Tag Archives: Craft

Day Two of the ‘Virtual’ Advent Calendar!

I’ve had lots of encouraging comments about my Christmas blogging marathon, a post a day for the virtual Advent Calendar until Christmas Eve, thank you all very much! (And if you’ve just discovered what I’m up to, scroll down to end of this post and find Day One’s crafty wrapping ideas…)

Today is all about my celebratory Giveaway for my 5 years living on Planet Penny, and I’ve deliberated long and hard to think of something everyone can enjoy, whether you are a maker, or someone who just appreciates what is made. So the prize is ready made, and part of it is the Advent Calendar make for today.

Having spent so much time with my Rainbow collection of yarn I thought it would be good to celebrate that with colourful tree decorations, so I have made some mini balls of yarn complete with tiny knitting needles.

These look lovely on the Christmas tree…

…but are far too pretty and colourful to hide away for the rest of the year. Can you imagine them strung on a line adorning someone’s crafting corner, or hanging round the edge of a lampshade perhaps?

They are simple to make if you want to do your own. I used a small polystyrene ball as a base and glued the yarn on to start with. Then you just wind round carefully until the base is hidden and the ball is the size you want. Glue the tail back on itself to form the hanger. The needles are made from cocktail sticks with beads on the end and pushed through the ball…simples!

But you can win your own if you enter the Give-away Prize Draw!

The next part of the prize has to be needlefelt don’t you think? It’s been so much of what I do. So this too could be yours…

..a little Christmas Mousie…

And finally, I’d like to include a book, and this time there’s a choice. It could be a copy of ‘Knitting on the Road’…

…if you are a knitter. There are some beautiful and unusual patterns from around the world…

Or if sewing’s more your thing, there’s ‘Zakka Style’…

This has some stylish and unusual designs which are very appealing…

…or if you or someone in your family would prefer to snuggle up with a good read you could choose this…

…which will be signed by the author, Thomas Taylor, just for you. I know him quite well! (You can find out more about Thomas, the book and how we know each other from this post)

So to recap, the prize is –

14 hanging ornaments – mini rainbow balls of yarn with knitting needles
a Christmas needlefelt mouse with hat and bell
And a choice of one of three books

And what do you have to do to have a chance of winning? I didn’t want to make things complicated so all you have to do is follow me in some way. You can subscribe by Email in the little box at the top of the left hand column. If you do that already there’s also the choice of Facebook, Pinterest or Twitter. And then just leave a comment on this post or any other of the Advent posts to let me know so I can add you to the list. You only have to do one thing, but if you sign up for more than that you get more chances!

If you sign up to follow me on any of the other sites, please let me know via a blog comment so I don’t miss you off the list!

This will run until after Christmas to give every one as much of a chance as possible to take part and I will make the draw via a Random Number Generator in the week between Christmas and New Year. In the meantime, do call back and find out what happens next on the Crafty Christmas Countdown Calendar!

See you soon…!

P.S. Don’t forget to call over to Handmade Monday to see what else is going on in the crafty world!

An Advent Announcement

It’s December 1st, I can’t believe it’s come round so quickly and Planet Penny is celebrating! It’s five whole years since the first tentative post, with that fear of having nothing to say, to anyone! Since then there have been over 200,000 visits, so to celebrate I’m trying something a little ambitious. I hope I can keep up!

The first plan is the Planet Penny Advent Calendar…

Everyday until Christmas Eve I shall be posting a Christmas make, recipe or link which I hope will give you a little inspiration for the Christmas Season.

Secondly, there will be a Christmas Anniversary Giveaway as a thank you for all the support over the last five years and this will be explained over the next couple of posts.

But, to begin with, the Advent posts…and it’s …

Advent Calendar- DAY 1

It’s wrapping time, and although pretty paper can be very expensive there are lots of ways to make very basic materials look special and individual. I was recently send some pretty tape by the DotComGiftShop which has meshed really well with my current favourite Scandinavian theme of red and white.

The tape comes in a natty little box with a cutting edge so it’s easy to tear off just what you need.

I’ve used Kraft brown wrapping paper which comes in a massive roll and is a great background colour for lots of projects. The red and white is set off beautifully by the buff colour of the paper and the tape is easily cut to mite the corners as shown here.

I’ve also experimented with wrapping leftover yarn and butchers red and white string, looks pretty doesn’t it…?

I also found this gorgeous woven Christmas ribbon which I shall use sparingly on very special pressies if I can bear to part with it!

If you run out of gifts to wrap and there are still a few centimetres of tape to use, it makes really lovely teeny tiny bunting, which can be hung across windows and around the Christmas tree or across the fireplace. The tape is folded round fine cord, embroidery thread or yarn and cut to shape. Really easy, and a fun project for older children to do.

Tomorrow I will tell you all about the Giveaway, which will run until after the ‘Big Day’ , so do pop back then and every day to see what I’m getting up to!

Craft Fairs and Family Fun

It’s been a busy half term week here on Planet Penny what with the How Hill Craft Fair and family fun with a special visit by two little boys over half term. Not that they were always recognisable as little boys…

…slightly troubling for a granny!

The craft fair went well, such a lovely venue…

with beautiful views over the gardens and the Norfolk Broads…

The robins proved very popular and quite a few flew off to new homes…

So the felting needle will be red hot again next week to refill my little tree!

Higgins has had a lovely week with his favourite boys, and even had his moment as an artists model for Thomas, their dad…

…but didn’t quite get the hang of posing!

He was invited along with the rest of us for a wonderful lunch with my second son, and my talented daughter-in-law produced a fabulous cake worthy of the ‘Great British Bake Off‘, and Higgins even managed to get in on the act with this too!

It was all most enjoyable…

So creating has been a little low key this week, I actually have something on knitting needles for a change, but I’ll save that for the next visit.

I’m sending my continued thoughts good wishes over the ‘Pond’ to everyone who has been affected by the horrendous weather. I hope you have all the help you need to get back to some sort of normality as quickly as possible.

I would also like to send a big, BIG thank you for all your visits, and lovely comments and the support you give me here on Planet Penny. Today I reached the huge milestone of having 200,000 hits on my blog since its very tentative beginnings in December 2007. 100,00 of those visits have been in the last 7 months! I have my thinking cap on for a celebratory Giveaway so watch this space…

I’m leaving you for now though with the Handmade Monday link 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

Dolly Peg Dolls for Handmade Monday Revisited

If you’ve been visiting Planet Penny for a while you may remember that last year I had some fun with Dolly Peg Dolls and Dolly Peg Angels, and there is a ‘how-to’ in pictures in the Tutorial section of Planet Penny. Well now it’s all in print, as I made this little lady…

for a tutorial in the October issue of The Dolls’ House Magazine! And it’s out now!

Please excuse the fact that I’m very excited…

I think I’m going to have to make some more. In fact we are having and Angels and Light Festival in our local church in the run up to Christmas, so I anticipate making several little Dolly Peg Doll Angels for that occasion. There also some little ladies for sale over on Etsy!

The robins have been breeding well over the last week, it must be the weather…

…and some more little robin wreaths are available on Etsy now…

I’m gradually getting into the swing of things after all my sorting out. I’m so tidy and organised now it makes all the difference being able to find the bits and pieces I want, long may it last! Anyway, for now I’m going to leave you with a link to Handmade Monday over on Handmade Harbour, and take my poor neglected little dog out for a walk now the sun has come out at last. I’m getting that ‘look’!

See you soon….x

Size Matters…

Tension, yarn weight and hook size, making it all match up

…or does it? I’m talking about crochet hooks here, I don’t think that qualifies as any sort of discrimination!

I’ve been having the occasional email from people about the size of hook I use to make up the Rainbow Mouse patterns so I thought a short blog post about hooks and yarn was in order.

Any one who knits and crochets and has made garments knows that there is a stress on making your tension squares initially just to check that your style of working produces the correct number of stitches and rows to the inch/cm. Obviously size is crucial when it’s something has to fit and look good, but it’s not as desperate when you are making little toys and Amigurumi creatures. What is important then is getting the correct hook for the yarn you are using.

The Planet Penny Cotton Colours yarn is supplied to me as double knitting weight, but it is quite fine for DK, although still thicker than 4 ply. If I’m using it to make something which requires a little drape or movement, such as a throw or cushion cover, then I use a 3.5mm hook. However, if I’m making a mouse which requires stuffing then I need a denser fabric so the stuffing doesn’t show and then I use a 3mm hook.

But the Rainbow Mouse Pattern, and the Mini mice patterns are just that, patterns to tell you which stitch comes next. If you are not using the PP cotton yarn, you can be adventurous as you like with the yarn you use as long as the hook suits the yarn. You will usually find the recommended hook size printed on the yarn binder, just go down a size to make sure the fabric is has no little holes in it.

With this in mind I have been experimenting with size and differing yarns.

This is the Rainbow Mouse Pattern made up in Planet Penny Cotton, using a 3mm hook. He’s about 3 and a half inches/9cm long excluding the tail… Rainbow_crochet_MouseNoText

The Mini Mouse Pattern made up the same way is 2 inches/5 cm long…

Mini_Crochet_Mouse

However, when I use cotton embroidery thread and a 2mm hook, the mini mouse gets a teeny tiny brother, who is only an inch long…

and conversely, making up the Rainbow Mouse pattern in Aran yarn using a 5mm hook results in a fat cuddly friend who is 5 and a half inches/14cm long and perfect for a baby’s first toy (no beads for that though!)

So be adventurous, and you’ll be amazed by the possibilities. I’m going to put a brooch back on the teeny tiny fellow, but he could equally well go on a hair clip or head band for a little girl, or decorate a pencil case.

Meanwhile, because I know it’s not always easy to get the correct size of hook to make up the Rainbow Mouse and Mini Mice patterns, the pack now include a 3mm hook so you can get going straight away!

The Planet Penny Cotton Colours yarn and patterns are all available through the Planet Penny Etsy shop, there’s a link here, and at the top of the page.

If you’ve made your own mice, do share them on the Planet Penny Facebook page, or just come along to ‘like’ it and see what else is going on!

Back soon…x