I adore felt, not just for its tactile and visual appeal, but also its versatility, its organic nature and its history and romance. In fact, when I was studying a Diploma of Textile Art at Box Hill TAFE, I based my main exhibition piece (postcard format) on the reverse appliqué technique of the Kyrgyz shyrdaks of Central Asia, learning so much about felt and its history in the process! Here are two photos of my work from that exhibition: 
I first saw these beautiful appliquéd felt rugs, which are traditionally used to furnish nomadic yurts, at Ada’s Place in Millthorpe, New South Wales, and fell in love with their bright bold colours and symbolism. Here is a photo of Ada (taller) and her sister Kathleen in front of one of their shyrdaks.
Unfortunately, the gallery closed in 2013: https://www.centralwesterndaily.com.au/story/1804338/ada-closes-iconic-millthorpe-gallery/.
You can see more examples of this beautiful craft at:
and http://kyrgyzfelt.blogspot.com.au/.
Felt can also be used to make clothing, hats, bags, cushions, flowers and toys and you will see some of my felt creations throughout this post. I have also attended a number of workshops, which I will also describe along the way, but first the books!
History
Nomadic Felts by Stephanie Bunn 2010
https://podcasts.ox.ac.uk/dept-seminar-power-felted-cloth-through-time-and-space
I came across anthropologist Stephanie Bunn’s name a number of times during my internet research for my exhibition piece, so this book was a must! In it, she describes the ancient history of felt, its traditional production and use throughout the world and the cultural beliefs and symbolism behind the patterns.
Felt has existed for thousands of years and felt fragments have been found in grave chambers in Çatal Höyük, dated 6500 BC; felted hoods and socks on the Urumchi mummies of the Tarim Basin, China, dated 2000 BC; and appliquéd felt wall hangings, coffin linings, clothing, saddle cloths, blankets and bridles and swan pillows stuffed with deer hair, found in the grave chambers of the Pazyryk Kurgans of the Altai Highlands, Siberia, and dated from 600 to 200 BC.
It has played a central role in the lives of nomads from Central Asia, Mongolia and parts of the Middle East, the lightweight, portable and highly insulating wool being used for tent walls (yurts), floor coverings, decorations, bags and clothing.
After the Medieval period, felt became a well-established tradition in Europe with felt boat caulking and other felt objects from the 9th to 13th Century found at Haithabu on the German-Danish border; British felt hats from the 15th Century; and Scandinavian gloves and socks and Russian valenki (felt boots) from the early 20th Century.
Traditional feltmaking is still practiced by Central Asian and Mongolian nomads, as well as practitioners in Turkey and Iran, while experimentation by contemporary artists is producing some wonderful garments and toys.
This fascinating book looks at its extensive history, the science behind felt and the wide variety of feltmaking techniques and traditions. She particularly focuses on the Turkic and Mongolian feltmakers of Krygyzstan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekitan, Turkmenistan and Xinjiang, as well as Mongolia, Tibet, Bhutan and South-East Asia, and the closely related styles from Afghanistan and the Caucasus: their influences and their belief systems and symbolism. With fabulous photos and illustrations supporting the text, it is such an interesting book, not only for feltmakers and textile enthusiasts, but anyone interested in archaeology and history, anthropology, different cultures and the Silk Road!
Production
If you only have room for one felting book in your library, the following book is an excellent reference guide.
Uniquely Felt: Dozens of Techniques From Fulling and Shaping to Nuno and Cobweb. Includes 46 Creative Projects by Christine White 2007
This highly comprehensive book covers all aspects of felt making.
The introduction defines the different kinds of felt (fulled knitting, wet felting, needle felting, nuno felting, cobweb felting, carved felt and yarn felt); history; suitable fibres; the chemistry behind felting; and the whole process from fleece to felt. It also includes instructions for a simple needle felted ball and a Featured Artist page, an inspiring inclusion, which is found at the end of successive chapters.
The next chapter covers tools: wool; soap; screens; rolling mats; plastic resists; scales; water; templates; and felting machines, as well as notes on designing a studio and working posture.
Chapter Three introduces beginner projects like making cords (photo below) and spikes; loops and beads; jellyroll trivets; buttons and balls.
Chapter Four: Learning the Basics covers working with roving; making prefelts; wet felting; calculating shrinkage and a Frequently Asked Questions page, as well as projects like place mats and table runners, blankets and cushions.
Chapter Five really examines the raw material, wool: where to find it, how to test its feasibility and materiality; making felting samples and the types of fibres and sheep wool, including a swatch gallery. Projects include math mats, place mats, carved coasters, upholstery yardage and a boot tray.
After mastering simple 2-D items, developing felters will be keen to try out making 3-D seamless felt, which is the main topic of Chapter Six. Two flat halves are separated by a resist, the fibres at the side being joined in a seam during the felting process. The different types of resists (open/closed) and materials used, seam considerations and shrinkage rate and template size are discussed in detail.
Pillow covers, book covers, slippers and boots, vessels, sculptural objects (like the photo above and below made using an old butter cooler as a resist) and a myriad of creative bags can be produced in this way, not to mention hats, the subject of Chapter Seven, from berets and head-hugging cloches to hoods, wide-brimmed hats, fedoras and some very artistic and creative examples. Hat sizes; making hat templates; using hat blocks, and stiffeners and embellishments are all discussed. Anita Larkin is a sculptor, who uses felt to create some amazing 3-D vessels and objects. https://timelesstextiles.com.au/artist/anita-larkin-2/.
Felt can also be very light and airy with the inclusion of silk (Chapter Eight: Nuno Felting) and holes (Chapter Nine: Cobweb Felting). Both chapters include definitions and detailed notes on techniques, as well as projects like scarves and shawls, vests, hats, cushions and curtains.
My first experience with felting was helping a friend make a raw sheep wool floor rug, using an old bamboo blind as a roller and Chapter Ten on larger projects would have been very useful, though the emphasis of this chapter is really more on making felt garments: tops and vests, tunics and dresses, and skirts, as well as including notes on garment patterns and templates. Jorie Johnson (http://www.joirae.com/) makes some beautiful contemporary clothing and is the featured artist in this chapter. Another wonderful felt garment designer is Norwegian artist, May Jacobsen Hvistendahl, whose work can be seen at: http://www.filtmaker.no/eng/index.html.
It is really fun making felt with others, as it can be a time-consuming process and it’s a great way to bond not only the fibres, but also community and friendship ties, as discussed in the final Chapter Eleven, along with teaching feltmaking, community projects like rugs, felting weird and wonderful creations for theatre, and framing and finishing felt. There is an extensive glossary and list of artists, resources and relevant websites in the back. An excellent book!
It is also well worth joining a felting group like Victorian Feltmakers http://www.vicfelt.org/ or the Feltmakers of WA: http://www.feltwest.org.au and attending a few workshops to master the practical aspects. I belonged to the Victorian Feltmakers and some of the memorable workshops I attended were:
Phyllis Hoffman: Felting a Scarf July 2010 / Felting a Hat August 2010.
Great fun, as I did these workshops with some of my fellow students from my textile course at Box Hill TAFE. 
I was so impressed with my friend Heather’s hat!
Phyllis is a great teacher too! You can find out more about her at: https://www.stonehousegallery.com/phyllis-hoffman.html.
Elizabeth Armstrong: Felt Art Dolls August 2010
Like me, Elizabeth LOVES colour (see her fabrics below) and I absolutely adored this inspirational workshop!
She is so enthusiastic and fun! Here she is behind our workshop dolls. The grey bird dolls are samples of her work.
On the first day, we made our material using prefelts, roving, yarn and even chiffon ribbon, then the next day, we had to take a deep breath and cut into our beautiful precious homemade fabric, then assemble and embellish the dolls with embroidery, appliquéd felt pieces and hand-painted faces. Below are photos of my fabric pre- and post-felting.
I loved my earth goddess Gaia, even though I forgot to sew in a base!
Elizabeth’s website is: http://elizabeth-armstrong.blogspot.com.au/.
Sue Pearl: Crazy Felt Critters February 2012
Hailing from the United Kingdom, Sue Pearl gave a workshop at the Victorian Felters and we were very lucky to be able to attend. My strange alien creature left a bit to be desired, but gave me a feel for creating 3-D toys.
Sue’s website is at: http://www.feltbetter.com/. But now, back to the books…!!!
Felt To Stitch: Creative Felting for Textile Artists by Sheila Smith 2006
Another excellent guide covering similar topics to the previous book: Hand-rolled felting; making prefelts; nuno felting, 3-D hollow forms; cobweb felting and needle-punched felting, but also has a big section on design with detailed discussions on colour, texture, line, shape and pattern.
There are instructions on colour mixing; using acid dyes; rainbow dyeing; making fibre paper; shibori; low-relief designs; using Markal Paintstiks; stencilling and printing. Projects include book covers; bags; cords, toggles and balls.
Felted Bags, Boots and Other Things by Cendrine Armani 2007
Making bags and boots are so well explained in this book with step-by-step notes, supported by excellent colour photographs of all the tools and each stage of each process: Flat felting; felting with a template; mixing colours; cutout motifs and insets; lining bags; inserting magnetised clasps and eyelets, embroidery; and making balls and pendants, and that’s just the first section!
The rest of the book is devoted to 56 bright and colourful projects from pencil cases, pouches and purses to jewellery, felt flowers, slippers and bags. It is certainly a very inspiring and practical book and makes you want to leap out there and start felting!!!
Felted objects can also be needlefelted using a dry felting process or stitched from flat felt pieces and/ or embroidered, as showcased in the next four books. The first book describes dry felting, which uses felting needles to work wool roving into shapes, while the other three books create flowers and toys from patterns cut out of sheets of wool felt, stitched together and embroidered.
Sweet Needle Felts: 25 Projects to Wear, Give and Hug by Jenn Docherty 2008
While I haven’t done much needle felting (it’s a bit too time consuming for me!), it is good to have a book, which describes all the tools and techniques, as well as a number of small projects from flower pins and gumdrop rings to belts, coasters, book covers, purses and toys like the cute ones on the cover. A good book for crafters, who love felt, but don’t want to work with water!!!
Felt Fresh Flowers: 17 Stunning Flowers to Sew and Display by Lynne Farris 2007
A very useful book for the middle of severe Winter, when the garden is fast asleep and nothing much is happening in the way of blooms! We are very lucky here in Australia in that many of our native plants flower in the Winter and our milder warmer climate still allows for the blooming of camellias, violets and Winter honeysuckle. We still get heavy frosts in our garden though, so I am still attracted to the bright colours of the felted flowers in this book, though I am more likely to use them to embellish bags and hats!
Basic tools, materials and techniques are covered before detailed instructions for a range of blooms from African violets, gerberas, geraniums and daffodils to lilies, roses, iris and sunflowers. I particularly liked the tulips, nasturtiums, magnolias and tropical anthuriums!
Felties: How To Make 18 Cute and Fuzzy Friends by Nelly Pailloux 2009
A sweet little book on making felt toys. Starting with brief notes on tools, templates, stuffing, sewing and embroidery, it contains patterns for some very cute and obscure creations from the sweet little Babushka Doll, the Mushroom Girl, Sleepy Fox and Pensive Rabbit to the Pirate Mouse, Hoodie Wolf, Retro Alien and Sun-Loving Rat!
Felt Wee Folk: Enchanting Projects by Salley Mavor 2003
Salley Mavor (https://weefolkstudio.com/) is well-known for her imaginative fairy worlds and creative appliquéd and embroidered felt purses, bags and brooches.
I made my daughter a felt bird purse using one of her patterns.
I also love the appliquéd felt work of artist Renee Harris. See: http://www.reneeharris.net/Pages/GalleriesMenu.html.
Here are some photos of my felt appliqué work, which you will no doubt recognise from previous posts: 
Steiner education is big on felt for all the same reasons that I love it. It’s a natural organic material, has wonderful colours and texture, is easily worked by children and makes imaginative and creative toys! I recently visited their shop, Winterwood Toys, in Warranwood, Victoria, to check out their beautiful felts.
It is always a wonderful and inspiring experience, as is a digital visit to their website: https://www.winterwoodtoys.com.au/!
They stock wet felting supplies and a huge colour range of hand-dyed and commercially dyed 100 percent pure wool felts (photo above), as well as toys, patterns and kits and books, many of which hail from Germany, the birthplace of Steiner education, as well as the origin of some wonderful felt designers and creations like the toys and Christmas decorations sent to us by our daughter Jen, who has been teaching in Germany for two years.
Here are three felt books, which I have bought from Steiner shops over the years.
Creative Felt: Felting and Making More Toys and Gifts by Angelika Wolk-Gerche 2007/2009
Another good basic guide to felting, but with an emphasis on felting with children and imaginative play, a key tent of Steiner education.
The history of felting, different fibre types, setting up the workplace, preparing the wool, natural dyeing, the basic felting process, creative possibilities (mixing colour, collages and felt pictures, modelling and embroidery) and felting with children are all topics covered in the first section of the book, followed by lots of suggestions for felt projects: Hats and jewellery; slippers and hot water bottle covers; felt envelopes and gift wrap; book covers and treasure pouches; juggling balls; dolls and accessories; toy animals and puppets; and Easter rabbits, seasonal toys and dioramas and Christmas decorations.
Feltcraft: Making Dolls, Gifts and Toys by Petra Berger 1994/2001
More Steiner toys and child-oriented projects are included in this book.
They include wooden and felt gnomes, angels, flower children, fairies and dolls, jesters, finger puppets, ducks, butterfly mobiles, snails, dogs and cats, horses, mice and balls, as well as felt pictures and books, jewellery, bookmarks, boxes, egg cosies, purses and cases. Here are some egg cosies and felt toys, made by my children when they were young, as well as some finger puppets.
I love making felt toys and would not be without the next book, which I have used to make camels and pigs for my daughters!
Sew Soft Toys : Using Natural Fibres by Karin Neuschütz 1996/2007
After a brief discussion of sewing with natural fibres, stuffing materials, and tips for sewing and stuffing toys, it gets straight into instructions for the toys themselves: Dogs and cats; mice and rabbits, farmyard animals, marine animals, African animals, and bears, foxes and weasels.
They are lovely patterns with excellent clear instructions and illustrations and the toy animals are just so cute! Below are photos of Jen’s camel and Caro’s piglet, which I embroidered as well!:
I could easily make every animal in this book! And perhaps over the years I will, gradually recreating my husband’s old family Christmases!
Over the years, I have also made embroidered birds and fruit, Christmas angels and dear little felt mice, as seen in the photos below.
AK Traditions (https://aktraditions.com/pages/about-us) in Prahan, Melbourne, Victoria, is another source of wonderful Central Asian felt toys, some of them featured in the photos below:
And finally, some of my favourite books for felting inspiration! These books are wonderful and showcase the imaginative work of two contemporary European feltmakers, as well as showing the enormous creative possibilities afforded by felt!
Filz Spiel: The Felted Play by Annette Quentin-Stoll 2010
Annette is a German artist (born 1978), who was introduced to felt in Finland, and she produces the most amazing sculptured hats, bags, costumes, vessels, games, toys and puppets, based on cones and spheres, concertina folds and pleats, elastic structures and even the incorporation of marbles.
I just loved her Rainbow Worm, her Dragon and Elephants, her mouse finger puppets, snail and star rings, animal bags and spiky swim hats and seed pod vessels. She has also written three other felt books: Filz Ornament (https://www.galeriebuch.de/en/gallery-books/filzornament/); Filz Experiment (https://www.galeriebuch.de/en/gallery-books/filzexperiment/) and Filz Geschichten (https://www.galeriebuch.de/en/gallery-books/filzgeschichten/).
Gentle Threads: Felts of Judit Pócs
Judit Pócs (born 1976) is a Hungarian artist, whose work I simply adore! She dyes the raw wool before felting and like the previous artist has a fabulous sense of colour and fun!
She too makes weird and wonderful sculptured hats, exotic colourful bags and fabulous toys, all featured in this book, as well as in the gallery on her website: http://pocsjuditstudio.hu/gallery2/.
I also own her inspiring video:
Video: On Gentle Threads About Feltmaking by Judit Pócs and István Rittgasser 2007.
It is a wonderful accompaniment to the book and is spoken in Hungarian and English.
In it, Judit generously demonstrates the making of a rug, based on the felt origin myth of Noah’s Ark, as well as a scarf, a bag, two of her amazing sculptural hats and a wonderful stylised crested lizard. She makes the magical process of felting all look so easy, even though her work is incredible skilful! There are also delightfully quirky animations and the catchy music of Krulik Zoltán, the founder and leader of Hungarian ethnomusic band Makám (www.makam.hu).
To view stills from the film, see: http://www.filmkultura.hu/regi/2008/articles/films/szelidszalakon.en.html.
I will finish with a gallery of my felt cushions, which you will recognise from previous posts.
While the weather is certainly cold, wild and windy, as seen in the photo above, the wildflowers are starting to come into full bloom and the whales are just starting to return south from their tropical Winter breeding grounds, with babies in tow.
I have touched on Green Cape in previous posts (See: 
Green Cape lies at a latitude of 37 degrees South and longitude of 150 degrees East and because it juts so far out into the Tasman Sea, it is a wonderful spot to see humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) closeup, as they hug the coastline on their journey back home to their southern Summer Antarctic feeding grounds.
The Yellow-Nosed Albatross (Diomedea chlororhynchus) can also be seen in Late Winter/ early Spring off Green Cape, though I have yet to see one, while the Short-Tailed Shearwaters (Puffinus tenuirostris) head south in long black clouds from late September to early November on their annual migration from the North Pacific to their breeding burrows on the islands in southern waters.
We have however seen plenty of other birds: Australasian Gannets (first photo above), Ospreys and White-Bellied Sea Eagles (2nd photo above), Nankeen Kestrels (3rd photo above), Cormorants and Pacific Gulls (first photo below), Crested Terns (2nd photo below), and Sooty Oyster Catchers (3rd photo below).
Dolphins and Australian Fur Seals (Arctocephalus pusillus) are also often seen, the latter forming bachelor rafts just off the point and lolling about in the surf with the odd Queen’s Wave!
And on land, there are wombats, usually fast asleep in their burrows during the day, but sometimes surprised grazing on the tough wiry grasses, especially in more remote areas.
More commonly seen are the quiet Eastern Grey Kangaroos (first photo) and Swamp Wallabies (2nd photo), which graze near the lighthouse.
In the coastal heath, there are Southern Emu Wrens (Stipiturus malachurus) and Grass Parrots. I would love to see the latter, which are best observed on first light.
I love all the wildflowers of the rugged coastal heath, which is adapted to cope with the salt-laden winds and sandy soils of Green Cape.
I have organised them into colour ranges and identified them by their genus only:
Blues: Clockwise from Top Left: Patersonia; Comesperma; Dampiera; Hovea; Glossodia; and Hybanthus;
It looks south across Disaster Bay to Baycliff and the mouth of the Wonboyn River, to the tall sand dunes of Cape Howe, the Nadgee Wilderness area and the Victorian border.
And then, there is the lighthouse itself- such beautiful architecture with a fascinating history!
The East Australian Current flows south at 2 knots off Green Cape, which was great for ships sailing south, but difficult for northward-bound vessels, which would hug the coast to avoid the current, exposing them to the risk of being wrecked on reefs and promontories.
It is a very rugged section of the coast, which has claimed over 10 shipwrecks, including the Ly-Ee-Moon 1886, in which 71 people died, 24 of their bodies being buried in the cemetery nearby.
The decision was made in 1873 to build a lighthouse at Green Cape, the buildings to be designed by the then-colonial architect James Barnett.
Building supplies, as well as food and later supplies until 1927, were shipped from Eden to the storehouse at Bittangabee Bay, 7 km to the north, then were transported by horse-drawn tramway through the dense coastal heath and across creeks to the headland.
The lighthouse complex included the 29 m tall octagonal lighthouse and residences for the Head and Assistant Lightkeepers;
a Flag Locker (for marine and semaphore flags) and Signalling Mast and a Telegraph Station (Morse code from 1892 on); 
The light was first lit in 1883 and was originally powered, along with the resident quarters, by kerosene and coke coal and from 1962 on, diesel oil generators.
It operated all night every night with 4 hour shifts for over 100 years till 1992, when the lighthouse and weather station were automated, the power now supplied by solar panels.
We were lucky enough to do a tour of the lighthouse last year. I loved the spiral staircase and colours, as well as the curved verandah railings and the spectacular views from the top! 
It is also possible to stay in the lightkeepers’ cottages. See: 
It really is a magical spot, which is the reason that we make our annual pilgrimage every Winter. Next week, I am featuring some of my favourite felting books!
Crochet: 20 Simple and Stylish Designs To Wear by Jane Davis 2001
Crochet Terminology and Abbreviations; Gauge; Crochet Hook Size; and US and European equivalents. It can all be a bit confusing to the beginner, as terminology varies between the US and Europe. This is an American book, the basic stitches listed below being the American forms, so I have put their European equivalents in brackets.
The remainder of the book is devoted to projects, so the techniques can be learnt and mastered, from evening bags, granny squares and edgings to scarves, mittens and hats and larger vests and tank tops.
In the back is a Stitch and Pattern Symbol Library, showing the picture symbols, which often accompany written instructions. While I am sure they are probably very straight-forward and easy, I have yet to master these!
While published by an American company, the stitch guide refers to treble rather than triple crochet, further confusing the beginner. My best advice is to use the terminology specified by the particular crochet book! But fortunately for me, all instructions are written with no fancy stitch diagrams! There are colour photos of all the motifs on the middle pages and the front and back covers.
There are sections on:
Crochet fabrics can be assembled into cushion panels, scarves and lavender sachets and motifs can be used for Christmas decorations; jewellery, decorative collars and embellishments for clothes and bags. In the back is a list of contemporary suppliers, complete with websites.
She includes some patterns for elements that can be joined together, as well as lots of inspirational colour photographs of garments and goods made with her freeform techniques from hair bands, hats and bikinis to vests and jackets and footstools, cushions and bags. While you wouldn’t necessarily wear all of her garments, there are some colour combinations that are quite lovely and it certainly does show you the vast potential of the medium! Be adventurous and take risks and above all, have fun!!!!
The first section titled: Cooking With Colour describes the natural dyeing process: Equipment, mordanting, natural dyestuffs, dyeing methods and how to produce a range of colours from reds, pinks and wines to navy, greys, ochres and walnuts, yellows, greens and indigo blues of varying shades and hues.
I loved experimenting with colour combinations in practice swatches like this one in the photo below, before making a final decision on the next row of the cardigan. I probably should undo it all and reuse the wool for another project, unless a grandchild comes along first!!!
In this book, there are also some very feminine patterns with blowsy full sleeves, frilled edgings and peplums, and bold patterns and brilliant colour. I particularly loved the Paisley Jacket and the Fritillary Jacket, both of which I could still easily wear and knit (though perhaps not so easily!). I also loved the pattern of the Rambling Rose Cardigan, though would probably try to combine its rose pattern with the longer style of the Paisley or Fritillary Jackets. The Sunflower Jacket is also very attractive with its bright happy colours and bold design.
She has a great sense of colour and makes your fingers start itching to begin one of her projects! Also included are notes on colour and design; experimenting with swatches; Fair Isle techniques; steeking; mitred corners; tension and gauge; duplicate stitches; decorating with embroidery; making bobbles, tassels and pompoms; stitching seams; sewing in zippers; and blocking and finishing garments. I am so tempted to stop writing and go and make her Autumn Leaves Socks instead!!! You can learn more about her on: 
Even though they are not Jo Sharp yarns and I incorporated stripes as well, I think the hat still reflects the exotic essence and colour of this pattern.
I did use the pattern Phoebe’s Bag when making crochet flowers for my hat and scarf ends (photos above and below).
Zoë Mellor
I adapted her pattern for the Harlequin Hat, enlarging her basic pattern and knitting stripes instead of harlequins.
Animal Knits is also great fun with some very appealing patterns like the Animal Bootees, based on rabbits and bears; the cute Farmyard Cushion; the sweet Ladybird Hat and all the delightful jumpers, jackets and toys. I could easily knit all the patterns in this book!!!
Louisa Harding : Knitting Little Luxuries: Beautiful Accessories To Knit 2007
I have knitted quite a few of the patterns, including: the Embellished Mittens; Victoria Fingerless Mittens (three times!); and Cecily Beanie (below in order) !
It’s all in the cast-on technique, but once that is mastered, it is just a matter of circular kitting to the end. Fortunately, there are some excellent YouTube clips to support this book at: 
Having made this cowl three times, my most successful was with a soft mohair wool with a fair amount of give, so it stretches easily as I twist it twice around my neck and it feels so comfortable and soft!
The cowl can also be worn with one twist round the neck and one over the head if it is particularly cold!
The basic technique can also be used to make needle cosies; magical baskets; sling bags, including a Jester Tentacle Bag and Hat, Moebius Bowls and Cluster Bowls, and Feline Bliss Beds and Kitty Nests, all patterns given in the book!
My next challenge is this teapot cosy, knitted by my friend Heather. I love the colour combination of hot pink and orange, but I have chosen more natural greens. It involved learning and mastering a new casting-on method for me, working out how tight to pull the carried thread to achieve the correct density of folds and then making absolutely sure that the thread was always carried to the back side of the work! I’m currently on my fourth attempt!!! While I cannot find the original source of my pattern, it can also be found at: 
Hopefully, some of these books might have inspired you to start knitting for the season or maybe you are a crochet fiend, in which case my next post will feature my favourite crochet books! In the meantime, Happy Knitting!!!
General Knitting Books
Chapter Two covers single and double rib, picking up stitches, making a stitch and cast-off buttonhole, as well as a simple stitch pattern library.
While Aran knitting, with its intricate cables, twists and bobbles creating amazing textures, is the subject of Chapter Three, personally I was more drawn to the colour workshop in Chapter Four with its emphasis on Fair Isle and Intarsia techniques. Joining in yarn, securing ends, weaving and stranding, working from a chart and working in the round with circular needles or a set of four needles is also covered.
Chapter Five focuses on lace knitting, with instructions on yarn overs, additional decreases and making lace edging, as well as a lace stitch library of pretty lace patterns. While I will probably never do the complicated -looking entrelac knitting, it is still good to know that I can learn how-to in Chapter Six! I am more likely to use Chapter Seven, which discusses all the decorative details like embroidery, Swiss darning, loop knitting and fringing, the use of sequins and beads, making pompoms and cords, and finishing a garment with a decorative hem.
Design and Inspiration covers the fundamentals of the design process: Measuring and number crunching, planning repeats, motifs and patterns, combining colour and cables, circular yokes and designing a cardigan, as well as a gallery of vintage patterns from the 1920s to the 1960s, multicultural influences, contemporary designers, colour and texture and knitting for kids and for fun.
Knitting: Over 20 Exciting Projects For you To Make For Home and Family Published by Treasure Press 1986
Basic Knitting is next with easy illustrated instructions for casting on and off, knit and purl stitches, stocking stitch and rib, increasing and decreasing, joining seams; reading a pattern, tension, pompoms and tassels and embroidery stitches.
She also commemorated her knitting forays in this cute illustration and even her own song- ‘The Long Red Scarf’!
More Advanced Knitters
The Stitch Library is an excellent reference guide to over 50 different types of knitting stitches and is followed by a few projects, which can be used as a starting point for your own individual designs, with basic patterns for triangular and diagonal shawls; simple jumpers, cardigans and hats; and cushions.
Alice Starmore is a foremost authority on Fair Isle knitting and I own two of her books, one of which I have already featured in my post on Design Books. See: 
Some of the plants, which we are growing, include iconic Australian native species like Wattles and Eucalypts, Banksias and Grevilleas, and Correas and Westringias.
That splash of gold provided by the wattle certainly lifts the Winter spirits (photo above), especially in our garden against the backdrop of bare trees ! 
I will be featuring each plant group with a brief introduction, followed by more detail on the particular plant specimens in our garden. The Eastern Spinebill in the photo below loves our Lady O grevillea flowers, which bloom all year round!
Most of them are planted in the garden on the southern side of our house, bound by some very tall old cypress on the fence line, which form a contrasting dark green backdrop to the flowers of the native species. The photo below shows the view from the street with the Banksia in the agapanthus bed in the centre and the main native area to the left on the hill above the Tea Garden.
This photo is the view of the native area from the house with a hedge of grevilleas on the left and a waratah on the right.
Wattles
The Golden Wattle, Acacia pycnantha, is Australia’s national floral emblem, our sporting teams are instantly recognisable in the famous green-and-gold, and Wattle Day is on the 1st September every year. I love their golden display and their distinctive scent!
Wattles belong to the genus Acacia and the family Mimosaceae, with 1350 species worldwide, 1000 of which are Australian. It is in fact the largest genus of vascular plants in Australia and has a wide range of habitats, leaf forms, flowers and blooming times. Wattles are very fast-growing, but short-lived, being very effective pioneer plants in disturbed or fire-ravaged areas. The photo below shows a selection of Acacias, which grow on the Far South Coast of New South Wales.
We are growing the purple-leafed form, Acacia baileyana purpurea, which has leaves with a bright purple to burgundy tint, being another very attractive foliage filler in vases. See: 
We are growing it beside the house, whose purplish-pink walls should contrast well with the darker foliage. It will also screen the carport and car and be able to tolerate the afternoon sun.
Eucalypts are immortalised in popular songs like ‘Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree’ (
Old gum hollows are so important for providing homes for our native fauna and birds. The Guildford Tree (photo 1) in Victoria was already a giant when the early settlers arrived in the 1840s and hosts a variety of birds from kookaburras, magpies, wood ducks, honeyeaters, rosellas, boobook owls, lorikeets (photo 2), corellas (photo 3) and parrots, as well as insects, native bees and possums.
Eucalypt trees are also an important food source for honeyeaters and lorikeets like this varied lorikeet at Riversleigh, North Queensland.
The Eucalyptus genus belongs to the family Myrtaceae and has over 700 species, most of which are native to Australia and which vary in height, plant form, foliage, flowers and seedpods. Here are some photos, showing the diversity in their flowers and gumnuts.
The silver dollar describes the decorative soft blue-grey round leaves, which makes it so attractive to florists! It makes a great filler, which is the reason that I am growing it. I also love the smell of eucalypts!
It is a hardy fast growing evergreen tree, up to 10 m tall and 7 m wide, which retains its lower branches to near ground level, making it an excellent screen or windbreak.
It bears masses of creamy-white flowers in late Winter and Spring, attracting plenty of nectar-feeding birds and bees. It is tolerant of frost, wet or dry conditions and salt-laden winds.
The fossil record includes pollen 65-59 Million years old; leaves 59-56 Million years old and cones 41-47 Million years old.
Banksia foliage varies with the species from the tiny 1-1.5 cm needle-like leaves of Heath-Leafed banksia (B. ericifolia) to the 45 cm large leaves of the Bull Banksia B. grandis. Most species have leaves with serrated edges, though B. integrifolia does not. The next two photos show B. integrifolia (entire leaf margins)and B. serrata (serrated leaf margins).
Banksias all have long flowering spikes and woody cones, which were immortalised in Australian children’s book, Snugglepot and Cuddlepie by May Gibbs, where the Big Bad Banksia men were based on the cones of Banksia serrata (Old Man or Saw Banksia).
The flowering spikes are mostly yellow, but also orange, red, pink and even violet.
Indigenous Australians even used to soak the flowering spikes in water for a sweet drink. Rainbow Lorikeets love drinking the nectar of the flowers of the Coastal Banksia, B. integrifolia,
while Baudin’s Black Cockatoos enjoy breaking open the banksia cones on the southern coast of Western Australia.
Most banksias grow in sandy or gravelly soils, though B. spinulosa can often be found in heavier, more clay-like soils.
Most are found in heathland and low woodlands, while B. integrifolia forms forests.
Banksias are adapted to bush fire, the latter stimulating the opening of seed-bearing follicles in the cones and the release of seeds, which quickly grow and regenerate burnt areas. Some banksia species can also resprout after fire from lignotubers.
While we have a number of different species growing wild here in Southern New South Wales, as seen in the photos below from our recent Winter visit to the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney,
I believe our specimen is probably called ‘Giant Candles’, a naturally-occuring hybrid of B. ericifolia and B. spinulosa collina.
It will grow to 5m tall and bears 40 cm large bronze-orange flowering spikes from late Autumn to Winter.
It likes well-drained soil in full sun, both conditions which are fulfilled in its position and it is certainly thriving!
I love banksias for their golden candles and attractive seed cones and this hybrid is a real beauty!
Stenocarpus
One of the most well-known species in Australia is the Wheel of Fire, Stenocarpus sinuatus, which originates from Nambucca, Northern NSW to the Atherton Tablelands, Qld. It is also known as Firewheel Tree and interestingly White Silky Oak, due to its widespread planting as an ornamental street tree in subtropical, tropical and temperate climates.
Growing from 10 to 30 m tall, this evergreen tree has dark green leaves and large ornamental bright red flowers in Summer (February to March) in the form of umbels in a circular arrangement, hence the name. The flowers are followed by 5 to 10 cm long boat-shaped pods with many thin seeds.
A slow grower, it can be grown in full sun or part shade, and is hardy to frost once established, so it is important to protect young trees. We have lost two specimens to frost, so this time, we have bought a more mature tree and are crossing our fingers! I just adore the decorative flowers, made so famous by printmaker, Margaret Preston (1875-1963). See: 
Grevilleas
It includes 365 species and 100 subspecies, with 350 species endemic to Australia, and has a huge range of habitats, sizes (from ground covers and prostrate shrubs to 35m tall trees), and flower colour and a long flowering period. The photo below features a grand old Silky Oak in our local park at Candelo and a dwarf grevillea growing in coastal heathland at Green Cape on the Far South Coast of New South Wales.
Birds, especially honeyeaters, and the larvae of Lepidoptera love their nectar-filled flowers, which are basically a long calyx split into four lobes. They are such attractive flowers! Below are photos of a Rainbow Lorikeet, an Eastern Spinebill, a Helmeted Friar Bird and a Bar-breasted Honeyeater all enjoying Grevillea feasts!
Many cultivars can be seen at Grevillea Park, Bulli, NSW, just north of Wollongong, but opening times are limited. See: 
The Australian Botanic Garden at Mt Annan, just south of Sydney (
We grow three types of grevilleas in our garden. The photo below shows a hedge of Fireworks on the left and Lady O on the right.
Grevillea robusta, the Silky Oak tree, is the largest Grevillea species at 35 m tall. 
This fast-growing ornamental evergreen tree, which grows on the East Coast of Australia, has ferny green leaves and orange-gold bottlebrush-like honey-laden blooms.
Lady O, a cross between a G. victoriae hybrid and G. rhyolitica, is a hardy medium evergreen shrub, 1 to 1.5 m tall and 2 to 2.5m wide, which flowers most of the year with 5 cm long terminal clusters of spidery red blooms, rich in nectar and a magnet for honeyeaters like the Eastern Spinebill. It requires minimal care and is cold- and frost-tolerant.
Fireworks is a slightly smaller, more compact shrub, 1 to 1.2 m tall and wide, with blue-green foliage and attractive red and yellow flowers from Autumn, through Winter and Spring. It was bred by introducing the pollen of G. alpina to flowers of Grevillea ‘Pink Pixie’.
Other grevillea cultivars, which I would dearly to grow include:
Telopea comes from the Greek word meaning ‘seen from afar’, referring to the bright red dramatic flower heads, which can be seen from a distance. They are so spectacular and always exciting to see in the wild!
Telopea are large shrubs and small trees, endemic to South-East Australia, with 5 species:
All are long-lived woody perennials up to 4 metres in height, with dark green alternate leathery coarsely-toothed leaves and small red nectar-rich flowers, densely packed into rounded compact heads, surrounded by crimson bracts, though there are white and yellow cultivars.
They bloom from September to October, are pollinated by nectar-loving birds and butterflies and produce woody seedpods, packed with winged seeds in Autumn.
Good drainage and aeration is essential. All five species readily hybridize in cultivation.
We have recently planted Shady Lady, a crimson hybrid of T. speciosissima and T. oreades. A hardy vigorous dense shrub 3m tall and 1.5 m wide, it has grey-green foliage and spectacular large red flat flowerheads from late Winter to Spring.
It likes well-drained acidic soil in sun or part shade, with protection from the afternoon sun, so should do well in front of the large pine trees, as well as dramatically contrasting with their dark green foliage.
It has moderate frost tolerance once established, though we may have to protect it from the frost while still young. It makes a great bird attracting screen plant and is an excellent cut flower. I am very excited to see the opening of its first flower!
Correas 
There is huge variability in size (from ground covers to large shrubs) and colour (from white to deep burgundy), the nectar-rich flowers falling into two types:
Fuchsia eg Chefs Hat Correa C. baeuerlenii and Native Fuchsia C. reflexa (red and green).
Perfect for the temperate garden, they provide lots of nectar in the cooler months for nectar-loving pollinating birds and are frost hardy, pest free, low maintenance and tough, their wide shallow root system allowing them to survive under trees, including gums, as well as drought. The hybrids are more compact and heavy flowering than the wild species.
This attractive evergreen shrub is 1m high and 2 to 4m wide and has pale carmine pink 2.5 cm long bell-shaped flowers from March to September (Autumn to Winter), though it still flowers sporadically at other times of the year.
It likes moist well-drained soil and prefers shade to full sun and is drought and frost tolerant, so should thrive in our garden. We have planted our correa to the left of the grevillea hedge in the photo below.
Westringia
An identification key to the different species can be found online at: 
Like other members of the Mint Family (eg Salvias), the upper petal of the flower is divided into two lobes. The upper two stamens are fertile, while the lower two stamens have been reduced to staminoides. Bees and butterflies love them!
They are low maintenance, have very low water requirements and tolerant of drought, cold, frost and coastal conditions (salt-laden winds, sun and dry sandy soils).
They are also used for a wide variety of purposes in the garden from ground covers to formal hedges and screens, box garden edgings and ornamental shrubs.
Coastal or Native Rosemary, W. fruticosa is one of the most common forms, grows wild on the New South Wales coast and is used in many cultivars, including Westringea fruticosa ‘Wynyabbie Gem’, which we grow in our garden.
Hailing from Wynyabbie Nursery, Jindalee, Queensland, it is a hybrid between W. fruticosa and the mauve form of W. eremicola, the Slender Western Rosemary.
A very hardy compact shrub, 1.5 to 2 m high and wide, it bears lilac flowers for most of the year, though it is most prolific in Spring. It can be grown in full sun or part shade and is tolerant of most soils and conditions, though it grows best in well-drained soil in a sunny open position. I love using the dainty blooms in floral arrangements.
I would dearly love to grow more natives over time- boronias, eriostemons and croweas for their beautiful flowers, hakeas for their interesting woody pods and tree ferns for their beautiful fronds!
I still yearn to grow New South Wales Christmas Bush (Ceratopetalum gummiferum), which bloomed briefly for one season, as seen in the photo above, and Native Frangipanis (Hymenosporum flavum), but having already lost two specimens of each, I will wait and see whether I have any success with my third Wheel of Fire!!
The photo above shows the position of my second Native Frangipani in the corner of the Tea Garden, where it was growing so well until killed by frost last Winter. 
It bears beautiful golden scented blooms (photo above) and attractive seedpods (photo below) from our tree at Dorrigo, New South Wales. I have seen tall specimens down on the river at Geelong, Victoria, so am very tempted to try a mature specimen in the future!
Next week, it’s back to the fireside with the next three posts featuring some of my favourite knitting and crochet books!
The heyday of calligraphy in the Western world was during the Medieval Period, when scribes in monasteries copied the bible and other sacred texts by hand, producing beautiful illuminated texts like the Celtic Lindisfarne Gospels ((715–720 AD) and the Book of Kells (800 AD).
I discovered calligraphy in the early 1980s before children came along and I still had unlimited personal time! I did courses with The Pen Shoppe in Brisbane, which has since expanded to include a second shop in Brisbane, as well as shops in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth and a huge online store. The shop in the Queen Victoria Building, Sydney, also has a Vintage Pen Museum. For more about The Pen Shoppe, see : 
Given that my last post on my craft library concerned books on papercraft, I thought a good bridging book to this post would be my first book:
I totally identify with Diane’s assertion that a handwritten letter is far more personal, special and intimate than an email or typed letter and reflects our personality, as well as being a valuable record for future generations. We really value old family letters from the 1850s, when Ross’s great grandfather John, as well as John’s brother Thomas and cousin Edmund emigrated to Australia from England, and correspondence during the First World War between those family members left at home and the boys who fought at Gallipoli and the Western Front. The last letter from Ross’s 25 year old uncle, Alf, who died at Pozières, France, on or about the 5th August 1916, was particularly poignant! However, I digress…!!
In her book, Diane covers a variety of topics from simple italic handwriting and letter-writing tips to the materials themselves: Pens and writing implements; decorative stationary and artful envelopes, as well as a number of different decorative techniques including card making; handmade paper; pressed flower paper; puzzle letters; embossing; decorative borders; quilling; spatter painting; leaf printing; collages; stencilling; rubber stamping; Suminagashi marbling; and making paste paper. It’s certainly a very inspiring book with some wonderful ideas for creating beautiful letters!
Now to the other sort of ‘letter’ with two interesting books on the development of the alphabet:
After a discussion of the history of Capital Letters, each letter of the alphabet is described in detail, its evolution, as well as notes on its structure, design and practical presentation. Did you know that: the Capital Letter A is thought to have been derived from the Phoenecian alef, the symbol for the head of an ox, one of their most important working animals and main source of power, and that its width should be three-quarters its height, while our second Capital Letter B evolves from the ancient Egyptian hieroglyph signifying shelter, the second most important ingredient for human survival, as well as correlating with the second letter of the Phoenecian alphabet beth, meaning house, as in Bethel (House of God) and Bethlehem (House of Bread).
The history of the lower case letters is equally fascinating from the development of three different hands by scribes for graphic communication (Square Capitals; Rustic Capitals and Roman Cursive) to the rounded Uncial letters found in bible transcriptions and fine calligraphy from the fourth to the ninth century and Half-Uncials, an easier, more condensed and readable style for secular documents.
Alphabetical: How Every Letter Tells a Story by Michael Rosen 2013
This guide starts with chapters on Tools and Materials (Drawing Boards; Writing Pads; Blotting Paper; Paper and Vellum; Guards; Rulers; Pencils; Metal Nibs; Fountain Pens; Inks; Watercolors; Poster Paints; Gouache; Compasses; Erasers and Pumice Powder) and Working Positions, followed by a discussion of Roman and Formal Italic Alphabets, before honing in on :
Using Calligraphy: A Workbook of Alphabets, Projects and Techniques by Margaret Shepherd 1979
The next section of the workbook, New Alphabets From Old, reviews five basic scripts: Roman, Celtic, Gothic, Italic and Bookhand. It includes short lessons and master-sheets (guideline sheets) to copy for practising and attaining a firm grasp of these scripts, as well as easy experimental exercises for 50 alphabet variations.
The following section focuses on the Design Process: Page Design; Space; Margins; Capitals; Composition; Focal Points; Tones; Broadsheets and Broadsides; and Composition Methods, as well as Illustration Techniques: Drawing; Preparation; Watercolours; Line-and-Wash Drawings; Using Gouache, Dry Ground Pigments, Acrylics and Shell Gold; Decorated Initial Letters; and Painting Heraldry.
Sixty Alphabets: Selected and Introduced by Gunnlaugur SE Briem 1986
Each alphabet has an Essential Information Panel covering elements like letter height, pen angles, geometric form; slope and serif forms; Photographic step-by-step sequences showing the formation of each letter, including directional arrows and angles, as well as alternative letterforms, punctuation and numerals; a Troubleshooting Section analysing common mistakes and a Gallery of inspirational professional work. Rulers, compasses and set squares, as well as erasers and sharpeners are very useful tools for calligraphers.
For more books about calligraphy, see: 
