Tag Archives: Needle Felting

A Pick’n’Mix Handmade Monday…

Hello, Good Morning and Happy Monday! I hope the sun is shining where you are. It’s a perfect Autumnal morning here, bright low sun, and frostiness. The weekend’s strong winds have subsided, and now the last few leaves have been whipped off the cherry trees, the sun can stream in through the french doors unhindered.

I must admit to being very, very tired! There are times when the only way to have a bit of fun and life is to ignore all the ‘management’ advice about M.E., go for it, and pick up the pieces afterwards, which may take a while…

However, enough of all that…

Would you like to see some pictures? I’ve got lots, but I’ll try not to go over the top! If you want to find out more about any of the lovelies that you see, click on Pick ‘n’ Mix Makers Market in the side bar for the details.

My stall will look very familiar since I’ve featured most of my makes on here at some time…

But here are some of the rest…

We were next door to a lady selling beautiful glass pieces, but can you see who is modelling in the background?

…and I discovered she too was a member of the Dachshund fan club, and I met Monty!

Always a popular theme!

I suffered some serious yarn love looking at these…

…aren’t they gorgeous? I wish I suited a hat!

I did buy some lovely raspberry yarn from High Fibre, which I will show you when I have knitted it up, and some jolly Christmas cards from Gabriella, whose whole stall was an explosion of Jolliness!

(and where you will also find dachshunds!)

If you want to see the whole thing from another angle, pop over to Purple Podded Peas where Celia Hart has posted the day from her perspective…

The only new make I have to show you is the Robin brooch. I made one for Kit and one for me to show where we belonged…

but if I’d made lots I think I would have sold them! I sold all the robin baubles very quickly, I think that thanks to the Kirsty Allsop effect, everyone wants a needlefelted robin this Christmas!

(and that gorgeous necklace is a Silver Pebble creation, created for Kit from the contents of her granny’s button box!)

I had enquiries about the robin baubles before the weekend and will be making more for Folksy but if you’d like some you’d better let me know…

I must stop chatting, I have two men in the garden erecting scaffolding and I’m on tea duty. Do visit Wendy over on 1st Unique Gifts to find the Linky to all the other participants of Handmade Monday.

See you soon…x

Planet Penny on Folksy – A Year On

I’ve just sat down at the keyboard with my Reasons to be Cheerful hat on, and realised I have an anniversary to mark this month. It’s a whole year since I needlefelted my first robin and my chums in our little Procrastinators Anonymous group said, “Just get ON with it!” So I put it in the Folksy shop which I had set up months before and then had a crisis of confidence, and I sold it. And it’s a whole year since I took a clutch of robins to the Pick’n’Mix Makers Market in Holt because Emma of Silver Pebble wanted to choose one, and she sold the rest on her stall…

And this time last year I was visiting the Market as a customer, and this time I’ve got a stall, so I think I’ve got a Reason to be Cheerful right here!

(While I was digging around in the archives I found a photo I can’t resist using again…how ridiculous is this…?)

Anyway, enough of all that silliness…

I’ve taken advantage of Tim being back in the middle of the North Sea to commandeer the dining table on which to sort out my packing for Saturday…

Oooh-er, putting it in a photo makes it look so darn little, but actually sitting alongside it I’m sure it’ll be fine.

Needlefelting does NOT lent itself to mass production!

I’ve had some fun with the baubles…

and I’ve made a Christmas Angel…

…or two.

And I’ve put a bigger robin in a wreath which I’m quite pleased with…

I’ll hopefully have lots of pictures of this Saturday’s event to show you next week (note to self – REMEMBER THE CAMERA!)

So all that is jolly stuff, but before I share some other cheerfulness I just wanted to say a big thank you for all the lovely encouraging comments you have been leaving me. I might be beavering away on my own, but I never feel it while I have so many virtual friends visiting Planet Penny. And also, there’s been some interest in the whole needlefelting process, and what it’s all about. Excitingly, I’ve been asked to run some classes next year, I’ll let you know more as I get the information. Obviously that’s only any help if you live relatively nearby, but when things are a little calmer in the new year I can put a tutorial on line if you would like. Do leave a comment if you are interested.

So back to the matter in hand. I’m still finding loveliness in the garden but with the weather turning colder it seemed a good idea to bring it indoors…

…and Sweet Peas in November?

After yesterday’s fog, this morning’s sunrise was beautiful…

…and it was fun getting a Higgins’ eye view of the toadstools!

And finally, and I know I’ve gone over the three reasons but that can only be a good thing, there was a glorious misty sunset the other evening…

…it’s just a shame it has to happen so early in the afternoon!

So, what Reasons to be Cheerful have YOU found this week? Please share them on your blog and link them through the Linky below and spread a little happiness. And if you don’t have a blog, feel free to add them to the comments on this post, I’m looking forward to hearing from you…x

Needlefelted Robins for Handmade Monday

It’s the final run down to the Pick’n’Mix Maker’s Market in the lovely market town of Holt, Norfolk on the 26th November which is NEXT WEEKEND!!! (Aaaah! Speak severely to self….’Calm down, dear!’)

Actually I am looking forward to it, panic aside, because I will see so many friends, especially Emma of Silver Pebble, Celia of Purple Podded Peas, Gabriella of Moobaacluck, Tracey and Craig of Faded Splendour, and the hostess with the mostess, Lisa of Bobobun. And there will be Daisy Boo’s Kitchen…and CAKE…and lots of other lovely stalls!

So as, much to my delight, my little Carol Singing Mice sold almost immediately I have made another group, and they are just waiting to collect their song sheets and bell…

…and I have been making more needlefelted robins, this time to hang on the Christmas tree…

Despite my efforts to remained focussed I did get somewhat side tracked by discovering the delights of the ‘hexipuff’. It came at me from two different directions, firstly in Vanessa’s post on ‘Do You Mind If I Knit’, and then on the UKHandmade website. Isn’t this pretty?

Such a brilliant way of using leftover sock yarn! These are my first efforts…

…and the lovely thing is that UK Handmade are collecting donated hexipuffs to make a quilt to raise funds for charity, and you can find out all about it here.

I think I qualify to enter Handmade Monday this week! If you drop over to Wendy’s Blog on 1st Unique Gifts you’ll find plenty more to see.

See you soon! x

Silent Sunday

Needlefelting by the Fire

Here in North Norfolk we seem to be clinging on to our Indian Summer, although it’s been good to light the woodburner once the sun goes down. It’s very poignant, I’m very much a Spring person, and struggle a bit with approaching Winter and I’m finding capturing little moments with the camera a really good way of being more positive about the clocks going back next weekend.

It does mean that sometimes I have to be a bit adventurous to get the shot I want. The Silent Sunday picture this week involved clambering round quite a lot of mud and through dead stalks to get at that last surviving sunflower. Higgins thought I’d gone quite mad and dug all four little legs firmly in the ground when I tried to tow him behind me, so I had to do it with a dachshund tucked under one arm into the bargain!

I’ve been needlefelting this week. With the Pick’n’Mix Market just a short month away I’ve been working on more Christmas decorations making Sputnik Baubles and I’ve had lots of fun with the colours. I said in a previous post I’m working on all-year-round colours, rather than a traditional palette, and I’ve been surprised how jolly and clown like my creations are becoming…

…and you can sort of imagine them orbiting Planet Penny can’t you?

(Now I’m feeling ashamed because I realise just how long I’ve had those wooden hangers waiting for me to creatively cover them!)

After last week’s Handmade Monday I had interest expressed in a tutorial for the Crochet Fairy Lights which you will now find here. I’d love to see if you make them!

And talking of Handmade Monday please make a trip over to 1st Unique Gifts to say hello to Wendy and to find out what other exciting bits of making have been going on over the week.

Finally thanks to everyone who took part in the Reasons to be Cheerful Linky. I hope that now you know about it you’ll be looking for your own little sparks of happiness to share for for the next one which is scheduled for Thursday. When clocks go back next weekend, we’ll need all the cheering up we can get!

See you soon x

Good Grief, is that the time?

I always start out with such good intentions to do a post twice a week, and then I skid to the last day and find it hasn’t happened. So not much of a theme to this post, rather an eclectic mix of happenings.

On Monday, I went to Norwich Deaf Centre, where I had a long standing booking for a needlefelting class for the Craft Group. Good fun was had by all…

The felting needle related injuries were minimal…

..and everyone was very happy with their own needlefelted cupcake pincushion!

Good enough to eat!

Talking of eating, has anyone else made sour dough bread? I’ve been wanting to have a go for ages, but chickened out of the little pot of bubbling goo thingy that you have to go through to make it. Any way, I consulted Mr Fearnley-Wittingstall here, and started out on my scientific experiment a couple of weeks ago.

(I put a little label on the lid saying don’t be scared ‘cos last time I tried I threw it away in a panic!)

Anyway it sat for nearly two weeks bubbling away while I fed it and this week I decided to actually make the loaf. It starts off overnight as a spongy batter, then with more flour added and kneaded in it progresses over the day…like this…

And the verdict? Well, I’ve not had sour dough bread before so I’ve no idea how it compare to the experts’ version. It’s tasty, with an extra edge, a slightly sour tang like lemon juice or vinegar, without the flavour. It’s good with cheese, and toasted with lemon marmalade. It seemed to go dry quite quickly, almost as it cooled, but that could be a fault in the making. But it was fine toasted. I’m fairly confident T will NOT be impressed, being a fan of the sliced white or 50/50 loaf so it’s quite faff for one person, but I’m glad I gave it a go. I’d love to know if you’ve tried it. How did you get on, and what did you think?

I’ve been creative in other ways too. I had a special commission, a present for a small boy who isn’t really into birds, or sheep or frogs, but really likes his bike. So let me present,

The Biking Bear, complete with cycle helmet…

And I’ve also been working on a new Bluebirds of Happiness project…

What do you think?…

And finally, I’ve been doing a little dressmaking. This week I came across this lovely blog, Sew Scrumptious and Louise, who is currently collecting little dresses for Dress a Girl Around the World. You can can read all about it by following these links, and it’s such a lovely thing to be involved in. today I made my first dress…

It’s a really easy pattern which you can download, and with a brilliant tutorial here, even a novice can turn out a beautiful dress to make a little girl happy!

It would be lovely if you could join in too, what better way to use up all those pretty scraps of fabric you can’t bear to throw away, but don’t know what to do with?

See you soon! x