Tag Archives: Handmade Monday

Ocean Blue and Buttons…

Hello again…don’t the weeks come round quickly! It’s been very busy on Planet Penny over the last few days as we’re in the process of turning a storage area into an office, so having moved everything out for Tim to work on it my studio is CHAOS! It’ll be so good when it’s finished, I might be able to find things more easily (pause for hollow laughter!) but the main perk will be having the printer/scanner in the same room that I’m working in, instead of several rooms and a fight of stairs away. I suppose the exercise is good for me, but it makes things take twice as long! In the meantime I’ve been needlefelting and playing with Ocean Blue dye, and little flowery buttons…

Remember the little robins of last week? I had a cunning plan for their use, and it worked out very well. I found some pretty natural and red woven ribbon, just enough to make five of these…

…and put them on the Planet Penny Facebook page to see what the reaction would be. Despite several of you telling me off for mentioning the dreaded ‘C’ word (!!) I sold three before I even put them on Etsy, where there is now just one left! Don’t despair however, there will be more, but they’ll be just a little different. I don’t do mass production I’m afraid!

I have also completed a variation on the the Love Birds as I couldn’t source the straw wreath straight away, the latest ones have natural colour lambswool hearts…

…and three of these have made it as far as the Etsy shop!

And my other creative project the week has involved a spot of dyeing! I have such problems finding clothes I like, that fit, that are long enough, and I rarely find all that and in a colour I like. So when I found a tunic top in Cotton Trader’s sale which ticked all the boxes bar the colour one I snapped it up and went off to the local supermarket for a packet of dye…

Take one shirt like this…

…in a cotton linen mix, and add a packet of this…

and a few pretty buttons..and you end up with this…

I’ve ordered two more!

(This might amuse you: Having decided to change the basic white buttons to something more original I carefully sorted an interesting selection of colours snipped off the white ones and replaced them with the pretty flower ones – I hate sewing on buttons, don’t you? I had just finished ironing it and had hung it on a hanger to admire when my beloved OH came in. “Yes,” he said, “That looks really good. Now all you have to do is change the buttons…”

I say nothing!)

There was lots of interest last week about Higgins’ ‘Thundershirt’. He’s actually wearing it at the moment as a storm has just passed by and it does seem to calm him down a lot. He usually goes and sits on the back doormat and trembles but this time I wrapped him in the shirt and popped him into bed where he snuggled down and look reasonable relaxed. It was only a small storm so more testing will need to be done, but so far the signs are good.

I must finish this and go and administer tea to the worker in my little ‘soon-to-be’ office, it’s not the weather to be sawing wood! I’ll leave you with the usual link to ‘Handmade Monday’ over on Handmade Harbour.

Have a lovely week and I’ll be back soon…x

A Needlefelt Bird in the Hand….

…but a handful of baby birds is even better!

Guess who’s thinking ahead to C*******s! It’s alright, I won’t speak the word aloud!

I’ve been waiting for materials to arrive so I’ve switched to a different breed of bird, and trying out a different size too. Last C*******s I couldn’t keep up with the demand for needlefelt robins, I think it was the Kirsty effect, so I’m starting early year, although I find it really hard to think of Christmas in August, don’t you? (Whoops, sorry, it slipped out! )

The robins are now fluttering their way to the Planet Penny shop, and you can find them here, here and here..

I’ve been a little indulgent this week and treated myself. I said last week I couldn’t resist the little scented dachshunds, and so I had one made just for me by the lovely LouLou of Farrell and Holmes and these lovely parcels arrived a few days ago, smelling wonderful!

But I’d only ordered one thing!? And here it is, such pretty fabric…

and in the other one? A little present for me…

Thank you LouLou!

The weather this week has been beautiful, so no more thunderstorms much to Higgins relief but the lovely Mrs Micawber, who was very concerned about his well being, sent a link to something which might just solve his problems, not only with the storms, but with the fireworks which upset him so much. It’s a Thundershirt, and here he is modelling it!

The theory is that being wrapped snuggly calms dogs and makes then less stressed about loud noises and other worrying situations. Thank you so much Mrs Micawber, we’ll let you know whether it works when the weather breaks!

Well, it’s another short post as I must away to administer Clovis’s evening antibiotic on the other side of the village, I will get a lot more done when I don’t have to visit three times a day, it’s a good thing I love him! I’ll leave you with a link to Handmade Monday so you can visit lots of other lovely bloggers who have been creating little lovelies over the past week.

See you soon…x

Rain, Rain…

…go away.

As you can guess from this photo, I’m not in the studio this afternoon. I can’t hear myself think for the rain hammering on the roof, and I’m having to be inside to make soothing noises to a little dog who does not like thunder. It’s been the pattern for days, glorious sunshine in the morning and torrential rain and thunder in the afternoon. Unfortunately the mornings are when I’m busiest, and as I come to a breathing space, the thunder and lightening sets in.

Not to worry, I’m still managing to potter along creatively, if a trifle damply. If you remember last week, I was planning to make more of the Lovebirds in hearts. I tried trying out a slightly different style using a little wicker heart rather than the wool ones and I was very pleased with the effect…

I was pleasantly surprised to find it sold within hours of putting it in the Etsy shop, but rather annoyed that when I found these hearts to buy I only bought one as a sample, so it’s back to Norwich next week to for some more!

The Planet Penny Cotton selection has been selling well, and I’ve had to make a slight change in the range as the ‘Buttercup’ yellow was out of stock. I’ve replaced it for now with a really pretty ‘Sunshine’ (always pays to be optimistic!) yellow which is almost the same cheerful colour with a slight variegated effect…

I also spent some time rephotographing the Christmas Crochet Bunting from this tutorial. I have never been happy with the white on black image as although it show the Bunting off well, it looks stark, and not very Christmassy. So when I was contacted by Future Publishing Craft Division with a view to featuring it in a forthcoming magazine I knew I had to make it look more festive in the photos. I finally tracked down the perfect background for it in our local sewing store…

I’ll let you know more about it nearer the time, so watch this space!

Are you wondering how the Mad French Cat is faring after his recent disaster? Well, after the last check up with our lovely vet, he was given permission to come out of the crate, something Clovis has been working on for weeks…

He’s still on twice daily antibiotics for the next few weeks, and we don’t have a date for the pins to come out so we’re not out of the woods yet, but he’s able to prowl around my mum’s bungalow…loudly…ker-plunk….ker-plunk..

Ironically, his favourite place to sleep? In the crate! Ho-hum…

I’ve been meaning to share some shopping I’ve indulged in over the past few weeks, I don’t wan’t to be the only one led astray! The first was bought as birthday present for a close friend, but I’m soo tempted to go back and get one for me. Can you guess why?

You’ll find lots of other pretty things in their Etsy shop, Farrell & Holmes. My other impulse buy was by the power of Twitter! I was intending to do a little Twittering myself, but clicked on a photo and couldn’t resist this…

..could you? You’ll find more in the Etsy shop Miss Winnie Makes.

Well I’d better leave the laptop now and do something far more important, consoling Higgins. The thunder is still rumbling around, and he’s in a little shivery heap. He’s doesn’t want to be held, I suppose he feels out of control, so all I can do is make soothing noises. I hope it won’t be long before he’s back on form, working on the cuteness factor…

I’ll leave you with the usual link to Handmade Monday over on Handmade Harbour.

Hope you’re keeping dry, see you soon…x

A Brief Pause…

I hope everyone has been able to enjoy the belated summer sunshine over the last week. It’s been lovely in Norfolk which has been quite a relief with two little boys to entertain! As you can imagine, not a lot of Planet Penny business has been undertaken over the past few days, we’ve had a brief pause for some fun and picnics on the beach…

…with sausages on the menu of course! And eating in the garden late in the evening has been lovely.

So with no real brain power free to think about crochet and patterns, I’ve been needlefelting some bases to be worked on when it all goes quiet in a couple of days, with no little boys to entertain. I’m very aware my new Etsy shop hasn’t yet featured any needlefelted pieces, and I have had several requests for my little lovebirds…

…so these are next on the agenda.

So I hope you’ll understand why this post is just a short one, as I’m snatching a few minutes on the last day of the visit to link up with Handmade Monday over on Handmade Harbour.

I’ll be back soon though!

Making it in Making Magazine!

Well, almost. It’s not a full page double spread or anything, but hey! Making Magazine noticed me!

Well, Planet Penny anyway and Higgins, who is terribly excited. He’s very aware that he might be recognised and so has taken to going around incognito!

Things have been a little tricky on the Clovis front. The circulation in his foot was compromised as the bandage slipped (too much jumping on to beds etc) and after a night at the vets he was allowed home without the dressing. However infection has set in, which was always a possibility given the seriousness of the break and so we are on the long haul with twice daily antibiotics. He is now confined to the crate…

and being very good about it all things considered, only mewing piteously when I arrive on nurse duty!

Let me Owwt!

Fortunately my mum lives less than a mile away as I now have to visit three times a day. Once in my carer’s capacity to make mum’s lunch etc, and twice as veterinary nurse!

As you may have guessed from my Silent Sunday post, I had a birthday this week, with a lovely lunch at the Marsham Arms near Norwich, which is where we had such a wonderful time at our son and daughter-in-laws wedding reception. I really didn’t need sticky toffee pudding, but it was soooo delicious! Kit made me a beautiful matching gift bag and card using vintage Laura Ashley wallpaper.

I wish Laura Ashley would revive the original woodcuts that they started out with as they are so simple and pretty. Years ago I had blue wallpaper with white swans on it, I loved it and not a scrap survives…

In the midst of all that’s been going on I finally completed the Heart and Flower Garland Pattern so it’s now available as a PDF via the Etsy shop, along with some Mini Mice hairslides, crocheted with embroidery silk. They really are weeny and cute!

I’m now revisiting the owls from this post as I’ve had several requests for a pattern, I’ve just got to refine it, and make some decisions about the different formats.

So, plenty to be going on with, as well as a visit from the grandsons this week, which will make Higgins very happy. He does love his boys! (And I’ve just found this post that Higgins wrote all about his boy, which I had forgotten about which did make me smile, do have a look!)

I’m linking up again with Handmade Harbour for Handmade Monday again so you can follow the link and find lots crafty blogs to visit. Have a great week…

Back soon…x

Crochet, Cats and Crochet Mice….

Welcome back to Planet Penny and another Handmade Monday post. It’s also a catch up post, because last week I didn’t feel able to bring you up to date with the ‘Clovis the Cat Saga’ because I was dreading the outcome. But I’m back now, with more crochet, more mice, and even more cats!

If you’ve not visited before, Clovis is my ‘foster’ cat, living with my mum and who suffered a nasty accident 10 days ago, you can find out more in this post. Last weekend he was safely ensconced in his crate, and I thought I had the after-care sussed. That was before the Break Out, when he hefted his 8 kilos plus frame out of the crate just as I was juggling with a used earth tray (YUK!) and got out outside!!

To cut a very long story and traumatic story short, he got out, panicked, ran under the neighbour’s car, got up inside the car while we searched elsewhere. Reappeared several hours later when the neighbour started the car and belted down the garden on three legs and vanished into the undergrowth. Hours of fruitless searching and calling later I gave up for the night, hoping he would creep in via the catflap under cover of darkness. The next morning my mum went to look for him inside…no sign… By now it was raining, and I went back to search, dressed in waterproofs and wellies…convinced that he had displaced the pins, caused an infection, had soggy bandages, was lying somewhere in pain and unable to move and it was all my fault…

The neighbour came out and suggested starting his car again, just to make sure he hadn’t gone back underneath, and, just on the off chance before he did, I went back inside just to check Clovis wasn’t inside. And there he was, on the bed in the spare room!!! I couldn’t get near enough to check him over, so I shut him in with food, water and a tray and left him alone over night to recover his nerves, as the following day I had to catch him again and take him to the vet.

Against all the odds he was absolutely fine, I meanwhile have aged 10 years….

Tomorrow of course, I have to catch him again for the next vet visit, please wish me luck!

However, I have still fitted in some creativity, the first being a little ‘Granny’ project with the Planet Penny Cotton. It’s fun making all the little bits and bobs with the rainbow colours, but I wanted to make something pretty for the home…

This small remnant of beautiful vintage Provençal Print was crying out to be a cushion back…

…and I was pretty pleased with the front too!

I can’t get away from pussy cats though, while my back was turned Henry decided to give it a quality control check!

…it passed!

And the crochet mice?

Well, after my last post about using different yarns and hooks to change the size of the mice on the Mouse Patterns, I had lots of comments via the Planet Penny Facebook Page about the cuteness of the teeny tiny mice made from Coton Perlé using the Planet Penny Mini Mice pattern. I’ve raided my embroidery basket to make some pretty little crochet mouse hair slides…

and have now bought a mini rainbow selection to have a play with using this much finer crochet hook…

Very happy colours!

I hope you’ve had a slightly less exciting time where ever you have been over the last week. I know I’ve given the impression with my photos lately that Norfolk has been having the summer no one else has had, but we’ve had our share of wet days too. It’s St Swithin’s Day today, and this is supposed to happen…

‘St. Swithin’s day if thou dost rain
For forty days it will remain
St. Swithin’s day if thou be fair
For forty days ’twill rain nae mair.’

So far around here it’s been dry, so fingers crossed!

I’ll leave you with the usual link to Handmade Monday over on Handmade Harbour where you can find lots of lovely blogs to visit…

See you soon …x