Category Archives: Gardens

When not in textile mode my other passion is gardening and my garden

Hello June!

Rubbish, aren’t I? It’s been a whole month…

My excuse, however is the run up to Norfolk & Norwich Open Studios, which started last weekend. I now have a few days grace before we open again on Saturday so here I am with a little round up of the last month.

I sorted out my vegetable patch. Here it is, showcasing the Anti-Dachshund Preventative Flag System… Raised Bed This is how well it worked… HigginsIn RaisedBed Hmm…back to the drawing board on that I think.

In the rest of the garden the flowers have been wonderful. Under the Laburnum tree the air just vibrates with the buzzing of bees. It’s such a shame that the whole wonderful display barely lasts a week…There have been poppies… Poppy and Granny Bonnets (although the best ones have self seeded in the verge outside the fence)…Cherry blossom…Rhododendron…I love the ‘rhubarb and custard’ colours, don’t you?

And my favourite ‘Dog Daisies… Dog Daisy

I bought a super new book… Perfecting Sourdough about which, more later…

And had a spotty manicure!But my big decision of the month is for a Planet Penny clear out. As I have said in previous posts, I am gradually trying to whittle away the ‘stuff’ which bogs me down. As much as I have been happy with my ‘makes’, I need to move things on to clear space not just in the studio, but in my head.

So I’m having a Planet Penny Silly Sale during Open Studios, and selling off all sorts of items, materials and end of line yarn at bargain prices. IMG_20160528_204927 If you live in the Norfolk area and would like to snap something up, pay a visit to our Two Rivers Trail come and see me, and make me an offer I can’t refuse!

See you soon…x

Happy Friday Number 9

Welcome to Happy Friday once again…

I hope your week has been productive and fun, and even if it hasn’t overall, I’m sure there are some little nuggets of niceness to hold on to, so do share.

Spring Flowers Happy Friday

The main thing which is making me happy is…it’s March! It’s spring! The days are growing longer, the daffodils are popping out and the garden is full of birds. I can’t help but feel optimistic even when things are tricky.

Even though it’s been cold, Higgins and I have started each day with a walk before breakfast. (I would point out that it’s been me standing there in coat and fleecy hat swinging the lead, and Higgins buried under the blanket looking grumpy!)

I’m looking forward to reading your Happy Friday post, and don’t forget you can join in via Instagram too, with #PlanetPennyHappyFriday. Please remember to link from your post back here to Planet Penny so that more people find the Linky party. Unfortunately I have been forced to delete one particular person’s links because they had nothing to do with Happy Friday, and everything to do with taking advantage to get free advertising.

Not in the spirit of Happy Friday at all!

See you soon…x

Midsummer! and a Festival…

It’s hard to believe we’re now halfway through the year and in this little patch of Norfolk we were blessed with a warm sunny weekend in which to celebrate the Summer Solstice.

We are just back from a Midsummer Festival which took place just down the road from us at How Hill, a beautiful spot on the Norfolk Broads. You might just remember me taking part in a craft fair there a couple of years ago.

The aim of the Festival was to celebrate the success of the Truly Local shop in the small town nearby, so of course all the stalls, producers and businesses were truly local too.

There was such a lovely atmosphere, we bumped into family and friends, and a great time was had by all, including Higgins!

He was particularly helpful when it came to testing the deliciousness of the beefburgers…

What a look of sheer bliss…

Then of course he had to sort out the washing up after icecream…

Vanilla…

Mint Choc Chip…

…and that icecream cornet, surely the pointy bit would go to waste otherwise…?

There were more stalls than I can mention individually, but these are the ones I know you would like to hear about…

It was great to meet Rachael of Foxglove and Gingersnap with her snazzy stitching. I only knew her through Facebook, I love meeting up with my cyber friends in reality!

… and Sue Maton of The Mercerie. We only ever meet when we haven’t got time to talk properly! She has so many gorgeous things to tempt knitters and crocheters alike…

Paul Williams, one of our Two Rivers Trail-ers was there with his wonderful wooden creations…

Woods World Wide (I now have a dinky little board made from a local fallen tree, exclusively for me to slice lemons on! G & T, anyone?)

And a brilliant, serendipitous find, Ros Arrowsmith who makes beautiful ceramics with which I have completely fallen in love…

I particularly love her quirky lettering style and giant handles. It’s good to find something so fresh and different.

We finished with a walk round the Secret Garden, where my camera started complaining about it’s dying battery. You can get a little flavour of it here… so peaceful and calm.

The visit concluded with tea and cake, what could be better?

Back home I’ve a new project on the go, a spin off from last week’s Needlefelt Workshop, and a commission to complete, so I’ll be back soon with photos.

I hope you’ve had a lovely weekend too, see you soon…x

(now where’s that gin and tonic…?)

Box of Delights – The Results

Good Morning! I hope your morning is as beautiful as ours is today…
Very frosty first thing, but gorgeously bright and sparkly.

So it’s a good day to be awarding prizes. Firstly I have to say thank you again for the wonderful comments, it really has been heart lifting, and makes me feel another 500 posts may well be possible. I wish I could write to each and every one of you but there were 100 entries!

And I always feel bad when I do a giveaway because I can’t give something to everyone so I decided to add in four extra runners up to spread the delight a little further. In the past I have used my trusty helper to draw a winning name. We used a basket once…

…and of course the hat…

…but it involved a lot chasing around to find out who’s name actually came out of the hat…

…and it’s awfully damp and spitty. Also, there were so many this time…

…that I used the Random Number Generator which involves no chasing, and no chewed paper. So without further ado, and a big drum roll I am very pleased to announce that the winning number was 96 and the Box of Delights goes to Pennie, in East Sussex. The four runners up are number 14 – Sue Cambell in Alabama, number 15 – Cindy Wilson in Canada, Number 46 – Toffeeapple of Buckinghamshire and 48 – Linda Thorpe of Norfolk.

I shall share the runners-up prizes as I create them, it’s sparked another idea! Thank you all again for taking part.

And thank you too for all the supportive and concerned comments regarding our adventure with the fire last week. Everything is tidy and soot free in the room now and I’ve pinned a dust sheet over the fireplace as we await builders’ estimates. It’s not going to be a quick job, alas, Higgins and I are both snuggled under blankies in the evening now!

See you soon…!

A Pain in the Neck!

If it’s been a bit quiet on Planet Penny the last few days it’s because its all been a bit of a pain in the neck…quite literally! I don’t know how it’s possible to lock one’s neck up completely just turning on the pillow to look at the alarm clock but that’s what I did, very effectively. So my midweek post got delayed, and now I’m back in the chair with strict instructions from Lara, my amazing chiropractor, to set an alarm and step away from the computer every 20 minutes….

Which is quite tricky…

I was mobile enough to take the second Needlefelt Workshop yesterday at Arts Desire and like the first one it was great fun.

It’s always fun to see the different interpretations of the same basic skill when we all get together, last week we had these little chaps (spot the bumble bee!)…

…and yesterday these little feathered friends were born…

The Craft Lounge at Arts Desire is proving a great venue for these workshops and I’m looking forward to the 27th July and the Planet Penny Bakery when we will be needlefelting lots of low calorie high fibre treats! If you are interested in joining us you can find out more right here…

Meanwhile, I have been responding to many requests for a Rainbow Mouse knitting pattern for all those who don’t crochet and I’ve come up with this little fellow…

and introduced him to his crochet chums…

What do you think? As soon as I feel happy with the design it will be available alongside the crochet Mouse pattern via the Etsy shop…

He seems to be looking very much at home..

And the sun is shining! The creaky neck has put paid to much gardening, but my lovely son has been over and planted my Sarah Raven Sweet Peas. It’s a super scented collection of white, blue and deep pink …

…and I just can’t wait to pick my first bunch and fill the house with their scent.

I don’t think I’ve shown you my Planet Penny Cotton garden project! It seems a bit mad, but so far has withstood the weather really well…

A possible tutorial? Let me know what you think…

And now, because the sun is still shining and it’s heading towards being the hottest day of the year so far, I shall take my basket of yarn and the embryo mouse pattern into the garden and enjoy the rest of my Sunday, knitting under the cherry trees.

I hope you enjoy your Sunday too!

See you soon…x

Turf, Surf and Needlefelt Birds

A mixed bag post today, I’ve been lurking inside a lot consoling myself with needlefelt because of the unseasonably cold weather, but then rejoicing in sunshine and warmth when at last we get a brief indication that it’s actually summertime! I’m only wearing TWO layers today, and no thermal fleece!

The wind seems to have blown constantly for months in this part of the UK and we live in the windiest corner of the village, near the remains of the old mill. Wind always seems to make everything worse, doesn’t it? Colder, and so noisy with it whistling around the chimney. Yesterday’s walk was a bit scary, with small branches being blown off the trees. I wasn’t sorry to see some rain for the garden though, and Higgins was relieved that the thunderstorm which hit Norwich skirted around us. Despite all this Mother Nature is flourishing in the hedgerows…

The grass is long enough now to ripple in the wind like water, and is such a lush green…

But, in true English fashion today the weather is completely different. The sunshine in the garden brought the bees to the chive flowers…

I know you are supposed to snip the flowers off if you want nice chives for kitchen use, but how can I deprive the poor bees?

Such a beautiful morning was too good to waste, so Higgins and I headed to the beach before breakfast. What could be better than a deserted Norfolk beach in the sunshine?

The sand is gradually returning after being scoured by the winter gales. Only a couple of weeks ago this stretch was down to red clay.

Higgins was very happy..

And quite intrepid too in the shallows…

…and the pools…

Back home I’m getting ready for the first Needlefelt Workshop next weekend at Art’s Desire Craft Lounge in Norwich. The first one is all booked up and the second one is filling but fear not, further dates have been added to the calendar! The Birds on a Branch piece I created for Open Studios last year is in the shop window because we’ll be making birds, of all descriptions…

This is my latest flight of fancy….

Happy, not Angry Birds!

And, in case you were wondering, there is a winner for last week’s giveaway of a copy of Caroline Zoob’s gorgeous book, The Hand-Stitched Home. Thank you, to everyone who entered with wonderful stitching memories, I really enjoyed reading them. It seems for every school day horror there was also a wonderful teacher or relative who passed on their own love of the subject.

It was so hard to choose, I wanted everyone to win, but there’s only one copy of the book!

Please imagine the drum roll, or the pregnant pause beloved of TV Games shows so that I can announce…the winner is… Nikki Pierce who writes her own blog Tales from Swallow Barn.

Congratulations Nikki, I hope you enjoy your copy of the book and that we see some of your creations on your blog before too long (No pressure or anything!)

I’m off now to put the kettle on. I hope you’ve got your feet up with a cuppa too!

Have a great week and I’ll be back soon…