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!
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!
Herbert Lemon
And he won’t get lost, look, he has a map!
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…
Bedtime Mouse
Some, quite possibly, magical toadstools…
Magical Toadstools
Some hens…
Needlefelt hens
Lambs…
Little lambs
And a whole array of fantasy country retreats in which to stick one’s pins!
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.
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’.
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…
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!
To find out more about Herbert Lemon, Violet Parma and the unctuous Malamander, click on the map to visit Eerie on Sea
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
The needlefelt workshops are back! This spring I will be at The Forum in Norwich running two workshops as part of Makers Month. If you haven’t been before this is a wonderful opportunity to see and try out lots of different crafts for free, as well as book on to some fabulous workshops to learn a new skill in depth and there are fascinating talks and open exhibitions.
Arts and crafts people from across Norfolk, will be at the Forum to show you how to knit, sew, crochet, spin, weave, print, embroider, quilt, draw, paint, sculpt and even whittle. Entrance is free, and everyone is welcome. I’m really looking forward to it!
So if you would like to join me on a Needlefelt Workshop, do get in touch to book. There’s a choice of two, making a 3D sculpture from unspun fleece, or a decorative panel of fleece worked into wool felt. Each workshop will give you the skills to take needlefelting in a different creative direction. Book both for a 10% discount on the price.
Hello, my lovelies, I hope you have had a wonderful, fabulous Christmas. I have to say I think this one for me has been one of the best ever, so I want to take that forward into the next year. I have been mulling over my word for 2018 for several days, and it presented itself to me about twenty minutes ago whilst I was peeling potatoes!
CHALLENGE…
this is what I have to do to myself on a daily basis with lots of things. M.E. doesn’t make life easy. But there are other challenges I can rise to which might well make a difference. I love this quote…
“If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got.”
So I’m going to challenge myself to change things. One of those challenges is going to be fighting the perfectionism which has stopped me writing my blog, posting on Instagram and quite a few other things which I’ll write about in days to come.
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The needlefelt workshops are back! This spring I will be at 
