Ned's Needles

Have you ever knitted or crocheted a BEARD before?

I haven't - but I am about to...

Now before you start thinking that I have completely lost the plot -  I just want to say that I am not the only person to ever attempt this.

 In fact, there are PATTERNS out there for knit and crochet beards...

Don't believe me?

Check these ones out...

See?

So what's this beard business all about then?

Well - have you ever heard of a gentleman by the name of Ned Kelly?

My Aussie readers will know that Ned Kelly was a notorious Bush Ranger, who has since become an Australian Legend. But apart from all that - the guy had the most incredible beard.

Which brings us to Ned's Needles.

Ned's Needles is a knitting competition - to create a version of Ned's Beard.

You can aim for something realistic... or venture down a more creative path. Perhaps you've guessed that I will be designing a CREATIVE entry?

The competition is open to everyone, so go and take a closer look. There are even free patterns available for you to use. 

Here's the link... so what are you waiting for?

Let the Wild Rumpus Begin!

It's finished... It's finished... It's finished...



You might remember that I started out with this sketched idea... here.

 

Then it started coming together here... but I was having issues with the teeth...



Anyway, it's finally done - and in the mail - on its way to the Beanie Competition! Yee-hah!

Goddess of the Sea...

Since we spoke last, I've been frantically putting the finishing touches on my Competition Entries for the 2012 Alice Springs Beanie Festival...

In fact it was about 2am the other night, when I decided that I desperately needed shells for this project.

But where does one find shells at 2 am???

Well...

One goes and takes apart their Laundry curtain, stripping the shells from it, of course!

This project is for the Category which asks you to "Introduce a goddess..."

Hopefully by tomorrow I will have finished my second Competition Piece, so that I can mail them off well before the deadline...

My What Big Teeth You Have...

Actually, they might be a little too big...

Looking back to the original sketch, I was aiming for much smaller teeth... and a lot more of them.

Will have a play around with some smaller ones today, and see which ones I prefer.

Alice Springs Beanie Festival...

Have you heard about the Alice Springs Beanie Festival???

It's a HUGE community event which happens every June in Central Australia.It started out as a way for Aboriginal women to sell their crochet beanies, but has now expanded into a celebration for all artists to join in together. There's loads of workshops to attend, exhibitions to behold, and fellow crafters to befriend!

Have you ever been?

I would love to go - but just to give you an idea, Alice Springs is 2276km from my home... that's a driving time of 23 hours and 12 mins... Approximately... If you don't stop to pee...

Maybe one year... And I'll take my dear friend Dawnie-Pants with me...and Jonnine - you can meet us there!

Anyway, each year there is a Beanie Competition, with a bunch of different categories. You can check them out here if you are interested.

I've chosen this one:

3. Favourite Bedtime yarn.
Remember being tucked up in bed and hearing or reading a story that transported you. The characters, the faraway places, the imaginary friends. Bring them back to life in your favourite beanie.

And as you might have guessed from the sketch I shared on Friday - I'm working with Where The Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak

Here's the progress so far. You'll have to ignore those little black threads all over the right hand side. I started working on the hair, and then changed my mind about how I was going to do it.

I do that.

A lot.

March Knitting Challenge.

Are you ready for the March Challenge?




Here's a refresher of what it's all about

• Each month I will offer a new pattern for FREE to those who wish to participate
• One month will be a KNITTING challenge, and the next month will be a CROCHET challenge
• Take a photo of your completed project and enter it in the competition
• I will choose my favourite project… the one which makes me go WOW the most! my decision might be based on yarn choices, embellishments, interpretation of the pattern… you get the idea
• PRIZE? the winner gets to tell me what to design for our next challenge... maybe you want me to write a pattern for something you've seen me design in the past, or perhaps to bring something to life from your imagination... it will be the WINNER'S CHOICE... you could choose to have me design a plarn toy elephant, some crazy elton john style glasses, or an easter surprise for your great aunt elsie…
  it might be something sane or crazy… either way, it will be designed and embellished in that true laughing purple goldfish style which you know and love! BUT bear in mind… whatever you choose… will be MADE by you guys the following month… so choose something YOU want to make…

So, here's the plan for March...

• Knit this toy from my pattern. 
• Enter your project photo in this competition over at Ravelry. If you are not a Ravelry member, you can enter by emailing me your entry
• Entries will close 31/3/12 at midnight, my time (EDST Australia)
• Winner announced 2/4/12... photo of winning project will be posted here on my blog... and I'll also tell you why I chose it
• The winner will then choose what they would like me to design for the next Knit-Along (KAL) which will be run in May 2012

SO... are you in?

Want to join in the fun?

Email me for the pattern to get started

thinking is NOT blogging

I've thought a lot about blogging lately...

There's so many things for me to post about...

But I have really bad timing

Like, I'll be driving along the freeway... and my mind starts buzzing with a multitude of thoughts and ideas to share with you guys...

I start thinking about exactly what I'll write... which photos I'll add for interest... and by the time that I get to where I'm going, my brain is convinced that I've actually written a post!!!

Am I the only one who does this?

I often do it with emails too...

I read the email. Think about how to respond. And then my brain thinks that the job is done.

It's madness!!!

Imagine if we could blog by ESP. Just by thinking about them, the posts would appear...

Actually, that would probably be dangerous. You guy would defininitely be getting TOO MUCH INFORMATION if all my thoughts were transposed onto my blog!!!

Anyway...

Something I did want to share, is the result from the VIDEO CASSETTE CHALLENGE over at the laughing purple goldfish designs group on Ravelry.

Now... this IS NOT MY WORK...

This is the winning entry, created by Loren aka twisted1

Take a close look at these photos, and watch the progression from junk to fabulous royal penguin... who would have thought???

You can read Loren's comments about how she made the little guy here

valentines bear

this delightful bear is available for sale here



Over at Crochet Lovers Victoria, we had a Valentines Day Competition...

The idea was to design and crochet a gift for a loved one, and to incorporate a heart somewhere in the design.

As always, I left it until the last minute. Not because I wanted to, but just because I couldn't think of anything interesting enough to enter.

In the end, I decided on a very mainstream piece... and designed my interpretation of the standard Valentines Day Bear.

Of course he is made using reclaimed yarns... the eyes are beads from a recycled necklace, and the nose is cut from a felted jumper.

I have a bit of a thing about stuffing though... it has to be new. I've experimented with recycled stuffings from inside old toys, cushions, etc... but I'm never happy with the quality of it. It seems to have deteriorated over time, and almost have a crumbly, powdery texture to it - that I just don't like, and refuse to use.

I know that there is the idea of using wool/fabric scraps as stuffing... but I just don't like the results I get from them.

Totally open to ideas though.

If you have a fabulous stuffing idea, let me know!

And if I ever come across one... of course you guys will be the first to know...

Meanwhile... this little guy won me the competition, and is now for sale in my madeit store.

I will be perfecting the pattern, and once it has been through the testing process - it will be available for sale as a PDF and also as part of a kit (including yarns, beads and felt for making your own bear)

I would think that we are looking at a time frame of around 8 weeks...