Thursday 29 December 2016

Hook Haul


I was devastated when my one and only American G6 hook snapped.  I glued it back together but it will never be the same …

Saturday 24 December 2016

Lobethal Lights Christmas 2016


Merry Christmas!



Come with me, this Christmas Eve, to Lobethal,
 a little German village in the Adelaide Hills. 

Sunday 18 December 2016

Sad

a close up of two bunny front feet, orange legs and chest wit white socks.
Beautiful bunny feet.
(20 February 2016)


It is a very sad morning at my house.
My family and I are waking up to an empty house because darling young bunny Max had an emergency dash to the Animal hospital  overnight.





Thursday 15 December 2016

Hooks, Needles & Pins


A close-up photo of the enamel pin. A white dog with black markings over its eyes is wearing a yellow mardi-gras headdress and a blue ribbon with a medal on it. The background features coloured feathers in a festive mix of aqua, yellow, lime green, hot pink and tangerine with a blue sky background.
Ravellenic Games Pin


When I think of "Needles and Pins", I think of the 60s song by The Searchers  which was a hit again in the 70s when it was recorded by Smokie.  The song was written by Sonny Bono and Jack Nitzsche and it doesn't seem to matter who records it, it always sounds great because it has a catchy 'hook'.

Isn't it funny how all three words can be used in the same sentence with different meanings?

This blog entry is about one of those words - PINS! 

Friday 9 December 2016

Ravellenic Games Review 2016

A masthead graphic for all Ravellenic Games participants to use in their communications about the Ravellenic Games. The words Ravellenic Games are in a novelty font in orange, green and purple. The year 2016 is in large yellow numerals. A ball of yarn with two crossed knitting needles is surrounded by a stylised laurel wreath.



A rectangular (portrait orientation) metal and enamel pin. The subject is the Ravelry mascot, Bob the dog, who has a white face with black patches over his eyes and muzzle. He is wearing a mardi gras headpiece and is surrounded by tropical coloured leaves or feathers. The leaves are orange, hot pink, yellow and aqua. Bob is wearing a blue collar with a pendant in the shape of a yellow ball of yarn.
The Ravelry Mascot, Bob, appears on the
commemorative pin.
My Ravellenic Games souvenir pin finally arrived in the post today! It was lovingly designed by Guin
(otherwise known as Octagonfudge on Ravelry) of
Perpetual Flights Studio
.

Have you heard of the Ravellenic Games?  If not, you might like to find out more from one of my earlier posts (14 July 2016) which has links and an explanation of what you need to know.

While the Ravellenic Games were on, it was pretty busy but great fun.  I made faster crochet progress in two weeks than I have in two months!  Now that the rush of the Ravellenic Games is over, there is time to review and share the projects!

Thursday 1 December 2016

Lupey Loops at Maker Faire Adelaide 2016

The postcard in landscape orientation has text across the top: Adelaide Maker Faire. A family-friendly festival of invention and creativity. Sunday November 6, 2016, Tonsley. The photo image across the bottom two-thirds of the card is of a child being pulled along on a hover mat. Superimposed on the bottom left corner of the photograph is the logo of South Australian Makers.
The official 'Maker Faire ADL' postcard.
It's been almost a month since
Maker Faire Adelaide and you have been patiently waiting for news.

The official word is that Maker Faire Adelaide (#mfADL) is now the largest in the southern hemisphere!

No wonder it has taken me so long to recover!
It  was a fun and fantastic day.

At last, I am up and about again, ready to tell you about my very first crochet exhibition:

There's so much to tell, from the practicalities of participating in a large event while managing chronic illness, to setting up the exhibit, meeting people and having as much fun as possible.  This will probably take more than one blog entry so be prepared and consider yourself warned!

Friday 11 November 2016

5000 Poppies on the Radio

Crocheted Oriental Poppy: black centre, six red petals, the centre of each petal has a black spot created using an intarsia method.
Oriental Poppy
designed by Lesley Stanfield
crocheted by Jodiebodie (2015)

Today is Remembrance Day.

Last year, I collated crocheted poppy patterns on a quest to find the best. 

Today, Lynn Berry of the 5000 Poppies project was interviewed on Adelaide radio.

Monday 31 October 2016

Get on your Broomsticks!

Warning: this is not about Hallowe'en

but

Hallowe'en is a great time to 'get a handle on'

Broomstick Crochet!

Close up of broomstick crochet stitches in rainbow colours.
My first scarf of broomstick crochet is on the blocking board!
[August 2016]

Sunday 30 October 2016

Maker Faire ADL 2016

Do you want to learn more about tricot
 broomstick and hairpin crochet techniques?

 Would you like your general crochet questions answered?

Come along to the Adelaide Maker Faire 
on Sunday 6 November 2016 at Tonsley.


The old manufacturing site is becoming an 'innovation' precinct and the building renovations have won awards for sustainability and design.  Flinders University and TAFE SA will also be open to visitors so why not come down and have a look?



 I'll be there, ready to share my passion for crochet.  

Come along and say hello! 
I'd love to see you there!

Saturday 22 October 2016

Tricot with a Double-ended Hook (Tunisian Crochet)

A close up of a striped scarf showing red ridges and green valleys on one side and vice versa on the other side.
A long, long time ago … in a galaxy far, far away … NO!  
That's not it!


Well, maybe it feels like it because I've had the striped tricot scarf completed for more than a year but, despite promises and a few teasing pictures, never got around to blogging about it properly … until now.


Two bamboo tricot hooks resting horizontally. Top: double ended hook 6 mm; bottom: long standard tricot hook 4 mm.
A pair of tricot hooks

Saturday 15 October 2016

Beach Days & Birthdays


View from the shore of Brighton Jetty and beach with the sun setting on the horizon.
Jetty sunset.

I've always loved the beach. It is one of my favourite places. Sadly, it is not always the best thing or the easiest thing for me to go down to the beach. Nevertheless, I managed to get to the beach twice: to watch sailing and see the sunset.

Thursday 6 October 2016

Art Exhibitions June‒August 2016

A wooden easel holds a large dot painting of an Aboriginal spirit figure.



I've been lucky enough to visit three art exhibitions this year, two of them in one month alone!  While these do not include crochet specifically, the variety of work can serve to inspire creativity in all sorts of crafts.  If you ever feel like you are in a crochet design rut, I can highly recommend a visit to a gallery or exhibition to stimulate and rejuvenate your creative spirit.

Friday 16 September 2016

To Help or Not To Help (Part 3): I Can Do It Myself!

People are often confused when I say "No, thank you" to their genuine offers of assistance.  While outwardly I might appear to struggle physically with a task, inwardly there are invisible benefits when I do things myself.

Monday 12 September 2016

What Did She Say? A Skein?

Top view of wool skeins in a round wooden bowl on a filet crochet doily. The skeins are off-white, beige, cream, orange, plum and dark brown.
Panda Machinewash 8 ply
wool crepe


She was talking about a skein of yarn but my ears were shocked to attention by a strange sound in her speech.

Friday 9 September 2016

Footy Finals & Fatigue 2016

Crows v. Kangaroos tomorrow night!
Brodie Smith of the Crows flies over
Andrew Swallow of the Kangaroos
during 2015.
(Source: AFL Media)

This football* season has been great for the Adelaide 'Crows' Football Club

The team even made it to the second spot on the Premiership ladder during the year!

This means one thing: finals!


Monday 5 September 2016

What a Busy Month!

A collage of the photos which appear in this blog post plus the photo of magazines and rainbow scarf from an earlier blog entry during August.
A collage of August activities.
What a busy month August 2016 has been!

I'm not sure if it was a month of productivity or stupidity because there was so much going on. Some was forced upon me but much was of my own making.

Thursday 1 September 2016

Colour: a Strange and Wonderful Thing



Colour can be a strange and wonderful thing.


It was a colour adventure during the creation of the Woodland scarf.

Central section of the Woodland scarf. Laid horizontally, wavy stripes along the length of the scarf alternate in colours of green/beige and browns,
Woodland Scarf
designed & crocheted by Jodiebodie, May 2016

Tuesday 23 August 2016

Magazine Splurge

The latest batch of craft magazines arrived in my local newsagency
so I splurged!


Left to right: Better Homes & Gardens Your Knitting & Crochet Collection 2016, Interweave Crochet Summer 2016, Crochet Essentials No. 1.

This photograph (above) sums up my fortnight:

A little splurge on some magazines and finishing a rainbow scarf which you can see pinned to the blocking board. 

Thursday 18 August 2016

Silk Mohair Scarves 2016

cross section of three scarves: three wavy stripe patterns in three different colour combinations (browns/greens, pink/orange/purples, browns/gold)


A picture story today!
Silk mohair scarves that came off my hooks this year.



Three different design and colour combinations
for viewing pleasure
(and wearing enjoyment for those who want to buy one from Gallery M in Marion, South Australia).





Sunday 14 August 2016

Quick August Update

August is turning out to be a busy month.

Fatigue is more than a nuisance and I'm falling behind on activities in both work and play.

Friday 5 August 2016

To Help or Not to Help (Part 2): When to Say "No Thanks!"

This is the second post about the complicated business of offering and receiving help. The reason for this topic can be found in Part 1.

Friday 29 July 2016

To Help or Not To Help (Part 1)

This blog entry is a response to questions asked by CatDownUnder on 15 July 2016 about the complicated business of offering and accepting help. It truly can be fraught with many issues.

As I considered my own experiences and those of friends with chronic illness or disability, my reply to Cat became ever longer. The etiquette of offering and accepting help seems lost on many people. The ramifications of people's behaviour extend beyond a mere verbal exchange and go to the heart of self-identify and self-worth.

There were too many discussion points for a quick comment so I have chosen to publish the first part here, to be continued in instalments. Perhaps by the last one, we will have a better understanding of how to help each other.

Thursday 21 July 2016

Quick Crochet Fun on the Weekend

A 'hedgehog' motif consisting of a red circle crocheted in the round for the body with a jagged border across the top for spines; a white triangular face with black embroidered eye and nose.
Made by Jodiebodie 2016

Looking for a quick project?

Here's a little creature 
whipped up last weekend.


Thursday 14 July 2016

The Ravellenic Games 2016


If you are a crocheter, knitter, spinner, weaver or other type of yarncrafter, you may have heard of Ravelry.  It's a free web site for crocheters and knitters, created and administered by crocheters and knitters.

Ravelry is a great place to find like-minded yarn crafters from all over the world but it is much, much more than a social network.  I highly recommend Ravelry as a powerful management tool and source of 'yarny' information, inspiration and fun too.

One day, during an Olympic year, some Ravelry members (fondly referred to as 'Ravellers') decided to establish their own (yarn)sporting event which became the "Ravellenic Games".

Saturday 9 July 2016

Out of the Crochet Comfort Zone

I am a believer that the most learning and personal growth happens when one is 'outside the comfort zone' and this year, I've been tempted to go there.


Thursday 7 July 2016

Saturday 2 July 2016

Pop, Pop, Pop!

A string of poppies attached to a chrome bannister. A laminated tri-panel leaflet is attached to the poppies.
More crocheted and knitted poppies are popping up around Adelaide.  It's a trail of them along North Terrace, a main thoroughfare of Adelaide and the home of many South Australian cultural venues. 

Saturday 25 June 2016

Flower Power Exhibition, Adelaide 2016

After much anticipation, I was lucky enough to see Prudence Mapstone's "Flower Power" exhibition for myself, in real life, when it came to Adelaide as part of the 'Stitches & Craft Show' in May 2016.





This post is full of photos of the amazing crochet and knitting work that makes "Flower Power" so awesome.  Greetings and thanks go out to Prudence, Stephen and Cat who kindly gave me permission to take as many photos as I like and to share them here.  Enjoy!

Thursday 16 June 2016

Pattern & Rhyme Bunny Style

Side view of tri-colour Dutch bunny in front of wooden and wire hutch. Bunny is facing towards the left with a piece of hay sticking out of his mouth.
Max finishes off a piece of hay.
Hay!

Max loves eating hay.
He loves nibbling on all sorts of things which prompted a little rhyme and a list of bunny-themed crochet patterns.

Thursday 9 June 2016

Wednesday 8 June 2016

Adelaide Maker Faire 2016 – Call For Makers!

Image from Adelaide Mini Maker Faire 2015 programme
Image from Adelaide Mini Maker Faire 2015 Program

The call is open for makers to participate in this year's Adelaide Maker Faire which will be held on 6 November at Tonsley, South Australia. Did you notice it has had its title changed to the upmarket "Maker Faire Adelaide 2016".  It is no longer a 'Mini' Maker Faire since the 2015 one was such a success! 

Thursday 2 June 2016

Crochet to Extend Life

Close-up photo of the two border patterns, juxtaposed diagonally. The top has a filet pattern of two open squares followed by  a closed square. This is repeated row on row to give an effect of 1-square wide columns and spaces between them that are 2 squares wide, with a solid filet border of tr around the outside edge.  The bottom filet crochet  border has a chequerboard arrangement of open and solid squares. The outside edge is a round of open filet squares and a round of solid dc.
Crochet is not only a fun creative activity, but also a practical skill that can save you money.

If you are interested in recycling and re-using, making do and mending, to both save money and care for the environment, you will be pleased to discover that crochet can add years of extra usefulness to household items.


Thursday 26 May 2016

Mount Lofty Botanic Garden

A view across a formal lawn with tree plantings with Adelaide Hills in the distance
The Mount Lofty Botanic Garden in the Adelaide Hills is a very popular destination for South Australians, especially in autumn when the foliage changes colour. Here are more photos from a recent visit

Nature is a great inspiration.  May these photos evoke the creative spark within.

Thursday 19 May 2016

Dotty Hand-warmers

'Getting busy' with fingerless mitts.


 

At last, a finished project to share!

When I 'got busy' earlier this month, it included crocheting some fingerless mitts for a deserving young man.

Thursday 12 May 2016

Brighton Jetty Anzac Display

During the week of Anzac Day, I went down to Brighton Beach (South Australia) to see the commemorative display of knitted and crocheted poppies. It had a very brief mention in my previous blog entry but today I can share more photos and details about the project.

Red poppies, crocheted and knitted, arranged to form the words "LEST WE FORGET" bordered by poppies on a rectangular mesh frame which is attached to the railings of Brighton Jetty. The jetty can be seen in the background. It is night time.
The centrepiece of the display with Brighton Jetty in the background.

Thursday 5 May 2016

Thursday 7 April 2016

AKA Amigurumi Apparel: Superhero Cape

Kwokkie Doll from behind where she can show off her royal blue cape with yellow initials inside a red border.  Her harmony day clothes consist of an orangge beanie, red dress and red sneakers with white laces.  She is wearing a red yarn ribbon in her black hair and an orange sleeveless vest for Harmony Day.
Kwokkie Doll
wearing her cape.
"Is it a bird?"
"Is it a plane?"

It's …
Super-Kwokkie!
  
A quick post about the superhero cape worn by 
Kwokkie Doll on Harmony Day this year.

Wednesday 30 March 2016

Tricot Tableware Complete: Happy Anniversary!

bunch of wedding pink and white wedding flowers, a handful of tulle, a posy in a jam jar with the Pacific Ocean in the distance.
Wedding View
of the Pacific Ocean

Today I wish special loved ones

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY

for it was on this day three years ago that we celebrated their marriage at Dee Why beach.






Part of my gift was a set of 'breakfast placemats'
as a memento of their special day.



This blog entry features the finished items and technical details about my tricot design (Tunisian crochet) such as taming curled edges, a common issue with tricot fabric.

An introduction to this project can be found in the blog entry, "Tricot Tableware - a Special 'Tunisian' Crochet Project" (11 March 2016). Information about my choices of project, fibre and reasons for tricot are explained, along with some photos of my inspiration, Dee Why beach (New South Wales).

Friday 25 March 2016

Autumn Updates

close up of silk mohair scarf in progress with a bamboo crochet hook resting next to it on top of some handwritten pattern notes
G'day and welcome to Lupey Loops, especially to many new visitors recently.  I appreciate very much that you take time to say hello and share your thoughts.  

I love hearing from my online friends.  You can find me on Ravelry, Google+, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest too, or email jodiebodiecrochets@gmail.com.

No new finished crochet projects to share today but an update on my week, WIP* and new bits and pieces around the blog and  garden.

Friday 11 March 2016

Tricot Tableware - a Special 'Tunisian' Crochet Project



Crochet in progress on a long double-ended tricot hook is laid out on a beach towel next to a crocheted bag. The scene is a sandy beach looking across the water which has no surf, just gentle foam lapping at the shoreline.
Blissful crochet on the beach.
More beach weather this week:  34°C today with 37°C forecast across the working week. Why not continue the beach theme?  Especially after Kwokkie Doll donned her 'Bondi Bikini'!

Back in 2013, I designed a very personal and special tricot* project which had a few extra challenges and learning opportunities.

Thursday 3 March 2016

Handy Shower Gel Hanger: New Pattern!

Left: a yellow mesh bag with a long drawstring loop; right: a 60 ml bottle of shower gel
Shower Gel Hanger
+
60 ml bottle
=
fun gift
 
Hooray! My first shower gel hanger has been revised. I sat myself down with the graph paper and properly worked out a neat join for chain mesh in the round.  The much-improved pattern (and chart) is now here for you to use!

Thursday 25 February 2016

Urban Alpacas

I live in the  metropolitan area of Adelaide, South Australia. Yes, the suburban life for me. It keeps me close to all the conveniences a busy family could want; e.g. schools, universities, shops, hospitals, public transport and entertainment. (Not to mention sealed roads and footpaths for wheelchair access.) Don't get me wrong, I love nature and the countryside, especially the coast, but at my current stage of life and family, it suits me to be a suburbanite.

One fine day in 2014, during a driving errand, I had to look twice: was that an alpaca I saw walking along the footpath??

Thursday 11 February 2016

AKA Amigurumi Apparel: Bondi Bikini

Head and shoulders of Kwokkie Doll wearing a green bandeau style bikini top.
Kwokkie Doll
is ready for a swim.


 

Summertime in South Australia!

Our temperatures have been soaring in the high 30s (°C). That's in the 90s (°F) and above for my non-metric friends.

One of my favourite ways to cool off is to go down to
the beach at the end of the day once the sun is low and
not so sizzling.

Of course, Kwokkie Doll is all prepared.
After last month's report, she swapped her red sundress for her
"Bondi Bikini"!

Thursday 4 February 2016

Sweet Summer Toddler Hat

Summer Toddler Hat
(Made by Jodiebodie, December 2015)
This is the story of a pretty sunhat made for a very special little girl.

Thursday 28 January 2016

Shower Gel Hanger

The orange mesh shower gel drawstring bag is hanging on the bath spout with a small bottle of shower gel inside.


In my flurry of Christmas gift making, I decided that the shower gel container needed a holder or caddy of some sort to make it easy to reach while in the shower or bath.


Thursday 21 January 2016

Thursday 14 January 2016

"Tortle" Turtle

Crocheted patchwork turtle on the lawn. The turtle's body, leg and head are light blue with a patchwork of hexagons on the shell on its back.
"Cupcake Turtle"
made by Jodiebodie
(December 2015)
This cheerful fellow is enjoying a happy life at last after waiting in a queue for years!



Thursday 7 January 2016

1 Week, 3 Projects!

The week leading up to Christmas was very busy with last-minute crocheted gifts. I surprised myself by making three items from start to finish in one week!

Sunday 3 January 2016

New Year Thoughts as We Head into 2016


Max, a tri-colour Dutch bunny (black, white and orange) reclining on a concrete path.
Baby Max, only 9 weeks of age.
I am sitting here, reading blogs at the breakfast table while bunny sits underneath my chair nudging my feet with his nose and tugging at my pajama bottoms.  'Let's play!' Max urges as I stroke him gently with my bare feet.

Meanwhile, I am enjoying the Happy New Year wishes being disseminated across the blogosphere and wishing you a Happy New Year too!