Put your hand in my hand...

You guessed it...

It's another ODDBALL hat for the Alice Springs Beanie Festival...

Hat number 3, in fact.

I do love the hat, but I'm growing a bit weary of these colours...

So I think that the next hat will have to be a bit different!

After all - VARIETY is the spice of life.

Pixie Tricks

Pixie Tricks is my second hat off the hook, ready for the Alice Springs Beanie Festival...

It's another freeform delight... worked in very much the same colours as Earthy Delights.

Although it actually feels a bit lower down on the crazy scale than Earthy Delights... maybe because I've omitted the ear flaps and braids, and switched the pom poms for tassels...

Or maybe around here, crazy has become the new NORMAL.

Earthy Delights

I've finished my first beanie to send up for sale at the Alice Springs Beanie Festival...

Crazy hats sell so well up there - so I think that this one fits the bill quite nicely!

This one is called Earthy Delights.

I'm loving the rich natural colourings - with just a splash of purple for good measure...

Somehow the natural shades tone down the level of craziness, just a little bit. 

Or maybe not!

Tell me - would you wear a hat this crazy???

I would. 

And I certainly do... 

But most of my friends and family wouldn't dream of it.

Meanwhile, I'm a biased Mum - but I think my Katie looks just stunning wearing it...

And my favourite shot is this one below, where she can't quite keep a straight face.

Which is fine with me, because I'm sure hats like this are meant to be worn with a smile on your face!

Ready to get my CRAZY on...

I know I've been gone for a while... but I'm back now...

AND I'M READY TO GET MY CRAZY ON

The Alice Springs Beanie Festival is looming. Have you heard about it before?

It's an Aussie event - so you may not have... but it's a four day festival, held in Central Australia - and it's TOTALLY dedicated to beanies. Knitted beanies, crochet beanies, felted beanies - the quirkier the better. Thousands and thousands of beanies all on sale in the one location.

And there's also a multitude of craft workshops running...

But best of all is the COMPETITION.

Because that's where the real creativity comes in.

 

This year the theme is OUT OF THIS WORLD.

Wowzers!

So much to choose from there. You could keep it simple and look at the sun, moon and stars. maybe the planetary system would come into play. Already I'm imagining a mobile style hat, with the main beanie as the sun, and all the other planets orbiting it in order. I'm sure that more than one person will design something along those lines...

What about the zodiac? There's a whole lot to choose from there... Or you could base your design on other constellations... How about the Milky Way or the Southern Cross?

Then you could explore all things Science Fiction... Given the current popularity of Doctor Who - I'm expecting to see the TARDIS and some Daleks (they'd work really well as beanies) as well as a few Cybermen... Or skip Doctor Who completely, and explore a Star Wars or Star Trek theme.

You could keep is more cutesy if you wanted... and think about Kiddy Aliens. You know, the style of aliens you see illustrated in childrens books. Lots of primary colours in use, and simple embellishments: three big eyes, a zig-zag mouth, etc.

Or even base your hat on a child's drawing of an alien... that would be inspiring.

Of course you could take the theme "Out of this world" to just mean CRAZY... and just go all out with a NUTS design... That would be fun too!

Do you see how much there is to choose from here??? It's going to be awesome to see this year's entries - even if you don't create a beanie yourself.

BUT

IF you are feeling INSPIRED... check out the website here for more information...

Because ANYONE can enter! Even international crafters.

So what are you waiting for??? You know you want to JOIN IN the fun...

Edited Wrap

I'm fiddling about with my Onarum Wrap pattern - making a couple of changes based on the excellent feedback from my pattern testers last month.

Really pleased with the alterations. Just need to stitch the tassels in place, and block it lightly - the take photos of the new version.

I'm working with a different colourway of the Bendigo Murano this time - and it's just as delightful as the last one!

Speaking of delightful - I've been blown away by all the magnificent wraps created by my testers this month... and now I need to choose a winner. This one is going to be tough!

More Stars...

I've been experimenting with more of those Recycled Plastic Christmas Stars...

This time I'm using bread bags.

The plastic has been spun to give the plarn some some twist - which gives better stitch definition.

The print on the bread bags makes for a more colourful decoration..

But I still prefer the simplicity of the plain white ones which I showed you yesterday.

Recycled Christmas Stars

I'm loving these RECYCLED Christmas Stars... and I just know I'll be making a squillion of them this Christmas Season.

Especially since all you need to make them is a plastic shopping bag and a tea bag string, plus a pair of scissors and a crochet hook.

Oh - and an iron and a couple of sheets of baking paper or brown paper bags.

So firstly, I cut the bags into plarn - which is plastic yarn - just one continuous length of plarn about 2.5 cm (1 inch) wide.

Then I crocheted the plastic into the stars using this pattern here. It's in German - but don't be deterred by that! There's a simple chart, and since there are only two rounds of crochet needed, the chart is very simple and easy to follow.

One thing I did different from the pattern: I didn't begin with a magic ring. I thought that tightening the ring would overstretch the plastic tail and BREAK it. So instead I worked a ch-4 loop at the beginning.

Because the stars were a bit soft and tended to curl in on themselves, I decided to iron them flat. Nothing fancy - I just popped the stars between two sheets of baking paper and held the iron over them until they started to melt a little. The iron was just on it's usual setting, which I think is the cotton one - not the highest setting, but one down from there.

Then I sat them flat while they cooled. 

The ironing process shrank the stars a little, and fused them. The plastic actually melted and the stitches stuck together. it created a thinner but stronger star - more suitable for hanging on the tree.

If you look closely at the photo above, you'll be able to see where the plastic has fused - especially around the centre hole.

Once they were cooled, I just threaded a tea bag string through one of the holes near the tip - and knotted the end to form a loop.

I'm thinking these will look brilliant on our tree this year!