa, two lovely and talented blogging buddies. It’s always so nice to have a chance to meet up in the real world!

And I’ve had lots of yummy post this week, I shall just give you a sneaky peek of one of the parcels…

Yarn for Happy Friday

…and tell you all about it later!

So what ‘s happened this week to make you smile? Tell us all about it by joining in via the Linky below. If you haven’t done it before, don’t be shy. You can find out just what to do here. It’s a great way of making new blogging friends, and for people to discover you and your blog.

Enjoy a Happy Friday, have a lovely weekend and I’ll be back soon…x

Happy Friday No. 3

Hello and welcome to Happy Friday!

This is the time of the week when we try to gloss over those tricky, sticky moments (and goodness knows there have been a few of those!) and reflect on the bright side of life. A bunch of flowers, a little one’s milestone, a new project or in my case, a project rediscovered…

I was shamed this week by being reminded of a particular UFO* lurking in the back of a cupboard after seeing someone else’s finished version on Instagram. I brought it out, and was embarrassed to find just how long it had been in the pending tray. The pattern, by Jane Brocket, was in the second edition of Mollie Makes, printed in 2011! eeek!

Mollie Makes - Happy Friday

~M~ollie Makes - Happy Friday blanket

Happy Friday blanket - Mollie Makes

But the happy discovery that I had made a lot more squares than I realised which were still waiting to be added on to the work so far…

Mollie Makes and a Happy Friday blanket …and that actually I’m not so far off making something of a useful size has filled me with enthusiasm to get a grip and get it finished, and that has definitely made for a Happy Friday!

Happy Friday Jane Brocket crochet blanket

So now, over to you. What Happy Friday moments would you like to share? This week I would also like to welcome the Handmade Habour Linkers whom Wendy Massey has pointed this way. I just know your handmade goodness will make people very happy!

*UFO – UnFinished Object

This is how to join in:

1. Pick one special moment that made you smile, post it on your blog, mentioning Planet Penny Happy Friday. That way your readers will find their way to the Linky and the other posts.

2. Add your own post to the Linky below which will take readers from this blog to your own. It’s a fun way to discover new blogs, and maybe gain some extra followers too.

3.Add the badge which you will find here to your blog or post or wherever so people know what Happy Friday is all about. (just copy and paste the code in the little box)

And of course you can also join on Instagram using #PlanetPennyHappyFriday.

I’m really looking forward to finding out what has made your Happy Friday this week. here’s the Linky…x

Remembering Vanessa Cabban

So many people have been remembering Vanessa Cabban since her tragic death last month. I am hoping to bring a positive dimension to our sadness with news of two projects which will keep Vanessa and her huge talents in our hearts and minds.

Firstly, Lisa of the blog, Bobobun is master minding the creation of a crochet blanket with a group of volunteers. Lisa and I chose Vanessa colours and Lisa is scaling up the Little Squares scarf with granny squares…

Little Square Scarf – Vanessa Cabban

…and co-ordinating the production of the squares which we then will sew together to make a blanket. This will eventually be auctioned on Ebay to raise funds for Vanessa’s family’s chosen charity, the Mental Health Foundation. You can find out much more by visiting Lisa on Instagram, or the Bobobun blog and I will have updates as things progress.

Secondly, I was contacted by Christina who runs the Ravelry group, A Knitter’s Life. Christina is remembering Vanessa by hosting a Knit-along, creating a knitted cowl inspired by her beautiful Fair Isle scarf…

Fairisle Scarf – Vanessa Cabban

Christina will be releasing the first part of the pattern on February 6th 2015 on Ravelry, and I will be joining in. If you would like to take part, Christina has listed the yarn and colours she will be using and everything else you will need on her Ravelry page. If you are in the UK you might find, as I have, that you can’t get all the colours specified. The yarn looks lovely so I’m hoping that I can swap some of the colours without losing the ‘Vanessa Cabban‘ vibe!

I’d love to know if you decide to join in, we can compare notes!

I’ll be back tomorrow evening with the Happy Friday Linky. I hope your week has been filled with happy moments so far!

See you soon…x

The Second Happy Friday

Hello, and welcome to the second Happy Friday of the year. Thanks to all the bloggers who joined in last week, I hope there will be even more of you spreading the happiness this week!

What’s been making me very cheerful this week has been tulips. One of the compensations of January is being able to bring spring into the house long before it’s arrived outside. And it’s also a great compensation for having to go out shopping in the cold when you can treat yourself to bunch of colourful springtime. ( And so much less calorific than chocolate!)

I love the way tulips keep on growing after you pick them, going from stiff and stately when they first arrive…

Happy Friday Tulips …and then gradually bending and twisting towards the light.

tulips for Happy Friday I don’t think I ever shared the beautiful painting by Gabriella Buckingham which was a birthday present last year…

Gabriella with her painting

But I couldn’t resist this photo when my own tulips decided to copy the painting…

tulips and painting for Happy Friday So that’s what been keeping me cheery this week, how about you?

If you would like to join in this is how…

1. Pick one special moment that made you smile, post it on your blog, mentioning Planet Penny Happy Friday. That way your readers will find their way to the Linky and the other posts.

2. Add your own post to the Linky below which will take readers from this blog to your own. It’s a fun way to discover new blogs, and maybe gain some extra followers too.

3.Add the badge which you will find here to your blog or post or wherever so people know what Happy Friday is all about. (just copy and paste the code in the little box)

And of course you can also join on Instagram using #PlanetPennyHappyFriday.

I’m really looking forward to finding out what has made your Happy Friday this week. here’s the Linky…x