and the winner is ...

Julia from Hand Knitted Things! Congratulations! So the giveaway yarn will be on its way to Scotland very soon, and I hope Julia finds it useful for one of her projects, perhaps one of those cute owls or a beret. Thanks to everyone who joined in for this giveaway draw and I'm sorry that you can't all be winners. The comments suggest that most of us learnt to knit at a young age and have continued to enjoy this craft ever since. Long may this continue...

 

Made these teddies last week when we were away and they will soon be travelling north to Queensland where they will be popped into back packs with clothes and other gifts to be given to children who are going into foster care. What a good idea!

Morning in the tree house

morning melody

tree ferns in our gully behind the house

view from the corner of the street looking into the Jamison Valley

banksia ericifolia in flower in the winter

seed pod with some pods open

old seed pods collected for the fire in winter

We have spent the past few days at our cottage in the Blue Mountains (1 and 1/2 hours from Sydney) enjoying the company of the birds and the peace and quiet. Because of the altitude (1000 metres) it is usually about 10 degrees cooler than the coastal plain so is always pleasant in summer. An old banksia needed lopping so the seed pods were collected to be used as fire starters in the winter. This mountain banksia flowers in winter and honeyeaters migrate to the area in large numbers to feed on the nectar. Unlike some other banksia varieties (of which there are about 50) the seed pod does not require a bushfire for germination but opens spontaneously.

(Giveaway! - last chance to be entered in the draw for the free skein of yarn - to be drawn on Friday)

Kokeshi Doll

Thanks to Miss Aine for sharing the pattern for this delightful and whimsical Japanese Kokeshi Doll. I made her Obi sash from a burgundy ribbon instead of yarn as I wanted a contrast with the wool of the garment.

(Don't miss out on the yarn giveaway to be drawn next Friday 27 January !)

Giveaway!

What better way to celebrate Australia Day on the 26 January than with a giveaway of some Australian made yarn. This is a 100gram skein of hand dyed mohair boucle from Mollydale in warm earth colours. Make a hat, make a scarf or anything you fancy with this lovely soft yarn. 

1. To be included in the draw for this giveaway you need to join this site as a follower by clicking on the blue tag on the right that says 'join this site' (if you have not already joined), and leave a comment about when you first learnt to knit, who taught you and if you can remember, the first item you made. That's it!


2. Remember to include your name and your email in your comment or a link so you can be contacted. I can't reach you otherwise!

The name of the lucky person who wins the draw will be announced on Friday 27 January and contacted by email. This giveaway is open to all Australian and International followers who leave a comment and will be posted by airmail to the winner. Good luck!

Summer in Melbourne

Most of Australia is hot in January, but the past week in Melbourne has been very hot with temperatures climbing from 36 - 40 degrees C for several days. So just had to stay inside and watch the Australian/Indian Cricket Test on tv and do some knitting in air conditioned comfort... Returned to Sydney yesterday by car after two weeks holiday with the family. 

Planning a giveaway soon so watch this space!

cloud formations from the plane

James & his wall hanging

lunch stop driving back to Sydney

A happy note!

This happy note is here to brighten your day. Thanks to my daughter Fiona for this lovely performance.

Australian Christmas Bells

This small plant belongs to the lily family and grows in the sandstone areas around Sydney including the Blue Mountains, and flowers in December, hence the name. I wish you and yours a very happy and peaceful Christmas season and may the new year bring you lots of creative ideas and wonderful projects to explore and share.

In an octopus' garden near a cave

 

Who knows what lies below the turquoise waters of Sydney harbour? I hope James enjoys this for his room. It was fun to add Nemo and Dory, and all the other sea creatures to keep him entertained. (Thanks to the Beetles for inspiration and yes, James knows the songs too) Finished size 23 inches x 37 inches (58 cm x 94 cm)

Technical notes: Great video on binding mitred corners
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJserv3DRQM

Learnt that my machine didn't want to sew with metallic thread so had to sew some designs by hand, and that sequins will melt if you accidently hit them with a hot iron!

Eriskay update

 

The Eriskay jumper is coming together with front, back and one sleeve completed. The only problem is that it seems I probably spun this natural-coloured Merino yarn from two different fleeces or perhaps from just a different section of the fleece. As a result, as you can see in the two balls of yarn, the one on the right is slightly warmer in colour. It doesn't look very different here but when knitted there is an obvious variation in hue. However I guess that is just a characteristic of homespun. This is the original homespun jacket that I recycled.

In the pink

Two little garments for the smallest member of the family, a cardigan ready for next winter and a bolero to wear now for the in-between months. Sewing up and finishing a cardigan takes lots of time but the result is always worthwhile.

More Chullo hats

Chullo hats

Here are some of the chullo hats I have been making this week for gifts. I use a 4mm needle for the child's size and 4.5mm for the adult, and always start with a rib band to keep the hat snug and to allow for different head sizes. The contrast colour patterns are all different and knitted by stranding two or more colours in a fairisle type geometric design. I only use a maximum of three stitches to strand and carry the wool so that the hat is not pulled too tight. These chullos are made with Cleckheaton Country 8 ply wool and the contrast colours are alpaca and wool. The next ones will probably be in black, white brown and grey which are the more traditional chullo colours if using natural alpaca.

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/basic-earflap-hat-for-the-whole-family

I used braids instead of an icord and added the contrast patterns depending on the yarns and colours I had available.

Wildlife in my garden

Although we live in an inner city area, we share our garden with a variety of wildlife, particularly many birds. Growing Australian plants certainly helps to attract native birds and recently we observed a noisy miner building a nest in a low overhanging branch of the eucalyptus ficifolia tree in our backyard. This is the same tree that next month will be covered in red blossoms and will attract the rainbow lorikeets. The female miner builds the nest and as they collect cobweb to line it I decided to help her out with a more luxious fibre. I attached some teased washed fleece to the bark of a nearby tree and the next day it had all disappeared. Checking the nest I could just see the fleece now forming a cosy lining to the nest.

As the branch is very close to the backdoor, we are now under attack everytime we step outside, as the nest and the two chicks are fiercely defended by the mother miner and several soldiers of her extended family. Trying to hang anything on the clothesline is a matter of running the gauntlet with swoops and clicking beaks diving from above. They are very feisty little birds. Thank goodness our resident magpie pair have their nest in a tree in the street. Here are some of the other visitors to our garden. 

A few years ago we also had a visit from a diamond python, but that's another story...

Under the sea in an octopus' garden

Have learnt a few things about applique recently including the fact that felt is an excellent fabric to work with and gives a strong colour impact when placed against patterned material. The design is coming together well and when I finally add the beads for the eyes of the sea creatures and the gold sequins to the treasure chest, it should have a sparkle.This is just the cave at the bottom of the sea, and above this will be many other sea creatures swimming in the harbour.

Good news from the art competition - won first prize for the drawing section and several highly commended, but best of all, won the champion prize for 'best of show'. Didn't expect that!