Category Archives: Textiles

This category groups posts around my interest in textiles and textile design

Off to the Fair…

…the Norwich Bead and Textile Fair that is. A lovely Sunday morning treat. Having said that, I ALWAYS get a headache when I go to these things, I get so overwhelmed with colour, and texture, and wanting to try new things and talking myself out of it … Anyway, we did our usual circuit to check out what was on offer, a coffee to calm down and then spent some money.
I couldn’t resist this fabric…

I seem to have a ‘tea’ thing in my head at the moment,because there was also this button…

(which is much much smaller than that!)

I’ve been wanting to try printing some fabric for a project for ages so I was very happy to find Crafty Notions stand, a range of textile paints called Colourful Thoughts and a nice lady demonstrating exactly how they work so I bought these…

And then, to keep myself occupied in odd moments with a ball of wool, I HAD to have this…

Natural Dye Studio ‘Angel’ baby Alpaca, Cashmere and Silk lace weight. It is SO soft, and came with a free scarf pattern…

It was nice to meet up with old friends, and make new ones. Fellow students from courses at Broadland Art Centre, a bloggy friend, Teena of Kitschen Pink, and Bridget of feltbybridget.com with her lovely felty, woolly stall. Bridget even went home and started her own blog!

Outside in the fresh and rather damp air, were some lovely pieces of floral inspiration. Don’t you just love the colour of these pansies?

I feel a patchwork quilt coming on…

…and in the strange rather stormy overcast light, the euphorbia was almost Dayglo green…

And we found a little bed where the planting was straight off a nineteen thirties printed cotton frock…

And now it’s time to get some work done. I’m still working my way through sorting stuff out of boxes, but I now have a work surface and lots of things to get on with…

Back soon!

P.S. My 100th post is coming up very soon, watch out for another giveaway…!

Out of the Blue

Today I find myself popping out to the garden to gaze up into the perfect, blemish free, china blue of the sky in amazement. Only last week when Higgins and I were out on a walk I had remarked on the fact that over our rural part of Norfolk there must have been 30 to 40 vapour trails in various stages of decay. The Icelandic volcano is causing all sorts of havoc to so many people, so it’s good to record a positive aspect.

The vegetable garden is still a battle ground, and I am losing. I have a sneaky black and tan garden pest, and a second sowing of salad greens with no labels and scraped up rows. I really thought the polytunnel would be a deterent but for a small animal of the low slung persuasion it seems not…

I ‘ve managed to protect the peas and beans with a cobbled together barrier of chicken wire and bamboo which has worked so far so we’ll see…

Things are growing fast. I photographed the rhubarb and the lovage a week apart…

The lovage is at it’s best when young and tender, by the time it reaches its full height of over 6 feet high the leaves are a little tough. I can’t wait for the rhubarb, I love rhubarb and orange crumble…

I’m plodding on in the studio. I have shelves waiting for Tim’s return next week and that will make a huge difference as I can then shift so much bulk. I’m slowly sorting, sorting…so much has got SO muddled, but it’s nice finding old friends and things I had forgotten about.

I’m still finding time to be a bit creative, bearing in mind the ‘Twenty Minuter’ message. I’ve needle-felted a couple more little birds…

…but when I tried to make a pale pink one it stubbornly insisted on being a pig…

My Tabby Cat and Goldfish now have a shelf to sit on…

Henry and friends donated the whiskers, otherwise he’s solid Merino wool…as is the Blue-haired Lady.

Just as well I’ve recorded the positive side of grounding all aircraft, Tim’s trip back from the ‘office’ next week involves a helicopter so who knows when he’ll get back…

…and BREATHE…

I feel as if I’ve been holding my breath for months, waiting for this moment. Waiting to open the doors and windows, to let in the sun and fresh air, to wander in and out without a coat…and here we are at last. I don’t want a ‘barbecue summer’, well, not one that will barbecue me, but pleasant warmth, sunshine and light, and just enough rain for the garden (only falling at night please, if we’re having a fantasy lets get it right).

I’m scuttling about a bit at the moment. A little bit of gardening, a little bit of sorting fabrics and yarns, some sewing, some knitting, symptoms of a butterfly brain. So excuse me if this post is a bit like that, I’ll settle down soon.

Firstly, the garden. You’ll excuse me if I don’t take you round the vegetable patch just yet. It needs a little more attention before I show it to visitors. Too many old bean canes and dead flowerpots. I do have lovely raised beds which I talked about in this post, and I have extravagantly enlisted the help of a gardening guru to make it look good enough for a photo shoot.

The wild plum is just bursting into bloom and I love the ‘spottiness’ of the buds just before they open. We started on the last of the wild plum jam on Sunday on warm scones.

In a couple of days it will just be a froth of blossom.

The forsythia is doing it’s thing, quite a bit later this year. Every summer I look at this unprepossessing nondescript shrub filling up the border and nearly give it it’s marching orders, and every spring I forgive it.

There are assorted daffodils…

…and other, less assertive, little lovelies hiding their light under the bushes…

Meanwhile, back in the studio, there is a very different tree…

The little red bird is feeling a trifle lonely now that his pink friend has flown off to live with Elizabeth, I must get felting again.

…and then there is the knitting…

Quite big knitting as Higgins will demonstrate…

The ball has a history – which I’ll tell you about another time – but it’s just had a colour revamp before going off to our local Farmers Market tomorrow where the Knit and Stitch group are hoping to spread the knitting bug, (whilst spoiling ourselves with coffee and and the delicious, and very naughty, bacon rolls.

So, before that happens I must don my wellies and gardening gloves and head back out to the vegetable garden and absorb a little sunshine…

And the winner is…

…a scary thing to do fairly, but I think got it right with a numbered list,

Anne@andamento
Geraldine
Magic Cochin
Thomas
Jen
Aimee
Greedy Nan
Gina
Toffee
Elizabeth Burton
Jacqueline
Hilary
Rachel Fenton
Jane
Eva SB
Vanessa
Jenni
Kate

and the use of a random number generator.

And it’s Elizabeth Burton! Congratulations, Elizabeth, once I have contact details the little bird will be winging it’s way to you as soon as possible.

The next event coming up will be my 100th post so if you were disapointed this time I will be giving away another Planet Penny creation to mark that milestone as well, and if you REALLY can’t wait that long I can link you to a gorgeous giveaway at Silver Pebble. I’ve got my eye on it, so I don’t know really why I’m lengthening the odds this way…

Emma made a special necklace for my daughter’s birthday which was beautiful. No photo alas, but if you visit Emma you will see all the lovely things she makes.

Grand Official Opening…

…and prize draw. Now, without further ado, I can announce that the new look Planet Penny is properly up and running. I would like to thank two people to whom so much is owed. Craig, the website guru who guided me though the incomprehensible aspects of ‘computerese’ with great patience, offering a virtual hanky when my whimpering got too loud to bear, and Thomas, author, illustrator and creator of the lovely flock of sheep munching the daisies in my woolly world on Planet Penny.

I must also thank Thomas for so kindly providing fireworks and refreshments for the party since I am sitting faintly in the corner covered in emulsion paint and clutching a glass, .

When you’ve helped yourself to glass of bubbly and a cupcake, do take time to say hello and introduce yourself. To celebrate the new look and the completion of the new studio (This weekend- Hooray!) I am giving away a little needle-felted bird sculpture to the first name drawn out of the hat, the felt hat of course. I’ll do the draw on Easter Monday to give you plenty of time to join in.

This little bird has been needle-felted out of hand dyed Merino wool until firm and then decorated with hand dyed Blue Faced Leicester yarn.

He’s very tactile, I do like making things which just sit in the palm of the hand. He sits happily on a shelf as an ornament, makes a great pin cushion and even works on a dressingtable as a place to pin jewellery.

So please leave a comment and get your name in the hat for a chance to give a little bird a new home.

In the meantime, Cheers!

Lurchers and Llamas

Ok, that’s it, we’re bored now…it’s all …too…WHITE….

We were off to the other side of the county today for lunch with my cousin and after a lovely day yesterday it was a pain to wake up to frost, ice and gloom and then sleet. We had a phone call from said cousin to warn us they had a couple of inches of snow, but as it seemed the main road was clear and they had a tractor to get us out of any trouble we might run into on the track to their farmhouse we decided to brave it.

Apart from the nice people, and the good food, we wanted to see their lurcher. They have two – lovely gentle dogs and I do love lurchers. ( We used to have one, an enormous blonde called Spike, who was a complete wus, having little Higgins was really going from the sublime to the ridiculous!) However the whole family was devastated about five months ago when the young one was stolen. Despite the theft being witnessed (and the dog being microchipped) a poster campaign, a reward being offered and information being past all round the county there were no clues or leads and every one was so upset.

Amazingly, and so happily, about three weeks ago she was found in a field somewhere near Skegness(quite a way from Norfolk) by a lady who runs a greyhound rescue centre who just happened to be driving along a road she had never travelled on before who recognised her from the poster that had been circulated. Because of her job she had a chip reader at home and was able to identify her and phone to give the good news. The whole thing hung on so many happy coincidences it was incredible, and although she was very thin when she first came home she is now looking good, and full of bounce (as the footprint in the middle of Higgins ‘ little jumper demonstrated)

So, a lovely Sunday roast, and syrup sponge and custard – heaven – and then a snowy, slippery walk to try and shift a couple of calories.

I did try to get a picture of both dogs together, but look at the difference in the leg length, Higgins never managed to catch up!

He did meet another creature for the first time….Fergus…

Which was quite interesting…

Mwah!

I don’t think I could cope with the real thing, but I did find another llama I would have loved to bring home…

Isn’t he gorgeous?

I found the monocrome theme continued…

…and although I love snowdrops…

I so long for some colour. So it was nice to get back for a cup of tea and look at my cousin’s latest knitting project. Craftiness runs in the family, and she is an expert on spinning,weaving, knitting, crochet and dyeing. This was a departure, freeform knitting and crochet. I’ve done a little and it’s fascinating, but this was spectacular. It’s a shame the light means the photos don’t really do it justice but WOW, after all that white, we need those colours!

It’s mainly hand dyed silk, with little bits of llama and hand spun fleece. I’ve just realised I was so excited I didn’t ask what the finished article would be, a knockout waistcoat?

It was a busy day, and very exciting for a small dog with very short legs. A lot of sleeping has been going on. Higgins has obviously been having colour withdrawal symptoms too. I bought a new fleece blanket yesterday, with the sofa bed that is going into the studio in mind. Higgins is testing it…