Crochet Therapy

June was a sad and emotional month for our family. Many thanks to all the warm thoughts and hugs that were expressed.

My Mum in law lived about 2 1/2 hours drive north from where we live, and hub and I spent many an hour driving back and forth over the last few weeks. Crochet is my therapy, and it goes where I go. Here are some of the things I made over the last few weeks.

I have been meaning to finish off these koalas for yonks now, and I have finally done it. I have even finished writing the patterns up.

A Koala Party Beanie:
A Koala Party Scarf:

Another Koala Party Beanie.

Yes, I know I am obsessed but I just love koalas.

They are the most amazing animals, however after I was tiring of Koalas I thought I would do a kangaroo beanie.
Because I wasn't very organised, I had only grabbed a few colours so it is the same mix as the first koala beanie.

Friends of ours in Townsville also welcomed their new son into the world on the 4th June. He was well over 9lbs which is a whopper of a baby for my friend who is less than 5ft, and about normally about 45 kg. Babies are Gods little wonders and I made him some baby blue ugg booties. It is our winter here so these are perfect for the cooler weather up North. I surprised my self by not only making these , but also having mailed them off within about 3 days of bub being born. This was a happy moment amongst our sadness but reminded me how life goes on.

I have also been experimenting with some lacy mitts. Our Daughter took the first set I made as she was home for Grandmas Funeral. The ones below are a second set I made to see if I could remember what I did.

She also fancied the beanie and scarf to match. Again the scarf was an experiment in a loophole, shorter version.

The problem is that while I wrote down rough notes, the set is now back in Melbourne, and I am having fun trying to remember exactly how I made them!

The model is my eldest sons girlfriend. She is a terrific model and I ended up making her a beanie in blue and a scarf to match. She really likes the things I make. As many of you would know, there is a real buzz in having your crochet appreciated.

So crochet is my therapy, and I have been productive while I have been away from my blog. Grief is a terrible feeling. I find that the best thing is to keep busy. Grandma would have been 84 on July 19. She lived a wonderful life, had 3 sons, 3 daughters in law and 6 grand kids. She was fortunate to have lived independently in her own home, with her mind as sharp as a tack up until the week before she left us. She partied hard with us for my birthday in March, and was the life of the party in her sarong and hibiscus around her neck. She always had a sparkle in her eye, and took such interest in others. She would have enjoyed seeing what I have just shown you. We miss her already.

Year of the Rat (kangaroo) in crochet

Well it is Chinese New Year this week and this year is the year of the rat. Now rats aren't an inherently cute critter; or one that would normally come to mind for babies gear, however I thought I would give them a go. It is also an opportunity to highlight the little rat kangaroos that are native to Australia.

The year 2008 is the year of the brown earth rat. According to Chinese astrology, a child born in the year of the Rat will be sweet and loving. He or she may be shy, but inwardly they are fiercely competitive. Sounds like you wouldn't want to be the teacher when this year group hits school!

Black and brown rats arrived in Australia with the first fleet. They are responsible for the extinction of a number of bird species, particularly on our offshore islands, as well as endangering others. The early Dutch and English explorers thought that the native potoroos and small marsupials were large rats. Of particular interest is the rat kangaroo as it is an endangered species. The musky - rat kangaroo of the Daintree Rainforest is a real cute little critter and a great spreader of forest seeds.

The rat kangaroo looks like a huge rat, with long hind legs, hind feet lacking a first toe, and a long and tapering tail. Rat kangaroos are about 20inches/ 50cm long.
Some species of rat kangaroo are now extinct in parts of Australia. The non-indigenous fox and rabbit are partly responsible, as is settlement and land degradation. Rat kangaroos are an endangered species.

Here are some links to info about rat kangaroos and you can see how they could be mistaken for rats.

http://www.naturetour.com.au/Rat-Kangaroo.jpg

http://www.qm.qld.gov.au/inquiry/factsheets/leaflet0007.pdf

When designing my rat-kangaroo I thought I would steer away from the baby pinks and blues and use more earthy colours, in keeping with the brown earth. Unfortunately no one seems to make baby yarn in earthy colours! I found some yummy 5 ply Bluebell which is a pure Australian wool by Patons.

http://www.patons.biz/colour_range.asp?yarnid=14

I love this stuff, although it is at the upper end of the cost range. It works up beautifully; has a nice texture to it and I always buy this for my stash. I notice they have a few almost earthy colours in their dreamtime range in a 4ply which I will try.

So here are my rat booties and rat baby beanie. These ones are for etsy, however I have a few more sets to make for friends having bubs this year. I decided to make the rat tail at the top of the beanie for a change. Thanks for looking and Happy Chinese New Year!



(c) crochetroo Australia (it is bad luck to pinch my photos and /or copy my ideas.)

Christmas Down Under Festive Ornaments

Summer has really hit us here which means Christmas is just around the corner. Growing up in Queensland I could never as a child understand certain images of Christmas. I loathe and detest spray on snow, and I am not a big fan of snowmen. They probably look fabulous in the Swiss Alps, or snowy Canada, but to have an artificial snowman on your front lawn in the sweltering sun in Australia is kinda silly. I reckon snowmen and gum trees don't mix well!

As for spray on snow I had an Auntie who sprayed snow on her windows with those stencil things. I can remember the snow flakes still being there when we visited at Easter. One of those activities that is easier to do than to undo.

I always feel sorry for the Santa's here as well. I remember one bloke one year who was so hot in his Santa Suit he was a wash with perspiration. Being on the large side I was a bit worried he might have a stroke.

How the heck does Santa get around Australia in a sled? And when he visits our place he has to land his reindeer on the back veranda as we don't have a chimney. The reindeer's like it and we always leave a bowl of water and some grass out for them, as well as a cold drink for Santa.

The neighbours leave him beer and nuts but I reckon he shouldn't drink and drive. I would hate for Santa to get pulled over in Surfers Paradise for a rbt (random breath test) by the booze bus.

It wasn't until I was in my teens that I quite understood what Jingle Bells was about and what "dashing through the snow" meant! Holly is also foreign to me. I had to go to England to see what it really looked like. I must say I was a bit disappointed in it! The colours and the glitter on the plastic stuff had exaggerated its appeal. While I think crochet snowflakes are lovely, they are a bit out of place when it is 38 degrees Celsius ( 100F) in the shade!

So this year I decided I would design some Australian themed Christmas ornaments. No snow, no mittens or sleds and not a snowman in sight!

So Aussie icons are the koala, with a Christmas bow:

The kangaroo and wallaby with jingle bells and ribbons:

Some gum nut pixies:

I tried to make these look like they had little gum nut hats on. A bit like the gum nut babies of May Gibbs.

One of the most spectacular group of critters down here is our bird life. Yet the Chrissy decorations seem limited to robins and doves.

I decided it was time for some fairy wrens to go on my tree. These are pretty amazing little birds with a sticky up tail. The male is the most stunning blue, while the female is a bit drab.

The other group of birds that are always in the trees are are the parrots. Sulphur crested cockatoos and Rosella's. Both are incredibly noisy but beautiful to watch.

I really enjoyed making all of these and the patterns have been tested and are now on my etsy store. http://www.crochetroo.etsy.com

I have a few more to do as I want to attach them to some of my Christmas goodies this year.

I do love Christmas and I reckon you can never have too many ornaments or too many lights.

I hope you like my Australian take on the Christmas tradition.

(c) copyright crochetroo 2007. Copying is bad karma, your name will automatically go on the naughty list.

Australia Day January 26, long live the kangaroos!

Today is Australia Day.

It was hot and sticky and we enjoyed a barby by the pool. The boys spent the day watching the Aussies beat the Poms in the Australia Day test. I reckon the balmy army have probably had enough of Australia by now!

I learnt today that Woolworths makes burgers in the shape of Australia so we enjoyed some of them, with some Portuguese chicken, french lamb cutlets, wombok salad, bruchetta, turkish bread and a glass of Queen Elizabeth Chardonnay. Made us realise how multicultural our food has become. When I was a kid a barby was snags and rissoles, burnt onions, a splurt of tomato sauce all stuck in a bun.

I had a personal goal of having my crochet kangaroos completed for today. This is the next square in my rugalugs series. I like how the nose is sculptured and the ears stick out.

I figured crochetroo designs from Australia should have a roo or two in the collection (lol)

Having said this, they are not an easy animal to capture in crochet. The first few versions looked like a drunk rat, then they looked like a cat on speed, and a few I wasn't sure what they looked like. Some feral mutant animal that was trying to look cheesy.


When I finally had it figured out ,I had fun making a little kangaroo carry pouch. I reckon these would make a sweet gift with the little wallaby.

My Aussie animals collection is growing and I decided I would sell a few as a package on etsy. I seem to have some repeat customers so thought it worth a go.

At the moment I am deciding what to do next. The Tasmanian devil beckons, but he is such an ugly and nasty little bugger. And it is a pity that the Tasmanian Tiger is extinct. One of those sad things that happened with European settlement of Australia.

I read today that the sound of the Tassie devil is ranked as one of the worst in the world. Came in at number 11.

I find this odd: firstly because the devil is only found in Tasmania, and b) even in Tasmania they are pretty hard to find. So where are all these people voting on annoying noises? Well the research was done over the Internet. Fortunately most people will never get to hear the annoying noise of the devil, so it interests me they were in the line up. My pick for annoying noises would have included a few relatives, the dog down the back and a dripping tap. Having seen and heard the devil in the real when I was in Tasmania a few years back, I reckon they would also rank high as one of the worlds fugliest animals. Here is the link if you are interested.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200701/s1834540.htm

As for my crochet habit, then there are possums, and bilbies, and numbats, and of course I haven't even started on the birds....

I could be doing these critters well into my golden years!

I hope you all had a great day! Aussie Aussie Aussie oi oi oi!

Wallaby Joey crochet toy

Meet the Wallaby joey mob! It has taken me a while to perfect these little fellows.

I feel like a nag for saying this, but the images and design ideas are copyright (c)2007 crochetroo. Please don't steal them or you will suffer the curse of the great kangaroo!

I have seen crochet kangaroos around but somehow they never seem to give the nature of the creature. I realised it is all in the ears, the feet and the playful approach. Wallabies are part of the macropod family which includes kangaroos, wallabies, wallaroos, pademelons and a few other marsupials. Macropod means "large foot", so I realised any crochet version would have to have the large feet. The legs took me a while to work out, and in the end I decided to just go with the foot, and imagine the rest of the leg.



The kangaroo is one of the icons of Australia. It is on our coat of arms, and is the name sake of numerous Aussie sports teams. The Wallabies are a force to be reckoned with! It is also my name sake crochetroo. Maybe I should change my avatar!


There are currently 53 species of kangaroos in Australia with a number on the endangered species list. Since European settlement 6 species of Macropod are now extinct.


I say this because January 26 is Australia day which is the anniversary of Captain Arthur Phillip and the first fleet arriving at Sydney Cove. While we celebrate our Australian heritage on this day, which is marked by a public holiday and National celebrations, the joy is not shared by all.



While European settlement developed our country in a global sense, the impact on the Indigenous people and our wildlife was significant.

The kangaroo poses a number of threats. Much of the land has been developed for farming. Bush fires and development destroy native bushland. Introduced animals such as dogs, cats, rabbits, sheep, cattle not only compete for food, but brought disease with them.

So this little wallaby joey is symbolic of our heritage. She also carries a boomerang in her pouch. What else would a little joey have to play with? It is the pouch that makes the wallaby and kangaroo a marsupial. Carrying the baby in the pouch gives the Joey a greater chance of survival. Did you know that males move away after about two years, but females stay with their mothers longer?

These little guys play in a mob so I made a few. Red kangaroos are found on the flat open plains, grey kangaroos prefer denser bush, and Rock-wallabies live among piles of boulders, rocky hills and cliffs.

I don't see many kangaroos and wallabies around the suburbs, but I have seen them in the early morning grazing in the paddocks down by the train station. Currumbin sanctuary has the best display in a natural habitat and whenever we have guests from overseas, this is where we head.

I have some more kangaroo inspired designs in the making.

If you crochet and you want to make your own Wallaby Joey, the patterns is now available at my Etsy store.

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=44224

Thanks for looking. I hope you have enjoyed the story.