Tag Archives: Robins

Chilling out on Planet Penny

Brrrr, it’s sooo cold! I’m ensconced in my little Planet Penny office wearing my Boneyard scarf…

wrapped several times round my neck, the pink version of the wrist warmers and with a cup of hot lemon and ginger tea to hand. Apart from the miserable weather a lot of it is to do with sitting still too much, needlefelting, crocheting and winding wool, or tapping on a keyboard does not generate enough heat! Tim’s on dog walking duty while I finalise the craft fair bits and pieces, so at least he and Higgins are getting proper exercise.

The needlefelting? Well it’s robins as usual! I think I’ve got enough now to be going on with. My latest version, and I think my favourite, is attached to a wool covered crocodile clip which means it can be clipped on the branches of a Christmas tree, or a pot plant…

…he’s got a little button heart in his beak…

The crocheting, well I’ve made some tiny bunting, it’s great for using up left over Planet Penny cotton and would look lovely strung on shelves or a dresser. For the moment I’ve just added it to my bunting and garland collection in the studio add a little colourfulness against the gloom…

The winding has been for more rainbow mouse kits (this can be done in front of the fire watching Strictly Come Dancing so I did manage to thaw out a bit!)

And the tapping away on the computer was for my first proper book review which, if you missed it, is here. It’s worth a look, it’s a fabulous book.

Finally, with Halloween around the corner, Higgins had a go at pumpkin carving yesterday. When I came in with one to turn into pumpkin soup, Higgins when wild with excitement, convinced it was a football, just for him.

When I put down for him to check it out he made a huge effort to get his teeth in it…

But the disaster came when he finally managed to get it to roll. It rumbled across the floor, hit a small table on which Tim had just placed a fresh cup of tea and knocked it flying, soaking poor Henry who was just passing. What a good thing Henry has thick fur, just his dignity was hurt!

He managed to make quite an impression on the pumpkin before being bribed away with a doggy treat so I could hide it in the pantry! (I now have a lot of soup, a lot of frozen pumpkin, and I still have half left. I wonder if I can chop it up with dog food? And this was a small one!)

So for now I’ll leave you with the usual link to Handmade Monday and get back to work. If you’re in Norfolk on Wednesday it would be lovely to see you at How Hill for the Craft Fair but if not, I’ll be back soon…x

Seagulls…Robins…and a Small Sea Dog

Hello! It’s that time of the week again….doesn’t it come round quickly? If you spotted my mid week post about the Planet Penny Cotton crochet inspirations, you’ll know this post represents a very quick gear change to get back to needlefelting again to build up my flock of Robins.

I think I’m going to have set days for each to keep on top of things, oh to be disciplined and organised. I’ve a feeling I may left it a little late in the day to change, but I do try!

And I have been sloping off when the sun shines to keep a small dog happy. We went to our favourite Norfolk beach during the week…

So peaceful, and completely deserted, Just me, Higgins and the seagulls. Not even a seal this time.

Higgins had a great time…

love the little pink tongue!

Did I mention he’s on a healthy eating and fitness regime? The last weigh in at the vet’s pronounced him at the top end of his ideal weight window, so charging madly around the beach is just what the ‘doctor’ ordered. (It’s not doing me any harm either!)

And later, back in the studio, the flock of Robins keeps growing…

Robins great and small…

I have a lovely selection of rings, wreaths and hearts for my robins to sit on so that’s tomorrows job!

I’m battling with the internet at the moment, it’s running like very cold treacle, so I shall quit while I’m ahead and leave you with a link to this week’s Handmade Monday over at Handmade Harbour. Have a lovely week, I will 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

Dolly Peg Angels for Handmade Monday

Hello, and welcome to another Handmade Monday. I hope you’ve had a lovely weekend as we all rev up towards the Christmas festivities. I was very excited to find that I was able to control the weather on Planet Penny and arrange for some seasonal snow to fall!

I’ve just about reached the point of RSI on the needlefelting front now, and I’m longing to spend an evening with the hexipuffs or some crochet. I can’t believe how popular the needlefelted robin baubles have been, I think it’s the Kirsty effect! I’ve just posted the very last ones for this year on Folksy, the result of an experiment, but I really like it.

One of my fellow stall holders at the Pick’n’Mix Makers Market is Fiona Henderson of High Fibre yarns and she makes the most unusual yarns, a bit like french knitting, from lambswool, and I bought a few skeins to try out. So this is what I’ve used to make a little creamy wreath on which two teeny tiny robins can perch….

…they’ve still got the little feet that make everyone go ‘aaaah!’…

Looking at then here they look huge and a bit hairy, but in fact they’re only 2″/5cm long from beak to tail.

I also have a rather gorgeous raspberry pink yarn from High Fibre destined to be a mug hug soon, another reason to get at the knitting needles!

By way of a change, I’ve revisited the Dolly Pegs, and made a little Choir of Angels who are also listed on Folksy…

…and then decided the Dolly Peg Dolls would make a great tutorial to share, and you can find it here! I hope you enjoy it, I’d love to see your versions.

I’m off to do some baking now. We have the Christmas meeting of our Knit and Stitch group this week, and I’m using that as an excuse to get out the Frangipane Mince Pie recipe. I’ll have to get them into the freezer the minute they’ve cooled down though, they are SO more-ish I doubt there would be any left if I don’t!

Finally, thank you so much for the congratulations and nice comments about Planet Penny being on the Ch4 Favourite Craft Blogs list. I hadn’t realised before how many links there on the 4Homes website for makers and crafters, well worth a look. And of course the other place to visit today for handmade inspiration is Wendy’s Handmade Monday Linky over on 1st Unique Gifts.

I’ll leave you browse…

Have a lovely week! 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