…you’ve been wondering where I am, I’ve been sewing in the garden!
I’ve also been running round after plumbers, and builders, and decorators and getting ready for a visit from our favourite little boys (arriving today!) So I haven’t run away but I doubt there’ll be much time for blogging over the next few days…
Bear with me, I’ll be back before long to explain what’s going in the photo!
Enjoy the rest of the summer holidays, I’ll see you soon….x
Having lost the label I’ve decided this is my Sunshine and Shadows Plant! I’m sure someone out there will know the proper name but with it’s bright sunshiny petals and gorgeous purpley leaves I think my name really suits it! I do know it likes to be a bit damp, and that’s been real headache this hot and sunny summer. The lawn has pretty well given up.
I don’t water the lawn, do you? It seems to bounce back as soon as the season changes and between Higgins and ‘his’ boys (who are coming for a visit very soon, cue much excitement!) it’s never going to be a bowling green. I’ve just about managed to keep the pots and tubs going, the veg garden and my ‘Sunshine and Shadows’ Plant. I say the veg garden, hmm… this year I’ve managed two bowls of strawberries…
There’s what is shaping up to be an enormous pumpkin…
and so far, two runner beans… What a good thing Tim is away so I don’t have to share!
It’s been quite busy on Planet Penny over the last week or so thanks to the Rainbow Mice appearing in the Australian craft Magazine, Homespun…
It’s amazing to think there are little Rainbow Mice running around all over the globe!
Recently several people have bought more than one pack of the Rainbow collection of yarn with throws and blankets in mind and this has concentrated my mind on something which has rattled around for quite some time. I wrote last week about the problems of being ‘Just the One‘ and never having enough time, or pairs of hands to do all I want to do, and one of those things is to make a big enough crocheted piece to work out what sort of area one pack of yarn would cover, in granny squares or a ripple. And this has held me back on an idea I’ve had for ages, because I kept thinking it would raise the unanswerable question.
But I’ve decided, stop faffing around, Penelope, get on with it and see what happens!
So, and this is where the Sunshine and Shadows theme appears again, I’m readdressing the Planet Penny Colours from either end of the spectrum, and making up packs which would be perfect for making cushions, throws, baby blankets etc with a more defined colour palette.
Put together Aubretia, Delphinium, Cornflower, Eggshell, Aqua, Jade and Apple and we’re in the shady woodland end of the garden…
…and meanwhile Rose Red, Gerbera, Petal, Peach, Marigold, Buttercup and Lime reflect the sunshine and heat on the terrace…
The packs are the same size, but with 2 balls each of the seven colours in the Sunshine or Shadows colours and they are going in the Planet Penny Etsy shop today…
I’d love to know what you think and if anyone has made a throw, cushion or similar with their Planet Penny Cotton I’d love to see it, and to know how big it is! I’m going to be working on a baby blanket because not only have I got my prospective Grannification next year, my niece is expecting this month so baby things must done! My crochet hook will be smoking!
And speaking of baby things, this week I made these…
I’m getting very excited!
This week I’m linking up with Handmade Harbour do call over to find lots of handmade lovelies to admire!
I’ll be back soon, have a lovely week…x
Can it really be August already? The time flies by so quickly…
As I sit typing the harvester is rumbling up and down in the field next door, no doubt covering my washing with straw dust. The joys of country living! Never mind, the sun is shining and it’s warm, life could be much worse.
And I think I’ve seen more butterflies than ever before this summer. They were late starting after the long cold winter but over the past few weeks the lavender and buddleia bushes have been smothered in butterflies and humming with bees. I’ve spent so much time dancing around with the camera not getting them in focus…!
This year for the first time I saw a Swallowtail butterfly in the garden. I was so excited, but between that excitement, the butterfly’s erratic progress round flowers and the breezy conditions every photo was a disappointing blur!
One of the things I really appreciate about writing this blog is the way it has given me a focus. A focus on capturing the seasons, recording visits to beautiful places, exciting discoveries and new crafts, it’s been a lifeline on occasions. And the added and unexpected bonus has been to link up with so many like minded people all over the world. The internet is an amazing thing, opening up opportunities for virtual socializing and making it possible for so many people, especially women with families to run their own small businesses in a way which would have been impossible only a few years ago.
When I went on my detective journey eighteen months to find the yarn I had spotted on line, tracked it down, found there were no UK stockists and took a big gamble buying a wholesale amount I really had no idea what I had started. For all I knew I might have ended up making rainbow colour blankets and cushions for the rest of my life to use up the huge packing case of yarn which was delivered!
But everyone who has bought it has loved it, just as much as I do. It’s been bought by people all over the globe over the past year and I haven’t had one scrap of negative feedback. Everyone has commented on the lovely quality, the wonderful colours and value for money. And despite being surrounded by those colours everyday, I still love using it.
But, and here’s the rub. I have become a victim of it’s success. I have ideas for new things, more patterns, more fun…
And there’s only me…
Just the one…
I started the Mouse Kits and the Crafty Cotton because I was aware that the Royal Mail shipping costs made it difficult for some people overseas to afford the yarn. But they require time. Time to wind (and weigh) the yarn, to label, to pack.
And gradually over the past months it’s taken up more and more time and instead of being creative and innovative, I’ve just turned into a yarn processor…
And meanwhile everything is suffering. The garden is suffering from the erratic watering, my dear husband is suffering ‘cos I’m forgetting how to cook, the blog is suffering… The only ones not suffering are Higgins and Henry!
So for the moment with apologies, I’m calling a halt on the kits and the Crafty Packs so I can get back to exercising my creative muscles for new things for Planet Penny.
Planet Penny Cotton Packs will still be available. The overseas shipping costs are lower now for the US and Australia than when I first started, and a pack of yarn will be enough to make up all the Planet Penny patterns which are currently available on Etsy with plenty left over for the new patterns I hope to have time to write now I’m not Winder-in-Chief!
And finally I will share the biggest and most important reason of all. A couple of days back I was shown a small, grainy black and white photograph of the latest precious addition to the family… a new grandchild arriving early next year! I just can’t wait to knit some teeny tiny socks!
So I do hope you understand, and stick around to find out what happens next…
I’ll see you soon….x
Sunday was a day off…hooray! A gorgeous sunny day, just right to pack the car and head off to the Little Vintage Lover Fair in Heydon, Norfolk. I’ve been spotting mentions of it on various blogs over the past weeks, I knew my friend Lisa, of Bobobun was going to be there and it’s so long since I last went!
It’s such a gorgeous venue, the quintessential English village, part of a large estate with no through road so it’s very peaceful.
Higgins was delighted with the park…
…and met some lovely people to talk to outside the tearooms…
The venue itself was in an early 20th century Army hut, with stalls both inside and out and there was so much to see…
We found Bobobun inside, (call over to the blog to see lots more photos!)…
..and Higgins was delighted to meet Lisa and Little Bun. He was also pleased to find he was not the only visiting dog so it was an interesting day for him too!
(He’s always a little cautious about bigger dogs who might stand on him as you can see!)
This week he’s spent quite a bit of time in the studio helping me (commandeering a crochet blankie to make under the desk extra comfy) while I get ready for the next needlefelt workshop at Arts Desire.
I’ll tell you more about it after Saturday, but this time we are making mice. Would you like to see?
I’ll be back soon….x
Have you been hanging around waiting to find out who the winner of the Daylight Lamp is? I’m so sorry, I don’t know where our Broadband went yesterday, but we certainly didn’t have any. I felt completely cut off from the world. It’s all been a bit iffy today because of thunderstorms so fingers crossed I don’t get cut off in mid flow!
There were such a lot of entries, over a hundred. I was really glad the winner was all down to the Random Number Generator because there were so many crafty people who deserved to win and I always feel bad because I have to pick just one.
Anyway, without further ado, the winner is…..Jill, who just happens to have a lovely blog, Miaou. Jill is an avid maker of beautiful things (do call over and see) and happens to live in the North of Scotland so is really in need of some extra daylight in the Winter months.
Congratulations Jill, and commiserations to all of you who didn’t win. I was overwhelmed by the number of entries, thank you all.
This won’t be the last giveaway I’m quite sure so make sure you are signed up so you don’t miss a thing!
I’ll be back soon…x
Who likes the simple things in life? I might not have met many of you personally, but I’m fairly confident that if you didn’t like the simple things, you wouldn’t be following Planet Penny! And it is the little things that give pleasure, the whole ‘Happiness is a Warm Puppy‘ thing. (Or in my case, a warm Higgins!) A sunny day, a small damp hand in yours, the first lick of an icecream, everyone has their own tiny moments to light up the boring bits of life.
One my personal simple pleasures is a magazine subscription. Most post these days is pretty humdrum, but a favourite magazine plopping on to the door mat and the anticipation of opening the wrapper at coffee break is lovely. And there are so many magazines these days and they are so expensive, it’s hard to make the choice of just the right one and be certain of it before you sign up for a subscription.
The magazine I have been most loyal to is ‘Selvedge’, I have every issue going back to the very first one and they sit on a shelf on my studio ready to be dipped into for inspiration. Even the advertisements are inspiring, and there are fascinating articles on textiles from all over the world, from the depths of history as well as news and interviews from textile artists and designers. I really admire the thought and originality which has gone into the look of the magazine, distinctive and recognisable, but always original.
These are some of my favourite covers…
And then there is ‘Mollie Makes‘. Do you remember the kerfuffle when it first came out? So many of us were desperate to get hold of one of those first copies, Facebook seemed to be full of people discussing it! But there was an introductory offer for the first few issues which is always a good hook, and it has consistently delivered. And, I think importantly it is another magazine which decided on a look, a style and colour palette which really works and makes it stand out recognisably as itself amongst the huge plethora of knitting, crochet, scrapbooking, and other crafting magazines on the news stand.
And out from the ‘Mollie Makes’ stable trotted ‘The Simple Things‘…
Over several weeks we were beguiled by the advertising and appealing images, and the wonderful evocative covers. So distinctive. Beautifully designed, the covers made the appeal of The Simple Things universal. And inside? Well, it’s not a craft magazine, but there’s craft to see. Not cookery, but fabulous recipes. Not just a travelogue, but wonderful photography from interesting cities. Stylish but simple interiors, beautifully written pieces about nature… And not aimed at any one small section of society, sex or age group, there’s just something for everyone.
So I bought my subscription, and each month I would remove the wrapper and smile. And after relishing the contents I would sit it on a side table where it would make me happy when I passed by.
And you can see why…
But over the past few months, it hasn’t made me happy. In fact I have been getting so grumpy on a monthly basis that I decided the best way to get it out of my system is write about it! A few months back I unwrapped my new copy of ‘The Simple Things’ and found that they had abandoned their stylish and distinctive design for something akin to the promotional magazines handed out for free in your local supermarket.
Oh dear, I can hardly bring my self to give them space on my blog! So gone is the universal appeal, it’s all about young women now. Oh, and slim young women with perfect teeth! But why? Why take something which stood out from the crowd and deliberately cause it to merge into the background?
I still love the content, but it doesn’t make me happy the way that it used to…
I know I’m not alone. Just looking at some of the comments on ‘The Simple Things’ Facebook page every month when the new issue is published shows me that. So I thought I’d have a little rant and find out what you think, I’d love to know.
And maybe if enough of us express an opinion Future Publishing might just notice!
You never know….
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