Indigenous...

I often mention in this blog the term 'indigenous colours' when referring to certain knitted items that members of Knitting for Brisbane's Needy provide for distribution. But not all readers would know what I'm referring to. Australians who are referred to as Indigenous Australians, are Aboriginals, the people who had populated the country before it became a British colony in 1788. ( to be correct, the east coast of the country had been claimed as British territory in 1770 by Cook)

I won't go into all the details here in this post, but these indigenous Aussies were to suffer greatly from this colonisation. Then in the early 1970s a flag was designed specifically as the icon to represent the indigenous community. Over the years it has come to mean a great deal to them. Read about the history and meaning of the 3 colours in this flag here.

  K4BN can just never get enough items in these colours to hand out... rugs, beanies, jumpers, scarves, gloves...all get snapped up very quickly! Often, agencies involved in helping indigenous clients 'put in orders'  for items to Karen which she endeavours to fill. For the next few months the group has a challenge going to build up supplies of items in indigenous colours...all ready for when the cooler/cold weather comes. Last Tuesday at the Zillmere K&N, one of the members brought in a bag of items that she has been making for this challenge. The items are gorgeous !! Here's some photos of Pat's work...

Football shaped toy...

Aren't these elephants cute?

More toys; Blogger insists that this photo is on its side...

Some lovely beanies...

One blue teddy...

One cute red and white teddy with a tartan bow...

Now for a while I've been crocheting 15 row squares in indigenous colours...but I have only been working on them every now and then. Last weekend I had finished crocheting a deep border around the edge but still had neatening off of the 'ends' to do. So I took a photo on Monday...

On Tuesday, at the Zillmere K&N I finally finished weaving in the last of the ends...and at the urging of the other members there, I took some more photos. It was then suggested that I be in one of the photos...but to wrap myself in the throw, just like the recipients usually do when they receive these items. So that's how this photo came about...:-)

Knitting and lots of Nattering and Aunty Gwen...

The last Tuesday of the month is the Zillmere K&N, and DH decided that he should drive me there, then head off to a nearby golf driving range to 'hit a 100 balls'. Then he would come back and together we would both go to the reasonably nearby Chermside Shopping centre. That was the plan but as we were driving along Old Northern Rd, I commented that I wasn't familiar with this route to Zillmere. He thought that I was heading off to Albany Creek K&N! Hmmm... the girls complain that he never listens to them either! lol (I did arrive at Zillmere Community centre eventually after a change of direction! )

Zillmere donations for this month amounted to over 120 items...including good sized knitted and crocheted blankets and patchwork quilts.

 I just love the cover someone has crocheted for the money donations' tin

For a little while, off and on, I have been crocheting 15 rounds' squares in indigenous colours. It's always handy having something simple like this to just pick up and work on without too much concentration required.
Originally another member was collecting up these squares and sewing them into blankets. Well she has started to join her squares as she goes and has no use for individual ones like mine. So I started to join the ones I've done already (12) . I'm double crocheting them together to speed up the process. So that's what I worked on, on Tuesday. Since then, I've started crocheting around the 12 (sewn into a 3 by 4 rectangle) and it won't be long before it is a single blanket size!

Now about Aunty Gwen...
Aunty Gwen is an Aboriginal elder who works for the Northern Territory Health department. Her job entails her travelling to communities, some quite remote. For a number of years Aunty Gwen has handed out jumpers to children in these communities because they didn't have anything warm to wear. After winter each year, Aunty Gwen collects all these jumpers and washes and mends them. There are some friends of Aunty Gwen's who have helped over the years by knitting jumpers.

Well, a friend of a friend  of a K4BN's member, told this member about Gwen. The matter was discussed as to how the group could help. Eventually it was decided that for our group's Summer Challenge, we would help build up a supply of new jumpers for Aunty Gwen. So for December to the end of February many of us have been working on that. Some members knitted quite a few each...I only started in early February  using a pattern uploaded to the group's pattern files, and just did the one. But I loved knitting it and will knit some more throughout the year. It's so quick to knit a child's jumper after doing my 200 stitch throws! lol

My contribution to the jumper drive...I love the variegated yarn in the stripes. It makes it so easy to get a colourful effect.

On my mind...the November Challenge

Being Friday, I'm again joining in Rhonda's   Down to Earth blog feature, On my mind...
During this last week the ladies who organise the monthly challenges for Knitting for Brisbane's Needy, announced that for the November one, the challenge would be 'head ,feet and hand warmers'. Included are beanies, gloves, fingerless gloves, mittens and  bed socks to help build up the stocks of those items. On the group's forum page, one of the organisers put the pattern for 'Banana bedsocks' which apparently are very popular. So I've put my name down for the challenge which will be the first weekend in November and I've decided to have a go at making some banana bedsocks :-).



BANANA BEDSOX

Double thickness of 8ply wool

No 4 or 6mm needles

Cast on 30 stitches.

K1 P1 for 6 rows or 4 rows

Next row increase in every stitch (60) sts

Knit 38 or 40 rows

Next row k2tog all along row (30) sts

K1 P1 for 4 or 6 rows

Cast off

SEW CAST ON AND CAST OFF EDGES TOGETHER AND GO

AROUND THE CORNER

MAKE A SECOND BEDSOX

AT BEGINNING AND END OF THE BEDSOX LEAVE A LENGTH OF WOOL ABOUT12/15 INCHES TO SEW THE BEDSOX UP

I wondered what these bedsocks would look like as my brain likes to know what the finished item will look like. I found 2 photos on the internet but only one would copy. I don't know if it helps or not. I've got out some balls of 8 ply from my stash and may have a little practice before next Friday night. A bit of judicious 'cheating' is allowed in that people often 'practise' knitting the items before the challenge actually begins. A blind eye is turned from this practice of practising because if more items can be knitted in the challenge the more needy people can be helped.

A photo of banana bedsocks I found on the internet

Random 8ply in my stash

I'm pretty sure that I will finish the throw of 40 colours this weekend. I have named this throw/creation, 'Touching Rainbows'. It obviously has rainbow-like colourwash throughout the length but I find mohair a very 'tactile' yarn...I love to stroke the surface and other people often come up and stroke it as well. As well as the R.O.Y.G.B.I.V. colours to represent the good times, there are a few rows of shades of grey as well as black on the ends...these represent the 'hard and or difficult or sad times' in the 40 years. I worked on this throw at the last 'Sisters of Stitch' gathering and the other ladies said to make sure they saw it before I gave it away. That is next Wednesday and after that sometime I'll arrange to meet my friend and hand over her belated gift.