Tag Archives: Needle Felting

An Easter Present…

Firstly I would like to say thank you SO much for the good wishes that have been sent for my Mum. One of the pleasures of the blogging community is precisely that, community. It’s easy to feel very isolated when these things happen, especially when you are in a rural area and you have to be on hand when someone’s ill. I can’t tell you how it’s helped to have your kind thoughts to read. Nan (yes, that’s her name, it’s not short for Nanny!) is gradually improving and getting stronger, although not nearly fast enough for her liking. I’ve ben asured by a nurse tho’ that the Noro virus takes ages to get over when you are generally in good health, so it will take while yet for someone like her. (And I’m sorry Alice, that the name of your favourite wool obsession has been hijacked for something so nasty!)

It’s been tricky fitting in as much making as I would like with all the to-ing and fro-ing going on, but with Easter in mind I’ve produced these for the Easter Tree.

Do you have an Easter Tree? We first saw them in the Netherlands nearly 20 years ago and I have had one ever since, it’s such a lovely herald of Spring. These decorations are the size of a hens egg, and being needle felt are light enough to hang from a twiggy branch of twisted willow. They will be in the Folksy Shop very soon.

And I though it would be nice to have an Easter giveaway, especially as I have found the perfect thing for your morning cuppa on a bright spring morning!

So if you like cows…

or hens…

or even sheep…

…it doesn’t matter because they are all here together on this one sunshine yellow cup and saucer!

All you need to do is to leave a comment here, and if you put a link to your blog, Facebook page or Tweet about it be sure to let me know and I’ll put you in the hat twice! I’ll keep it running until the 15th April and get Higgins to help me with the draw. (I’m sure he’ll get the hang of it eventually!)

It’s SPRING!

Hooray, it’s official, today is the first day of Spring and Higgins and I have been in the garden in shirtsleeves! (Well I have, Higgins is still stuck in that hairy vest he wears) Hope you all had a lovely weekend. Tim and I went off to look for daffodils yesterday, and found some! Isn’t it ridiculous how you go off on holiday and hunt out nice places to go, but never get round to visiting places right on your doorstep at home?

We have the lovely Hoveton Hall Gardens literally next door to us and as we’d already missed the Snowdrop Walk for various reasons I was determined we’d get along to the Daffodil Walk. Unfortunately we didn’t have quite the glorious weather on Sunday which we enjoyed on Saturday so the photos aren’t quite at sparkly as I had hoped, but never mind. What is nice is that you can really see the bare bones of the garden as it comes to life and I’m now quite determined to go back at regular intervals and watch it grow, I think the rhodedendrons and azaleas will be glorious!

If I lived here I think I could spend quite a bit of time just drifting round this little lake in a rowing boat listening to the birds singing and the wind in the trees…

…with permission from Mr Swan of course!

I’ve never seen daffodils like this before…

Not entire sure what I make of these, there’s some thing a bit Bart Simpson-ish about them don’t you think?

I can’t wait to visit the Spider Garden when everything is in bloom, despite the scary guardian of the gate!

if you can’t quite make him (or her) out, this is what I mean!

After a nice walk and a cup of tea I got back to my latest needlefelting project. I was sorting through all my dyed yarns the other day and found a gorgeous little bag of something soft and very cuddly, and a completely natural colour.

It’s Alpaca fleece, and the herd live two fields away, here! And although it’s alpaca, doesn’t it just make you think of bunnies? Easter Bunnies? so here is my own Easter Bunny…

right down to his fluffy bunny tail!

Mr Bunny is now for sale in the Planet Penny shop on Folksy, so I think I’d better go and size up those Alpacas to see if they can spare any more fleece so I can make him some little friends!

Hope Spring is springing where you are xxx

Feeling Sheepish!

I’m sorry, it’s been ages hasn’t it? There seems to have been quite a flurry of activity here and every time I’ve sat down to write, another distraction has taken me away again. And now I’m off on holiday for a week, and I didn’t want to go without saying ‘Byeee!’

I did manage a rush round the garden yesterday with the camera and my little assistant. The sun popped out for the day, I have to say he’s popped backed in again today!

The crocuses are still going strong…

even though they have to take a bit of a battering…

It’s really hard to get a good picture of a low-down dog in full sniffer mode…

Higgins went off on his hols this morning. He was collected by the lovely Sharon of Barking Mad and it took quite a while to check off all his luggage for the week, and to pass on all special instructions so his routine carries on as usual. Talk about a surrogate child, only another besotted dog owner will hear how I held out the toy box so he could choose the ones he wants to take with him and not think I am completely POTTY! He’s off to stay with two whippets, I don’t know who will be more tired at the end of the week!

I too, will be tired as I am attempting to ski for the first time for years! It might be that I spend the week reading with a hot chocolate or glass of Gluhwein in hand, I’ll let you know!

In between the packing Ihave done a spot more needlefelting. I had some suggestions after my last post, so may I introduce the sheep?

These three hang on the wall in the bedroom, waiting to lull you off to sleep.

And this one, well I tried her on the lawn to keep the grass down…

…but she was more interestd in eating the flowers!

Oh dear, is that the time? I really must dash off and finish the packing. I’m sure I have more thermals somewhere. Think of me next week, looking for my snow legs, and all being well I’ll be back very soon! I’ll leave you with a picture of my Mum’s birthday flowers, just because they are gorgeous! Byeeeee! x

P.S. For the cat lovers. Just to reassure you Henry has his own staff to keep him happy for the week too, no favouritism round here, and he get to stay at home with his!

All of a Twitter!

Is anyone else Tweeting? I was a very reluctant tweeter and stood by bleating instead as another member of the family set me up in order to follow Higgins on Twitter (I know, it’s mad, and now you know that madness runs in the family! And Higgins is hopeless at Tweeting, he’s too busy barking…)

And now I’m still in two minds. For all its good points – the networking, the information, it’s SUCH a distraction. I keep wandering off at a tangent, looking at other blogs, recipes, photographs and websites. I know it’s a really good way of finding a network of other people doing what I do, and as I tentatively start to offer my wares for sale I know that it’s a good thing but there’s just TOO MUCH INFORMATION! That’s the trouble with a butterfly brain, I keep fluttering off to the next pretty flower!

But I have been doing some actual, as opposed to virtual, fluttering in the garden. It’s been one of those days when you know that even if Spring hasn’t actually sprung yet, it’s going to do it very soon. I planted some pots to put by the studio door a couple of weeks ago and they are looking good…

…if a little windswept! As Higgins will tell you!

And in the front garden there are all sorts of little patches of loveliness…

Woops, there’s my little shadow again…

…probably worrying I’m about to find his secret bones stash. (He has this unfortunate habit which I’ve only just found out about. He sometimes has a little hide bone which always seemed to disappear remarkable quickly. I found out why when I cleared out the raised vegetable beds. As I was heaving out the old dead stuff Higgins leapt in to rescue…uurgh..what’s THAT…? Have you ever seen one of those dried hide bones when they’ve been rehydrated by a few weeks in the mud? They turn into a long, unravelled jellyish wobbly bit of blubber and look especially revolting when being dragged away by a frantic little dog who is convinced I’m going to snatch it away to eat myself. I don’t think so!)

But mostly, I’ve been needlefelting. My little Bluebirds have flown away, two of them all the way to Sweden. But another little creature has turned up on Planet Penny. It’s the Gardening Mouse! He scuttles around under the trees on Planet Penny arranging the wild flowers. would you like to meet him?

Although I’m very fond of him I must be business like, so if you need a little Gardening Mouse to help you, he can be found here.

So I’d better get back to work. Thank you for all the encouraging comments you’ve been leaving, it’s so lovely when you take time to stop by and say hello. I couldn’t do this without you!

A Little Flock of Happiness

I was SO excited the other day when I switched on my computer and PING! there was an email from Folksy to tell me that my little Bluebird was SOLD! I suppose it’s a symptom of working at home, mostly alone, that it’s easy to get into the wrong mindset , and have very little faith that someone, somewhere will like what you make. So PING! I was very happy, and packed my little Bluebird up…

…and sent him winging his way to his new home, where I hear he is singing cheerfully! And now I have an order for another one, so I am singing cheerfully too!

In the meantime I started on a slightly different Bluebird idea, and ran headlong into design difficulties. This time I wanted to have two birds and a little garland of hearts held in their beaks, which can hang on the wall. I made the birds, I made the hearts…but I was quite sure that I couldn’t use wool to join them together. So I tried this idea…then that idea..then I had to go out. Then it was too late and it was time to go to bed. And then – I joined them all together with a wool cord and it was perfect!!!

So here they are. The left hand bird…

…and the right hand bird…

..and all the little hearts.

It’s in the Folksy shop right now, verging on the almost-too-late for Valentine’s Day but actually I think it would look lovely over the cot in a nursery or little girls room. (Hmmm…or even in my sitting room…! )

Talking about sittingrooms, this is what Higgins likes to to do when offered a bit of carpet to lie on…

He’s not invited often!

(ETA. They sold the very next day!!!)

The Bluebird of Happiness

Sometimes its awfully tempting to be a complete slob, and NOT do the healthy dog walking thing but just to stay in out of the blustery weather and snuggle up with a book. Especially as the dog in question is equally unenthusiastic and dives under the covers at the sight of the little fleecy coat. But we’ve both got waistlines to worry about and perk up once we’re actually out there…

We were rather hoping to find snowdrops the other day and went off to Sheringham Park on the North Norfolk coast, which is a lovely place for walking, with added bracing sea breezes. There’s a woody area…

…and the spot where I know there will be bluebells in a few months time…

…there is the pasture around the house…

and the promise of masses of rhododendrons before very long.

In fact, a couple of brave and hardy ones were already showing what to expect later in the year…

But it was only at the very end of the walk I spotted what I had been looking for. A lone clump…

So if I can’t find drifts of snowdrops, can I find the mythic Bluebird of Happiness?

Oh yes, it’s at the bottom of my bag of coloured fleece, just waiting for the magic felting needle to conjure him up…

…and here he is, with his little pink felted heart…

just in time for Valentines day!

He’s destined for the Planet Penny Folksy shop so he could be yours!

And finally, the Pink Pooch has departed to be a star on the stage. Higgins found him to be far too much competition and barked long and hard every time he put in an appearance so he had to find theatrical digs elsewhere. He was happy to go though…

So with the competition safely out of the way, (and Henry the Cat safely ensconced in a chair) it’s safe to comandeer the prime spot in front of the fire…

Aaaah, that’s better…