A Loooong Pause…

The Merry Month of May

Merry Month of May May is my favourite month, full of promise and optimism. Here in Norfolk the hedgerows are bursting with new leaves and blossom and it won’t be long before the verges are frothy with Queen Anne’s Lace.

Here, in the corner of a field where Planet Penny orbits, there’s a lot going on. Next month the builders move in to build an extension, which will be wonderful when it is done, and a complete nightmare while it’s underway! I’m having a little practice today; as I type I have a man in my garden building a greenhouse. So far I have only had to make one coffee, one tea and one trip to the builders merchants. I can’t tell you how excited I am about it though. We live in such a windy spot and so far we’ve had three mini greenhouses and two rotary washing lines mangled by the wind, and the second hand greenhouse I was given was folded flat by Storm Doris before we even got the glass in.

This time my darling OH said we’re getting a really strong one and so what’s going up is one of these… Rhino Greenhouse …which as it has been very rudely pointed out to me, I can sit on during the next storm to keep it in place!

So watch out for me putting on my Alys Fowler hat and getting excited about growing things, whilst also doing all sorts of styling with bunting and fairy lights (which is the bit the dear OH is most worried about)

So, talking about flowers, I’ve currently had a bit of an obsession with making paper ones. What started me off was Mollie Makes’ The Big Comic Relief Crafternoon and Lia Griffiths tutorial on making paper peonies. Frankly, it’s not the best obsession for me…all that scissor work really annoys my cranky thumb joint…but I just can’t help it. An evening spent catching up on TV whilst cutting out the petals, off to bed after rubbing ibuprofen gel on said joint and then a joyful hour the next day with the glue gun and wire making a gorgeous bloom.I’m now eagerly awaiting a delivery of nicer crepe paper, finer and more subtle in colour so watch this space. crepe paper flower The magazine has sold out now, but I have a spare copy which I would love to pass on to one of you lovelies out there… big comic relief crafternoon …so just leave a comment and next week I will put all the names into a ~~virtual hat~~ Random Number Generator to find a winner. An opportunity to have a sore thumb just like me, and fill your home with paper flowers. Or to be more sensible and chill out in a pompom beard!

I’ll be back before then though, I have another project to share.

See you soon…x

A Postcard from Wales

Hello, my lovelies! I hope you’ve had a wonderful Easter break and didn’t eat too much chocolate. We did…I feel a spot of dieting w?ill be in order after our hols.

As my iPad is on hand, and the Wifi isn’t too bad, I’m writing my latest post in sunny Wales and share some of my holiday snaps. It’s so beautiful here. This is the view from the conservatory of the cottage we are staying in.With the door open, all you can hear is the sound of birdsong, interspersed with chickens, the cockerel, geese and ducks and occasionally, Dylan the sheepdog. Over the hill there are sheep……and lambs! I’m afraid I’m just a bit soppy about lambs but I don’t think Higgins would be too impressed if I took one home.The hills been rather a strain on my poor flatlander legs but we’ve found some beautiful places to walk and my head is filled with the colours of Spring. This time of year there are so so many shades of green as the new leaves start to open, and Wales is particularly blessed with spring flowers. The fields are golden with the bees’ favourite, dandelions and the woods are carpeted with bluebells. I’ve never seen so many wood anenomes which spring up along the roadside… …and the gardens are full of blossom.Having decided that my latest crochet project was too big to bring, it was absolutely necessary for me to find a yarn shop (or two) for supplies to keep me busy in the evenings. So, I started with some super chunky and a pair of e-NOR-mous needles which was super fast to knit…Which meant an expedition to find another wool shop (I have a long suffering husband!) Abergavenny came up trumps with The Wool Croft, and an irresistible half price offer on this gorgeous Louisa Harding wool/silk blend…There are so many different hues in this yarn, every row has a different flavour!

I’ll be home next week, feeling refreshed and full of ideas so I’m looking forward to being back here with you.

Changing Direction

April

Hello, lovelies…have you wondering where I’ve been hiding? I have to confess to disappearing down the rabbit hole, and longer I was down there, the harder it became to climb out!

But April is here, the sun is shining and I can see things more clearly now.

I’ve had to come to terms with the fact that Brexit has done for Planet Penny and the cotton yarns. The supplier is in Europe, and between the fall in the pound and the prospect of customs and duties the knock on effect to my prices is just not viable. I need to find another direction, and that what I’m working on right now.

In the meantime, the stock I have remaining is still available in the Etsy shop. When the Rainbow, Ice Cream and Pastel packs have gone I will create some one off collections with what is left .

Planet Penny Cotton – Rainbow

Planet Penny Cotton – Icecream

Planet Penny Cotton – Pastel

So if you would like the chance to purchase one of the last ever packs of Planet Penny Cotton, be quick, there aren’t many left!

In the meantime I am going back to my eclectic creative roots here on Planet Penny to see what happens next, I hope you’ll join me. In the meantime, there’s always Higgins!

Miniature Dachshund the dog walking habit

See you soon….x

Hello December!

Such an age since I was last here, but for various reasons November became a little manic. But December is here and I wanted to say hi and a thank you for all your visits and support. Planet Penny has just gone over one million views, which is HUGE!

Here in Norfolk we have been enjoying the most beautiful late Autumn weather. Bright skies and frost, and fabulous colours.

And it’s encouraging to realize that after the 21st of this month, the days start getting longer again!

I thought it would be nice to start the first day of December with something cheerful from the Make Today Happy blog, the Act of Kindness Advent Calendar. Hop on over and find out what you can do to make people happy this month. The world needs this more than ever at the moment!

I’ll be back soon with some more December cheerfulness…x

Autumn Walks and Acorns

I can’t believe we are nearly at the end of October! It’s all been a bit busy here on Planet Penny. We’ve just had a flying visit from the grandsons and grand dog which is enough to send anyone in a tizzy, especially Higgins! The grand dog is very “Tiggerish’ and Higgins has to be careful not to be bounced on.

I’m having to do a bit of resting because of the M.E. so I’ve been installing things on my shiny new iPad so I can sit with my feet up and write blog posts. This my first attempt. Not so much the writing as working out the best way to process the photos…I’m getting there…gradually.

And I’m also getting ready for the Two Rivers Trail Festive Fair which is coming up next month, so felting needles at the ready, I’ve been making acorns.
But we have had some lovely weather, so over the past few days we’ve been out with the camera enjoying all the colours of autumn, so come with us, it’s only down the road! I love to think that someone was walking along eating lunch, tossed the apple core in the hedgerow, and planted a tree! 2016-10-23-10-54-59 This is one our favourite stretches along the walk, sheltered enough not to get muddy.Because we do mud rather well in Norfolk! Mud And while there are acorns on the trees… acorns …there are needlefelt acorns in the studio!So watch this space… I’ll be back to show you the finished articles and with more news about the Festive Fair.

See you soon…x

M	T	W	T	F	S	S
« May
					1	2
3	4	5	6	7	8	9
10	11	12	13	14	15	16
17	18	19	20	21	22	23
24	25	26	27	28	29	30
31