Category Archives: Higgins

Making it in Making Magazine!

Well, almost. It’s not a full page double spread or anything, but hey! Making Magazine noticed me!

Well, Planet Penny anyway and Higgins, who is terribly excited. He’s very aware that he might be recognised and so has taken to going around incognito!

Things have been a little tricky on the Clovis front. The circulation in his foot was compromised as the bandage slipped (too much jumping on to beds etc) and after a night at the vets he was allowed home without the dressing. However infection has set in, which was always a possibility given the seriousness of the break and so we are on the long haul with twice daily antibiotics. He is now confined to the crate…

and being very good about it all things considered, only mewing piteously when I arrive on nurse duty!

Let me Owwt!

Fortunately my mum lives less than a mile away as I now have to visit three times a day. Once in my carer’s capacity to make mum’s lunch etc, and twice as veterinary nurse!

As you may have guessed from my Silent Sunday post, I had a birthday this week, with a lovely lunch at the Marsham Arms near Norwich, which is where we had such a wonderful time at our son and daughter-in-laws wedding reception. I really didn’t need sticky toffee pudding, but it was soooo delicious! Kit made me a beautiful matching gift bag and card using vintage Laura Ashley wallpaper.

I wish Laura Ashley would revive the original woodcuts that they started out with as they are so simple and pretty. Years ago I had blue wallpaper with white swans on it, I loved it and not a scrap survives…

In the midst of all that’s been going on I finally completed the Heart and Flower Garland Pattern so it’s now available as a PDF via the Etsy shop, along with some Mini Mice hairslides, crocheted with embroidery silk. They really are weeny and cute!

I’m now revisiting the owls from this post as I’ve had several requests for a pattern, I’ve just got to refine it, and make some decisions about the different formats.

So, plenty to be going on with, as well as a visit from the grandsons this week, which will make Higgins very happy. He does love his boys! (And I’ve just found this post that Higgins wrote all about his boy, which I had forgotten about which did make me smile, do have a look!)

I’m linking up again with Handmade Harbour for Handmade Monday again so you can follow the link and find lots crafty blogs to visit. Have a great week…

Back soon…x

Crochet, Cats and Crochet Mice….

Welcome back to Planet Penny and another Handmade Monday post. It’s also a catch up post, because last week I didn’t feel able to bring you up to date with the ‘Clovis the Cat Saga’ because I was dreading the outcome. But I’m back now, with more crochet, more mice, and even more cats!

If you’ve not visited before, Clovis is my ‘foster’ cat, living with my mum and who suffered a nasty accident 10 days ago, you can find out more in this post. Last weekend he was safely ensconced in his crate, and I thought I had the after-care sussed. That was before the Break Out, when he hefted his 8 kilos plus frame out of the crate just as I was juggling with a used earth tray (YUK!) and got out outside!!

To cut a very long story and traumatic story short, he got out, panicked, ran under the neighbour’s car, got up inside the car while we searched elsewhere. Reappeared several hours later when the neighbour started the car and belted down the garden on three legs and vanished into the undergrowth. Hours of fruitless searching and calling later I gave up for the night, hoping he would creep in via the catflap under cover of darkness. The next morning my mum went to look for him inside…no sign… By now it was raining, and I went back to search, dressed in waterproofs and wellies…convinced that he had displaced the pins, caused an infection, had soggy bandages, was lying somewhere in pain and unable to move and it was all my fault…

The neighbour came out and suggested starting his car again, just to make sure he hadn’t gone back underneath, and, just on the off chance before he did, I went back inside just to check Clovis wasn’t inside. And there he was, on the bed in the spare room!!! I couldn’t get near enough to check him over, so I shut him in with food, water and a tray and left him alone over night to recover his nerves, as the following day I had to catch him again and take him to the vet.

Against all the odds he was absolutely fine, I meanwhile have aged 10 years….

Tomorrow of course, I have to catch him again for the next vet visit, please wish me luck!

However, I have still fitted in some creativity, the first being a little ‘Granny’ project with the Planet Penny Cotton. It’s fun making all the little bits and bobs with the rainbow colours, but I wanted to make something pretty for the home…

This small remnant of beautiful vintage Provençal Print was crying out to be a cushion back…

…and I was pretty pleased with the front too!

I can’t get away from pussy cats though, while my back was turned Henry decided to give it a quality control check!

…it passed!

And the crochet mice?

Well, after my last post about using different yarns and hooks to change the size of the mice on the Mouse Patterns, I had lots of comments via the Planet Penny Facebook Page about the cuteness of the teeny tiny mice made from Coton Perlé using the Planet Penny Mini Mice pattern. I’ve raided my embroidery basket to make some pretty little crochet mouse hair slides…

and have now bought a mini rainbow selection to have a play with using this much finer crochet hook…

Very happy colours!

I hope you’ve had a slightly less exciting time where ever you have been over the last week. I know I’ve given the impression with my photos lately that Norfolk has been having the summer no one else has had, but we’ve had our share of wet days too. It’s St Swithin’s Day today, and this is supposed to happen…

‘St. Swithin’s day if thou dost rain
For forty days it will remain
St. Swithin’s day if thou be fair
For forty days ’twill rain nae mair.’

So far around here it’s been dry, so fingers crossed!

I’ll leave you with the usual link to Handmade Monday over on Handmade Harbour where you can find lots of lovely blogs to visit…

See you soon …x

The Merry Month of May….

Everything seems to be happening in the merry month of May 2012! In the spirit of chasing along so as not to get left behind…

…and before I run out of time…

I know…sorry!

I’m squeezing in an extra post so I don’t get completely overwhelmed with things to say, photos to show and no time.

So, May….first of all, there are three birthdays. Poor Tim drew the short straw having to go back to work on his birthday. The Carrot Cake recipe must come out in time for his return home I feel! Then of course there was the wedding… I do have some more photos to share, don’t worry, but they won’t be of the Mother-of-the-Groom. A line must be drawn! And, my own big news, Planet Penny is now officially a business. Not perfect timing but things were running away from me, and I needed it all to be official.

The Norfolk and Norwich Open Studios event is fast approaching, in fact it’s the weekend after next. There is still loads to do, but we’ll get there, and if anyone is in the Norfolk area it would be SO lovely to see you. You can find out all about it here.

The next big exciting thing though is next week, and it’s the launch of my son Thomas’ debut novel in Heffer’s bookshop in Cambridge. Obviously I’m a proud mum, but I’m not alone in thinking he’s pretty special and you can read a bit about the launch here. And of course if you are in the Cambridge area you could join in too, and come and say hello, I’ll be the one with a proud grin from ear to ear!

Thomas is going to write the very first Guest Post for Planet Penny in the next few days, too, so do look out for that.

But back to the wedding, and the decorations. We had Wedding Trees! It had started in the back of my mind as painted branches on which to hang little pretties, but with the help of St Serendipity again, we found two beautifully shaped Japanese Maples in pots. At the time they were completely bare, but just in time they put out the most beautiful red leaves which were still small enough for an overall lacy effect, and I draped them with little white lights, tiny white calico hearts and paper doves…

But the thing which occupied most of my time in the run up to the wedding was the cake topper. I’d had a particular idea in mind from the moment I heard it was going to be a cheese cake. and I don’t mean a cheesecake, I mean a cake made of CHEESE! Wallace and Gromit would be proud!

It had to be mice, didn’t it? And I didn’t let the fact that there weren’t actually any bridesmaids, or even a pageboy put me off…

And the chef made an amazing job of putting the whole construction together…

I have to say it was delicious too, and very much appreciated by all the family, complete cheese fanatics every one!

Finally, a Planet Penny Cotton Club update. I have just moved the yarn packs, Rainbow Mouse Kits and patterns on to the Folksy shop. I’ve been a little overwhelmed by the administration involved selling them directly, I need time to be creative or I just don’t function! It all seems to be working well but let me know if you have a problem.

See you soon…x

Needlefelt Birds for Handmade Monday

Happy Easter to all! Are you full of chocolate yet? We’re having a quiet time here as the family are away and so needlefelt birds have been in the forefront of my mind and the felting needle has been smoking…(which is what mustn’t happen to the lamb shanks I shall be putting in the oven shortly for a long slow cook for our dinner à deux tonight !)

We celebrated the start of the hosepipe ban last week with a really rainy day here…

Some people found it most depressing…

Of course, Murphy’s Law applied too, as after days and days of dry weather, this was the day the soil was delivered to fill my beautiful new raised beds from Home Grown Revolution…

These are now looking absolutely splendid…

…all ready for warmer weather and the time to get them planted. I’m feeling very guilty about the garden as despite my best intentions things are slipping rather, but short of that elusive extra day in the week I would love to find, it can’t be helped.

As well as the smoking felting needle, the keyboard’s been pretty hot too, as I’ve been writing. I haven’t mention it before (because I sort of didn’t believe it until I saw in black and white) but I am now a Features Writer for UK Handmade, and you’ll find my first offerings here and here if you are curious. And if you haven’t found UK Handmade’s website before, there are lots and lots of really interesting articles by some amazingly creative people to keep you amused over the holiday weekend!

I was also asked to write a guest blog post by Sue, of SusanD1408Crochet Addict which you can find here if you’d like to know how Planet Penny came into being.

Meanwhile, back at the felting needles…. You’ll remember last week I had got as far as this…

….but nobody guessed where I was going with it.

I started with the pale yellow on in the middle…

(those little feet are very important) …and turned into a special Easter chick…

However the real aim is a piece to exhibit at the Norfolk and Norwich Open Studios Taster Exhibition at the Forum in Norwich next month. This has existed in my head for so long it was rather a shock to realise that I hadn’t actually made it yet, so I’ve been working on it all week. This involved my Easter Chick having a few more friends, a whole flock of needlefelt birds…

I’m now at the final stages, with leaves crocheted in Bluefaced Leicester wool….

…and with any luck I should finish it this evening in front of the fire. The branch is made from the lambswool yarn I bought from High Fibre, and used with the needlefelt robins at Christmas and I’m really pleased with the way it works in with the whole concept. One day, when I have time (!) I will knit myself the raspberry colour mug hug from the yarn I bought from Fiona at the Pick’n’Mix Market last year.

Needlefelting is getting a fresh burst of publicity this week with this month’s issue of Mollie Makes. Aren’t these cute?

So I hope there will be lots of enthusiasm for the Needlefelting Course I’m teaching on 17th April at The OutHouse Studio in Aylsham, North Norfolk. I think there’s a place or two left, so if you are near enough, it would be lovely to see you!

I’ll leave you with a link to Wendy, over on 1st Unique Crafts who hosts Handmade Monday, and there you will find plenty more interesting things have been going on over the past week!

See you soon x

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

It’s Spring, It’s Spring!

Wow! Look at the sunshine!

I think Tim brought it back with him. We went off for a walk in Bacton Woods yesterday. We haven’t been since the time Higgins had a play with a very bouncy spaniel, got a sore leg and had to be carried back to the car. He might be little but he’s very solid! But it was lovely, and I’ve spotted clumps of bluebells so we must be sure to go back again at the right time.

The gorse made a lovely splash of yellow…

…and Higgins even met a little friend…

I’ve spent the afternoon in the garden today, I’m glad you can’t see the compost under my fingernails! I’m trying very hard to keep up with the Garden Diaries but I’m afraid I’m a bit of a fair weather gardener. The broad beans are coming on very nicely and I might have a few baby salad leaves to harvest next week, but the carrots and spring onions are taking their time. I hope a bit of warm weather might do the trick.

More and more things are bursting into flower. This really is my favourite time of year. You can feel things growing all around, and I love the fact that the roadsides are filled with daffodils and the hedges with the starry white blackthorn blossom, and every time I go out in the garden something else has popped out.

There’s still the odd garden pest though!

I also love the weeping willow at this time of the year, at the point where the leaves have emerged just enough to turn the branches limey green without hiding its gracefulness.

I’ve been very busy indoors too, and after all the wrapping and packing I’m nearly at the end of this batch of rainbow yarn. I’ve had so much lovely feedback as the pink parcels have arrived at their destinations.

‘My cotton has just arrived ! It is so so gorgeous (even better than I thought!)’

‘The cotton arrived yesterday afternoon. It is WONDERFUL!! Better than any cotton I have ever used. I LOVE it! THANK YOU so much for sharing. I am off to crochet a little mouse… 8-)’

And it’s great (and just a little strange) to see the yarn turning up on other blogs in other countries, in Australia and the USA.

If you haven’t got your pack yet,

find out all about it here,

Please get in touch with any questions

here

I’ve been needlefelting, working on the piece for the Taster Exhibition at the Forum in Norwich for Open Studios but I haven’t anything to show you just yet! What is so frustrating is having a pattern in my head for another crochet idea and NO TIME TO MAKE IT! I’ll try very hard to fit it in before Handmade Monday comes around again, I do hope it works.

So on that note I’d better stop chatting, and skedaddle off to work again, I hope the sun’s been shining where you are…

See you soon…x