Category Archives: Handmade Monday

Crochet Owls for Handmade Monday

We’ve had such lovely weather for the past few days in this corner of the UK, it’s been great for getting outside…

and also visiting the garden centre for a little inspiration. I rather wanted to take home the pond in our local one…

I got a colour fix inside, I could spend a fortune in here, I can get so carried away!

and this bee was enjoying the scent of the hyacinths as much as me!

I had a bit of an ‘eeek’ moment this morning when I printed out my pages from the Google calendar for the next few weeks. We’ve known for months that the coming few weeks were going to have everything which is planned for 2012 crammed into them, mainly two weddings and Open Studios. And I’ve just come to the point where sticking my fingers in my ears and going ‘la-la-la’ isn’t going to work any more… So if it appears to go a little quiet here on Planet Penny for a while, it’s not true, I just won’t have time to tell you about it as it happens!

I’ve had a small amount of time to play with the pattern I’ve had in my head for a while (usually at 2.30 am!) having been inspired by the little owl Rachel, one of the Planet Penny Cotton Club ‘team’ made with her rainbow pack. I’ve made three so far, each a little different and I would really like some feedback on which you prefer.

I made this one first…

…and was quite happy with it, although the eyes look a bit bulky, and I don’t think there is enough colour contrast for the beak to show enough. Then I made this one…

I like the colours on this one, but I’m still not happy with chest piece. Finally there was this one…

…and now I’m completely confused! Here they are all together…

I’d really like to know what you think!

If you would like to see what other people are making with their Planet Penny Cotton Club rainbow packs head for the PPCC Page where you will find links to the participating blogs. I’m expecting another delivery of yarn in the next couple of weeks so…

If you’d like a rainbow pack,

find out all about it here,

Please get in touch with any questions

here

For now it’s time to head off to 1st Unique Gifts where Wendy is hosting Handmade Monday to see what everyone has been creating over the last few days,

See you soon…x

A Pink Crochet Bunny for Handmade Monday

Higgins and I are home after going our separate ways for a night, I stayed with friends with beautiful pussy cats, so it was deemed safest for Higgins to have a little holiday with my son and his fiancée. (A little tiring for them by all accounts because Higgins has it firmly fixed in his head that Uncle Will is the best interactive toy ever, and followed him around constantly waiting for the next burst of canine centred entertainment.)

It was just as well he didn’t see how unfaithful I was being with this little beauty…

or with her sister, who discovered I had a cat treat in my bag…

But I’ve come straight back with my Planet Penny hat on because the Cotton Club yarn has arrived and needs sorting and wrapping and bagging and packing and there is a very long waiting list to sort out…so this is going to be a very short post! I’ll be in touch with the waiting list people very soon, so please bear with me!

I’ve been asked to write up my modified mouse pattern which I will do very soon, and it will be joined eventually by a pattern for a bunny. My Pink Bunny…

So for now I’ll leave you in the capable hands of Wendy of 1st Unique Gifts as she hosts this week’s Handmade Monday. Pay her a visit and find out what everyone else has been up to over the week..

See you soon x

Birthdays and Crochet Butterflies

Oh, how wet and miserable it’s been today! Tim has just donned waterproofs and wellies and winkled a very reluctant little dog out from the bottom of his bed to go for a splosh down the road. I have to be on standby with towels and a roaring fire for their return. Meanwhile I have crochet butterflies to make…

Hang on! That didn’t last long…they’re back…Higgins got 100 yards down the road, did what he had to do, then made a determined bid for home and the towel on the utility room floor. It’s so comical the way he goes flat on his tummy and wriggles around to get dry, before I even get down there with him to help…

Then on to the dry towel in front of the fire to finish off…

Steaming nicely now!

I mentioned that March is birthday month in our family, starting with younger son on Friday, and today was my mum’s turn, 83 today! A small family gathering for tea and birthday cake, deliciously chocolatey and made by my sister, whilst the smallest great-grandson entertained my mum in fine style.

So of course there were presents…

…and flowers.

And also crochet butterflies! I found these little lovelies on line and thought they were perfect for the Planet Penny cotton. Because there has been an issue with the link breaking I have written and photographed my own version of this pattern so it’s available to you as a downloadable PDF. Just click this Crochet Butterflies link. They are sooo quick and easy to make…

I also tried knitting with the cotton as someone said it looks as if it’s only suitable for crochet, and I have to report it knits like a dream. I made another little jar cover, as it’s ideally suited for showing off a sample. I think I could have cast on another 2 or 4 stitches as it’s a teeny bit stretched but it still works well and shows off the colours…

So I hope the weather is being a little kinder where you are, but in the meantime make some crochet butterflies and dream of summer!

If you’d like even more butterfly love, how about a Butterfly and flower mobile You can find the pattern here.

See you soon…x

Hooray for Crochet Mice!

The Making of the Crochet Mice…

I’ve set myself a challenge, to see just how many projects I can get out of the Planet Penny Cotton pack, at one ball of each colour. One of the reasons I put this collection together is that I found it impossible to find one stockist, on the high street or online, who had every colour to make up a rainbow, and going from place to place, or buying a ball here and a ball there from different online stockists was time consuming and expensive.

From the time I dyed my own colours I was determined to use every scrap of Bluefaced Leicester 4 ply I had so painstakingly coloured myself. I’m still using the little leftovers the needlefelted pincushion from this post, and the Sophie Digard inspired scarf from this post.

I wanted a pattern for crochet mice which was just right for small amounts of yarn and this silky smooth cotton yarn is perfect for amigurumi, and the bright colours just lend themselves to something fun so I devised this cute crochet mouse pattern and made one in every colour.

So I developed my own simple pattern for crochet mice, and used beads for the features as I have made them to be strictly ornamental However, with embroidered features they are ideal for a small child (just right for little hands) or filled with catnip for your favourite puss cat.

And so the knitters out there don’t feel left out, there a knitted version too!

~~You can find the yarn, the knit and crochet patterns for the mice, as well as other patterns using the gorgeous Planet Penny Cotton yarn in the Etsy shop here…~~

Ed. to add. the Etsy shop has now closed but you can find the patterns FOR FREE here…

I’ll be back soon …xx

Wearing my Miss Marple Hat…

(not the most dynamic of sleuths, but the only one I know who knits!)

It’s time to tell you about my detective work, which started back in the Autumn and all because I really, really wanted something.

And what I wanted was a rainbow…

And I knew there was one to be had, because I kept seeing them, out there in cyberspace…

Lots of beautiful crocheted bit and pieces, in a rainbow of glowing colours.

I looked and looked, but couldn’t find anywhere to buy exactly what I had seen in the UK.

So, having got the bit between by teeth I trawled around the net searching for clues until I found the supplier, in Europe, who confirmed that they didn’t have a UK stockist.

The good news was that I could buy the yarn, my rainbow, directly from them. However, the bad news was that I would have to buy…a lot…

More than I would probably manage to use up in a month of Silent Sundays or Handmade Mondays.

But it occurred to me that if I love it, then maybe you out there would love it too, and maybe it could be the start of something exciting, and something we could share.

I took the huge step, and ordered the minimum order, which was still a great deal of money and yarn, and three months after started the search and the negotiations I took delivery of a large carton of gorgeousness. I opened it full of trepidation, having chosen from a huge colour chart of tiny swatches but it was a bit like opening a treasure chest…

…just an explosion of colour!

I’ve shared with you some of my experiments over the weeks, the crochet carnival bunting…

The Hearts and Flowers Garland…

The Stuff Jar…

and all the other bits and pieces.

…so I hope it’s whetted your appetite! The rainbow packs of mercerised cotton DK, comprise one 50g ball (125m) each of 14 different shades priced at £36.50 per pack. It has a lovely sheen, and I’ve found it very easy to work with, sometimes cotton’s lack of stretch can make it less easy to use than wool. It knits beautifully too, and I imagine would lovely for bold and colourful embroidery.

You can find out all the details on the Planet Penny Cotton Club page here.

So, what do you think? Is this something you’d like to try, or will I be giving my family and friends rainbow coloured lovelies for the rest of my life!?

Edited to add: The yarn is now available via the Planet Penny Etsy shop via this link

I’m linking up with Handmade Monday again on 1st Unique Gifts, I hope I qualify even though this week has been mainly sorting balls of yarn and getting ready for the needlefelt class I’m teaching on Tuesday at the OutHouse Studio.

I’ll be back soon, I’m looking forward to hearing from you! x

New Crochet Bunting for Handmade Monday

There’s been a lot of weather about this week! Anyway, moments like this when you’re out for a walk make it worthwhile, even when it’s below freezing point. And no apologies for sharing another snowdrop picture, I’m getting a little obsessed by seeing things from a miniature dachshund’s viewpoint!

I’ve been happy and relieved that this week at our monthly Knit and Stitch meeting the little heart pattern was tested out by a relatively new crochet-er, and it worked ! (Bearing in mind I might have been crocheting for a while, but I’m a novice pattern writer!) Not only that, but having cracked the pattern, Carol went on to reinterpret the heart with crochet wire and beads, which is so pretty…

They look huge here, but they’re not much bigger than a 10p piece, delicate crochet jewellery.

My latest rainbow creation from my gorgeous cotton yarn basket is a new version of crochet bunting. I know the white Christmas Bunting is very popular but there’s been a lot of white around just lately, and I needed an antidote!

I’ll be posting the pattern in Tutorials very soon.

Which brings me to the fireplace. And the hearth rug. the scene of many a power struggle amongst the four legged members of the family. On the one side is Henry, who has been here for getting on for 17 years, who isn’t in the best of health, but who know exactly what is due to a senior citizen and is quite prepared to use all his ‘Grumpy Old Man ‘ tactics to make sure he gets his way. And on the other side is Higgins, who is absolutely sure that everything is all about him…

Today my sister arrived with a special present just for Henry, and I rather knew it was going to cause trouble…

A beautiful rag rug, exactly what a old and bony pussy cat needs…

um…hang on…

…that’s better…

But when a little chat about ‘sharing’ fell on deaf ears…

Higgins retired to the sofa…

Hang on, can’t you see him?

It’s a dog’s life…

But enough of all that. It’s Handmade Monday again, and it’s time to visit the lovely Wendy over on 1st Unique Gifts and find out what everyone else has been creating this week.

Next week I’m hoping to share a new idea with you, one you might just want to join in with…

In the meantime, see you soon! xx