Irish Crochet - Flower and Trefoil

My next attempts at IC - whilst I can see obvious mistakes, for my second/third attempt I don't think it is too bad and can only improve.

I am really enjoying this challenge group.

A snapshot of the "Big Miner"; a statue holding a pick, on display on the outskirts of Ballarat. Ballarat is a well known historical town, with gold being discovered near Ballarat in 1851.

Flower Power Wrap

Here is the Lion Brand Flower Power wrap I just completed. It's lovely, the yarn is so thick and warm and the wrap/shrug/whatever-you-want-to-call-it is perfect for when the weather gets a little chilly but not cold enough for a jacket.

Wildlife

This is an up close and dangerous (not really, through a sheet of glass) photo of a snake for the Photo Friday Challenge.

Crochet of the month - May

Here is the completed CAL for May. Two quite easy squares (which need to be blocked at the end of the year). I think the combination of all the blocks (there will be 24 by the end of the year) will make a lovely afghan quilt.

Blue

My contribution to a "blue" photography challenge. I have no idea what type of plant this is, possibly a creeper?

Handspun Angora/BFL/Silk

Here is some recently spun gorgeously soft Angora/BFL/Silk from Ixchelbunny. The first photo shows the plait and the second photo shows it spun up; not sure what I will knit from this.

I know now not to wear black when spinning something as "airy" as this, or to have a very good clothes brush.

Irish Crochet - Shamrock

Here is my first attempt at Irish Crochet thanks to a KAL I am participating in. Every month we are attempting a different motif and then we will piece together into either a sampler or extra large doily. It's a great way to learn IC>

Handspun Corriedale

This was 15+ years in the making. I purchased this gorgeous 1,6 kg of coated Corriedale that long ago and it has just taken me many, many years to complete it, albeit the majority of it was spun late last year and this year. I have had many interruptions in between including kids, other hobbies and just life.

I cabled the yarn (i.e. four ply) and now have many balls, enough to make a man's jumper.

Fingerless gloves

I recently completed knitting some fingerless gloves using homespun EL and merino. The gloves were a little large so I felted them whilst on my hands (basically by rubbing together in very warm water with lots of soap). Now they fit very nicely indeed.

Lace in Progress

This is my current lace piece and it has the most bobbins I have used to date! Very adventurous even if I do say so myself. Apart from the quantity of bobbins, it's a very easy pattern not requiring a great deal of concentration and can quite easily be done in front of the television.

Crochet of the Month - April

Here are April's crochet-along blocks. I particularly like the link square which is very unusual and completely different to what I have crochet in the past.

Camel handspun

I spun camel and plied it with merino and left natural. The camel hair I spun was gorgeous, fine and amazingly soft to touch. It feels just lovely against skin.

Building

I quite like this photo of a building reflection imposed on another building. I submitted it to a weekly challenge I occasionally participate in.

The building is in Melbourne and the sun just appeared at the right angle to cast an image on to another building.

Possum and Merino handspun

Here is Possum and Merino blen which I handspun. The possum is from New Zealand where it is a pest (don't know how such a cute think can be a pest, but apparently it is).

Spindle

Woo Hooo. I received my first spindle yesterday and isn't it just gorgeous, thanks to Mel at http://www.strandedinoz.blogspot.com/ . Spindling certainly isn't as easy as it looks, I have no problems with my wheel but this is a completely new process for me.

Hand dyed fleece

I went to a girlfriends and we dyed my Finn-X using food dye - I just LOVEEEEEEEEE this colour. Now it needs to be carded, perhaps mixed with some silk or glitz.

Crochet of the Month - March

Here are my two squares for March's CAL for the Ravelry group. I just loved doing the 3D rose, I think it is very effective (and much easier to do than expected).

Fabric crochet bowl

Using Laughing Purple's project as inspiration, I completed this crochet bowl using old sheets which were torn into 1" strips and joined together.

It now sits proudly on one of my crystal cabinets for keys etc. to be stored in.

Flowering tree

I took some close up shots of a flowering tree from our garden - it's the only "bright spark" in the garden at the moment; besides, I will use anything as an excuse to play with my DSLR.