Tag Archives: crochet

Planet Penny Cotton Colours – A New Look

I mentioned recently news about the Planet Penny Cotton which I sell via the Etsy Shop, it’s got a new look!

I’ve been deliberating for a long time about the colour range. I love it still, and didn’t want to change something which works so well, but from the feedback I’ve been getting it needed a slight tweak. The pack now consists of 12 colours. It looks more vibrant without the two pastel shades, and of course it’s now cheaper!

From the administrative point of view it solves a couple of niggles too, so I hope everyone is happy with it. (Anyone mid-project relying on purchasing a second 14 ball pack please contact me for help)

What helped me take the final step was seeing this gorgeous blanket made by Alison, one of my customers using the Planet Penny Cotton..

This what Alison said about her method of making the blanket:

“This was a Lucy ripple and I believe I did 196 stitches plus the extra 3.(or whatever was divisible by 3, I think I had a few more on the start chain and unpicked from the start when I had done my first row as I wanted). I have done three rows of each of the colours Apple, Lime, Buttercup, Marigold, Peach, RoseBud, Gerbera, Aubretia, Cornflower, Delphinium, Aqua and Jade. We have ended up with 4 sets of 12 colours, the finished blanket is about 96cm x 152cm. I have a small amount of each ball left, so a ball did six rows.”

As Alison said, it’s an Attic 24 Ripple pattern which you will find here and you can buy the yarn here.

If you would prefer to buy outside Etsy then you can purchase through Planet Penny Direct Sales here.

I hope that’s inspired you! It’s always nice to have a little Rainbow colour infusion…

I’m off into the sunshine now. I have grandsons visiting for a few days. They’ve been off to the North Norfolk coast today but I’ve promised them a spot of Granny style crafting when they come back so I shall have a few minutes rest in the garden before they get home.

See you soon…x

Filling the Box of Delights

It’s just a little bit scary how the time gallops away, isn’t it? I’ve got a camera full of photos and so much to say, and yet every day this week I’ve failed to get the necessary time at the keyboard to write a post.

Never mind, I shall tackle one thing at a time and this is very overdue news about the Box of Delights that I have been putting together for the 500 posts giveaway which I wrote about here. I have felt overwhelmed by the lovely comments which have been left, I do thank you so much. And I have been particularly touched by people who say that they haven’t been following for long but have read their way all the way back to the beginning. Whenever I have a blogging lack of confidence I shall go back and read those posts to motivate myself to keep going!

Because I have readers from all over the world I wanted to make the Box of Delights of a size which would make it possible to post it to anywhere with a reliable postal service so I have customised a box especially. It’s been so long since I exercised these particular crafting muscles that I was a little unsure of myself, but I have painted and lined and glued and created a little repository for all manner of small things.

The inside looks like this.

I’ve lined it with may favourite of the Planet Penny Cotton fabrics.

And in it I’ve put a butterfly…

…crocheted with the PP cotton yarn. A mini needlefelt sheep…

…because sheep are a bit special on Planet Penny! There’s a reminder of the Dolly Peg Dolls with this length of vintage lace…

…A fat quarter of the cotton fabric…

… a string of the beads I love to use…

…and some vintage Mother of Pearl buttons…I’ve had a fascination over the last couple of weeks for covering match boxes (more of that in another post) so here’s one with some covered thumb tacks for your pin board…

…and this one which I had a lovely time painting. If you are wondering what’s inside, I’m not saying! It’s a secret…

…and finally there’s a crochet heart, as a reminder of the Hearts and Flowers Mobile…

…and if you would like some flowers there’s a length of Planet Penny Cotton in every one of the rainbow shades so you can crochet your own!

So everything fits in perfectly…..and it just requires a lid…

All it needs is a home. Would you like it? There is still time to enter the Giveaway by leaving a comment on this post, it’s running till next weekend.

I’m off now to do some cooking. I have my chum Kit coming round for supper and I’ve been delving through my cook books to find something delicious and fuss free, Nigella has come up trumps with a roasting tin filled with chicken, chorizo and other yummy things. I’ll let you know if I manage to channel my inner ‘domestic goddess’!

See you soon…x

A Funny Old Week…

It’s been one of those weeks where I feel like I’ve taken two steps forward and one and a half steps back, do you have those? The main calamity was the disappearance of Planet Penny into a virtual black hole a couple of days ago. Many apologies if this affected you in anyway, it was not your computer! The technical term according to the help desk was the ‘White Screen of Death’ which was very scary, but I was really smug when I worked through the long list of instructions they sent and sorted it out…All On My Own!

It’s quite horrible outside, the wind is howling and the rain is lashing down, so I do hope you are keeping warm and dry. My heart goes out to everyone suffering in the floods, it must be horrendous…

It seem very odd that if a disaster happens abroad all manner of aid, both financial and physical is supplied, but when people are suffering hardship from extreme weather conditions in our own country it seems such a struggle for them to get any help. (If you are not in the UK, you might not be aware of the flooding in some areas in the west of the country, but you can find out here.)

Anyway, back home with a cheerful picture of the bike which I found outside our Community Shop this week. It’s owner was probably only about eight years old, but what style… I’m quite envious!

I had great plans to share a new pattern, but what with one thing and another, it’s not quite there. I found some crochet bunting on Pinterest, but not finding a pattern decided to work it out for myself. I wanted something a bit plainer than the more usual ‘granny’ bunting, and I’m very pleased with this. It’s really quick and easy…

Hopefully I’ll finish off the pattern very soon, and there will be more photos when the light is a bit brighter!

I’ve had my ‘window-dresser hat on this week in our Community shop and with Valentine’s Day on the horizon I made this Valentine Tree for the window display…(although I’d actually quite like to keep it on my dresser!

I’m now going to desert you for a comfy chair by the fire with the baby knitting, where hopefully the sound of the howling wind and lashing rain won’t be quite as loud as it is here in the studio!

I’ve amalgamated two of the patterns from the Debbie Bliss pattern book from my last post, so I’ve got a stripy tank top on the needles…

I’ll be back soon…x

Has Anybody Seen My Mojo…?

I’m feeling like I’m a bit of blogging dead loss at the moment, I do apologise!

I built up quite a head of steam during December with my daily Christmas Countdown posts, and had lots of plans for January but as you know, 2014 did not get off to a good start for Team Planet Penny…

And annoyingly I’m just generally not very well. Nothing alarming, but two separate things which necessitate visits to different clinics at the hospital the other side of Norwich for tests and consultations and so far I’m averaging two trips a week!

So the energy levels are low, and my get up and go really has got up and gone!

There are only two choices in this situation. I can sit and fume about not being able to do the things I want to do and make myself feel even worse, or step back and let things drift a little while I administer a little TLC to myself.

I’m my own worst enemy when I’m busy anyway. Eating standing up, being too tired to bother to cook for one in the evening when Tim is away, cheese and crackers and a glass of wine (or two!) is SO easy… Saying ‘yes’ too often when asked to do something I don’t actually have time to do…I don’t need to go on, I’m sure you’ve been there too.

So I’m switching off the computer in the evenings, and trying to ignore all but the most urgent emails and texts which arrive via my phone. I’m eating meals at mealtimes, simple stuff but fresh and not filling up on biscuits and tea to keep going. And while I’m waiting for my inspiration to return I’m going to make some little things for my forthcoming grandson, due to arrive of Valentine’s Day.

I’ve had a baby blanket on the hook for ages revisiting my old favourite, the Ripple stitch and made what my Dad would have referred to as a ‘Bobby-Dazzler’!

And I bought a magazine after Christmas which I hoped would inspire me…

Don’t you love the dinosaurs? I thought they would be perfect for the Planet Penny Cotton and planned to make all three. This is the Diplodocus…

He’s very cute, but alas I can’t recommend the pattern to anyone who isn’t a fairly practised crocheter. It was quite tricky to keep track of the stitches because there was no indication at the end of each increase or decrease row as to how many stitches there should actually be. Such a shame, and silly really because there are so many other places to find patterns with picture explanations or even videos. You need a bit more when you’ve paid out £7.99 for a magazine.

I have another project too, thanks to the power of serendipity! It’s all about making time to read, and linking up with other readers.

I’ll be back soon to tell you all about it, and in the meantime I’ll leave you with the promised photo of my knitted square for the Age UK Campaign from this post. It’ll be on it’s way to Norman Lamb MP this very week!

Have you made yours yet?!

See you soon…x

Christmas Countdown – Day Seventeen

I can’t believe we’re on Day Seventeen of the Christmas Countdown already, time is just flying by. Things are not progressing very fast here at the moment as we are beset by cold germs. It’s at this point I wish I was SO much more organised and didn’t have such a long ‘Last Minute List’

Ho-hum…maybe I’ll add that to the New Years Resolution List!

But back to Day Seventeen. Last year in the Advent Calendar it was all about mice and you’ll find quite a selection of them featured in this post.

Planet Penny Mini Mice – Etsy Pattern

But I’ve been having a scout round and it’s surprising how many mice you’ll find scampering about in cyberspace. These are Racing Walnut Mice! They sound lots of fun and an easy craft to do with the little ones, just click the image for the link as always…

Walnut Racing Mice Christmas Countdown Day 17

Oh Baby!

Here’s a dear little tree decoration with a jingly nose…

fabric mouse tree ornament - Christmas Countdown Day 17

Pimp Stitch

A couple of years ago I made this little group of needlefelt carol singing mice which I sold and then rather regretted losing them I must make some more just for me!

carol singing mice Christmas Countdown Day 17

Planet Penny

I love the little fabric mouse below from Lucy Kate, don’t you?

Lucy Kate Crafts

And finally, we have the mouse in our house who lives in the skirting board.

PAWS – Paper and Wire Sculptures

All right, I’ll admit it, it’s all pretend. Can you imagine Higgins tolerating that situation? It’s a little sticker from the very clever Sue McLearie which I secreted on to the skirting board. So far only one person has noticed it…

…but he doesn’t seem too bothered!

I hope you like this collection of Christmas Mice..

I’ll be back tomorrow…x

Christmas Countdown – Day Twelve

This time last year there were a lot of robins twittering around on Planet Penny so I thought I’d include them in the Christmas Countdown. I haven’t had time to make any this year, and I really miss them so this is a good excuse to have them on the blog!

Today for the Countdown I found some mini wreaths, just the right size for the Christmas Tree. I made these for our local Christmas Fair last year. Very simple and effective – hooray for the trusty glue gun!

Planet Penny Advent Calendar – Day Twelve

Oh, and here’s a another robin getting in on the act!

Planet Penny

I have a box of rather old and tatty curtain rings tucked away, this next image has given me lots of ideas for recycling them, using an assortment of pretty oddments from the ‘Bits and Bobs’ box.

curtain_ring_wreaths Christmas Countdown

This little crochet wreath is really sweet…

Planet June

This is simple and effective and made with a white rose would be perfect for a wedding…

Sew Made By Me

And here’s an great way to use up tiny scraps of fabric too pretty to throw away…

Crafty Painter

And finally, we’re back to buttons again….

Martha Stewart

I hope I’ve given you some ideas to squirrel away for Christmas crafting now and in the future,

I’ll be back with more tomorrow…x