Seagulls…Robins…and a Small Sea Dog

Hello! It’s that time of the week again….doesn’t it come round quickly? If you spotted my mid week post about the Planet Penny Cotton crochet inspirations, you’ll know this post represents a very quick gear change to get back to needlefelting again to build up my flock of Robins.

I think I’m going to have set days for each to keep on top of things, oh to be disciplined and organised. I’ve a feeling I may left it a little late in the day to change, but I do try!

And I have been sloping off when the sun shines to keep a small dog happy. We went to our favourite Norfolk beach during the week…

So peaceful, and completely deserted, Just me, Higgins and the seagulls. Not even a seal this time.

Higgins had a great time…

love the little pink tongue!

Did I mention he’s on a healthy eating and fitness regime? The last weigh in at the vet’s pronounced him at the top end of his ideal weight window, so charging madly around the beach is just what the ‘doctor’ ordered. (It’s not doing me any harm either!)

And later, back in the studio, the flock of Robins keeps growing…

Robins great and small…

I have a lovely selection of rings, wreaths and hearts for my robins to sit on so that’s tomorrows job!

I’m battling with the internet at the moment, it’s running like very cold treacle, so I shall quit while I’m ahead and leave you with a link to this week’s Handmade Monday over at Handmade Harbour. Have a lovely week, I will be back soon….x

Planet Penny Cotton Colours

I’ve been feeling the need for a little colour fix just lately, of the rainbow cotton variety, to counter balance the Christmassy slant which my creativity has inevitable taken.

There’s no getting away from it, robins are basically shades of brown with red, and although it suits them very well, it doesn’t press all the buttons for me, colourwise. So off to the Planet Penny Cotton Colours shelves…

and POW!

… oooh, I feel better already!

What started as a very tentative foray into importing something from Europe which I couldn’t actually purchase in the UK is still going well, and I’ve had great feedback and repeat orders from people who have been so happy with not only the gorgeous colour range but the quality of the yarn. (If you are a new blog visitor you can find out the beginnings of the Planet Penny Cotton Colours yarn here and here)

There are only two areas where I feel I’m letting the side down, and the first only is completely out of my hands. It’s so expensive to ship outside the UK! I’ve pared down the packing to the minimum, (and the girls at my local Post Office are impressed that the parcels come in just below the point where the cost goes up to the next band!) so I do apologise to anyone who feels the shipping costs are high, and I really appreciate the loyal customers who buy despite the Royal Mail’s costs. In fact someone in Australia emailed to say she loved the yarn so much she would have paid double the postage rate!

And really the other area is out of my hands too, unless I can magic some extra hours in the day! I’d like to produce more patterns, but is a very time consuming affair … Coming up with the idea, making the item, writing the pattern, typing the pattern, then following the pattern whilst making it again to check it works, etc. etc. you get the picture…

So my plan is to research other peoples patterns, to find pretty ideas which can be made up in the beautiful Cotton Colours and then giving you the links to the websites to try them for yourselves. It also seemed like a cheerful thing to do as Winter approaches and nature makes things a bit dark and monotone. You’ll find plenty of inspiration too, if you visit me on Pinterest!

And this is the first pattern I found…

Aren’t they pretty? So easy, and compulsive to make. At this rate every one will be getting one for Christmas, including the boys!

This has been about for a while and appears to have originated on a Danish blog, but I found a great crochet blog called Hooked on Needles where there is an English version of the pattern

Check out the shop for the yarn and the patterns, and also for the new limited edition, Christmas Crochet Collection…

Which includes the PPCC ‘Snowdrop’ yarn, hook, buttons, ribbon and the pattern for the Christmas Crochet bunting featured in the Winter Simply Crochet magazine, and the heart and snowflake patterns to make tree ornaments or a garland.

And while I was looking for the links for this pattern I found another one…where are those extra hours in the day? I’ll be back with more ideas very soon…

Bexhill, Hastings…and a little bit of knitting!

After last week’s London adventure you’d think I’d retire for a rest, but no… the very next day we were packing the car to set off to the South Coast for a couple of days in the Bexhill/Hastings area staying with elder son and family. It was an eventful start. While I was away Higgins had tried out his ‘Super-Dog’ impression, leaping off the arm of the chair shouting at a passing jogger and landing painfully hard on his little stumpy legs and pulling a muscle. This involved a trip to the vet before we set out, a rigorous examination to check nothing desperate had been done, and instructions to make sure Higgins took things easy, and No Running About…

What? We were on our way to stay with his favourite little boys, who live in a house with a garden full of squirrels….

After a long day driving, Friday is not a good day to travel, Higgins had had the equivalent of 24 hours bed rest and was even less likely to do what the doctor ordered when he arrived, but a lot of effort was put into nursing care…

We had a peaceful morning on Saturday, with a spot of craftiness…

and a trip to the park in the afternoon…

but the next day it was pouring…

Not a day for the beach for anyone.

We spent the morning with a little bit of knitting…

you just see how helpful Higgins was being!

In the afternoon however, we donned waterproofs and headed to Hastings…

I love the area around Rock a Nore in Hastings with it’s strange black fishing huts, and despite the rain found Claire Fletcher‘s great little studio opened for the afternoon full of beautiful bits and pieces, and one I had only that morning been reading about in a copy of Coast magazine…

When the big black doors in the photo are opened, you see this!

After a little wander around in the teeth of the wind and rain…

….we reached the Jerwood Gallery which I’ve wanted to visit since it opened.

It’s an amazing exhibition space, and although it is controversially built next to the fishing area of Hastings on The Stade , the sympathetic design means it sits comfortably alongside the black sheds. Inside, the large plain windows frame the surrounding views, making the town part of the exhibition…

I now wear the badge I bought in Claire’s Studio with pride!

And I did manage a little bit of creativity of my own…You don’t think I went away without my knitting did you? Unable to find the pattern I made my fingerless mitts from a couple of years ago (if you remember, Higgins ate them!) I devised a new pattern of my own. Very simple, (and I could knit in the car too, obviously not while driving!)

but with lots of scope for embellishment…

…and so good I made them twice!

I’ve written the pattern, and it’s available for free here, if you’d like to make some too.

So I’ll leave you for now with the link to Handmade Monday over on Handmade Harbour, and I’ll be back soon…x

ReCraft – The Buttonbag Book

It’s been a busy few days… I don’t often manage to delegate my responsibilities and get away from home, but last week I packed my overnight bag and headed off to the big city for a book launch. The fabulous new book from the lovely ladies behind Buttonbag, called ReCraft. The launch was held at the Oxfam D.I.Y. Shop in Camden High Street, which is a giant leap away from the Charity shops I have come across in the past, and almost demands a blog post of it’s own as you will see from the photographs…

Arriving in London feeling a real country bumpkin, (not quite with a straw in my mouth) I was slightly nervous when I first turned up at the shop. However, after a warm and friendly welcome and a glass of a delicious and (highly potent) cocktail I had pinned on my name badge and was circulating happily…

…camera in one hand…

…and a sandwich in the other!

Buttonbag has been around for a while with it’s kits and haberdashery…

but ReCraft came about after it’s founders Sarah Marks and Sara Duchars undertook a project to design a range of craft kits for the charity Oxfam. Having created all manner of lovely things from the armfuls of charity shop finds, cardigans and men’s stripey shirts, tweed skirts and curtains, plastic jewellery and old records the next step was to share the ideas in a book.

Recraft Book Cover

It was very nice to meet Sarah….

…wearing a dress made from three pairs of jeans, and Sara…

…here modelling an amazing creation giving an old tweed coat a new and flattering lease of life.

The evening was like the best children’s party for grown-ups, yummy food and drink, nice new chums and then the opportunity to sit down and make pretty things! I opted for the Fabric Flower Corsage …

…and liked it so much I made another one!

At other tables old silk ties were being turned into purses, and woolly jumpers into penguins…

Penguins seemed to be making a bit of a takeover bid, both in the book…

and in the shop…

And it was great to be able to see the pieces featured on the pages in real life…

(You’ll notice there’s always a dachshund!)

And the fab deckchair from the front cover…

There is also a project to make my dear OH very afraid, he has a ‘thing’ about shirts, he’s always buying them on Ebay, because they are a bargain. He has DOZENS!!!! We have no where to store them all. But they would look great if I did this…

…or even this…

So you can tell…I LOVE this book, it’s inspired me to go back to my sewing roots and be a bit inventive again, and re-enthused me to go back to some unfinished projects. (Like the child’s chair I was going to decoupage when my first grandson was on the way – he’s now 8!) A definite 5 star recommendation and you can buy it here!

So the sewing machine is calling, and I’d better get back to being creative again….See you soon….x

An Infographic ‘How To’ for Handmade Monday

Hello! I might not be around but I do have a bit of fun to share with these crafty projects on this HomeCraft Infographic…

Don’t forget to pop over to Handmade Monday to find out what everyone else has been up to this week.

See you very soon…!

Planet Penny

A creative life in rural Norfolk