Happy New Year – Happy New Decade!

A quick hello from Higgins and me to wish you all the very best for the coming months.

The end of the last decade has not been easy for those of us living in the UK, barraged by a seemingly never ending stream of politics, bad temper and lies. Globally many of us feel vulnerable, both from climate change and those who are in power.

After the election in the UK I made a conscious decision to step back from the stream of news, fake news, opinions and hatred which I was absorbing daily through social media which had tainted my mental well being for months and months. It was affecting my creativity; I felt unable to write blog posts but also utterly helpless to change anything.

So, I can’t change the world, but I can change my world and maybe, possibly make some other peoples’ world just a little bit lighter in the process. I can but try. I want to reconnect with my ‘tribe’, lovely people who have been visiting Planet Penny for for a long time, and to connect with the newcomers too. I feel that for everyone, all over the globe, community is the key.

I’m going to take it slowly, drastic changes are usually doomed to fail. I hope you’ll join me trying out some vegetarian and vegan recipes as I move from ‘Meatless Mondays’ to a Flexitarian way of eating over the next months. Maybe growing a few things to eat as well? And lose weight? Yay…that would be fabulous!

Less spending, more mending…there are ways of making your repairs more beautiful than the original, let’s give it a go.

And losing ourselves in creativity to sooth our troubled minds, I have lots of ideas!

I hope you will come along for the ride, following, here or on Instagram to find out what I, (and my little furry friend) get up to, and do get in touch if you have ideas you would like to share

Lots of love from Higgins and me, we’ll see you soon …x

Planet Penny Road Trip

We’re all super excited here on Planet Penny, we’re off on an adventure this week, felting needles at the ready!

If you’ve been visiting here a while you will know that I have had a couple of fabulous weekends at the Frank and Olive Crochet Retreats over the past few years. This time I am the guest tutor, taking fluffy fun up to Yorkshire to join Ruby and Dan and their guests.

We will be making something a little bit different for Christmas, decorations that I hope reflects Ruby’s exuberant personality and sense of fun while passing on the necessary skills of needlefelting for the guests to take away and experiment with.

Higgins is off to stay at his home from home just down the road, where he will be treated like a little prince. One person providing a comfy lap where he can help with the crochet projects, and another to crawl endlessly round the floor playing games. I don’t think he will miss us at all!

After a few days in Yorkshire we will be heading to Manchester where my OH has a course to attend. Manchester is a place I have never visited so I’m looking forward to some exploring and a spot of Christmas shopping. If this is your stomping ground, I’d love some suggestions for places to visit.

I’m feeling very excited about getting out and about with more Planet Penny workshops. If you are in Norfolk or Suffolk you can find the next three sessions I have booked for 2020 on the Workshop Page above and I’m always up for discussing another road trip. If you would like me to visit just drop me an email!

Follow me on Instagram if you would like to see what we get up to at the Retreat, or even if you’d like to see me getting lost in Manchester…see you soon…!

A Festive Fair

It’s that time of year again, and I’m getting all geared up for our annual Festive Fair, the seventh! I’m a member of the Two Rivers Artists group here in Norfolk. We originally got together for The Norfolk and Norwich Open Studios and have continued our association ever since. We all do something different, which makes for a creatively inspiring group, and we share the same slightly potty sense of humour! We always have fantastic guests at the fair so it’s a brilliant place to start your Christmas shopping. You can find out more on the website.

I’ve been beavering away in the studio making needlefelted goodies for my stall at the Festive Fair but what I’m really going to concentrate on for the future will be teaching the skill to other people. We have a great eco built hall in the village with a meeting room which is the perfect size for a group of students and I have recently held a couple of workshops there which were great fun. So 2020 here I come! I’ll be promoting the workshops at the fair so if you are in Norfolk it would be lovely to see you.

I shall leave you with an image of Higgins, who does NOT approve of all my busyness and has retreated under his blanket to sulk!

I’ll be back soon…x

My Needlefelt Mojo – Found!

If you remember, my last post was all about Malamander, Herbert Lemon and the making of his Lost and Founder Cap and I’m happy to report that Herbie worked his magic, and found my needlefelt Mojo for me!

It was in the shape of Herbert Lemon himself, a needlefelt and mixed media sculpture as a special birthday present for my son, Thomas which was huge fun to devise and make!

Needlefelted sculpture of Herbert Lemon from Malamander — Herbert Lemon

Herbert Lemon from Malamander with his map of Eerie-on-Sea

And he won’t get lost, look, he has a map!

Herbert Lemon from Malamander sitting on driftwood

Needlefelt sculpture of the character Herbert Lemon from the book, Malamander

This meant that when the Two Rivers Artists Midsummer Fair loomed on the horizon the felting needle was well oiled and I got straight into some pieces to fill my little stall.

And so I made a Bedtime Mouse…

Needlefelt Mouse with hot waterbottle — Bedtime Mouse

Some, quite possibly, magical toadstools…

needlefelt red spotty toadstools — Magical Toadstools

Some hens…

Lambs…

And a whole array of fantasy country retreats in which to stick one’s pins!

Stall at Two Rivers Trail Midsummer Fair

So I’m back in the groove, and all set to start teaching again. My next workshop is in September and it’s already booking up! Please get in touch if you would like to come along, you can find the details here.

See you soon…x

Malamander and the Lost and Founder Cap

Waterstones Childrens' Book of the Month for May - Malamander

If you’ve been in a branch of Waterstones this month and seen the book displays, you may well have seen the distinctive turquoise and yellow colours of May’s Book of the Month, ‘Malamander’.

Malamander - the book — Note the on brand nail art!

(If you are wondering why I’m writing about this, I must declare an interest, as Thomas is my son!)

The other reason I am writing about this is as a warning to crafty parents or grandparents. You know that thing when the kids come home from school and announce, ‘It’s world book day, I want to be dressed as a tiger, caterpillar, Pippi Longstocking’…(fill in as appropriate) or’ I’m in the school play, I’m Henry VIII, I said you could make the costume’? It doesn’t stop when they leave school.

My son is quite grown up now…

…but I still got the ‘Muu-uum, I wonder if you could make…please?’! Which is how I came to make a Lost and Founder Cap for Herbert Lemon.

Herbie is one of the main characters in Malamander, and is the Lost and Founder at the Grand Nautilus Hotel in Eerie-on-Sea, and obviously he needs a cap to show how important he is.

So, of course I could make one… (typical me, say yes first, work out how later)

Firstly, I had to find some Royal Porpoise Blue fabric. (You haven’t heard of Royal Porpoise Blue? Neither had I) After a spot of trial and error and messages back and forth I found a colour which met with Thomas’ approval, and ordered a metre. I thought that was overkill, but more of that later…

Amazing what you can do with a cornflake packet…

I rely heavily on serendipity when I’m working, Little did I know when I fitted a new cover on the ironing board two days before that the offcuts of wadding were exactly what I needed to line the inside before stitching in a pale gold lining.

Thomas sourced the gold braid…

…and then was just the problem of the badges of office. We found brass letters which were just the right size, and I bought an ammonite pin in pewter which I covered with gold leaf.

The only thing left to find was the right gold elastic to go under Herbie’s chin – this is a source of much irritation to him during his adventures. After much discussion we found the perfect solution on Ebay…BRA STRAPS! ( but don’t tell anyone!)

So the cap went off to the book launch in London…

where it was a big hit with the youngsters…

Small Herbert Lemon in Lost & Founder Cap

The only problem now is that Thomas is off doing lots of events with children at book shops and schools and ALL the children want to try on the cap. It’s already looking a slightly the worse for wear…so…

Just as well I bought all that fabric. I’m off to eat more cornflakes!

Map of Eerie on Sea — To find out more about Herbert Lemon, Violet Parma and the unctuous Malamander, click on the map to visit Eerie on Sea

An Annie Sloan Chalk Paint Workshop

Last Saturday saw me, apron and hairdryer in hand, heading off into Norwich to Stubenhocker for a spot of paint and colour therapy. I have a steadily growing list of pieces of furniture that I want to paint, from flower pots, working through to chairs and culminating with my biggest challenge, the dresser.

I’m a big fan of Annie Sloan, and have one of her books, as well a couple of her gorgeously inspiring Colourist magazines but there’s nothing like playing around paint and brushes in the company of an expert to get the feel of the medium and inspire ideas.

The bonus was the venue, a fabulous shop full of wonderful home accessories and furniture. Much of the furniture show cased examples of the sort of paint effects we were trying to achieve so I, and my other two fellow students were very inspired.

The last time I painted furniture and played around with paint effects I was using emulsion paint and candle wax so I was really impressed with the way the paint is SO quick to dry, and covers practically anything with one coat. Perfect for an impatient person like me who wants to have a piece painted, waxed, in the room with a vase of flowers on it that same day (and very possible a pot of tea and slice of cake too!)

I now have a selection of paints, and lots of ideas.

I’m on a mission now. Planet Penny has been in the doldrums for too long, for reasons which I won’t bore you with. I want to get back to my blogging roots, creating every day and writing about it. It could be painting or gardening, baking or textiles, or hunting out inspiration in workshops, books, websites or magazines that I can share with you, my online friends.

I’m looking forward to it, I do hope you’ll join me…x