Category Archives: Higgins

Another Milestone

Hello again…and how have the first few days of January been for you? It’s been very strange not to be on here every day, although I can’t say I’m not glad of the rest! And it’s another milestone. My first post of 2013 and it’s my 400th… This is extraordinary when I think about my bloggy beginnings when I kept thinking ‘I’ve got nothing to say! ‘

Higgins and I went off to the beach this morning for some exercise out of the mud. It was beautiful…

and very quiet…

I don’t know who drew the line in the sand, but Higgins didn’t have any problem crossing it!

I’ve been doing quite a bit of reorganising in the studio after nearly a month of daily making. Creating chaos is one of my specialities and I couldn’t move by Christmas Day. Thank goodness I was able to shut the door on it and have Christmas indoors where there was a space to sit down! Anyway, it’s all right now…

…for a brief moment at least.

I have a new project on the horizon because we are anticipating a new arrival in the family next month. My nephew and his wife are expecting a baby, which is very exciting. (Isn’t it strange how being a Granny is fine, but being a Great Aunt somehow sounds incredibly ancient? Or is that just me?) I have it on good authority (from my sister who was wielding a paintbrush) that the nursery has been decorated in yellow so I’m planning a little baby blanket.

It just so happens that I have the ‘Sunshine’ yarn which replaced the Planet Penny ‘Buttercup’ when it was out of stock. It’s really pretty, but slightly different from the rest of the range because of the variagated shades of yellow and lemon. I’m combining it with some of the Planet Penny ‘Snowdrop’ which I had as a limited amount for the Christmas Crochet Kits to make a ripple blanket with a twist…

This it so far, but you can’t see the twist yet!

I’ve also been playing with the rest of the Planet Penny Cottons because I’ve had enquiries about buying the all the colours, but a smaller amount of each. This still gives plenty of scope for making little toys and bunting etc, any of the patterns on here or for sale on Etsy but less expensively and crucially lighter to post overseas. It’s a bit of a fiddle to weigh and wind but I have two to go on Etsy next week…

Approximately 25gms/62m per ball, 14 balls plus a crochet hook for £20.00. I’d be interested to know what you think. And if you’d like to buy them and can’t find them in the shop, please let me know. Create a demand!

I’m rather missing the snow on the blog now we’ve had to take the decorations down for Twelve Night so I’m having a play with the background I think this one is suitably wintry for January, but I have other plans so watch this space. However, as an eternal optimist and being well into the Spring yellow vibe with my crochet I’d just like to share this photo, taken at the end of my garden this very morning…

…and that’s not wintry at all!

I’ll leave you with a link to the first Handmade Monday of 2013 over on Handmade Harbour where the links will start at 6pm, and I shall get back to my crocheting!

See you soon….x

Advent Calendar – Day Twenty

Can you believe we’re at Day Twenty on the Advent Calendar? I’m out in the office with the rain hammering on the roof in a most unseasonable fashion, while Higgins makes the most of his cosy little bed by the heater.

I’ve never known a dog who likes to be wrapped in a blanket as much as Higgins does!

Anyway, despite the gloom I’ve managed to take some photos of today’s make. (I seem to have had my camera set to the ‘Low Light’ setting for days and days). I loved the music sheets from this post so much I was determined to use it some more, so this time I’ve made a Christmas Song Bird.

It’s very simple to make and lends itself to all sorts of variations depending on the paper you use. You need something fairly sturdy, or a light card. Double sided wrapping paper would be good or you could scan or photocopy on to both sides of your sheet of paper. For children you could draw out the shape first for them to colour it in, then cut out and complete.

Because this requires a template I have made the instructions as a PDF so you can print it out. You’ll find it by clicking on Christmas Song Bird right here, then clicking again on the link which comes up. This is first time I’ve tried this so do let me know if you have problems.

So that’s the Advent Calendar for today, and I’ll be back tomorrow if we haven’t been washed downstream!

See you then…x

Angels and Light – Part One

Do you remember me mentioning our forthcoming Angels and Light Festival and my date with dolly pegs? Well, I spent a dolly peg day or two last week and have created a dozen assorted angels, all ready for setting up the display in the church at the end of the week.

I don’t know whether spending a few hours in the company of angels went to my head or not but having spent a few hours with white lace, white yarn and white parchment coming out of the studio blinking into the bright Autumn light for a walk with Higgins gave me some magical moments which I tried hard to capture in the next few photos.

A beautiful Autumn day is a treat, coming in the midst of rain and wind, mist and fog and needs to be savoured. I set off with Higgins and took our usual route across the footpath through the stubble and was amazed by a sight I never noticed before, and yet I must have past it time and time again looking up, looking down, thinking of to do lists and never actually seeing.

The low sun was shining across the stubble creating a shimmering pathway, like the moon on the sea…

…which when I looked closer was caused by thousands, millions of spiders webs spun across the tops of the stubble and reflecting the golden light of the sun…

Shooting into the sun with a compact digital camera without specialised lenses or setting was never going to give me the best of shots, but I hope this will give you an impression at least.

It was mesmerising.

After Higgins had charged across it hot on the scent of a rabbit and returned I found he is just the right height to be a cobweb brush!

At far side of the field, where the footpath continues in the shade of the hedge the previous nights mist was still lying on the grass…

..and the cobwebs here were beautiful in quite a different way…

(It was only later that evening I realised that as an arachnophobe I must have been in the company of thousands of the little beasts!)

The golden light continued…

Everywhere I turned was another photo opportunity…

It was quite hard to return to work and the angels but they are all done and dusted now and ready for next weekend. I’m sure you’ve been wondering whether I would ever get round to showing you! These have auburn locks, made from Wensleydale fleece…

…and these have blonde hair, made from dyed Merino fleece.

They are made in the same way as in this tutorial using oddments of Broiderie Anglaise edging, white felt and cotton yarn. the wings are cut from parchment printed with sparkling flowers. Next week I hope to share the pictures of them as part of our display at the Church.

Talking of next week, I’m off to London again with an invitation to spend an evening with Debbie Bliss as part of the promotion of the Save the Children Christmas Jumper Day As yet I don’t have any details to share, we are knitting a ‘Christmas Surprise’ but I’ll be back next weekend to tell you all about it!

Finally, do you remember Higgins being an artists model?

You can now find out a little more and see some other little sketches by visiting the Thomas Taylor – Author website. I’m struggling to keep up with his fan club by the way, he now has over 200 ‘likes’ (or should that be licks) on Facebook!

I’ll leave you now with the usual link to Handmade Monday. Thank you to all the lovely people who turn up each week to comment on the blog. I do try to return the compliment as far as possible and wish I had time to visit everyone, but I do read all the comments and really appreciate them.

I’ll be back soon …x

Norfolk Nature Walk

There’s nothing like a walk to kick start the system when you’re getting over a cold, and I would recommend the ‘Norfolk Nature Walk’ as a great remedy, especially when the sun comes out after days of wet and murky weather. I did my usual thing of going ‘splat’ when trying to multi task, and the combination of getting ready for, and actually attending the Craft Fair alongside all the other things going on meant the bugs swarmed in. I’m well on the way to recovery now, although my voice disconcertingly disappears at inopportune moments, usually when I’m on the phone and sign language doesn’t work!

I’m on dog walking duty now Tim’s back at work, so I’m really grateful for the relatively balmy weather and Higgins is always happier when he doesn’t have to wade through muddy puddles with his little legs. We can skirt round this one fortunately…

…and the road is pretty clear…

We don’t have to walk far along the road to reach a little leafy lane which might just see a tractor once a week, and a horse or two which make it much more fun for Higgins…

…and he can do a bit of charging about…

especially when he sees a horse…

I well remember Autumn Nature Walks when I was at Primary school, coming back with leaves and berries for the nature table,it’s so much easier now to come home with a camera full of images…

It’s been rather nice to write a blog post which hasn’t got any ‘making’ in it for a change but I do feel a little guilty as I have an outstanding engagement with a bag of dolly pegs. If you’ve been visiting Planet Penny for a while you may just remember our Knit and Stitch Group taking part in a Crib and Wreath Festival in our local church which I wrote about in this post and this one. This year the theme is ‘Angels and Light’, and we’ve been putting the final touches to the display idea which will show off our little host of Angels. They won’t all be made from dolly pegs, but will be dolly peg size, and will be made from the group’s different skills in sewing, knitting and crochet so we should have an interesting collection. It all takes place at the end of the month so more about it then…

Well, it’s just turned dark outside, I can hear a blackbird complaining about it loudly! And it’s just about time for me to go in, stoke up the fire and feed Henry and Higgins. I’m sure Higgins will have an appetite after his walk…

…and poor old Henry seems to find snoozing very hungry work!

I’ll be back soon…

Chilling out on Planet Penny

Brrrr, it’s sooo cold! I’m ensconced in my little Planet Penny office wearing my Boneyard scarf…

wrapped several times round my neck, the pink version of the wrist warmers and with a cup of hot lemon and ginger tea to hand. Apart from the miserable weather a lot of it is to do with sitting still too much, needlefelting, crocheting and winding wool, or tapping on a keyboard does not generate enough heat! Tim’s on dog walking duty while I finalise the craft fair bits and pieces, so at least he and Higgins are getting proper exercise.

The needlefelting? Well it’s robins as usual! I think I’ve got enough now to be going on with. My latest version, and I think my favourite, is attached to a wool covered crocodile clip which means it can be clipped on the branches of a Christmas tree, or a pot plant…

…he’s got a little button heart in his beak…

The crocheting, well I’ve made some tiny bunting, it’s great for using up left over Planet Penny cotton and would look lovely strung on shelves or a dresser. For the moment I’ve just added it to my bunting and garland collection in the studio add a little colourfulness against the gloom…

The winding has been for more rainbow mouse kits (this can be done in front of the fire watching Strictly Come Dancing so I did manage to thaw out a bit!)

And the tapping away on the computer was for my first proper book review which, if you missed it, is here. It’s worth a look, it’s a fabulous book.

Finally, with Halloween around the corner, Higgins had a go at pumpkin carving yesterday. When I came in with one to turn into pumpkin soup, Higgins when wild with excitement, convinced it was a football, just for him.

When I put down for him to check it out he made a huge effort to get his teeth in it…

But the disaster came when he finally managed to get it to roll. It rumbled across the floor, hit a small table on which Tim had just placed a fresh cup of tea and knocked it flying, soaking poor Henry who was just passing. What a good thing Henry has thick fur, just his dignity was hurt!

He managed to make quite an impression on the pumpkin before being bribed away with a doggy treat so I could hide it in the pantry! (I now have a lot of soup, a lot of frozen pumpkin, and I still have half left. I wonder if I can chop it up with dog food? And this was a small one!)

So for now I’ll leave you with the usual link to Handmade Monday and get back to work. If you’re in Norfolk on Wednesday it would be lovely to see you at How Hill for the Craft Fair but if not, I’ll be back soon…x

Scandinavian Hearts

Can I call them Scandinavian Hearts if they are made in Norfolk? Well, it’s a style I suppose, and I’m not the only one doing it! I’ve just spent the best part off the day finishing off a collection of them for the craft stall, which is why we decided that despite the grey clouds and drizzle we were going off to the coast to blow a few cobwebs away, (in my case it was Merino fleece!)

I love the beach at this time of the year. It’s deserted and wild and when we came up over the top and out of the shelter of the dune the salt air hit us full in the face.

Very bracing, although actually not too cold. Higgins was in his element, it’s his favourite place for a run, and this time there was the added bonus of the sea whipping up into foam which flipped up into excited blobs which raced up the sand with Higgins in hot pursuit.

He also had a happy, and very brief moment with an orange balloon, (from Kent surprisingly, I said the wind was strong!) which Tim found in the rocks. It danced tantalizingly along in front of Higgins, but by the time I had switched the camera to movie mode the inevitable had happened and the balloon was no more.

But back to Scandinavian Hearts. This seems like a good moment to show you a magazine that arrived during the week with a Planet Penny mention, because it also features ‘Scandi’Style .

The mention is a link to the Planet Penny Crochet Bunting, in a Christmas bunting feature which has some other lovely ideas…

and the Scandinavian Hearts are made from red and white tea towels and are very pretty (and very similar to some I made a Christmas or two ago for my own tree)

But my hearts are needlefelted, and embellished with hand dyed yarn. I really like them just as they are here…

but I know people often prefer to know exactly what to do with them so they are finished off with a hanger and a ribbon bow to hang on a tree.

You will find details of the Craft Fair here, if you are in Norfolk over Half Term it would be lovely to see you. In the meantime do call over to Handmade Harbour for Handmade Monday.

I’ll be back soon…x