What I Bought at the Alice Springs Banie Festival 2013

I didn't just enter beanies, I bought beanies.  Too many perhaps!

Bobby and MoMo admire a delightful felted helmet piece.  Some less polite observers have referred to this one as the felted rubber glove.  It is a MOST STYLISH dragon helmet.  I wore it all night at the opening of the Beanie Festival and got all sorts of compliments. I even got to meet the maker, which was exciting for both of us!

Bobby and MoMo think this is a quieter, more unobtrustive item, for the less conspicuous moments in life.  Again it is felted, this time nuno felted with some lovely little bits of silk around the brim.  I like to think I look like a woodland pixie in it. (Of course I actually look like a giant with a pimple on top of my head!)

This quiet and stylish number was chosen for, and bought for, George.  It is handspun alpaca in gentlemanly colours with the lovely, stylish little side detail and a handmade porcelain button in a matching shade.  Warm, handsome, perfect, just like George really!

I went back the next day with Baby Bear, who chose three or four colourful and cheerful delights but, rather disappointingly, passed up on the elephant.  I could not resist this gorgeous felted Sorting Hat of a hat and have decided that it automatically qualifies me to teach at Hogwarts.

In the end I had to buy one vaguely sensible item.  This cute and colourful spring meadow complete with bees is delightful and I wore it out tonight.

God I've had fun!!!!!

Wordless Wednesday

 

Alice Springs Beanie Festival 2013

George promised that if I entered at least one beanie in this year's festival, we would go and visit.  So I did the maximum two permitted. The theme this year was 'Friendship'. I must say I had trouble working out wht most of the entries I saw tonight had to do with friendship! But they were all amazing.  I didn't win any prizes, which I hadn't really expected to do, but sold one of them tonight, which was the opening night.  Without further ado, here are the two entries and their stories:

I admit to being obsessed with Dr Who. They are Dr Who entries.

The red one is based on a fez, though it's much taller - imagine the really ridiculous hats worn in the medieval series of Blackadder, and that's what it looks like on.  I took the words from C.S. Lewis's the Four Loves to signify various forms of love/friendship.  An overriding theme, to me, of Dr Who is the way he always has to leave his friends behind, no matter how much he loves them, and outlives them by centuries.

It is knitted in two strands of red DK pure wool and felted in the washing machine, about five times, and dried over a flower pot on top of a large tin of dog food.  And the words embroidered with black knitting cotton.

THE FOUR LOVES

This one was inspired by the Van Gogh story in a previous series of Dr Who where the Doctor and Amy Pond jollied Vincent along and he painted Starry Starry Night with the Tardis in the sky.

It is a standard cloche shape knitted in DK dark blue pure wool and felted in the machine, then dried over a Pyrex mixing bowl.  A variety of dyed Wensleydale locks were needlefelted in swirls around it, using my trusty (but not much used) cheapo needlefelting machine, then holographic star sequins were sewn on in clusters.

STARRY STARRY NIGHT

 This is the one that sold!!!

The opening night was huge fun.  I will blog more another time.  I bought three beanies, one sober manly one for the sober and manly George, and two madly frivolous ones for me.

We are having AN ADVENTURE.

Walkerville

This was taken in April at Walkerville, near Inverloch in Victoria.  Yes, it WAS cold, thanks for asking!  G and I spent two days luxuriating in an RACV resort with sea views and a piping hot spa, and access to superb pub food, before going and dealing with emptying his mother's house prior to selling it.

This is a Real Book

I found this gem in a second hand bookshop in Bendigo today. At least the target audience is well chosen.

Wordless Wednesday