Author Archives: pennygj

A Time to Live…

…and a time to Dye! Do you remember this post? It was all down to wanting a Sophie Digard inspired scarf similar to the one which Vanessa made and not being able to find the colours I wanted.

Well I’m at it again, this time with a larger palette of dye shades. Last time I ended up with this inspiring basket of yummy colours…

and I am still using up all the little ends in the needle felting even after I’ve crocheted the ends of balls into tiny flowers. When you’ve dyed it yourself you don’t want to waste an inch!

I had a kilo of 4ply wool to wind into 25gm hanks which has taken quite a long time to get out of the way.

It’s so BORING! Trouble is, once you’re in the swing of it, you just want to keep mixing and dying and its too frustrating to have to stop to wind more wool so you’ve got to get everything ready beforehand.

I got the utility room all geared up to make a start last night,

and immediately got a volunteer to help…

Thank goodness Higgins can’t jump quite that high!

I’ve carried on mixing and microwaving and rinsing on and off ever since. It actually fits in really well with writing the blog as I have 15 minute time slots while the microwave is doing its stuff to sit here typing! (It does mean I’ve abandoned the rubber gloves and I’ve just noticed how grey my hands are getting!)

The light is fading now and I have a very fed up little dog wondering why we are not out walking, so I will leave you with a glimpe of the story so far!

Lifting the Gloom with Hearts and Pompom Bunting….

We really need something a little cheerful at the moment don’t we? January is such a gloomy month. Higgins and I went for a ‘squelch’ this afternoon and although it quite mild, it was what my Mother calls a Tupperware box day, and no one’s taken the lid off.

But, the days are getting longer(by about one and a half minutes a day apparently) and I have little daffodils bursting into bloom in front of me as I type.

I was really lucky to receive a lovely gift at Christmas, a beautiful jug which I have been coveting for about five years. Do you remember this post when I was given a pretty little mug for my birthday? Well my clever Daughter-in-law tracked down the very jug I have been hankering after all this time from the same designer, Gabriella Miller.

And I’ve found the little notebook I mentioned in the other post, where I had expressed my desire to have some Gabriella Miller pieces as well as all sorts of useful notes and pictures.

However, I’ve been working on something to cheer up the gloom, and the bareness left now the Christmas decorations have been consigned to the attic for another year. I’ve been playing around with a crochet hook and the yarns left from the cushion and blanket project which are a real splash of colour in themselves. And with February round the corner, and Valentine’s Day there are hearts, and I still love the pompoms so I thought Hearts and Pompom Bunting…

I’ve been fiddling around with the pattern and written it down which I’m really proud of because I got so excited about the whole process, and the prettiness of all the colours. I’ll do a few photos as soon as possible to turn it into a tutorial if you think you’d like make your own version but in the meantime, want to see some more?

(By the way, do you like the cup, saucer and plate on the top shelf? Another Christmas present which I love!)

And finally, bringing all the cheeriness together… Planet Penny Hearts and Pompom Bunting

A cheerful note on which to start the weekend! Have a lovely one, I hope the sun shines for you. See you soon x

Ed to add: You can find the pattern for this bunting here…

Telling ‘Tails’! – The Dachshund Creed

The Miniature Dachshund Creed

1. If it’s in my mouth, it’s mine!
2. If I like it, it’s mine!
3. If I can take it from you, it’s mine!
4. If I had it a little while ago, it’s mine!
5. If it’s mine, it must never appear to be yours in any way!
6. If I’m chewing something up, all the pieces are mine.
7. If it looks like mine, it’s mine!
8. If I saw it first, it’s mine!
9. If you are playing with something and put it down, it automatically becomes mine.
10. If it’s in the same house I’m in, it’s mine!
11. If it’s broken, it’s yours!

Now, here’s a little reminder of the Higgins appeal…

…the laid back attitude…

…and inquiring mind…

The enquiring mind which led a little nose to poke into the pocket of the jacket I had hung over the back of a chair – well there could have been dog biscuits – and find…my gloves…these fingerless gloves..

Pretty, aren’t they? Well, they were…

Not now, however…

Hmmm…

Then there were the cushions. Cushions which were admired in this picture…

Where the damage to the covers doesn’t show. I had a set of these, very cheap, I couldn’t have made them for the price, but pretty. And right from when he was very young Higgins would first suck, then late chew the corners when no-one was looking. When I thought he’d grown out of this baby habit, I remade the covers. Huh…who was I kidding.

There’s just one left now, it’s Higgins very own cushion.

I expect it will become very boring now, very quickly!

Still I though he could redeem himself by helping with the draw for the 150th Blog Post prize. I thought he could use this hat…remember this hat?

The way he did last year when he drew the winning ticket for That Elusive Line.

But no. When I walked in the door holding the hat in my hand he released the springs in his bottom and BOING! BOING! BOING! all he wanted to do was to chew it to bits. I had all the tickets printed and ready…

and I did try make the tickets more interesting than the pink fluffy felt but it took two of us to corner him to get the hat back.

In the end, once the hat had been forgotten, I invented an extremely exciting (for a dachshund) game with little bits of paper until he suddenly picked one up and ran with it. Result!

So one lucky person is about to absolve Higgins from absolutely all the above charges. (Although I do get the feeling that all you out there are mostly on his side anyway!)

And who is that lucky person? Well, Alice, and your artistic director Raymond,it’s you! Congratulations! It’s lovely to think that a little piece of Norfolk will be winging it’s way to New Zealand.

I do hope you like it x

A Splash of Colour

The Christmas decorations have all gone and it’s a grey, dull, wet January day so a Splash of Colour is sorely needed. After I had cleared away the last of the festivities I found, at the back of a shelf, a glass jar in which I have collected felt beads which I have been embroidering at odd moments over the last few weeks. I’ve been meaning to get them out to show you, and to do something with them for ages, and now seems the perfect moment!

So, what to make? I unearthed my box of beading bits and found some little fasteners and cord and all the bits I needed and found I had just the right number of beads to make two bracelets and a necklace.

And here they are. Bracelet 1…

…and bracelet 2…

…and shall we say, a slightly less exuberant colour scheme for a rather elegant necklace.

The temptation is to look in my wardrobe and see what they go with, but no, I’m going to be sensible and put them in the Folksy shop in the hope that someone will love them as much as I do! No more procrastination!

Thank you for all the get well messages following my last post about the uninvited swinish visitor over Christmas and the New Year. T and I had the flu vaccine just before Christmas so we are still keeping our fingers crossed. It was the younger generation who were afflicted, especially the four year old. Just to update you, they are back home now on the South Coast and recovering well, even the small one who had an ear infection and a perforated eardrum. It’s a dreadful thing, and a reminder to us all to get the jab if at all possible every year.

Also Higgins is being very big headed about all the compliments he has been receiving from you. He can’t understand why I keep putting all this woolly stuff on the blog when you would obviously like more pictures of him. Next time I will show you evidence of some very naughty goings on with Mr Higgins and those lovely shiny teeth!

P.S. Don’t forget, there is still time to enter the draw for the needlefelted Christmas ornament in my last post.

A New Year Gift…

….to celebrate my 150 Blog Post! I can’t believe it’s come round so quickly…

Anyway, a belated Happy New Year to you all, thank you for visiting. I’m sorry to have been away so long but there have been guests, invited and uninvited. No-one invited flu of the Swinish persuasion, but he came anyway and laid several of our party low, and as I write the smallest one is still very poorly. We’re all sending get well wishes southwards as hard as we can, here in Norfolk.

So, not many photos at the moment, and not enough to join in with Emma’s Splash of Colour today, maybe tomorrow.

Higgins had a lovely time with all the people to cuddle him, he makes an excellent hot water bottle! He wore his hat…

….for at least 20 seconds. Ate his Father Christmas toy so fast I didn’t get a chance to photograph it, called a Christmas truce with Henry…

…and then dragged a cushion under the dining table to sleep off his own Christmas dinner while we ate ours.

Anyway, the giveaway. Are you all decorationed out, or would you like something towards Christmas 2011 to hang on your tree? I have been needlefelting again, this time Christmas baubles and I have made a very special one to share with you, and for one lucky person to win.

The bauble is 5″ from the top wooden bead to the bottom bead,that’s just under 13cm, is made from my hand dyed Merino and Blue-Face Leicester fleece and is completely unique. (‘cos I hate to repeat myself!)

To win it, just leave a comment on this post, all the names will go into the hat and Higgins will decide the lucky winner by eating drawing the winning name. the plan had been to draw it on Twelth Night but because I’m so late, I will let it run until next Monday, the 10th.

Even if you’ve never commented before, please do, it would be lovely to hear from you x

Merry Christmas to all….

Well here it is…Christmas Eve. I have Nine Lessons and Carols on as I type, ‘Once in Royal David’s City’…

This won’t be a long post. I haven’t time to write it really, and I’m sure you won’t have time to read! I just wanted to share a few photos and thoughts before the big day. The snow has mostly gone now, but it has been beautiful…

Higgins has loved his walks, it might be cold but he’s not wading through mud…

I finished the last bit of pre-Christmas preparation a little while ago and iced the Christmas cake. It was a little problematic as my eggs were bigger than Delia’s and my royal icing was rather sloppy, even after flinging in the last dregs of all the icing sugar in the house. I spent quite a while scooping up what was running down the sides and returning it to the top until it started to set. Not my finest acheivement, visually, but I don’t suppose it will affect the taste!

There something familiar about a small figure dressed in red surrounded by snow don’t you think?

It only remains to say, have a very Merry Christmas all you lovely people out there in Blogland, the ones who have faithfully left the comments which mean so much and to the other readers I haven’t met yet, maybe next year? It’s been such fun to meet you on line, and also in real life, lots of love from Higgins and me xxx

P.S. I have some photos borrowed from my sister which made me laugh so much I can’t resist passing them on to all for a Christmas giggle…

…and finally…

(no Higgins…I tried, he ate the hat!)