The Queen of the Tea Cosies

Scoootish Tea

2012-01-30T12:18:00.000+10:00

OK OK so here is a little preview of How Tea Cosies Changed the World on zeee blerg.

One joined Facebook and has been neglecting zeeee blerg

"Zeee Blerg" ?? One is practicing One's French of course.

Perhaps One ought to be practicing One's Scootish.

See the wee hearts underneath?

See the wee teapots on top?

See the wee argyle on the side?

All in Shelter yarn.

hmmmm mmmmm.

Getting ready to go on tour.

tea hea hea hea hea

And in another incarnation.

Tea Cosies has landed.

2012-01-23T16:02:00.000+10:00

ONE - the number of advanced copies a published knitter gets.

SEVEN - the number of weeks the slow boat from China takes to get all the other books here.

TWENTY TWO - the date in March the book will be launched at Avid Reader, West End, Brisbane.

THREE - the number of books in One's stash.

LARGE - the circumference of One's head today.

ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY - the page on which to Go Feral.

Thank you thank you thank you to the Murdoch Mob ...

Diana the Publisher
Georgina the Technical Editor
Jared the Photographer
Emma the Stylist
Sophia the Managing Editor
Deb the Design Director
Emma the Designer

What a beautiful job you did.

Leading Fashion

2012-01-09T09:27:00.000+10:00

Moi, One, with matching scarf and tea cosy.

De rigeur in all the posh homes and tea houses this year.

More Tea Cosy Numbers

2012-01-06T14:57:00.001+10:00

74 - the number of sleeps until the release of "How Tea Cosies Changed the World"

4 - the number of tea cosies on sneak preview here on the back cover of "How Tea Cosies Changed the World".

3 - a wishful number counting the weeks till One gets One's only advance copy flying in from China while all the bookstore copies come in that infamous 'slow boat'.

Tea Cosies - Numbers (and letters)

2012-01-04T13:27:00.000+10:00

76 - the number of sleeps before How Tea Cosies Changed the World appears in a bookstore near you. (in Australia)

20 - the date in March to mark in your calendar.

FB - for a place you can find One playing tea cosy (in Australia and France) in...

2012 - a BIG year

Introducing
Wood Fungus and Mini Me.

and

Wood Fungus or more particularly - Wood Fungi.

and Wood Fungus.

Some of you will know this one, already outed at the Powerhouse Museum early last year.

The pattern finally available to those who asked and asked.... not much longer....

One Too

2011-12-23T17:42:00.000+10:00

One has been knitting another Double Knit Noro Scarf With Woven Windows.

One loved Sunita's New Yorker so much, One had to have one too.

One had to have one too.

One had to have one too.

One has been playing with other double knitting.

But One feels a hiatus coming on. One wonders why on earth One chose red and grey to play with.

One is reminded of school colours.

What was One thinking?!

Wool Aversion Therapy seems to be wasted on Wes That Bloody Cat.

One left the knitting chair for a moment to attend to a pot of tea (or perhaps that was a glass of red) and came back to find he had taken up residence.

Noooooo! You are NOT cute. You are BAD. BAD cat. Get out of One's wool basket now.

OKaaaay. You can HAVE the chair.

Sheeesh.

Merry Christmas from the Southern Hemisphere.

Hmmm yes it does look suspiciously like The Bloke doesn't it.

Happy 'Doing' Christmas Present

2011-12-13T09:57:00.000+10:00

LOOK at those happy faces!

Did you ever see such love and joy?!

Zeez eez the effect of knitting tea cosies in the company of other happy women knitting tea cosies.

One is offering the ultimate Christmas present.

The present for the girl who has everything.

The present for the girl who DESERVES everything.

A 'DOING' present.

A One Day Workshop

At One's Castle on the Hill

In Doonan, on the Sunshine Coast.

(an easy drive from Brisbane)

9.30 am - 4.00 pm

Friday 3 February.

6 only places.

Morning tea and lunch catered.

Wool supplied.

$125.00

Vee vill learn...

Long tail cast on. (very useful)

Basic Double Knitting. (very clever)

Knitting in the round with the Magic Loop. (also very clever)

Weaving into knitting (very tricky).

i-cord. (very easy)

Lace holes. (very very)

Kitchener cast off. (mindblowingly clever)

Rolling a rose. (very adictive)

Knitting a collar. (neat)

And all you need to know is how to cast on (any old way), how to cast off (any which way), how to knit a stitch and how to purl a stitch.

Contact me via email with your name and phone number and I will phone you back (in Australia).

Jewellery - For Christmas

2011-12-05T14:00:00.001+10:00

One's quietly funny, very clever, far too talented friend, Phil Ward, is giving jewelry  workshops in his brand new studio in his bespoke house just over the green hill from One.  Eumundi, Sunshine Coast, North of Brisbane.

If you are looking for a "DOING" present for a special friend this Christmas, then Phil's workshops might be pretty damn special, One reckons, One does.

Zeez eez heez Triple J earingz.  Noice.

And a watch One has been lusting after for some time.

Hmmmm.  One can feel another commission coming on.

You can email Phil here to make enquiries about times etc.

One day workshops:  $145

Two day workshops: $275

Vanessa's Leopold

2011-12-04T09:01:00.001+10:00

STOP!
...
It is ESSENTIAL you turn up your VOLUME
and PLAY this post's accompanying music

One has a penchant for chooks.

Funny, clever, arty, exuberant chooks.

This year One commissioned a chook from Vanessa.
(no you can't go to Vanessa's blog yet)

Introducing Leopold
looking this way

Looking that way

OK so now you can go to Vanessa's blog

Be sure to tell her you LOVE her Leopold, MY Leopold,

traveled all the way from the Old Country

to take up residence on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia.

Sunita's New Yorker

2011-11-27T10:54:00.001+10:00

Sunita's New Yorker

For Sunita

in New York

Double Knitting

made with Noro Silk Garden Lite

4 balls - 2 each of

different colourway

Reverse side

Stocking stitch only

When you double knit,

you create a front fabric

and back fabric at the same time.

In Sunita's scarf, the back

is all in stocking stitch.

the edging is a simple

crochet chain shell.

On the front, the squares are

knitted in reverse stocking stitch,

and woven with contrasting

coloured yarn and darning needle.

Knit Knit

Happy Happy

Joy Joy

Double Knitting.

Not ALL about me.

2011-11-23T11:27:00.001+10:00

I met Nat here in blogland by a most lucky accident of a mouse click.

Nat lives in Melbourne and came down to Geelong in September to see the results of Forum. We met - in person for the first time. Nat joked that we had been internet dating and this was our big reveal. I liked what I saw. She was much better than her photo.

Be sure to look at her blog.
Be sure to look at her ....

Japanese Textile Study Tour.

If I liked playing with fabric HALF as much as I like playing with wool, I'd be going with her like a shot. Nat is one of those GOOD people, from the core, as well as being funny and clever and artistic.

Introducing the African Queen.

NO. I did NOT design this splendiforous tea cosy.

But I am green with envy. I wish I HAD designed her. There just are not enough superlatives to describe her. Just drink her up in all her glorious exuberance.

Ms Jenny of Capetown designed and made her for a for friend getting married here in Australia just down the road from me. The African Queen is coming down under. But sadly not Ms Jenny. Not this time.

I met Jenny by accident of a mouse click too. We have become good penpals. Or is that e-pals.

And then this came via email from Lorraine of Melbourne

This is what she said - and I believe her.

"I thought I would send you this photo which was not a set up just a shot taken on my iphone at home.

I see from your blog that you love cats. This is my boy Macciato and
your book on the arm of the sofa. Quite a cute shot!"

A VERY cute shot which has of course given me an idea.....

Touch me Tomato

2011-11-19T12:19:00.001+10:00

The Tomato Song

The Bloke's Tomatoes

The Bloke's Tomato Bushes

The Bloke and his .....

Sprung has Spring

Dan's Double Knit Aran New Yorker

2011-11-08T13:00:00.001+10:00

Dan's Double Knit
Aran New Yorker

For Dan

In New York

Debbie Bliss Luxury Donegal
Aran wool and
Jo Sharp Silkroad DK and
Silkroad Aran Tweed
6mm needles

using traditional Fair Isle patterns
and busting the Aran stash

Harvesting Tomatoes

2011-11-06T14:08:00.000+10:00

Yeah yeah Ms Duck Herder.

It isn't the biggest tomato ...

But it is The Bloke's very first and he is

Extremely proud and chuffed.

Vine ripened.

As I am.

Love my paper daisies.

and my Kangaroo Paw

and my Golden Penda

Gentleman's Argyle Fishing Scarf

2011-10-29T13:19:00.000+10:00

For a Gentleman - who fishes.

A double knitting pattern form this book

Made with Debbie Bliss Luxury Donegal Aran Wool and Eki Riva 8 ply Alpaca

With a bit of help from Wes The Cat

Matching Tea Cosy

2011-10-23T10:22:00.000+10:00

Pretty Tea Cosies.Book four?

Pour l'amour du Fil - Nantes, Brittany, France

2011-10-20T16:21:00.000+10:00

One is off to Nantes, Brittany, France. One knows One has already spoken about going to Nantes, Brittany, France in a previous post - but One has now had a formal invitation and plans are being made.

The most important plan is the plan for a workshop. Just a little short 3 hour workshop to be given at the Pour l'amour du Fil, twice. One has only ever done 2 DAY and 5 DAY workshops so zeeez eeez zeee project One intends to teach in each of the 2 x 3 hour workshops in Nantes, Brittany, France.

Un Joli Petit Cadeau
A Pretty Little Present for those of you who don't speak French
C'est une rose broach in a rose broach gift bag.

In this tiny little packet one will learn
. long tail cast on
. double knitting
. knitting in the round with the magic loop on one set of circular needles
. weaving into knitted fabric
. lace holes
. sew and knit cast off
. I cord
. a clever rose

April 18 - 21st Pour l'Amour du Fil - For the Love of Thread - Nantes, Brittany, France
Where One will be exhibiting cosies from book 1, 2 and 3.

In Between Knitting

2011-10-17T18:45:00.001+10:00

See One's Pretty Knitting

2011-10-09T09:28:00.000+10:00

Tis FAR too long since One showed One's own knitting.

See! Look! See!

Rowen Kidsilk Haze

3 mm needles

Double Knitting

Grids in stocking stitch

Blocks in reverse stocking stitch

Note the positive/negative colour - Blue grid green block - Green grid blue block

One could already Double Knit

But One learned about clever reverse stocking stitch blocks in a coffee queue at Forum.

Thank you Nancy.

Hello Nancy's sister Barb.

Geelong Forum 2011

2011-10-07T11:46:00.000+10:00

I have been in Geelong (Go the Cats) at Forum - as it is known to those who attend year after year - a sort of annual pilgrimage of textile rebirthing - where women teach, learn, share, laugh, cry, eat, drink and dance their way through five and half days of stitching heaven.

Introducing my Fabulous Knitters.
click on photos to embiggen

Left to right - Jessica, Inger and Rebecca
with their tea cosies - The Dowager, Wild Garden and Squaring the Circle

Dorothy, Anne W and Norma
Tournament Tent, Printemps and Autumn Leaves

Lorraine, Irina and Anne N
Court Jester, (Irina's cosy is hiding from view but is beautiful too) and Book of Yarns.

What a week! Anne N and Norma took this little old Forum virgin under their friendly wings and made me feel very welcome indeed. Thank you thank you. And to all the Great Gals in the group too. You were a joy to play tea cosy with.

We started the week knitting the pill box hats. There is so much to learn in a little pill box hat.

Long tail cast on
Knitting in the round on 2 sets of circular needles.
Knitting continental style and for those already knitting continental style, Aussie/Pom style.
Fair Isle with a thread in each hand.
and the obligatory bit of maths

Here we are on the last night - partying - in our party pill box hats - aren't we gorgeous!

What! You can't see me? I'm the one behind the camera.

and after the pill box

we got stuck straight into designing tea cosies.

It is a fab old loife One is having it is.

Textile Arts Forum

2011-09-21T09:52:00.000+10:00

Wes The Cat will take care of things while One is gallivanting off to Victoria some 1800 kilometers South of here, first to Melbourne to play with Rose, who has been One's very good friend since we were Gels (hard G) and to SHOP and to drive the Great Ocean Road, all on the way to Geelong and the Textile Arts Forum where One is giving a knitting workshop alongside a bunch of textile artists for a whole FIVE and half days.

Next week Geelong.

Last week Brisbane and Threads and More, double knitting and Fair Isle knitting avec some celebs.

Annelea, named after the bad girl in a movie her mum and dad saw when they were pregnant with her (the things you share in a knitting workshop!!)

Joan Crawford

Faye Dunaway

Sabine who is close cousin to Sabrina the (good) witch

Rosalind Russell

and the woman who started it all...

Meryl Streep

It turns out One has much to learn about imparting the secret of double knitting - still - but what a magnificent bunch of teachers you are. Thank you thank you.

Tea Cosy Guardians

2011-09-09T09:55:00.001+10:00

Today One was wandering the web as One is wont to do on Wednesdays (yeah yeah it's Friday so what)

and One found a Tea Cosy Fest going on over HERE Ms Enchanted Hollow of Adelaide has asked her fellow bloggers to post about tea cosies and how they came to own theirs.

Well how about that - because

In 2012, photographer Mark Crocker and I will be travelling the country.

Mark giving photograph workshops.

Moi giving knitting workshops.

Then we will hang about the town we are in for a day or two to photograph Guardians of Tea Cosies and to record their stories.

In 2013, the Portraits of a Tea Cosy exhibition will tour country and city Australia.

An EXHIBITION of
Photographic Portraits.
Audio recordings of your stories.
New Queenly (Loani Prior) tea cosy creations.

Have a look at the PORTRAITS PROJECT
and contact me if you would like to receive email information about it.

That feller up there? That is The Bloke with the tea cosy his mother gave him when he left home 45 years ago. That tea cosy has some stories to tell.

And there to the right? Well you've seen them before. They are twin tea cosies, Sleeveless in Seattle, born of a cardie knitted (by moi) with too long sleeves and too wide front and FAR too many colours.

Russian Australian Relations

2011-09-07T11:55:00.002+10:00

Wayne wrote to One about two years ago asking if One would knit Sea Squirt from Wild Tea Cosies for a friend in Russia.

One said a Queenly 'no'. BUT One did send Wayne off to Threads and More to see if one of their knitters might oblige for a fee.

One heard no more from Wayne until last week when One received these pictures.

Click on photos to embiggen

.... and this note.

Hi Loani
Just received the following from my friend in Europe:

"...and Loani Prior is a nice lady. (how did he know?!) I guess I don't mind if she'll use photos, but I am sure many people tried her ideas on their heads - maybe they didn't tell her that they used as hats... but mine was cooler."

And then this came, from Veronica.

A relative of Pedro de la Pantaloon. Not Veronica. This magnificent woman. Errr, chicken. Not that Veronica is not a magnificent woman. No doubt she is. One doesn't know Veronica from a bar of soap. Not that One knows any soap bars. But if she can create such a chicken, she must be, at the very least, a little bit magnificent.

Thank you Veronica. You provided One with a wide warm smile.

Thank you Wayne.
Thank you Wayne's friend. You provided One with a long, deep belly laugh. Indeed you provided One with many long, deep belly laughs.

P.S. One receives many photos of Tea Cosies from Tea Cosy Nuts. All make One smile warmly in a 'thank goodness for Tea Cosy Nuts' sort of way and make One's day. But some Tea Cosies are just bigger show offs than others and insist on taking a bow here. What can One do?

P.P.S One DOES know ONE bar of soap, intimately, each morning.

P.P.P.S And yes Wayne's Friend - others HAVE tried One's ideas on their head!

More Longreach Tea Cosies

2011-08-25T20:13:00.004+10:00

Awww.

Here they are, the Tea Cosy Princesses of Longreach.

Princess Sue

Princess Lorraine

Princess Kay

Princess Karen

Princess Josie

Princess Julie

Princess Boo

Princess Carley

Hard at work.

Overseen by The Bloke's tea cosy.

New WEBSITE

2011-08-15T18:44:00.010+10:00

One spent One's last day on a property just outside Longreach at the invitation and excellent hospitatlity of Carley. 'Tis Carly's property. Carly and Nick's. Carly wot did the workshop. Nick wot didn't.

C'est One, standing there hiding One's fair queenly skin from the harsh outback sun...

24,000 acres
80,000 cattle

Click on photos to EMBIGGEN

and

6 chooks
3 dogs
3 guinea pigs
2 daughters
1 emu called Stan
1 guinea wallaby

and a flock of guinea fowl (to go with the guinea pigs and the guinea wallaby)

Yes yes. One was there to play tea cosy with the Lovely Longreach Ladies.

Photos of Tea Cosy Princesses to come.

'Tis One and One's new best friend - Heather - Queen of Longreach, and the Queen of Organisation who took care of every little and big last thing.

'Tis us at the Soiree on the evening of the second day of the workshop where One told tea cosy stories but not until Helen (hiding behind the clock) - Queen of Bush Poetry - told some good old stories in rhyme.

We were a FABBO double act we were, we were, even if One says so Oneself.

Oh yeah
and there is a new WEBSITE !!!

BUT

if you only want the blog and not all that other stuff

just

link to www.grandpurlbaa.blogspot.com

Moi.
One.

Really Wild Tea Cosies is an eBOOK !

2011-07-31T11:40:00.002+10:00

One is a Modern Knitter.
Yes One is.
One has an Ebook.
Or is that an eBOOK.

iPad and iPhone - yes - iPhone users can download Really Wild Tea Cosies from their Apple iBookstore for AUD $12.99.

Tea hea hea hea hea hea hea hea hea hea hea hea hea hea he he he ha ha ha
(that is a polite giggle, not an hysterical cackle - oh OK there is a bit a cackle towards the end there)

Kindle users can download from Amazon KINDLE for AUD $9.99

What is the difference One hears you cry.

the Apple iBookstore version is an exact replica of the print version with all it's beautiful design features in place.

the Amazon Kindle version is text plus photos. You get all the information you need to complete the patterns but the book doesn't look quite so spiffy.

Noice. Real noice.

2011-07-30T21:43:00.003+10:00

The Wonderful Women of Warwick

at the

Jumpers and Jazz Festival

and their

clever funny beautiful

Cuddle of Cosies

Double Knitting Heaven and other Stuff

2011-07-13T09:40:00.002+10:00

Knitting.

Double knitted scarf
Fair Isle Beanie Hat thingy
Noro Silk Garden

Heaven

Same thing
Different Angle

Experiment
Vest
Old Man's Jumper
Man's Old Jumper
Washed in hot water to within an inch of its life (felted)
Cut
Shelter yarn
Blanket stitch (sewing!!!)
Knitting
Arm holes waiting

Photo
Over exposed
Over saturated
Arty
Farty

Happy

Sturt Winter School 2011

2011-07-10T12:42:00.003+10:00

Pill Box Hat with Fascinator

On the 1st day of 5 days we made the Pill Box Hat to learn some new knitting techniques

Long tail cast on.
Knitting in round on 2 sets of circular needles.
Continental knitting.
Fair Isle knitting.
Ambidextrous knitting using continental and Australian/English methods at once for Fair Isle colour work.
Jeny's Surprisingly Stretchy Bind Off.

After all that these Wonderful Women were up for just about anything.

click on photos to embiggen

Anything! including - double knitting and even short rows with a secret wrap and turn.

Tea Cosies with STYLE

From Top Left

Val - Double Trouble
Suzy - Pina Colada
Suzie - Night Garden

From Middle Left

Ros - Inside the Square
Dianne - Temple of Tea
Debbie - Blue Note

From Bottom Left

Carol - China Tea
Anne - Doubly Wild
Suellen - Waratah

And THEN there were all the ...

Other Classes

... going on at Sturt at the same time.

Felt making
Jewellery making
Acrylic painting
Basket making
Art Book making
Wood carving
Marketry
Pastels
Print making
Digital photography
Botanical drawing

What an incredible week.
I had the BEST time. Yes I did.
Thank you to all the lovely clever Knitting Knuts.
Thank you to all the lovely clever Tutors.
Thank you to all the lovely clever dedicated organised hostesses with the mostesses, the Sturt team.

Can I come back next year please?

The Queen on Tour

2011-07-01T14:38:00.002+10:00

Mittagong NSW - July 4-8 wkshop booked out
Brisbane QLD - July 23 wkshop booked out
Warwick QLD - July 28-29 wkshop booked out

Longreach QLD - August 12-13 4 places
Brisbane (again) - August 19-20 places left
Geelong VIC - September 25-1 Oct 3 places

The book over, well mostly over, except for Georgina The Editor giving One hell; and ensuing styling, photography, design, printing and dancing about hysterically on arrival of a single advanced copy sometime after Christmas....

Where are you Georgina? Bring it on girl!

So where was One? Oh yeah, the book over, One is off on tour for the rest of winter Down Under.

Next week is the Sturt Winter School in Mittagong in the Southern Highlands of NSW.

Zeez is what happened at Sturt last year and the year before.

Brisbane isn't all THAT far away from here but it is still away and will require eating and drinking and sleeping with friends. Errr not sleeping WITH friends. Sleeping AT friends, but definitely eating and drinking WITH friends.

Double Knitting at Threads and More on 23 of July.

Jumpers and Jazz
Then there is the Jumpers and Jazz festival in Warwick, 160 kilometers west of Brisbane. The Bloke will accompany One on that driving tour. We shall take our time there and back in the fashion of a mini holiday adventure.

Longreach
Just confirmed: there WILL be a workshop hosted by the Longreach Arts Counci.

On the evening of Saturday the 13, during a Soiree, One will address the throng of Workshoppers and their family and friends and perhaps even a passersby or three, in a short chat titled

"Wild for Tea Cosies - Heirlooms, Art? and the Child at Heart".

After which One will move swiftly along to sharing cool crisp wine and petit fours, surrounded by an exhibition of Workshoppers' knitted objets d'art and one or two of The Queen's little wooly sculptures too. Noice. Very noice. Email me for the moment and I'll pass your enquiries on.

Brisbane Again
Sleeping AT friends again in Brisbane for another Wild Knitting (tea cosy) workshop at Threads and More on

Gees those Brisbane girls love their Threads and More workshops!

GEELONG in Sept
Wild Knitting is just one of 15 fabulous classes you can do at the Geelong Textile Forum 2011

It will be a festival, a corroboree, a moon dance of textile tragics in the Victorian town of Geelong

Numbers - oh how we love numbers

2011-06-26T13:32:00.000+10:00

On the

25th

One turned

53

and now has

4

trios in One's collection

1

overlocker to make you all green

1

hangover for you to snicker at

and a kookaburra in a gum tree.

Happy Birthday Me

P.S. The book is safely at the publishers.

YAY!

Now there is just the
1. technical editing
2. photography
3. book design
4. and printing to be done.

Monday Monday

2011-06-17T07:55:00.001+10:00

Oh Oi can't STAND it.

Oi'm not supposed to show you anything until next April....

But Oi can't wait.

Anyway Oi'm not REALLY showing you anything.

Just a peek. A promise. A taste. A sip.

DDay is next Monday.
So please.
Do not disterve me.

Knit Knit Knit
Write Write Write
Panic Panic Panic

Work is the Curse of the Knitting Class

2011-05-11T17:32:00.004+10:00

That is four workshops at Wool Addiction in Bowral, since 2009.

One asked if four times was a tradition. Some might say it was a bloody habit.

Bowral and Wool Addiction is feeling rather like a second home. Noice. Very noice.

Princepessas (left to right) Vicki, Carol, Jenny, Judy, Helen, Dorothy and along the front (left to right) Diane, Maria, Kerrie and Tristy played tea cosy very nicely with One. Yes they did.

All in the company of Tyler the working dog.

click on photos to embiggen

They produced these little beauties. A Cuddle of Cosies.

This was One's first time at the Mosman Needlecraft Shop in (you guessed it) Mosman.

What a fab shop. Lots of really great wool. Different really great wool to the really great wool at Wool Addiction.

And also lots of really great tapestry and cross stitch patterns. Modern, colourful, clever, funny, gorgeous tapestry.

One was almost sucked into having a go at tapestry. ALMOST. Then One remembered a knitting book deadline.....

... and spent One's wool gotten gains on ....

......more WOOL.

We learned - a new cast on, a new cast off, knitting in the round on two circular needles, continental knitting, fair isle knitting with two hands, shaping by increasing and decreasing, how to count to 8 and 16 and 32 and 64 and how to divide by 4, how to talk and knit at the same time, how to not talk while learning something tricky, how to stretch the cobwebs away and how not to laugh like a hyena for the camera while holding a tea cosy.

More Numbers

2011-05-04T07:50:00.001+10:00

The number One.
One knitted the sun up today.

OK so that isn't a number, but a royal pronoun but One may take liberties with the language as One wills.

The number 5.
One has been knitting the sun up since returning from abroad. There is no sleep beyond 5 am. Only knitting.

One is variously delirious with the joy of knitting....

..... and FREAKING out!

Scary numbers.
12 designs down.

12 to go!

8 weeks till deadline!

Albert Einstein
"If at first, the idea is not absurd, there is no hope for it."
Albert Enstien.

He MIGHT have been talking about tea cosy design! Yes he might.

Enough Absurd Ideas

Add up the ideas, divide by the number of weeks, do the sign of the cross, genuflect genuflect and knit knit knit.

Back to it.

More about Pour l'Amour du Fil

2011-04-24T07:31:00.001+10:00

This morning I found this on YouTube.
Now that is a textile arts show.
Delicious.
Can't wait.

Knitting (and Quilting) in Nantes

2011-04-21T09:37:00.001+10:00

London?! London?!
Where's London?!

One is off to Nantes in April next year - that's in Brittany, France, for ....

Pour l'Amour du Fil

... to exhibit tea cosies and to give knitting workshops and parler du Francais.

Carol, the head honcho at this publishing house and co-event-organiser of Pour l'Amour du Fil, found One at the Stitch and Craft show in London and invited One to come and play tea cosy with her in Nantes and well, what was One to say but...

Oui Oui Oui merci beaucoup. C'est magnifique!

Taking over the WORLD!

AND Really Wild Tea Cosies will be translated into FRENCH in early 2012 in time for the show.

I LERVE the French (translation 2012)
and the Estonians (translation 2011)
and the Russians (translation 2012)

Oh alright! I love the Aussies and the Kiwis and the Poms too. I love everyone. (it is one of those days!)

And in a the-web-is-a-wonderful-place search of Nantes One found this mechanical elephant and whole bevy of bestiary machines - a reason to go to Nantes all on its own.

The Number THREE

2011-04-11T10:47:00.000+10:00

The Number THREE

Three years ago WTC was published.

Three months after that the first invitation to give a knitting workshop came.

Three years later One is working on book Three.

Three of this year's workshops are sold out well in advance.

Three places are left at the Mosman Needlecraft workshop in Sydney in May.

Check all workshop info here.

Sturt Winter School
Mittagong
5 days in July
FULL with waiting list only.

Wool Addiction
Bowral
2 days in May
FULL but some confirmations needed so maybe a place or three still. Worth a phone call.

Threads and More
Brisbane
1 day in May
Double Sided Knitting Magic
FULL with waiting list only.

WHAT is Double Sided Knitting Magic??? .....
The front is the back is the front no messy reverse sides or darning in loose ends magic.

Feeling very full up with THREES.

10.30 am - time for a THIRD coffee.
Yep - coffee til midday. Tea until midnight (with the odd wine in there).

HOME !!!!

2011-04-06T14:12:00.000+10:00

All is as it should be.

Three Sleeps

2011-04-01T07:06:00.001+10:00

One can always spot the city folk in the country. They are the ones going. Click. 'Awww.' Click. 'They're soooo cute.' Click. Click. Click.

Thank goodness for the digital camera. ... And cropping. Beyond that bit of sheep's fluff in the top left corner is a very uncityfied butt and dags. Noice.

One had so many occasions to warm One's head with the beanie, and One's back with the black coat, that looking through the holiday photos, one would be forgiven for thinking that One didn't change one's clothes in three weeks.

....and well....

One was forced to admit that no level of packing skill was going to take care of that much wool. Today One was forced to buy a whole new Wool Bag! (and freight)

.... to cart all the wool back to the Wool Room on the sunny Sunshine Coast, turning to autumn and soon after into winter.

Three sleeps left in the UK.
Going home tired but VERY happy.

Just like.....

2011-03-28T17:40:00.002+10:00

It is just like Oi always say about remembering how to do shit...

.... it is just like knitting.

This man hadn't ridden a bike in 40 years!!!!

Mind you he suffered pain in all sorts of unspeakable bits at the end of the day....

.... but look at him.... doesn't he look like a boy on a big adventure?!

And yes Oi felt pretty chuffed with moiself too. 'Tis about 15 years for me.

Once my form of travel to and from work, but shy of it after a run in with a turning car and a broken arm.

BUT...

Never say never.

And YES it has been weather for hand knitted socks.

My friend Mrs Olix Dax, Fairy God Mother to my child, Luvvie, knitted me those beautiful blue ones which warmed and protected long lanky feet in Inis Mor.

The brown wool came from a brown sheep in brown Wales, bought in a grey shop in grey Ireland.

Much knitting is being knitted and wool being woolled so that the bottom third of my suit case is lined with it.

Lucky I am excellent packer.

For my Sins

2011-03-26T04:26:00.002+10:00

One sent a letter home regarding much AND including the Heathrow yarn.
Many a reply came back wondering what The Bloke was doing throughout.
Mostly he was doing this!

But then afterwards he found One a comfy lounge and a strong cup of tea and a few soothing and even commiserative words to help calm One. He is a good man.

Here is One telling the Good Mary Mother of God herself (or is that Saint Bernadette) that it is nooo good, no amount of Hail Marys or Our Fathers ever did help - One was bold with a quick tongue at St Joseph's primary and One was bold with a quick tongue at St Rita's secondary and strike me down dead if One is about to go all weak at the knees in the face of a frisk even by one of Her Majesty's servants. Strike me down dead. (Her Majesty the Queen of England that is.)

Even the Leprechauns have vacated this little beauty on Inis Mor, the biggest of the Aran Isles off the West Coast of Ireland. It is grey and bleak and rugged and particularly uninviting - but every day the tourists stream in. Today we walked and walked. Tomorrow we cycle further West for bigger ruins on a bleaker hillside. Looking forward to that.

London Show and Dublin Shop

2011-03-23T03:09:00.001+10:00

One got felt up at Heathrow - and not by some yummy Sean Connery type either - One got felt up by a young gel (spoken with a hard g remember), a young gel in uniform, a security uniform.

The metal detector went off. One's shoes were the culprit which was tested and proved by going through the machine thingy again in One's hand knitted socks alone, the shoes checked for weapons of mass destruction in a separate detection thingy.

But apparently frisking is obligatory if bells and whistles are heard.

One objected loudly and swore profusely and threatened to write to the Queen (of England that is) but it all did little sept to entertain the great unwashed waiting in endless queues for their own random chance of humiliation.

The young gel with a hard g and a security uniform complained to her supervisor that One had sworn at her twice. One immediately cut in with a "oh THAT's grand. So One can't go to Ireland because One said FUCK. Fabulous! "

Perhaps One should have said FECK instead but One hadn't even left Heathrow yet.

But thankfully One made it safely to Dublin to find these two beautiful women in This is Knit, Jacqui on the right and Dixie on the left.

It was exTREEMley easy to spend heaps of money thank you Gels with a hard g and withOUT a uniform.

Visiting a beautiful wool shop is a joyful adventure.

And then around the next corner was a tea and cake shop.

So one sat down for tea and cake.

Perfick.

One does love Dublin.
One does.

Teekannusoojendajad

2011-03-18T07:23:00.001+10:00

Errrr

Spot the difference!

Yep you got it first time!

It is in ESTONIAN!!!!!!!!

Really Wild Tea Cosies has been translated into RUSIAN and ESTONIAN.........

ESTONIAN!!!!

One is assuming that that fabulous word "Teekannusoojendajad" is Estonian for tea cosy.

And "Lustakad" ???? Well Google translator has it as CHEERFUL.

Cheerful Tea Cosies!

One is feeling very cheerful, hysterical almost......

Russian

and

Estonian

Tea cosies really are taking over the world.

Mwwhhaw haw haw.

Inside and Out

2011-03-17T04:04:00.003+10:00

Out and about on the streets of London

A few of my 1000 favourite things at the

Victoria and Albert Museum, ceramics exhibition.

Akchoolament
That photo, in an Iranian shop, not the V&A, is worth a BIG look.

The View from my Window

2011-03-14T20:01:00.000+10:00

Arrived!

First pitcher Ford.

Earl's Court London

There is much to be said for being middle aged.

Affording comfort is one of them.

Feeling very comfortable.

Also feeling tres bon

Must be all those bon voyages!

Mercy Bowcoop.

One More Sleep

2011-03-11T12:30:00.002+10:00

If you are coming to say hello at the Stitch and Craft Show at the Olympia in London.....

...for goodness sake, if you see One with lippy on one's teeth PLEASE tell One.

And if you are looking at One's profile One will assume you are in awe of the tea pot earings and not that honker.

Though One wouldn't be surprised if you WERE in awe of the shnoz. It IS pretty damn fab.

The beanie came off the needles last night. Yep. Knitting doesn't stop just because there are lists to attend to.

More Threads and More

2011-03-05T23:54:00.006+10:00

One spent Friday and Saturday with these lovely

Princesses of the Tea Cosy at Threads and More in Brisbane sharing all kinds of wonderful knitterly things.

To Jennifer, Wendy, Carol,

Rosemary, Margaret, Mary-Ellen, Ingrid and Barbara....

Thank you for playing tea cosy so noicely with me.

Oi had the best toime.

We learnt...

How to knit in the round on two circular needs,
How to count to 4, 8, 16, 32, 64,
Continental knitting,
Ambidextrous Fair Isle - using both the Continental and English techniques at once.
How to avoid having to darn in 'beginning' and 'ending' threads by weaving it into at the back as you go.
Special tricky loose cast off method.
Secret merging of last stitch of cast off into first stitch of cast off trick.
How an SSK leans to the left while a K2tog leans to the right to make the vein of a leaf.
How to roll a rose.
A bit about colour.
A bit about design.
A lot about having a good toime.

Yes you can learn all of that on one funny little tea cosy!!

Wes The Cat?

2011-03-02T21:11:00.000+10:00

On the chair.

There is a great deal of knitting going on

Just none that One can show

For an age and an age

One hates that

So gratuitous cat photos will have to suffice.

Eeeeek!! LONDON calling

2011-02-25T08:23:00.002+10:00

Only TWO WEEKS to go

One must.....

Choose knitted Objets d'art
TICK

Paint alluminium tea pots.
TICK

I knooo. I knoo. Only the spout and handles are painted. Well spotted.

It is the theatre that matters - the theatre.

And zee reason for all zees preparation?

One will have 13 knitted objets d'art on exhibition at the...

Spring Stitch and Craft Show at the Olympia in West Kensington

17 - 20 March.

One will also be yakking away about tea cosies at the Knitting Live Stage 3 of the 4 days and signing books (if you loike).

Bring your own treasured tea cosy for show and tell, yep yep, do that and say hello to moi and all the other closet tea cosy fetishists.

One must also remember to...

1. speak in hushed tones about booking Corporate Cats

2. shuffle some papers on the desk

3. make a few lists

4. DO the things on the lists

5. check off the things on the lists

6. practice one's vowels

Now where DID One put that passport?

Colour Envy

2011-02-21T08:55:00.001+10:00

It is NOT mine.

No no no.

It is Erin's.

I keep popping over there for another ganzy.

If you love it too...

please go over to Erin's and tell her.

Be sure to have a very good look

around Erin's blog.... she also does clever funny beautiful

things like this

LERVE LERVE LERVE

2011-02-12T18:49:00.000+10:00

This is Rosemary's painting of Elfin.

Sometimes you run into people and run into them and run into them.

Rosemary! Next time we run into each other - let's find the nearest coffee shop and eat cake together.

In the meantime - oi LERVE your painting of Elfin. It is clever, and funny and rude and you must hang on to it....

....for I am plotting and scheming a plot and a scheme.

Something to do with this on ...
Erin's Blog

And this on ...
Shelly's Blog

And this on ...
Liz's Blog

A magnificent plot and a fabulous scheme.

And so to magnificent and fabulous knitting.

DOUBLE KNITTING!!!!

Oi LERVE double knitting.
Yes oi do.
Oi LERVE it to death

and
Oi LERVE Fair Isle
and
Oi LERVE Knitting in the Round on 2 Circular Needles.
and well....
Oi just lerve KNITTING

See how when you turn the knitted fabric over the colours are reversed? See? See?

Now that is clever.

I knoooo. I knoooo. Some of us are easily pleased.

Brown Cardy

2011-02-04T15:32:00.000+10:00

One is always particularly chuffed when One has managed to knit something that One might wear....

...even if it is only a Brown Cardy.

It looks like an ORDINARY Brown Cardy but really it is a very special Brown Cardy made from baby alpaca wool (Eki Riva 8ply for the rabid knitters amongst you), in the round, the front opening steeked, the collar double knitted - oops - forgive One - that is all for the rabid knitters amongst you.

It FEELS divine against the skin.

And it FOLDS beautifully too don't you think.

Oh and here is a gratuitous cat photo, another no ordinary brown thing.

Roses Roses Roses

2011-01-30T10:18:00.002+10:00

Presenting Rosie Posy

In all her glorious incarnations.

Not as in "Carnation".

Not that there is anything wrong with Carnations.

But as in - there are as many variations of Rosie Posy as there are knitters.

Which is a LOT.

Most of these incarnations are on display on that nutty knitting phenomenon

RAVELRY - the Facebook of Knitting.

One is not a fan of FB and has disappeared from there after

a second failed attempt to understand it's attractions to others.

Please excuse One if you have been looking for One there.

One left without so much as a thank you and goodbye,
And with a great deal of Pique and Huffiness
For no apparent reason other than Pique and Huffiness seemed the order of the day.

But RAVELRY

Now that is quite another thing altogether.

At Ravelry

There is so much to see and learn,

From the beautiful to the barmy.

Each of these beautiful (never barmy) cosies has an owner.

And most have a Rav name and address

But knitters will understand that listing all those addresses here would

seriously impede on One's KNITTING time

So One will simply lead you...

HERE

Which you will be able to access IF you are already a Raveler

Cynthia sent these me these photographs.

She was the first to show me her creation.

I remember how surprised I was.

Surprised and EXTRAORDINARILY chuffed...

1. that someone had knitted up my pattern

2. that someone had done it so beautifully

3. that someone had thought to show it to me.

Almost 3 years since the first publication, I take the same

unabashed simple pleasure in every gift of a tea cosy knitted and shown off.

THANK YOU

One's Year in Art

2011-01-18T14:28:00.000+10:00

One has gathered by luck and by design some beautiful things from around the globe this last year.

This little beauty (the black ink drawing on white paper) came by luck, a win over at the bloggy home of Lilly Piri.

Lilly is One's second cousin, not seen in about a decade, since she was just a Gel (gel spoken with a hard 'G'). Lilly is now an old married woman ('old' not in the sense of being OLD but rather in the sense of not being a 'G'el any more) and lives with her German husband in .... Germany! (soft 'G' for 'German' and 'Germany'.)

One, being old (definitely in the sense of being OLD), has completely forgotten how One found Lilly here in blogland. But what a treat to find Lilly doing what she is doing. Thank you Lilly, for One's gift and all the other little unexpected but much appreciated gifts that came with it.

Aishlyn drew this for One. Aishlyn is still a young Gel, perhaps more of a little Gel really. She came with her Mum to a book event in Melbourne in May.

Thank you Aishlyn. Thank you very much. One loves the drawing and the other one you gave One too. One. Two. One. Two. Won too. Want to. Want. Too.

Errrr. Where was One?

One's tea cosies have been turned into ART.

Liz Steel, sketch artist and sometimes knitter agreed to sell One the drawing she did of Roger Rampant (spoken with a French accent). Roger Rampant is spoken with a French accent. Not the drawing. Drawings are not spoken. They are drawn. Horse and Cart. Fart. (said the Fairy Queen)

When One saw Baby Face over at Don's place... weellll (said in low growly voice) One just had to have it didn't One.

Baby Face is a Favourite Thing.
A Favourite Thing is Baby Face.

One does love Lynne Hoppe's paintings on muslin, One does. One has purchased a couple of these making One feel extremely grown up for a very reasonable price.

And then of course there is always the trusted tea towel for those who cannot afford an original.

Zeez eeez a Camilla Engman limited edition. Gorn! Did you ever imagine a limited edition on a tea towel??!! Only a thousand tea towels in all the whole world!

To come...
One's year in the garden.
One's year in tea cosies!!!

Nup. No Floods Here

2011-01-13T15:03:00.001+10:00

One was going to tell you all about the Queensland floods.

In fact One spent a good part of the morning posting all about all kinds of natural disasters of the cyclonic, fire AND flood kind before One decided to simply do this instead.

Oh alright.
Just a little bit.

We are dry here today after a year's worth of rain having fallen in 6 weeks. By some magic, we are not flooded. The third level is a muddy mire. The septic trench is smelling more country than usual. And if we didn't suffer from cabin fever we might try white water rafting down the storm water outlet on the edge of our property.

But that is nothing...

Up the road a bit to Gympie and down the road a bit to Caboolture, west a bit to Toowomba and then further south to Brisbane, flood waters are showing off their awesome power. Friends and family are affected to varying degrees. It is all awful. One has found it difficult to talk to anyone much, let alone blog. But a bit of sunshine and a sticking out of woolly tongue can do wonders.

Love and best wishes to those in its path. And fab job done by the SES volunteers and the defence force and the police and even those we love to hate and hate to love, the pollies. Thank bloody goodness for all of you.

Win Win

2011-01-03T21:16:00.000+10:00

This is Nat. I have never met Nat. Well not in the flesh. Nat lives in Melbourne. I know Nat from here in blog land. I can't remember how or when or why but at some point in the way that the world wide web works, Nat and Loani crossed bloggy paths, and then started talking.

The Kwistmas Pwesent give away was Nat's idea. She wrote to me to say that she was going to give away a tea cosy that she had knitted - a REALLY Wild Tea Cosy, Garden Party and where could she buy my book to give away too.

Of course, Nat had her own very beautiful quilt work to share. Mugs and mug mats.

Well what was I going to say? Except of course "I will give the books." And "let's send our followers to each others blogs."

That has been the REAL treat. All the lovely new bloggers to play with. YOU!

One and The Bloke

And well here is One and The Bloke wishing you everything your heart desires in 2011!

Come on now! Only the manliest of men would agree to wave at you in gold hand knitted socks.

Oh yeah: And the winners are....

No. 1
Anne-Marie of Toronto

and No. 2
Library Lass
Be sure to go over to Nat's to see what you have won. Nat will get your postal address from you and let me know.

Owl Tea Cosy

2011-01-03T11:25:00.000+10:00

Click HERE for your FREE Owl Tea Cosy pattern.

It was last seen in the Australian New Idea in 1975.

I am unable to find who the author/designer was so I offer it here in the hope that no copyright is infringed and no person is offended.

This vintage owl cosy seems to be extremely popular.

Enjoy.

This is one that Shazza made.

Book THREE - Signed!!!!

2010-12-30T10:59:00.000+10:00

Please please go to the NEXT POST to be in the Kwistmas Pwessie Give Away.

And in other news.....
Woo Hoo!
Ye Ha!
Hooray!
Hoorah!

The contract for book THREE - yes we are not quite done with tea cosies yet - has been signed, sealed and delivered accompanied by a very noice bottle of French champagne.

Thank you Ms Publisher Wunderbar, Murdoch. Thank you very muchly.

Je suis tres 'appee. Tres tres.

Et je suis tres obsessed avec fair isle. Still. Will have to put aside those frivolous socks and scarves now though and get down to some serious tea cosy designing.

It is a hard life.

A PWESENT for YOU

2010-12-24T17:38:00.006+10:00

Me and Nat, Nat and me

have some Kwistmas gifts for TWO of you.

Make a comment here at this post

AND ALSO

Make a comment over at Nat's Place

And one more thing

One was going to post THIS photo and say

"'ave a dwink on me for Kwistmass"

But then One found THIS photo taken in 1989.

Benjamin Bunny wiv 'is muvva.

Oi loike it and as it is moi blog oi can post whatever oi want.

All comments about not having changed one bit welcome

Though sadly it wont have any influence on the Pwessie outcome.

Bouquets

2010-12-22T07:05:00.001+10:00

One receives photographs of your beautiful tea cosies often, about one a week. One files them on One's computer and looks through them every now and then. It makes One smile - wide happy smiles.

This tea cosy photo arrived by email from Kim (hello Kim) last week and is so joyous, so beautiful, so spirit lifting that One just had to show it off here.

Now the tea cosies you make and their portraits you send are all loved and appreciated the same. Like children, there are no favourites.

They ALL make me proud. They all make me smile.

It is just that this one is showing off that little bit extra, enough to warrant a special outing here. She is exuberant. Yep. That is the word. EXUBERANT.

This photo came from Anny (Hi Anny) the week before last. The lolly pink tutu warrants this little bit of fluff's outing. That and the addition of some of Anny's own creative knitting.

And these? Well these are just so left field, so unexpected. So nothing to do with knitting or One's own designs.

These tea cosies are made from New Zealand flax by a New Zealander basket weaver, Susan Barratt, in New Zealand.

One of the loveliest and most unexpected things about having a book is the people you meet.

The people who want to say hello and well done and then 'look what I do'.

Susan was on holiday at Peregian Beach (just down the road from me) about a month ago and Annie from one of my favourite local bookstores Annie's Books on Peregian, introduced us. We chatted away for about half an hour in the store and then yesterday these photos came.

These flax cosies are about to go on exhibition in - where are they going on exhibition Susan?

All hail the tea cosy and the people who love them. Bouquets to you all.

Any Excuse for Presents

2010-12-19T11:13:00.001+10:00

One does not respond to receiving gifts in the usually polite manner with a "Oh you shouldn't have really. For me?"

No One does not.

One's response to receiving a present of any kind at any time for any reason is....

"Ooooo I LERVE getting presents. Yes I do. Thank you."

One is then inclined to hold it up to the light and shake it and say...

"Is it a diamond tiara? A Mercedes Sports?"

It is important to have signature responses.

Like One's friend who says completely po faced "Said the Fairy Queen" on burping or farting.

One is inclined to gather others' excellent ditties. They are international in their richness.

Like One's Japanese sister-in-law's "Shit Wa".

Or One's Pommie friend's posh butter wouldn't melt in her mouth or even the odd plum or two "Oh Farrrk". Long and full o. Long and open mouthed ar.

One has some beauties of One's own of course.

"What a Palaver!" is very useful. It is important to emphasize the second syllable. PalARva.

Of course .... "Oh farrk shit wa what a palARver burp fart said the fairy queen" is extremely satisfying.

You may recognise the Gelati socks as already having had a showing but they are out the door now to a beautiful young woman. One just hopes she is not expecting head wear or wheels.

The next bit.
For Knitters Eyes only.

And the scarf (yes it is a scarf) is the very exciting DOUBLE KNITTING, knitting in the round on straight needles.

Zeez eez not a lesson but rather a window into the cleverness of the technique.

The front (red) and the back (green) is knitted at the same time on the same set of needles, joined at the edges in the knitting process.

When one is making a knit stitch (red) both red and green yarns need to be at the back of your work and needles.

When one is making a purl stitch (green), both the red and green yarns need to be at the front of the your work and needles.

And when you swap the colours you get a beautiful little heart.

Argyle Work

2010-12-15T06:55:00.000+10:00

If One worked in the usual sense of the word - as in One was required to turn up at a place of employment 5 days a week, put One's head down and bum up for which One would then receive money....

Then One might legitimately be able to say...

"Work is the curse of the Knitting Classes."

But One has never before required legitimacy to say anything and just because these aren't One's OWN words, One is hardly going to start now.

A good line is a good line and ought to be shared. Here it is again....

"Work is the curse of the Knitting Classes."

Yep. It ought to be said over and over.

And for those of you who cannot get enough....

More ARGYLE.

And a little fleur-de-lis.

So good for the ~~sole~~ soul.

"One's heart is soaring."
"One's feet are dancing."

One said that. Well.... no doubt others have said it before One. One can't be original ALL the time.

Te Da !

Once more for good measure.

Cats are Funny Too

2010-12-04T07:30:00.002+10:00

Found this going on over at Mason Dixon this morning and well it ain't called

the world wide web for nothing so One is having a bit of here too.

It wouldn't be a proper knitting blog without

the odd cat post, now would it?!

FIVE Days - Geelong and Mittagong

2010-11-26T08:37:00.004+10:00

The ballot for Geelong Textile Forum 2011 has just opened.

Workshop Mon 26 Sept - Sat 1 Oct.
Registration on Sunday 25 Sept.

You need to submit your enrollment form (go to the Forum website) ASAP as there is a ballot held for all places will be held on 12 December 2010.

One shall be giving a workshop:
Wild Knitting - The Tea Cosy. Naturellement!

"Five days!" you exclaim? Yes five days - with an extra half day for exhibition.

Wild Knitting is just one of 15 fabulous classes you can do. It will be a festival, a corroboree, a moon dance of textile tragics.

And then there is Sturt Winter School in Mittagong.

Workshop Mon 4 July - Fri 8 July.
Registration Sunday 3 July.

This will be One's third Sturt Winter School. One does love Mittagong in the winter.

Sturt is not limited to textiles. There is book making and water colour and basket weaving and pottery and jewelery and wood carving and...

Both these events are large annual events - very popular with classes often booked out well in advance.

(And yes - there is a noice little Q&A in the current Textile Fibre Forum magazine. Ta)

A TWO day workshop is more prescriptive with the emphasis on learning tricks and techniques.

In a FIVE day workshop you can add to that...

"the tutor shares her voracious lust for colour, good design and beautiful wool...

You will explore the wild and sculptural possibilities of knitting.

You will design your own tea cosy and pattern it so that it can be recreated.

These workshops are not for the faint hearted - but look at those smiles!

Thank you Laura and Jan, (Sturt 2010), and Dorothy and Denise (Sturt 2009). Your tea cosies are MAGNIFICENT!

Shelter Knit Test - TICK TICK TICK

2010-11-19T10:15:00.001+10:00

Nup.

It doesn't matter which way you look at it.

It is bloody beautiful!

Of course if you are Australian you will already understand that "BLOODY beautiful" is infinitely more beautiful than just plain old "beautiful".

It is not soft but it is not coarse either.

It is earthy, sturdy, solid, trustworthy.
The finished knitted fabric sits up like proper wool, all perky and punchy.

And the colours are to die for.

I love the twinkle of burnt orange (Embers) in the green (Sap).

I can feel a vest coming on.

Pour moi and then a matching one for The Bloke and then one for The Son and one for The Son's Really Great Girlfriend and then one for the .... on and on until kingdom knit - all up in Shelter.

Wool and Feathers

2010-11-17T16:52:00.000+10:00

One is not usually prone to posting pictures of unknitted wool.

But One always says, yes One does, One always says

"Never say Never"

The wool, photographed and posted below, arrived in the post all the way from

A-mare-i-ka, A-mar-i-ka (sung to the tune of "America" from West Side Story.)

100% American wool

Jared Flood

Prompt Delivery Test (all the way from America) - TICK

Colour Test - (a bloody great big) TICK

Touch Test - TICK

Smell Test - TICK

Tonight the KNIT Test.

Mr Butcher Bird?
Well the post is called "Wool and Feathers"
and he WAS there watching during the wool photography
and oi loike him.

Some one is getting tea cosies for Christmas.

2010-11-14T18:05:00.000+10:00

Threads and More in Brisbane yesterday and the day before -

A picture tells a thousand words.
14 pictures tells.....

Principessa Kerry

Principessa Jan

Principessa Shaaryn

Principessa Lynda

Principessa Lyn

Principessa Pushpa

Principessa Denise

Principessa Lorretta

Principessa Joan

Principessa Libby

Principessa Enid

A Cuddle of Cosies.

Thank you all for playing tea cosy so very nicely with me for two days.

Oi had a very noice toime.
VERY noice.

Scratching Your Head.

2010-11-02T09:20:00.001+10:00

Now some of you may be wondering
"I thought she said she was going to London to be the Queen."

You may be thinking

"I'm sure she said she was going to be at the Knitting and Stitching Show at Alexandra Palace in October, like proper royalty."

You may be scratching your heads because that's what you do when something doesn't quite add up.
"Did she go to the show or didn't she, (scratch scratch) because she sure didn't blog about it and it is exactly the kind of thing she would blog about being the big show off that she is."

Of course it is far more likely that you couldn't give a rat's arse what side of the globe One is on at any given moment, but an explanation is in order in case you do. Give a rat's arse, that is.

Not that One is placing BLAME anywhere or indeed, pointing One's long bony finger at anyone...

BUT....

The Provider of Loaves with Fishes
a.k.a The Bloke

... seemed to think that a holiday on the other side of the world and a looming book deadline (his own) did not sit happily together in the same month. Frankly One was incapable of restraining the inevitable
"I told you so".

Incapable!

But then what could One do? He is after all One's much esteemed Patron of the Knitted Arts and yes, it is not always all about MOI. Mostly but not always.

Perhaps One's mother ought to have given One the name of Patience for there is no lesson to be learned from the meaning of Loani

Loani
origin - Papuan
meaning - Beautiful Flower
meaning after a couple of red wines - Fertile Valley

Where were we? Oh yes. Patience. London. Knitting shows.

SO

Dr Fish-head and The Queen of the Tea Cosies are off to London in March 2011 in time for the Spring Stitch and Craft Show at the Olympia in London instead.

One now has time to put together the most spectacular
tea cosy exhibition for the show and has scored a spot for talking and telling woolly jokes and doing the knit knit can can and signing books and meeting lots of lovely tea cosy fetishist etc etc so One could not be more happy.

Gawn! You are much happier too aren't you - now that you can stop scratching your head.

Some days!

2010-10-28T12:09:00.000+10:00

Some days

It is the only thing to do.

Found here

Mad as a Cut Snake!

2010-10-26T17:29:00.000+10:00

A stranger rang me today. A stranger from Darwin. The Darwin stranger rang three other people on the trail of my phone number to tell me she thought I was as mad as a cut snake! and please don't stop making cosies and did I ever make cosies without holes for the spout and handle because they would make excellent beanies without holes and it was the best tea cosy book she had ever read and she agreed that tea cosies should be lined otherwise they were only half a tea cosy and she hoped that I took it as a compliment that 'mad as a cut snake' was a compliment and she had won the very first cosy competition at the Alice Springs Beanie Festival but that it wasn't nearly as good as mine and though she didn't use tea cosies there was no need in Darwin she really loved Modern Primitive and hurry up with book three and well that was all.

I LOVE presents. Yes I do. And today's phone call - well what a beautiful present. Crazy but beautiful. I'm not sure I responded in quite the right way. I was a bit taken aback to find the stranger, in all her exuberance, on the end of my private mobile phone. I was very glad that she was not a tele marketer, but not glad enough for her gift of joy in my funny old cosies.

...the way I am filled to the brim by the gifts that come by the more conventional email and the comments left here.

...and well that was all.

My garden: the Australian native bottle brush and the exotic mulberry. A poor man's berry to some. Exotic to me. And a childhood memory of Great Auntie Alma and her big old mulberry planted in my very own back yard.

Pedro on FACEBOOK

2010-10-25T09:58:00.001+10:00

This morning
Monday morning
The ritual in flight
Landed me

HERE

The Queen is gobsmacked.
Can Queens be gobsmacked?
Well I know QUEENS can be gobsmacked.
But Queens,
Can we be gobsmacked?

Be sure to read his 'Info'
and look at his Photos
especially his BABY photos.

I don't know!
REALLY!
I am feeling the LERVE today.
Feeling it strong.

And if you are on Facebook - you too can be Pedro's friend!

Te DA! Designing a Tam o' Shanter

2010-10-19T12:34:00.001+10:00

One imagines it is one's IMPATIENCE that restrains one from even taking a glancing interest in written instruction.

Much faster to just push all the buttons in a random sequence on the new dishwasher until The Bloke takes charge and reads the manual. Much faster. And even worth him feeling momentarily superior while one takes instruction from him.

And with the lack of someone to demonstrate, learning by DOING is the next best thing. But there's the rub. Learning by doing is not really learning by doing at all. It is more learning by UNdoing and can take a very long time.

Like this Fair Isle Tam o' Shanter. Undone over and over. For hours and hours. Days even. Days and red wine nights. Twenty five very bad drawings. Two hundred and five knitted prototypes. But not a not a 'poo bum wee!' anywhere. Nothing.

One was like a pig in mud. Yep a pig in mud.

OK. So one DID open this book by Sheila McGregor: Traditional Fair Isle Knitting - but only to look at the pictures and wonder at the genius of decreasing the stitches while increasing the pattern.

But of course these Tam o' Shanters are knit from the base up, not from the top down as has become one's favoured directions in all things knitted in the round.

At this rate one is going to need a second head.

(Shuddup Jules! I have NOT already got two heads!)

All I Want For Christmas

2010-10-14T09:14:00.003+10:00

All I want for Christmas
Is my tea cos-y
My tea cos-y
See my tea cos-y

Gawn. Whatcha gunna get someone who has everything this year? And even if they have EVERYthing, they ain't gunna haveew anything LIKE the tea cosy YOU will make for them.

There is a November workshop avec moi, for those living in or near Brisbane.

The Threads and More workshop on the 12 and 13 November is already filled but you might like to book in the event of a cancellation.

And NO we will not make the cosy here in the photo but we will make something Spec-TAC-ular at the same time as learning heaps new shit about knitting.

Email me for workshop outlines and yarn store contact details or you can go direct to the store.

Flight of the Tea Cosy

2010-10-12T11:54:00.002+10:00

Turn your SOUND up first.
A bit of nonsense.

Video Cosies

Gone Argyle

2010-10-10T14:09:00.002+10:00

SHUDDUP Baby Face

Or I'll KILLYA!

Feeling Clever

2010-10-06T09:10:00.000+10:00

One is not able to surgeon a brain.

One is not able to engineer a bridge.

One is not able to even understand the mysteries of electricity for Gawd's sake!

But one can knit diamond argyle fair isle.

And one is feeling EXTREMELY clever and pleased with oneself.

Yes one is!

HA!

Errrr

2010-10-05T08:51:00.000+10:00

Cold hands

Warm heart.

errr

Warm feet

Old Chinese Proverb

Saturday

2010-10-02T09:31:00.000+10:00

Sentimental Clap Trap

2010-09-30T14:37:00.000+10:00

Dearest Ali
Thank you for being the most lovely loyal and bestest friend in the whole world to my son. We are the luckiest mother and son to have you in our lives.

Dearest Zauberball, Schoppel Wolle

Thank you for being so pretty and so silky soft as to want to knit you up for Ali, every stitch with the love of knitting something beautiful for someone beautiful.

Dearest Dawn.

Thank you for your beautiful gift of this Royal Dalton coffee set, (that once belonged to your own mother, long gone to the great cafe in the sky) that has too long been hiding in boxes in your garage but now revealed to you through spring cleaning and packing up for the big move from across the road, down the road 10 kilometers, which made you think of me and made you wonder if I would like to own such a beautiful thing.

Dearest Readers

Please forgive me. All that pink and lace and pretty china has had a violent effect on me. Sentimentality has won the day.

Yours sincerley
Normally Rough Around the Edges
Your Queen of the Tea Cosies
Loani

P.S. do you think I have enough wool left to complete the toe of these very manly socks, cause that is all that is left, right there in that tiny little ball.

P.P.S I'm not quite game to find out for myself. They have been sitting around like that for a couple of weeks now.

Returning Home

2010-09-27T10:18:00.000+10:00

They are HOME.

One's babies are home.

They have been working sooo hard for 5 months, showing off in the windows of 70 bookstores in the far corners of Australia - as far north as Cairns, south to Hobart and as far west as Bussleton in Western Australia.

7 displays of 5 cosies each with beautiful big posters printed by the publisher, Murdoch Books.

They have done an EXCELLENT job. Clever little cosies.

AND they have MORE work to do nearer Christmas. Keep your eye out.

And YOU have done an excellent job.

THANK YOU for playing tea cosy so nicely with me this year.

Really Wild Tea Cosies went to reprint in August just five months after first release!

It landed on the Top 10 National Bestsellers list, Independent Bookstores, two weeks in a row.

And the first book, Wild Tea Cosies, has also had a bit of a resurgence too with all the broo ha ha.

Lovely Jubely.

You have made one very happy. Very happy indeed.

I'm not saying anything.

2010-09-16T15:29:00.000+10:00

Tea Cosy Princesses

2010-09-12T19:52:00.000+10:00

Princess Rachel's Cosy - a work of art in progress.

Yesterday and the day before, six Princesses of the Tea Cosy gathered at Tangled Yarns in inner city Brisbane to play tea cosy with me.

And that is all that needs to be said about that....

.... for their wide smiles and their happy tea cosies say the rest!

Top Left: Princess Robin

Top Right: Princess Lesleigh

Bottom Left: Princess Rachel

Bottom Right: Princesses (and friends) Ros and Robin

click on photos to embiggen

Top Right: Princess Sam

Top Left: Princess Sam's Tea Cosy

Bottom Left: Princess Ros

Bottom Right: Princess Jeannine

Not THIS but THAT

2010-09-07T14:41:00.003+10:00

The Bloke

Yep well Julian got shortlisted for the Queensland Premier's Literary Award. No big prize. But a beautiful gold sticker to put on his books that announces... "Shortlisted for the Queensland Premier's Literary Award 2010."

I told Anna (Anna Bligh dears, Anna Bligh - yes, a direct descendant of Captain William Bligh, Queensland's Premier, of the Queensland Premier's Literary Award fame)

...that she ought to consider the Queensland Premier's KNITERARY Awards for next year.

She is knitting up a cosy for my Portraits of a Tea Cosy project. We are like THIS.. (said with fore finger and middle finger wrapped around each other in a big digit hug) ...me and Anna... yes we are.

Well how could we not be? She is a knitter.

Abroad

We had intended to travel to New York for two weeks in October but ... tricked you.

We are going to London and then Ireland instead.

Does that mean I have to ungroup from the New York Subway Knitters on Ravelry?

The Knitting and Stitching Show London is on from 7 - 10 October.

I'll be there just for a look/see at this stage - but maybe to play tea cosy with you. Not sure yet. Working on it.

Spring

It is spring on our verandah.

All these photos taken in the space of about an hour.

Yep that is my finger. Just hoping that is not something too offensive hanging off it there.

No he is not tame.
He is just GAME.

Photo 1: King Parrot

Photo 2: Carpet snake and Butcher bird

Photo 3: Kookaburra

Photo 4: Burmese Bliss

Wes The Cat

I'm not sure that cat knows it's spring yet though.

What WAS my rule about cats and wool?

I always say...

2010-08-27T07:31:00.000+10:00

I always say, when watching sci fi movies...

"Jeez! The art department must have had some fun hey!"

Yep. I do. I always say that.

(I say the "Hey" bit because I'm from Queensland)

And sometimes I even say...

"Jeez! The art department must have been drinking some trippy coffee."

Gawd yes. I sometimes say that too.

Maybe I say that because - well - I'm just so gobsmacked at what goes on in SOME BRAINS.

Gobsmacked and a bit jealous.

I think if I wasn't a Funny Knitter that I might be a Steam Punk Junk Artist.

Or a Neurosurgeon.

When I'm not saying very interesting things about sci fi movies...

I'm just feeling damn pleased with myself for being a Grown Up...

Why? I hear you ask.

Because Grown Ups buy art - you know - from Artists.

Introducing ZedGenBaby
Created by...

The Fabulous
The Wonderful
The What on Earth is Going On In His Brain

Don Pezzano

28 degrees celcius 84 degrees fahrenheit

2010-08-19T08:14:00.000+10:00

Ah - the burdens of a knitter's bloke.

Poor fellow had to wake from his earlier-than-me-to-bed slumber to a bright litght and a ....

"Look Jules. Look. I've finished. Do you like it? Do you? Aren't I clever? Can we go to Hobart. Can we? Can we?"

It is the 19th August and in the southern most part of subtropical Queensland, verging dangerously on the precipice of a very warm spring.

28 degrees celcius (84 degrees fahrenheit for those preferring not to divide everything by 10) is predicted today.

Or would that be - plunged directly into summer. And on the very day I finished my jumper. Grrrrr.

Errrr. Looks like The Bloke's birthday socks might be a little late off the needles too.

Oh well. At least I can join the Top Down Sweater group on Ravelry now.

Fishing and Knitting - a Perfect Marriage

2010-08-18T11:49:00.001+10:00

Me and The Bloke bofe got books. Well yous already know that I know.

What you don't know is that The Bloke's book has been shortlisted for ...

... The Queensland Premiers Literary Award - Science Writing.

He is very excited.
I am very excited.

If he wins on the 31s August, he will get a noice sum of money. (Albeit that all sums of money are noice.)

If he doesn't win, he will get a noice sticker to put on his book.

Go on. A sticker is a better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick. (Albeit that almost anything is better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick.)

And here we are together showing off our books because yesterday the local glossy Weekender came out to do a feature on the Published Knitter and the Published Fish Doctor and their home in the hinterland.

I saw Ben the Photographer sit on the coffee table and point his camera in this direction.

And I saw Ben the Photographer stand here and point his camera in this direction.

There were many more "here and points" but you'll have to look out for the Weekender to see them.

Thank You

Thank You

Now this might seem an odd spot to say thank you - beside a dog's cocked leg - but this is the place I have chosen.

It is one's usual practice to respond to comments by return email or by visit to your own lovely blog and while there is no excuse for lax manners, one holds up one's busy knitty schedule to you in one's defence and says hello and thank you here.

And welcome to fellow blogers and blog following fellows new and old.

Home now for a while to knit up a new book. Woo hoo. And to polish my manners.

Too Much Cake

2010-08-16T14:07:00.001+10:00

So .... Bowral ... Wool Addiction.

It is starting to feel like home.

I LERVE going to the Southern Highlands of New South Wales in the winter. I get to pack all my knitted socks and scarves and next year a jumper with two whole sleeves.

I LERVE spending two whole days in rooms lined with wool and filled with happy knitting women.

I LERVE watching tea cosies grow in dexterous knitting hands and smiling hearts.

Last week I played tea cosy with...

Hilary.

Dorothy.

Sharon.

and Jo.

Things I learned...

That a second day allows time for politeness to give way to a good old girl romp.

That girls just wanna have fun.

That too much cake really is too much cake.

That I am happy to take any and every opportunity to be reminded of all of these things.

Never again

2010-08-14T23:25:00.001+10:00

One is never again wearing striped pants.

One had no idea it made one seem head and shoulders taller than everyone else.

And besides - one feels it might be inviting that old foe - eccentricity - matching trousers with tea cosies.

One might take style lessons from the most lovely Monica Trapaga (far left) of Play School fame, Jazz singing fame and now "She's Leaving Home" book fame...

and Joanna Savill, Foody Fairy Fabuloso (Director, Sydney Food Festival and Presenter, Food Lover's Guide to Australia)

We three did the Knit One, Bake One: Books that celebrate life - In Conversation at the Byron Bay Writer's Festival. Thanks gals. Twas heaps fun.

One is prepared to do ANYTHING to spread the word about knitting in the round on two circular needles - even don purple Fair Isle while sporting black and silver stripes at ~~Kniterary~~, errr Literary festivals.

Perhaps one is subconsciously getting ready to appear on zeez blog while visiting New York in October.

Enough about Byron

Bowral and Sydney also done and dusted. Watch this space.

Almost Ready

2010-08-11T08:11:00.002+10:00

Today is travel day.

1 and 1/2 hour drive to Brisbane.
No knitting.
1 and 1/2 hour fly to Sydney.

Knitting.

2 and 1/4 train to Bowral

Knitting.

Do yuz think I can knit up a sleeve in that time? Do yuz? Do yuz?

Bowral is my last chance to wear this jumper this winter. Not much occasion for double threaded (two stranded knitting all through the plain purple colour too) at the Sunshine Coast - even on rainy days - especially on rainy days - for on the Sunshine Coast the rain keeps the warm air down (or something)

See you in Sydney on Saturday.

Errr. That twinge. That isn't the Single Sleeve Syndrome I feel coming on is it?

Conversations at the Signing Tent - Byron Bay

2010-08-09T16:05:00.002+10:00

LP
So Steve, is there any raunchy wink wink say no more in your book?

SC
Errrr. It's a cricket book.

LP
Oh so you are an entomologist?

SC
No. Cricket. As in bat and ball. Backyards? The Ashes?

LP
Oh CRICKET! CRICKET! Hey Steve do you have a tea cosy?

SC
I don't drink tea.

LP
You don't drink tea? (in loud sing song disbelief). Steve. Steve.

Anyway you don't need to drink tea to own a tea cosy! Surely your mother didn't allow you to leave home without a tea cosy. She isn't Greek is she?

LP
Hey Jules - me and Steve are gunna write some books together...

Great Australian Cricketers and the Tea Cosies that made them.

and then

Great Australian Tea Cosies and the Cricketers that love them too much.

and

Tea Cosies from Venus and Cricketers from Mars.

Tip from writers festival
Never miss a chance to network.

Byron Bay Published Knitters Festival

2010-08-03T22:46:00.001+10:00

Ha!

Next weekend is the Byron Bay Published Knitters Festival.

I shall be giving a Kniterary Breakfast on Friday morning 8.00 am at St Emos, Fletcher Street, Byron Bay.

And then In Conversation with Monica Trapaga, (Joanna Savill, chair) - Knit One, Bake One: Books that Celebrate Life.

And in another first - the Byron Bay Published Knitters Festival included a tea cosy workshop.

I am home briefly between workshop and guest performance knitting appearances.

Here are the inaugural Byron Bay Beauties - tea cosies knitted with a lot of laughs - in two short days.

Introducing...

Top left - Veronica

Top right - Jenny

Bottom left - Ming Xia

Bottom right - Audrey

Also introducing:

Top left - Susan

Top right - Pat

Bottom left - Jo

Bottom right - Ming

Thank you lovely ladies for two joyous days.

The Morning After

2010-07-30T10:13:00.001+10:00

Progress Report

Either one is becoming less vain with age or one has already crossed the eccentric old lady line - not caring about being photographed before coiffing hair, painting out liver spots and enhancing eye lashes - a morning ritual usually undertaken before even venturing from the sleeping and ablutions end of the house for a first coffee.

But I digress. This was not meant to be a progress report about the joys or otherwise of aging but rather....

... the benefits of six years of designing haute couture for the tea pot.

1. Knitting things that one will wear requires DRESSMAKING skills as well as knitting skills.

2. Any knitter that ignores this fact will knit ill fitting and unwearable things til kingdom come - regardless of how fab the model in the photo looks - unless of course you are of model proportions yourself.

3. Dressmaking skills can and have been learnt from spending six years designing tea cosies that do not ride up like a bad mini skirt or fall about like an old man's jumper.

4. It does not take much to make a knitter cocky enough about re-patterning successes as to photograph herself in a half finished garment without her face on.

The other thing one is likely to witness if one appears earlier than usual is The Bloke feeding the butcher birds in the morning mist.

Noice.

I can so knit JUMPERS

2010-07-23T14:05:00.000+10:00

I am in LERVE.

I am in LERVE with this little old jumper here (you say sweater, I say jumper, let's call the whole thing off).

Comparing knitting and cleaning one last time - for even thinking 'knitting' and 'cleaning' in the same moment is an abomination, except of course when one is making an excellent point - the excellent point being that - one would NEVER scatter the dust from a dust pan just so that one could clean it up again better next time.

This little jumper made from delectable Jo Sharp Aran with a splash of Debbie Bliss orange is like sucking on Swiss chocolate, piece by sumptuous piece.

The wool has been on and off the needles, knitted and balled, knitted and balled many times.

Excuses

1. One is knitting from the top down rather from the bottom up as per the pattern.

2. One is a hopeless counter, adder and multiplier even when one is not working back to front and upside down.

3. One is not as practiced at judging one's own body size as one is at judging the size of a tea pot.

BUT does one care? Nooooo. One does not. One is almost looking for more reasons to make it last.

Now for something completely different (well not COMPLETELY different)...

Next time you are in New Town, Sydney - A Coffee and a Yarn, 413 King Street - is a must visit if for nothing else except this mad MAD installation.

Oi loike it.

And then there is this beautiful woman to take care of all you woolly caffeine needs.

And yes that is "Turkish Delight" from Wild Tea Cosies sitting on the table there.

Oi loike that too.

More Other News
TEN SLEEPS until Byron Bay Writers Festival Wild KNITTING Workshop.

"A knitting workshop at a writers festival???" ... I hear you gasp.

AND!!

Other than Tea Cosies

2010-07-21T14:12:00.001+10:00

One was on the Radio on Monday.

One quite likes being on the radio. Well why wouldn't one? It is, after all, all about ONE. And a bit about tea cosies and knitting and knitting tea cosies and other people knitting tea cosies.

One didn't mention socks once. Not on radio.

But one is mentioning them now because these exuberant Eki Riva baby alpaca lovelies have just come off the needles. They are a pressie for bigger feet than those modeling here.

Zees eez zee first of a pair of socks made from the left over Eki Riva and a ball of retro green Nundle 4 ply.

Eeet eez of course vital to mention Second Sock in the same breath as First Sock - to give it life.

And in other news:

The Knitted Collar is taking on a life all of its own.

This gorgeous collar is the creation of the lovely Julie who I met at Avid at the very first book event in March this year.

And there she was again last Saturday at the Great Avid Knit In with her good friend Ingrid enjoying the sun and a piece of cake.

Julie - I dub thee QUEEN of the Knitted Collar.

Please come and say hello any time you like!

Comparing Avid Knitting to not so Avid Cleaning

2010-07-19T09:28:00.007+10:00

Avid (Reader) Knitting
Sometimes a hat should just belong to she who wears it best and as Jarah's nose does not only NOT look big in this beret, but pixie cute - the beret now belongs to her.

Jarrah learned to knit yesterday at the Great Avid Knit In, (West End, Brisbane).

One simply cast on, knit a row, then handed it over with minimal verbal instructions - and voila - a new knitter!

Ha! Cute, clever and a knitter! You'll go far Jarrah.

Donna, Jarrah, Rosie, whose mum taught her to knit yesterday, and Rosie's mum, Nina. TWO new knitters in one day! Woo hoo.

Donna had been waiting 16 years for the right moment to use that mass of woolly rope on her lap. 16 years!

You never know when that odd bit of yarn (err rope) in the stash will come in handy.

Thank you all for coming to Avid. I had a really lovely time meeting you and knitting with you. A very civilized way to spend Saturday arvo.

Put a smile on your face and a tea cosy on your table. Come play tea cosy with me in Byron Bay on 2 and 3 August - Workshops

Not So Avid Cleaning

Things I have NOT YET learned:

I have not yet learned to accept that a man is blind to dust, grime, ground in garlic and cat litter doo doo.

I have not yet learned to clean house with anything other than a scowl on my face.

I have not yet learned that the scowl would remain whether or not there was a man in the house.

I have not yet learned that cleaning the house produces a CLEAN house. Well, I have learned that but I forget how extraordinarily pleasing it is to HAVE a clean house until it is clean.

Things The Bloke has not yet learned:

That the scowl on my face while cleaning has nothing at all to do with him - even though he is blind to dust, grime, ground in garlic and cat litter doo doo.

That "mad-house-cleaning-woman" pheromones are NOT the same as "hug-me-now-gorgeous-man" pheromones.

Comparing knitting to cleaning:

One finds immeasurable pleasure in the ACT of knitting regardless of the result.

Note to Kay and Annabel:
My sincere apologies for sitting you here beside the rant. Thank you too for coming to Avid Reader to play knitting with me.

Gems of Sturt - Part TWO

2010-07-11T17:58:00.003+10:00

Ms Jennifer of Sydney

Even more things I learned at Sturt Winter School.

There's a little devil in every angel.

Ms Daphne of Brisbane (a brand new Citizen of Australia)

You can take the English Rose out of the garden but you can't take the garden out of an English rose.

Ms Julie of Argentina (hey Julie - WHERE are you from in Australia?)

What's tame for one is wild for another.

Ms Pam of Perth

If Ode Utzon had been a knitter, the Sydney Opera House might have been a tea cosy first.

5 days learning KNITTY things.

Knitting in the round on 2 circular needles.
Knitting in the round on 1 circular needle with the magic loop.
Fair Isle technique with 2 colours in the round.
Fair Isle technique with 2 colours in rows.
Picot edges.
Knitting shapes (sculptural knitting)
Making tidy edges.
Continental knitting.
Casting on with two threads.

Design! YES ! Designing your own tea cosy.

All but one of these 9 cosies in "Gems of Sturt - Part 1 and 2" are the participants very own designs.

and...

Girls just wanna have fun!

Gems of Sturt - Part ONE

2010-07-11T01:32:00.001+10:00

Ms Laura of Sydney

Things I learned while teaching at Sturt Winter School ...

Funny, clever, wild women will travel across continents to play tea cosy with other funny, clever, wild women - at the drop of a workshop.

(I know. I know. I've learned this before but I never quite believe it.)

Ms Elaine of Canberra

An 85 year old Child At Heart is every bit as naughty as a 35 year old Child At Heart.

and

Frightening things lurk in the minds of knitters.

(Yeah. Yeah. I knew this already too but it is worth saying again.)

Ms Colleen of Perth

Librarians KNIT in Libraries.

Mastering the continental knitting technique can elicit bursts of exuberant giggling.

Ms Jan of Moss Vale

Compliments come in strange packaging - like the compliment that one soul made by learning to knit a stitch, purl a stitch, cast on and cast off - just three weeks ago - so that she might join the Sturt Wild Knitting Workshop.

Teaching is as much about learning as it is about teaching.

Ms Deirdre of Canberra

Some creative bones need days of quiet beavering before the phoenix can rise.

Put a smile on your face and a tea cosy on your table.

Come play tea cosy with me in Byron Bay on 2 and 3 August - Workshops

Beanies Bathrooms and Bad Cats

2010-07-03T06:47:00.003+10:00

Hey Jules, you don't think this makes me look too pale and wan do you?

One did not visit the Alice Springs Beanie Festival this year.

One has never visited the Alice Springs Beanie Festival, in all the years of hearing "Oh you MUST go to the Beanie Festival"

One doesn't intend to let it become a badge of honour, mind - like never having been to Bali.

One is simply stating it as fact.

However, one did have one's own private beanie festival last night in the bathroom.

"Wessy! Wozza! Down boy. Its ME! Your human! Stop looking at me like that! You're freak'n me out. Good cat. Here kitty kitty."

WORKSHOP NEWS - Mittagong

5 - 9 July (5 days)

at the ... Sturt Winter School

WORKSHOP NEWS - Byron Bay

2 - 3 August (2 days)

at the ... Byron Bay Writers Festival

Have a look HERE for all workshop info.

More About Big Things and Little Things

2010-07-01T10:37:00.007+10:00

Introducing:

Carmen Miranda Mini Me

Tea hea hea!

Click on to embiggen

WORKSHOP NEWS- Noosa

19-21 August (3 days)

10 places only

Has a NEW price of $385

WORKSHOP NEWS - Brisbane

10 - 11 September (2 days)

Wild Knitting - Spring Special at Tangled Yarns

Have a look HERE for all workshop info.

Working Tea Cosies

2010-06-28T16:19:00.006+10:00

One is often asked if one SELLS one's tea cosies.

One does not.

But they are WORKING tea cosies and these nine little beauties have been working very hard for Her Highnessness on High (c'est Moi naturellement)

click on photos to embiggen

Zees eez 'ow zay looked at zee Power'owze Moozeeum in Sidenny when zay were zere.

See! Anything can become an objet d'art stuck in a glass cabinet with a label and some good down lighting.

Photos: Sotha Bourn. Reproduced courtesy of the Powerhouse Museum.

OK OK so one was pretty pleased with oneself.

Have the Mongolian Sock Warriors had a showing yet on this blog? Woolly minds cannot be expected to remember everything.

AND these same nine cosies were all present and correct, working hard, showing off, at the Textile Arts Festival on at the Brisbane Exhibitions Centre on the weekend.

That hussy Coral Punk just loves the lime light doesn't she?

Six more working cosies trot off to the Powerhouse Museum Discovery Centre at Castle Hill in August where one will give an

... wait for it...

...an Illustrated Design Lecture.
Now how posh is that? Gawn. How POSH is it!?

...to mark the Sydney 10 Festival at the Discovery Centre. One will rabbit on for 30 minutes. So if you are in Sydney on Saturday 14 August at 11.00am - come and play tea cosy with me. PliZ.

The things one does in this funny knitty loife!