Category Archives: Life in General

500 Blog Posts…?

Goodness Gracious me! It doesn’t seem possible that it was 2007 that I wrote my first tentative post, and followed up with my first recorded finished project…

I’ve spent the last couple of days scrolling through all the posts and collecting images from each year. (And saying to myself…’was it THAT long ago?…how time flies…sigh’) It’s been quite a good indicator of my changing interests and how things have developed. My first year was quite transitional. I started our local Knit and Stitch group, Higgins arrived, I made my first forays into dyeing and discovered the delights of a good compact digital camera with lots of photos of the garden, flowers and nature.

2009

The following year I discovered the rainbow loveliness to found at a budget price with Stylecraft yarn. Got my felting needles out again after a bit of a lull after graduating and my new studio was built.

2010

There was a lot needlefelting in 2011. I had a stall at the Pickn’Mix Makers Market and took part in Open Studios for the first time…

2011

Big things happened in 2012. We had a lovely family wedding, Open Studios again and I discovered the Planet Penny cotton and opened my little online shop. I wrote my first patterns and got invited to few exciting events.

2012

2013 was more of the same, with some needlefelting workshops to run into the bargain, and a new Art Trail for Open Studios…

2013

And this year, with a new member of family and lots of other plans, is shaping up quite nicely too!

2014 – the story so far!

But what has made it all so special is you. All you out there who visit, and comment and sign up to follow. Who leave comforting messages when things are difficult and encouraging remarks .

Writing this blog has meant I’ve met up with like minded people, and also been in touch with people from the other end of of the country and the other side of the world. It’s an amazing privilege, and a lot of fun!

So I’m planning a very special thank you.

I’m going to create a Box of Delights and fill it with the essence of what Planet Penny is all about. Little bits and pieces of everything I do. So there will be some yarn and fabric, ribbons and bindings, beads and buttons, ooh, all sorts of small bits of loveliness!

I’m going to be putting the box together over the next couple of weeks and sharing it so you can see what will be inside. I’m really looking forward to it!

And then? I’m going to give it away…to one of you.

All you have to do is leave a comment on this post to take part. Maybe say something about yourself, about what you do, why you visit Planet Penny (maybe you come to play with Higgins!) The only stipulation is that it’s a)non-offensive and b)it’s not of the ‘me,me, pick me’ variety (you have to do a little work!)

I’ll do the draw when I’ve filled the box, and no, I don’t know how big the box is yet! And it’s open to everyone. If you have a standard postal service in your country I will send it there if your name come out of the hat!

I’m off to the studio now to start looking through all the goodies I have stored in boxes, tins and baskets, and hopefully a by-product of the Box of Delights will be a tidy studio. (Well, I can dream!)

See you soon…x

It’s oh, so Quiet….

…here in the cyberspace version of Planet Penny. But in the real world it’s oh, SO hectic!

I have a full house. All the family are here for the weekend, all planned so that they could meet the latest family member who was due on Valentines Day.

Trouble was, the family punctually arrived on Thursday, and the little one was far too warm and comfy where he was to put in an appearance. There might even have been an element of hiding away from this mob of new aunties, uncles, cousins and grandparents!

However yesterday, after a long night, day and evening for his poor mum and anxious dad, baby Arthur arrived safe and well. This meant cracking open the champagne at 11 o’clock last night (and feeling a little worse for wear this morning) Well you have to, don’t you?

So if I’m not around here on Planet Penny for a few days, you’ll understand why, I’ll be back very soon.

I’ll leave you with the story so far on my Green Man project. There a way to go yet but I’m pleased to find that my efforts to match him to the cherry trees in the garden have worked well. I don’t think I’d like to come across him in a misty woodland at dusk, do you?

See you soon…x

The Year in Books

I mentioned serendipity in my last post, as that is what led me to a blog I hadn’t visited before, and a project ‘A Year in Books’ which is just what I need to rejuvenate my flagging spirits.

I’ve written before about my book habit, but over the years I’ve bought more and more books to feed the creative side of things, practical stuff, craft books, cookery books. My fiction reading has dwindled to 10 or 15 minutes a night in bed. Dozing off after a few minutes means that I end up rereading the same paragraph over and over trying to remember what is going on.

One of my decisions about slowing down and living in the real world a bit more was to put down the smart phone and pick up a book. This was why when I visited Penelope by the Sea on her lovely blog, L is for Love, I found she had discovered the perfect incentive on ‘A Circle of Pine Trees’.

Laura has created a reading project, nothing unattainable, of reading and sharing a book a month over the year. It can be shared on her blog via a linky button, on Instagram or Pinterest, a great way to find recommendations for new authors and books. All the details are in Laura’s post here, if you are interested in joining in.

My book for January is the latest Mark Haddon, which I bought on Liverpool Street Station on my way back from Aimee’s graduation a month ago (and hadn’t looked at since!) …

I made a start this morning in a packed hospital waiting room. Much better to get stuck into a book than fuming about my appointment being an hour overdue! So thank you to Laura for devising the idea, and for Penny for pointing me in the right direction…

Meanwhile, unlike so many other places in the UK, we had a glorious start to the day so I wandered round the garden with Higgins to see what was going on.

The snowdrops are nearly up!

There are primroses…

…and tiny miniature cyclamen…

…and still at the end of the garden, a rose is blooming…

Higgins, meanwhile still dives into his bed to hide when his coat is put on and he knows he has to go for a walk, however bright the sunshine!

Thank you for all the encouraging comments on my last post. It seems I’m not alone in feeling a little jaded, I think a lot of us are experiencing post Christmas burnout!

Onwards and upwards….see you soon…x

Has Anybody Seen My Mojo…?

I’m feeling like I’m a bit of blogging dead loss at the moment, I do apologise!

I built up quite a head of steam during December with my daily Christmas Countdown posts, and had lots of plans for January but as you know, 2014 did not get off to a good start for Team Planet Penny…

And annoyingly I’m just generally not very well. Nothing alarming, but two separate things which necessitate visits to different clinics at the hospital the other side of Norwich for tests and consultations and so far I’m averaging two trips a week!

So the energy levels are low, and my get up and go really has got up and gone!

There are only two choices in this situation. I can sit and fume about not being able to do the things I want to do and make myself feel even worse, or step back and let things drift a little while I administer a little TLC to myself.

I’m my own worst enemy when I’m busy anyway. Eating standing up, being too tired to bother to cook for one in the evening when Tim is away, cheese and crackers and a glass of wine (or two!) is SO easy… Saying ‘yes’ too often when asked to do something I don’t actually have time to do…I don’t need to go on, I’m sure you’ve been there too.

So I’m switching off the computer in the evenings, and trying to ignore all but the most urgent emails and texts which arrive via my phone. I’m eating meals at mealtimes, simple stuff but fresh and not filling up on biscuits and tea to keep going. And while I’m waiting for my inspiration to return I’m going to make some little things for my forthcoming grandson, due to arrive of Valentine’s Day.

I’ve had a baby blanket on the hook for ages revisiting my old favourite, the Ripple stitch and made what my Dad would have referred to as a ‘Bobby-Dazzler’!

And I bought a magazine after Christmas which I hoped would inspire me…

Don’t you love the dinosaurs? I thought they would be perfect for the Planet Penny Cotton and planned to make all three. This is the Diplodocus…

He’s very cute, but alas I can’t recommend the pattern to anyone who isn’t a fairly practised crocheter. It was quite tricky to keep track of the stitches because there was no indication at the end of each increase or decrease row as to how many stitches there should actually be. Such a shame, and silly really because there are so many other places to find patterns with picture explanations or even videos. You need a bit more when you’ve paid out £7.99 for a magazine.

I have another project too, thanks to the power of serendipity! It’s all about making time to read, and linking up with other readers.

I’ll be back soon to tell you all about it, and in the meantime I’ll leave you with the promised photo of my knitted square for the Age UK Campaign from this post. It’ll be on it’s way to Norman Lamb MP this very week!

Have you made yours yet?!

See you soon…x

A BIG Thank You…

Just to say a very big thank you to everyone who took the trouble to pause and leave a consoling message after our sad loss of Henry on New Year’s Day.

He’s been popping up on posts ever since my early blogging days. I’m still ‘seeing’ him out of the corner of my eye in all his usual places and it will take a while to get used to the hole he has left behind…

So thank you all, your kind words were very comforting…x

Goodbye, Old Friend…

We’ve had a sad start to our New Year.

On the morning of New Year’s Day we lost a member of team Planet Penny. Dear old Henry, our much loved pussy cat, finally succumbed to old age and ill health and I had to make the heartbreaking decision for him to be put to sleep.

He came into our lives as a feisty little kitten who was rescued from the traffic on a busy street.
Underweight, flea ridden with worms, mites and whatever else could infest his little body, he responded to the vets treatment and instantly worked his way into the hearts of all the family.

He grew into a big handsome chap, afraid of very little, very much the boss in his own domain.

Over the last year or so it’s been sad to watch him slowly become a shadow of his former self but he never lost his feistiness and determination. He became the archetypal ‘Grumpy Old Man’!

He made it to his 19th year, pretty amazing given his rough start.

You know the day you welcome a little fluffy bundle into your home and heart the day will come when you have to say goodbye, but knowing doesn’t make it any easier. But we are comforted by the fact that we gave him a life he would never had had if someone hadn’t picked him up from the gutter eighteen and a half years ago, and he gave us so much love and affection in return.

Thank you for all the New Year wishes which in other circumstances would have been answered by now, I’m sure you’ll understand.

I’ll be back, very soon…x