Australian Homespun April/May 2020

ARCHIE’S BEANIE With Prince Harry, wife Meghan and son Archie much in the news recently, it’s perhaps little wonder that nearly everything they do attracts attention. And so it was when the family uploaded a video on the Sussex Royal Instagram account that included a photo of Archie and his dad. Young Archie was wearing a gray hand-knitted hat presented to Meghan by the social enterprise Make Give Live during her trip to New Zealand in 2018. Make Give Live connects and nurtures the wellbeing of people in their communities while they craft beautiful knitwear for customers and people in need. Groups of knitters get together every week or two in their local cafe or community space to enjoy each other’s company and a cuppa and make a beautiful collection of beanies…

New South Wales April 18-19 Delungra Delungra Quilters’ Biennial Quilt & Craft Exhibition Multi-Purpose Hall, Railway Street, Delungra Open: Sat 9.30am-5pm, Sun 10am-3pm June 5-7 Ulladulla Milton Quilters’ Quilt Exhibition Ulladulla Civic Centre, Princes Highway, Ulladulla Open: Fri-Sat 10am-4pm, Sun 10am-2.30pm More information: Dianne 0458 005 148 July 17-19 Port Macquarie Port Macquarie Timeless Quilters' Quilt Show Panthers, 1 Bay Street, Port Macquarie Open: Fri-Sat 10am-4pm, Sun 10am-3pm More information: timelessquilters.weebly.com 0402 437 604 Victoria April 18 Hastings Western Port Craft Expo Hastings Community Hub 1973 Frankston-Flinders Road, Hastings Open: 10am-4pm More information: www.wpcraftexpo.com May 16-17 Bairnsdale Riviera Quilters’ 15th Biennial Quilt Exhibition Nova Hall, Bairnsdale West Primary School, Cooma Street, Bairnsdale Open: 10am-3.30pm Entry: $5. South Australia May 29-31 Mount Gambier CraftAlive Mount Gambier Showgrounds, 1 Pick Avenue, Mount Gambier More information: www.craftalive.com.au Queensland April 17-19 Sunshine Coast CraftAlive Caloundra Indoor Stadium, North Street, Golden Beach More information: www.craftalive.com.au May 16-17 Peachester Mountain Quilters' Club Biennial Quilt Show Peachester Hall, Peachester Road, Peachester Open: Sat 9am-4pm, Sun 9am-3pm More information: matho.clann@iinet.net.au Let us…

Artist Stephanie Symns can be described as ‘multipassionate’. Her knowledge and curiosity extend not only to creative pursuits, but to many different aspects of life. “My interests are diverse, ranging from abstraction to contemporary design, mathematical theory, Greek and Roman mythology — anything really. The world is a pretty interesting place!” she says. With these sources of inspiration and her creative talents, Stephanie has created a bold and modern collection of painted art quilts. She paints directly onto fabric to create her quilts, using earthy tones and abstract designs. Stephanie comes from a family of makers. Her grandmother taught her to sew, knit and embroider and she learned how to whittle spoons with her grandfather. Her mother is an avid quilter, while her dad uses his creativity in IT and engineering.…

MATERIALS • 20 x 30cm (8 x 12in) brown velour fabric (nap running parallel to the 20cm/8in edge) (owl’s body) • 20cm (8in) square of brown tone-on-tone print fabric (owl’s tummy) • Two 30cm (12in) squares of grey wool felt (pussycat) • 10cm (4in) squares of wool felt in orange, white, light brown, gold and light pink • 15cm (6in) square of red wool felt (guitar) • 20cm (8in) square of dark brown wool felt (owl’s wings) • Stranded embroidery floss to match the colours of the wool felt and dark yellow • 20cm ( 1/4yd) each of khaki wool felt, green print fabric and very stiff fusible interfacing (boat) • Fibre fill • Two 10mm ( 3/8in) black safety eyes • Stiff paper (patterns) • Freezer paper and tracing paper • Template plastic and permanent-marking pen • Chopstick or turning tool • Skewer and…

Turning small toy parts can be difficult. Here’s how I do it. You need a narrow wooden skewer and a clean drinking straw, fat enough for the skewer to easily fit inside (such as a thick-shake straw). Trim the seam allowance to1/8in and slide the straw inside the shape as far as it will go. Working from the outside, push the flat, blunt end of the skewer against the fabric at the end of the straw and wiggle the skewer inside the straw, taking the fabric with it. Continue to wiggle the skewer through the straw until the piece is magically turned right way out.…

MATERIALS • 1 or 2 skeins (or 75–147m/ 82–160yd) of chunky/bulky weight yarn (100g/3.5oz). Joni used Berroco ‘Comfort Chunky’ yarn • 5.5mm (UK 5 / US I/9) and 6mm (UK 4 / US J/10) crochet hooks • Yarn needle • Stitch marker • Pom pom maker or compass and light cardboard • Sharp scissors Finished sizes: 0–3 months; 3–6 months; 6–12 months; 1–2 years Note: Read all the instructions before starting the project. Australian/UK crochet terminology is used; North American readers should refer to the chart below to ensure they interpret the instructions correctly. ABBREVIATIONS dc = double crochet; insert the hook into the next stitch, yo and pull through the work (2 loops on the hook), yo and pull through 2 loops dcblo = double crochet in the back loop only; work a double crochet in the back loop of…