Cue – spring!

Aaaahhhh, yes – we’re back in Cue, WA.  A town we visited last year almost to the day:

It’s a little place, with a good caravan park and the most excellent fish & chips at the Caltex servo for just $12.50 – wooo hooo!  The best thing about Cue, at least in my book – after the fish & chips – is the multitude of wildflowers.  It really just makes you smile walking down a dirt track amongst a swathe of colour, the raucous calls of gallahs and the sweet twittering of little birds with mating on their minds, happy that the warm sunshine is back.  Magic.

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Minatures and feathers

And even more magical is if you chance upon some emu feathers you’ve been trying to lay your hands on for the last 12 months!  Yes, the spotting of a curious scuffle mark in the dirt (emu mating or fisticuffs with a kangaroo?) led to finding about 15 of the little feathered wonders – lucky me!  The interesting thing about these particular bird feathers is they have 2 plumes protruding from the one quill – which means you only need to fiddle around for half the time inserting the feathers into your project to get double the impact – yay!!  I’d finished this knotless-netted hat in copper wire (which almost sent me blind due to its tiny gauge!) for my 40cm articulated doll about mid-2015, in the hope I’d quickly some across this curious giant chicken, get the feathers, and finish the project.   Well, better late than never I say!

Dual-plumed emu feathers

Feather-trimmed wire hat

A very-coolly (albeit partially dressed!) doll

My doll’s growing wardrobe

While waiting for the warmer weather, I took to clothe this doll.  Here is version 7 of the top down knitted jumper, which I do quite like.  With the benefit of a bit of top down knitting under my belt, I have to wonder why on earth I’ve been knitting jumpers and cardigans from the bottom up all these years.  Or even using straight knitting needles for most of my life instead of the (much smarter and space saving) interchangeable circular needles.  Hindsight is a fantastic thing – though it always comes too late – damn it!  You may also notice version 5 of the little undies, covering the modesty of my wooden doll.  I’m not sure of it’s gender, but no doubt both love wearing this sweet little slip of a thing!

An awkwardly orchestrated pose!

Part way done

Does my bum look big in this? Obviously it looks smashing!

Tea cosy flower-idge

And a tea cosy.  I’ve learnt lots of different knitting techniques from making many of them – and I don’t even drink tea.  However, I really couldn’t resist this wildflower-inspired one. Using the tea cosy queen Loani Prior’s free pattern, then going bananas on the decoration with the help of Nora J. Bellows’ wonderful book on knitted flowers ‘Noni Flowers‘.  Yep, nothing like an over the top cosy to impress tea drinking friends.

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Yoghurt thermos cover

Perhaps you enjoy yoghurt as much as I do.  When you live in a caravan traveling around the middle of the outback, it can get a bit tricky to obtain.  Unless you have the ‘EasiYo‘ thermos-style yoghurt maker where you basically just add water to a pre-mix sachet, then leave it to incubate in the thermos (where you’ve added boiling water) for 22 hours (or 8-10 hours if you read the packet) for a deliciously acidic, thick, creamy any-time-of-day pick-me-up.  However, Handy Husband may choose to park your van on top of a hill in 80km/hr freezing winds which will impact your van’s inside temperature, threatening your yoghurt’s texture and solidity (not to mention the wife’s nerves).  Solution?  Knit/felt yourself a yoghurt thermos cover to keep in its heat!  … or implore husband to drive 1200kms further north to warmer weather.  When he doesn’t, you know it won’t impact your now snuggly warm yoghurt thermos – while you take your headache to bed and let the raging wind buffeting the van lull you into a restless, nightmare-induced slumber.

Pre-felted thermos cover, using Cleckheaton’s ‘California’ yarn on 7mm needles

With a 40% shrinkage in height, and a 20% in width = 1 snug covering!

Cue’s craft group

What better way to celebrate spring’s return than to have a coffee, chat and crafting session with the local ladies.  When I was here a year ago there were only 3 of us, now there was a room full of 10!  A wonderful way to return from the solitude of the desert to the welcoming friendliness of a small township.  If ever you happen to be in Cue and need a bit of crafting support, I can recommend this lovely group that meet weekly on a Tuesday between noon and 3pm.

This image doesn’t do justice to these smiling faces!

… and neither this terribly blurry one

So, fellow Makers, I do hope you’re weathering your crafty adventures in more comfort than I sometimes am!

With many kind regards to you all,

Cath

Gratuitous pic of some delicious campfire baked bread!  … if only your screen had a scratch and sniff function, you may well be drooling right now!!