Category Archives: Norfolk

Trips around the Norfolk countryside

Advent Calendar – Day Seven

Hello, I’m back, having found a tiny little gap where the unrelenting gloom lifted enough to take the photos for today’s Advent Calendar. I’m not flying completely by the seat of my pants each day, I do have things up my sleeve, but there’s always something I need to do at the last minute. T’was ever thus!

I’m going to digress a little first however, because I went into Norwich yesterday and apart from the much needed haircut, I did a little shopping. I really, really hate going shopping at this time of year. It’s not just the crowds, and the too hot shops etc. It’s the unrelenting forced fake Christmassiness (is that a word?)in the big stores which devalues the whole event and is calculated to panic us all into buying things we don’t need. If it’s not sprinkled with glitter, it’s covered with sugar, or possibly chocolate and we’d be letting the family down if we don’t stock up with lots of it, whatever it is…

I’m trying as much as possible to buy from independant shops and small craft businesses, and because of living out of the city this tends to be online. So I made a point of going to a little shop I’ve been meaning to visit for ages and had intended to write a blog post about. Imaging my dismay when I arrived there and found it’s to close before Christmas! It’s a gorgeous shop, and I’m sure if I was still in the city on a daily basis I would have practically kept it viable singlehandedly(well I’d have had a jolly good try!) But I’m going to tell you about it anyway, because if you near enough to visit I urge you to go there for your present shopping before the doors close for ever.

These two posters give you a really good idea of the feel of the place…

It really is just one lovely thing after another, beautiful handmade things, and vintage bits and pieces. I can’t show you most of what I bought alas, as it might spoil some surprises but I did treat myself to a little something which seemed appropriate…

…and I bought these which have come in handy for todays Advent Calendar make…

You’ll find Follies in Bridewell Alley in Norwich, and on Facebook too where you can keep up to date with the online plans. It’s very sad that vibrant and original shops like this can’t get the support they need to survive.

So because I’m not going to support Mr Tesco by buying my wrapping paper and labels from him I’ve been making some tags of my own, and have also sourced some online ones to print which I thought I’d share with you.

I already had some brown parcel tags which I customised in this post, but yesterday I found some dinky little ones in the stationers which I couldn’t resist.

If you’ve got time and some hefty sharp scissors and a hole punch it would be more economical still to cut your own. It’s time I never seem to have! Anyway having spent a happy half an hour with the box of ribbons and cord, buttons and bells, stamps and ink and of course the trusty glue gun I came up with these..

The other tags are available to download and print if you have access to a printer…

(apologies for quality of the photos)

The links are on the Botanical Paperworks Blog the SassandPeril website and there are a vast variety of tags on Examiner.com

Have fun, I hope this is useful! I’ll be back tomorrow although the blog post will be a challenge as Tim’s coming home and is making threatening noises about going back to Norwich for my Christmas present! You never know, we might bump into each other in Follies!

Angels and Light – Part 2

A brief pictorial post to bring you up to date with the angels from this post. I’d like to share the beauty of our local church, St Michael and All Angels, and the talents of people in the surrounding area who have made it look even more beautiful for this festival.

You can see Knit and Stitch have quite a selection of angels, apart from the dollypeg ones!

The one I found most moving was the British Legion Angel, an amazing labour of love made as a tribute to all the lives lost to date in Afghanistan. Four hundred and thirty five men, three women and one dog…

Each poppy an individual tribute to a lost life… Such a waste…

If you live in the Norwich/Broadland area this is well worth a visit. The church is open until next weekend from 10 -4 and you will also find some lovely ladies serving delicious soup, cakes and tea and coffee!

And if you are too far away, I hope you enjoyed this virtual visit!

See you soon…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…

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

Autumn Walks and Weather

It’s the start of a new week, and a review of the past few day here in blog land. We’ve been very lucky weather-wise in Norfolk so far this Autumn. I’ve watched the forecasts and seen just how much wet, windy and stormy weather has been hurtling around the UK, and we’ve got off very lightly. There are positives to being on a bump sticking out into the North Sea, our own micro-climate! It’s a bit nippy though, the fire’s been lit the past few evenings, and I’ve been glad of my wristwarmers whilst sitting at the computer in my new little office! Despite the fact it’s warmer in the house, my faithful companions have chosen to be out in the studio with me, just keeping an eye…

…you just never know when I might suddenly decide to open a packet of pet treats and eat them all myself!

Last week’s needlefelt Robins have come home to roost on wreaths and hearts…

I haven’t put them on Etsy though as I’m having a slightly panicky moment about filling a craft stall at the end of the month. It’s a real juggling act knowing where to place things when the things you sell are all individually made. Can you see my lovely second hand find in the photo, by the way? A metal and wicker corner shelf unit, perfect for displaying little lovelies at craft fairs and in photos. Since my visit to the DIY Oxfam shop in Camden last month, and meeting the Buttonbag ladies I’ve revived my love of poking about in Charity shops. I’ve tried to limit my visits to just donating, and not accumulating more ‘stuff’ , but old habits are hard to break! (There’s a blog post in the offing about my other purchases, so watch this space!)

Higgins and I have been making the most of the dry weather while it lasts with some doggy walks. I really ought to be spending some of that time gardening, but Higgins can only think of one reason why I should be in the garden, and that involves a ball, not a trowel! Still, it gives me a chance to appreciate the Autumn colours and spectacular Norfolk skies…

and there are rose hips galore…

…and this weeks mystery object growing on the wild roses! I can’t for the life of me remember what this is…can you?

…and a bit of fun with a feather!

Well, ironically, since I started writing this post the heavens have opened! The rain is hammering on the skylight, I can’t hear Gardener’s Question Time, or myself think, so I’m going to call a halt and go inside to the fire and my crochet patchwork. I’ll leave you with a link to Handmade Monday over on Handmade Harbour and I’ll be back soon…x