Crochet Addict CFS: Guest Blogger Week 11 Planet Penny

I would like say a big welcome to Penny from:

I’d like to thank Sue for asking me to be her guest blogger this week...

I have been writing my blog, Planet Penny since 2009, and it’s been a life changing experience. Track back a few years and my life took a down turn when I was diagnosed with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis and could no longer work. I’ve always been creative, and when I had partly recovered was able to revisit my teenage ambition of attending Art School, where I gained a degree.

However, I was still not fit enough to be employable in the job market, and once back in my little corner of a Norfolk field (I live in the UK) I struggled to find some sort of direction in my life. The whole blogging idea had rather passed me by, and I couldn’t imagine it was for me – what on earth could I write about?

I finally started blogging in earnest to help a friend who was trying to learn the ropes herself, and suddenly it all started to fall into place...in order to write about something, I actually had to do it first! I realised I had probably got a bit of a depressive state because of my ill health. I was also coping with my mother’s health problems and the death of my father, plus the proverbial ‘empty nest syndrome’, house renovations (and a house fire!) well, you get the picture...

And so Planet Penny was created, a little woolly world where everything is bright and cheerful, which I fill with my makes, the things I love, the wonders of nature and latterly, the amusing escapades of one small dog. Gradually I have built up a relationship with the lovely people who visit and comment, and the routine of creating and blogging, of seeing photo opportunities and finding inspiring ideas has structured my life and made it so much better.

I’ve never really specialised in one thing, and over the years have made patchwork, and knitted, I’ve crocheted, and embroidered and generally ‘butterflied’ about! While I was at Art School, however, I discovered the joys of Needlefelting, which was only just beginning to be taken up in the craft world at the time, and, my Degree show pieces were all needlefelted.

I filled my Folksy shop with needlefelt, last Christmas I couldn’t make robins fast enough but just at the moment crochet is filling my world.

At the beginning of the year I spotted various items on line made in a beautiful cotton yarn and I really wanted some myself. After some detective work I found a European blogger who was selling the yarn and contacted her hoping to buy some, having no reply made me even more determined. I finally found the distributor, again in mainland Europe, who confirmed that they do not supply anyone in the UK with the yarn. The good news, I could buy some direct and they would ship it to me. The bad news? I would have to buy in bulk, and pay taxes, and bank charges....again, you get the picture...

But I wanted this yarn, I was bursting with ideas. So to cut a long story short I found the money, bit the bullet and took delivery of a large carton. When I opened it and out spilled this fabulous rainbow, I knew I’d done the right thing. The next thing to do was to share it, and so the Planet Penny Cotton Club was conceived.

Those wanting to join in can buy a pack of 14 different rainbow shades which is perfect not just for crochet, but for knitting and even embroidery. I’ve been writing patterns, posting links to great patterns on other blogs and researching pattern books and through the links other Cotton Club members have left on Planet Penny we can share our ideas and patterns. It’s been a great way of forging even greater links between bloggers, which is one of the huge benefits of the Web. It’s lovely to think we can find so much in common even when we are half a world apart, or just in the next county!

I have just started as a Features Writer for UK Handmade which is an online community promoting the whole handmade industry and meanwhile am still fitting in the needlefelting which will be posted for sale on the Folksy shop, and doing a little sewing, and writing, and drawing and knitting... it would be nice to have another 12 hours in the day!