Brumby Horses

A word about copyright.
These pictures and patterns are mine, do not copy or use them against my copyright statement. This week I had the disappointing experience of learning that my “free” Ulysses butterfly pattern was being sold on another site. Not only did this person have the nerve to do this, she also had the nerve to use my photos from this blog, posted here in August last year. I love sharing what I do with those who visit here, and will keep blogging despite the dishonest people who may abuse my trust. If any one does see my things copied or used without my permission on other sites, please let me know so that I can take the appropriate action.


Brumby Horses
One of the interesting and incredibly rewarding things about blogging and my esty store is all the nice people I have met. A particular lady who lives in the US did a fantastic job of making her little one a penguin blanket, however her other daughter, Kassie is mad on horses. So I was asked if I was ever going to do a horse. My usual approach is to research a critter to identify the relevance to Australia, and the environmental situation of the animal or plant in question.
This is my take on a horse, after some good input from Kassie and her Mum in Massachusetts.

I am not a horsey person, but I know a lot of people are. I hope you enjoy the story below. I have listed the pattern on etsy. There is a horse head, and a horse behind with a full horsey tail.

They work up kinda cute when done in different colours. I also worked out how to do a little jockey style hat for any little kid who is mad on horses.

The first horses that were introduced to Australia were 2 stallions and 5 mares brought over with the First Fleet in 1788. From these 7 horses the populations grew and by the 1800’s there were more than 70 or more in the colony. Arround 1804 strays were sighted and reported in the foothills of the Blue Mountains.

Horses were originally used for transport but with the introduction of the Dromedary Camel to Australia in 1840, horses were released, destroyed or escaped. Camels are more practical for the Australian outback as they can survive long periods without food and water, unlike horses.

From the 1830’s many Australian properties bred horses that became known as Walers, named after the then colony of New South Wales.

These horses were bred from a mixture of Clydesdales, which are a ‘heavy-duty’ horse, with a lighter breed of horse. Selective breeding produced the combination of strength and speed and from this became the Australian stock horse or “Waler”. Walers were bred for use in the British Imperial Forces in the Colonial Wars and World War I. Soon after World War I finished, the horses were released into the wild due to the invention of the automobile. You have to ask your self, what were they thinking?

The term ‘Brumby’ is used in Australia in reference to wild or feral horses. There are many theories as to where this name comes, but the most accepted theory is that there was a prospector called Brumby that let a small group of horses out free in country Victoria. They are an environmental pest as the hard hooves destroy the environment as well as competing with native animals for food and water. It is estimated that there are over 200,000 brumby in the Northern Territory alone. Feral horses are a big problem as they eat out the Australian terrain, and cause the death of thousands of native marsupials and mammals due to starvation and dehydration from the lack of food and water. There are a number of government leads initiatives to try and control their numbers in a humane way.

I find this all very interesting as the horse racing industry is also quite big here with racing tracks scattered across the country. One of the most famous race, being the Melbourne Cup, and then there is the Magic Millions they have here on the coast. While the brumby is a menace, trained horses and dressage are quite remarkable.

Strewth!

The other exciting thing to happen this week is that my son and I have opened up a second etsy store called Strewth. http://www.strewth.etsy.com/ . This is crochet free zone for my artwork (yes I paint) and his craft work. As a teenage kid this is keeping him busy, which is a good thing!

(c)copyright crochetroo 2007

Wildflower winter woolies

Winter has hit down here, (well sort of!) Today was 27 which is hardly cold by any stetch of the imagination. I wore a T shirt for the day.

Given I have more afghans in my house than I care to count I have been putting this years crochet energy into scarfs and accessories. I made a few for some friends of the female type of my son, but my daughter needs a few more necks before I give her any more, and I think I have exhausted the the list of scarf recipients for a while, so I have listed a few on etsy for the fun of it. Pity we are out of season with the top half of the globe.

I have also been exploring our native flora to trigger some different designs.

I was feeling rather hippy and had some colourful yarn I wanted to experiment with. From this I created the hippy head band and matching scarf. Not super heavy, but bright and light!


The colours remind me of the everlasting daisies that I see on the side of the road out west. I remember doing a trip few years back and collecting them along the way. Dried flowers were pretty trendy in the 80s. I remember having a houseful of the things, all lovingly arranged in brass containers. Of course they look spectacular when they are new, but gee they are terrific dust collectors.

Everlasting daisies also called paper flowers, come in a variety of colours, have a large centre and multiple petals. They are bright and cheery where they grow in the tough parts of the Australian countryside. This is a square motif, designed by me, and is simple and effective when done in a variety of colours.

The one below I have called the flannel flower scarf. More to do with the texture of the yarn, than the actual shape of the flower as the real flannel flower has skinnier petals. It is a variation of the everlasting daisy above.

This scarf is luxurious to the touch and made out of a yarn comprised of mohair, wool, and acrylic with a slight metallic thread that adds a bit of glisten. As a yarnaholic I couldn't resist this at the local spotlight store when I saw it. It is a beautiful soft pink and a good quality yarn. I have made 25 flannel flower motifs and then joined them into a scarf . I must say I am a bit over those fluffy scarves that have been around for the last few years, so thought I would try something a little different.

The flannel flower is one of Australia’s’ interesting wildflowers. They have a large centre and petals which are textured like flannel. They look a bit like a daisy, but are more closely related to carrots and celery. The flannel flower is also called the Federation Star as the petals have a star appearance. A more rare kind, the pink flannel flower is only found in the heights of the Blue Mountains.

The flannel flower has also been adopted by the Mental Health Council of Australia for use as the symbol to promote mental health.

You might like to read about this initiative at this link: http://www.mhca.org.au/Media/flannelflower.html

Trying to use Australian flowers as inspiration for crochet designs is quite challenging. Having entertained myself with a range of critters, I am enjoying thinking about flowers, however my head is still trying to work out how I can incorporate wattle into a design without it looking silly.

mmm maybe get some of that fluffy yellow yarn and crochet it up..(lol)

Thanks for looking.

Corrugated Cosies for coffee plungers and tea pots

This is the very latest in my kitchen kitsch range of cosies - Corrugated Cosies from the Aussie Bush. I have named these tropical garden tea cosy, rainforest coffee cosy, and gum trees tea cosy.

This collection includes three basic designs which you can mix and match the trims on.

When we were kids every backyard had a corrugated iron tank up on a tank stand. I remember when town water became available the local council determined that all private tanks be removed. I think a part of their reasoning was that they were a health hazard and a place for mosquito's to breed. Now with the drought and the fear of running out of water, the council is offering a $1,000 rebate on every tank installed. Funny how things go in circles. The shed in many of our farming properties are made of corrugated iron, as is the roof of many of the houses. Brisbane is know for a style of house called a "Queenslander". This is a timber house, up on stumps, and with a corrugated iron roof. The sound of the rain, when it happens thumping down on a tin roof is a magical sound. Need I say when it hails the noise is phenomenal!

So I have taken the corrugations of cast iron, and mixed this with some of our flora and created this set. My inspiration is from our Australian country side and flora. I have matched the texture of the corrugated iron roof and water tank of outback Australia with the freshness of the flowers and trees of the bush and rainforests. The one below I have called gum trees. The muted colours of the bark, and the dark browns and green of the gum nuts. This one looks so much better in reality as the photo doesn't do it justice. The famous scallop cosy is looking in need of a holiday and this is my new cosy.


Plants I grew up with in Brisbane, Queensland were the gum trees, the frangipani and the bougainvillea and impatiens. Banksia, wattle and jacaranda were also planted by the council as street trees. The native frangipani has a very sweet smell and we have one in our yard. My Nana also had a few, and when my cousin was married in the early 70s she had a frangipani wedding. I was an early teen and I recall collecting all these flowers for the tables and bouquets. It was stunning. So here is a cosy for the coffee plunger. We are a coffee plunger sort of household and I have designed this one to tie around the side, but have a bit of a space at the top to enable an easy pour. I really like how the flowers fall forward when you tip the pot. I call this one Rainforest as the native frangipani grows naturally in our rainforests.

Tropical gardens to me are bright and filled with colour from impatiens, orchids and bromides. the colours are bright and brilliant. I have also used a horizontal corrugations for this one which works well with the different colours. I kept the flowers here simple as I thought the colour was the main feature. Corrugated iron usually runs vertical on a roof to allow the water to flow into the gutters, and horizontal on a tank. My dad used to mark the rings on the tank with chalk so he could monitor our water reserves.

This cosy has a bright and cheery look on my little 2 cup pot. I am having fun experimenting with some designs based on our plants here. It isn't easy though as many of our flora while being beautiful, lack a defined form. Banksia, wattle, and tea tree all have tiny little flowers which as a mass look stunning.

Any how, thanks for looking. I have listed the patterns for these on etsy.

(c) copyright crochetroo 2007 images and ideas not to be reproduced, not to be resold, or posted on the web. Links to this site are welcome..

ANZAC Poppy - free crochet pattern

Lest We Forget, April 25



"In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row, "

(John McCrae)

I have designed and crocheted this little poppy to commemorate ANZAC day. The poppy measures 3 ½ cm / 1 ½ inches wide and can be pinned to clothing or accessories. They are running a competition at ETSY for a design that incorporates beads, and this is my entry as I have been thinking about ANZAC day, April 25, and its place in our Australian history. I have provided the pattern below and ask if you do download the pattern, please donate a coin to a charity that supports servicemen, women and their families.


Significance and Meaning

ANZAC stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. The association of the red poppy also called the Flanders Poppy or poppy of remembrance with war is interesting. The poppy is seen as a natural symbol of resurrection and remembrance as the poppy was the first plant to grow in the churned up soil of soldiers' graves in the area of Flanders during the First World War. Of the some 50,000 Australians who fought at Gallipoli, 8,709 were killed and 18,235 wounded; New Zealand suffered 2,701 killed and 4,880 wounded.

Australians now recognise 25 April as an occasion of national commemoration and respect for those who have served at war. Commemorative services are held at dawn, the time of the original landing, across the country. I went to the Dawn service in Canberra at the National War Memorial a few years back and it was a most moving ceremony. My Grandfather was a returned soldier, as was my father in Law. Both served in WWII. We have my father in laws medals for our sons. These are a prized possession. Anzac Day parades are held and it has become a day that has deep significance in Australia and New Zealand.

These moving words are a part of the tradition -

“They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old;
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.”
(Laurence Binyon (1869-1943)

The last post is played by a solitary bugler, and wreaths of poppies are laid. While the poppy is symbolic and cover the wreaths, rosemary sprigs (meaning remembrance) tend to be worn on Anzac day, while the poppy is worn on Remembrance Day 11th of November.

I thought I would post the pattern for the poppy with the intention that this be used for days of remembrance, and specific fund raising for charities to do with the armed forces and their families. I have put a price on the original poppy with the intention of donating the profit to Legacy.

Australian Instructions

1.75 hook, 4 ply thread, Size 6 steel, 10 thread
Black and red thread, 12 Black seed beads, 25 Red seed beads

Stamen - starting with black
Thread 12 beads onto thread before starting. I leave about 20cm/8in of thread at the start which is used later to stitch the poppy to a pin or barrette.

1. 3ch, into first ch work 6dc, slst join.
2. Work into front loop only; (1dc, *2ch, bead to hook, 2ch, 1dc) first loop, 2ch bead to hook 2ch 1dc into next loop. Repeat from * around slst join into start dc. You should have 12 stamens with a bead on each.

For unbeaded option, omit bead and work (1dc, 5ch, 1dc) into sp, 5ch around

3. You will now work in the spare loop behind the stamens. 1dc first loop, 3ch, 1dc next loop, 3ch, around 5 times. You can miss a loop as you only need five 3ch spaces for the petals. Slst finish join, off black.

Petals – poppy red
Thread 25 red beads onto red thread.
4. Slst start in one of the 3ch loops behind the stamens. (2ch, counts as htr, 3tr 1htr) into first loop, then (1htr 3tr 1htr) in remaining 4 loops, slst join

5. The red beads are worked in this round. 2ch start, bead to hook, 1tr next st pushing bead up thread to hook after first yarn over hook, then work st in usual way. You might need to fiddle with the bead to make it face forwards. 1tr bead in next 2 st, 1htr bead next 1st, 1dc between petals (no bead), work 1htr 3tr 1htr each with a bead across each petal and 1dc (no bead) between. The petal should curl.

Slst finish off. Use start thread to stitch onto a pin.

American Instructions

1.75 hook, 4 ply thread , Size 6 steel, 10 thread
Black and red thread, 12 Black seed beads, 25 Red seed beads

Stamen - starting with black
Thread 12 beads onto thread before starting. I leave about 20cm/8in of thread at the start which is used later to stitch the poppy to a pin or barrette.

1. 3ch, into first ch work 6sc, slst join.
2. Work into front loop only (1sc, *2ch, bead to hook, 2ch, 1sc) first loop, 2ch bead to hook 2ch 1sc into next loop. Repeat from * around slst join into start sc. You should have 12 stamens with a bead on each.

For unbeaded option, omit bead and work 1sc, 5ch, 1sc, 5ch around

3. You will now work in the spare loop behind the stamens. 1sc first loop, 3ch, 1sc next loop, 3ch, around 5 times. You can miss a loop as you only need five 3ch spaces for the petals. Slst finish join, off black

Petals – poppy red
Thread 25 red beads onto red thread.
4. Slst start in one of the 3ch loops behind the stamens. (2ch, counts as hdc 3dc, 1hdc) into first loop, then (1hdc 3dc 1hdc) in remaining 4 loops, slst join

5. The red beads are worked in this round. 2ch start, bead to hook, 1dc next st pushing bead up thread to hook after first yarn over hook, then work st in usual way. You might need to fiddle with the bead to make it face forwards. 1dc bead in next 2st, 1hdc bead next 1st, 1sc between petals (no bead), work 1hdc 3dc 1hdc each with a bead across each petal and 1sc (no bead) between. The petal should curl.

For unbeaded version, omit the beads. Slst finish off. Use start thread to stitch onto a pin.

© copyright crochetroo 2007. Do not reproduce pattern by any means. You may use it for personal use, gifts and charity fundraising. Do not sell to make a personal profit as this is inappropriate.