Beanies… Plain & Simple….

chunky purple flowerWell… not quite… the simple styled beanie hat with a little embellishing & tweaking can become a flattering winter accessory that doesn’t date too quickly over time…

I’ve been rather busy lately, with local displays, markets & classes, so elaborate projects have been put on the back burner for a while or, at least,  until I have a clearer creative head space… but that’s not to say I’ve had idle hands… hence, this collection of Beanie Hats…

With some, I’ve experimented with large hooks & double threads of chunky yarn & with others I’ve used double threads of sock yarn. I hope this beanie hat collection gives you some new ideas for the beanie that is more than just plain & simple… enjoy!

All hats are now available for sale in my Etsy Shop

turquoise hatpurple turquoise flapper

purple chunky beanie

Red chunky BeanieMulti chunky beaniemulti chunky clochepurple turquoise cloche 1rustic clochepurple brooch clocherustic brooch clochepurple brooch beanierustic brooch beaniered flower beaniemulti beanie scarf set2ply beanie scarf set4ply beanie scarf set

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

Freeform Crochet Headband, Ear warmer or Cowl, Neck warmer….

rainbow 2 headband/cowl Here are 3 new women’s freeform ear warmer/headbands, or.. are they cowl/neck warmers,  that I finished this week & are now available for sale on Etsy. I used beautiful Artisan rainbow yarns with long variegations & just love working with them… for their colour combinations, durability & softness. These are always popular pieces, which is just as well because I really enjoy making them… blue purple cowl headbandrainbow headband cowl

Crochet Felt Cloche Hats with flowers… another collection

olive green crochet felt hatHello everyone, this is my new collection of crochet felt cloche hats with flowers that I finished a couple of months ago with only the photos needing to be taken before I could post about them & list them in my shops. There were 10 in all originally, but 3 have sold before I even had time to photographed them, so thought I better get a move on, otherwise, I’ll have no record that I ever made them at all.

I’m so pleased that his crochet felt cloche design is proving to be so popular. They were created in the usual way as I’ve written about in previous posts… using 100% pure wool I crocheted the crowns, which are then felted in the washing machine. I crochet the band directly to the felted crown. The flowers are first crocheted, again with 100% pure wool, & then embellished with crochet, embroidery & beads before being attached to the hat. For this collection I also came up with a plaited crochet braid that I’ve attached to each cloche between the band & crown… I think it adds a nice touch…

It always amazes me… I use the same technique… crochet, felt, embellish… yet, no 2 are ever the same…

Over the coming days, I’ll be listing these cloche hats in my Etsy shop

pink olive crochet felt hatlilac crochet felt hatblue crochet felt hatblack & white crochet felt hatpink crochet felt hatpurple blue crochet felt hat