When Technology Lets you down… back to basics & Crochet on…..

It seems like an age since my last post… with Christmas & New Year celebrations well & truly over, I was keen to get back to what I love, writing patterns. With lots of ideas floating around in my head, I wanted to get them written down on my trusty work computer; the computer I’ve had for years. She had all the bits & pieces I need for the precise & intricate details required for pattern writing… You can imagine my stress & panic: when she refused to start up & the Techie sadly shook his head…

So, years of work gone… my fault really… I should have up-dated regularly, I should have backed-up more often… well, I didn’t, trusting that the ‘old girl’ would go on forever… naive, silly me…

However, it’s not the end of the world… some of my work can be re-loaded onto another  computer, unfortunately, I was using very old programs so more up-to-date ones will need to be found & I’ll be able to re-build… A whole new learning curve… yikes! that’s a job…

Meanwhile, crochet on… just so you know I haven’t been completely idle, here are a few new items I’ve created, with more to come, & which I’ll be listing in my Etsy Shop over the coming weeks as I get more photos done… stay tuned…

 

Maleny Knitfest 2017… a great success…

How lucky were we to have had the best 2 Queensland winter days for the Knitfest… you couldn’t have asked for better. So many fibre enthusiasts came to enjoy all that Knitfest had to offer: presenters had wonderful, interesting trade stalls… the many, varied workshops were all well attended with participators leaving happy & inspired… the yarn-bombing was a hoot & greatly appreciated by all the photo clickers…

A huge thank you to my friend Robyn, who kept my trade stall humming while I was workshopping… I couldn’t have done it without you….

The competitions had lots more entries this year & I’m so honoured to have won both the best beanie & scarf.

All in all, a great weekend… Hope to see you all again in 2018

The following pics are my competition entries:

My re-purposed Freeform Crochet Coat…

Forest InspiredSo, continuing with my personal commitment to complete UFO’s & work on new projects that have been sitting on the back-burner for far too long, I took a good hard look at this Freeform Crochet Coat that I created in 2006 & is featured in my book ‘Freeform Crochet & Beyond.’

This piece has special meaning for me as the colours, textures & forms came alive for me in a forest reserve where I often visited for solace & inspiration. Having that said, & as much as I love it, I also know that it’s big, bulky & heavy, more over, not to everyone’s taste, & to sell it on the Net would cost a small fortune to ship…

It’s been in my mind to pull it apart & make other items, but… Oh my!…What a job that would be… so,… the idea was put in the ‘too hard basket’ time & time again… Then, this summer, an extremely hot one at that, so much so, that I found it difficult to move too far away from the air fans blowing at high speed, I decided that, seeing as I’m sitting here like a sweltering lump, I might as well be doing something useful… & so I began unravelling the freeform patches…. long story short… here are the items I came up with… I’m very happy.

Hood & scarf ComboDSCF1717Large Freeform ToteLarge Freeform ToteSmall Freeform bagSmall Freeform crochet bagFreeform Crochet Tcosy

Alice Springs Beanie Festival 2015….

Fire & Flood felted beanieHi everyone, it’s been quite a while since my last post… time is just flying…

So, it’s that time of year again… The Alice Springs Beanie Festival… & all the excitement that it generates across Australia… I did find the theme ‘Opposites Attract’ a bit challenging this year but, as it so often happens, in a quiet moment the ideas slowly emerged… These are my 2 entries that I know have safely arrived in Alice Springs, thanks to Aussie Post’s tracking system…

I’d like to wish all contestants much success &, all those lucky enough to be at the festival, a fabulous time…

1) Fire & Flood ~ Wet Felted & beaded Beanie.

Fire & flood 1Fire & flood 2 

Fire & flood 3Fire & flood 4

2) From Coral Reefs…to Tropical Beaches…to Forest Hinterlands ~ Hand-spun beanie, embellished with freeform crochet & wet felted motifs.

DSCF0947DSCF0948DSCF0949DSCF0950

 

 

 

 

Handspun yarn…. A new direction perhaps?…

Handspun shawl

No, not really, but I do love handspun yarn & so admire those who devote so much time & effort creating it. Some time ago I inherited a large box of handspun yarn which, initially, inspired me to make a coat with over-sized crochet motifs but, over time, my enthusiasm for the project waned & it was put on the back-burner.

Needless to say, I’d already invested a lot of time making the motifs, then to just push the project to the back of the cupboard was such a waste & that bothered me. The idea came to create smaller items… here are a couple I’ve finished… Big, bold & chunky…Handspun beanie hat2Handspun beanie hat

handspun shawl2