A walk in the park

On Saturday Willie and I went for a mini road trip to the Dandenong Ranges, which are about an hour out of Melbourne. Willie has been making a list of nearby-ish gardens and bird sanctuaries and the like, which we might want to go and visit. For this outing, we chose the National Rhododendron Garden.

Lots of photos ahead! Click to enlarge them. :)

It wasn't very busy, as the cherry blossoms and most of the rhododendrons have yet to flower, so it was the perfect place for a low-key late afternoon stroll. The first moment of excitement (after sniffing several daphne bushes) was this lovely kookaburra who was keeping an eye on us from its tree:

It looks so much like a puppet or soft toy! What a cutie.

The garden is made up of different areas, featuring different kinds of plants. Massed hellebores under trees, a reedy lake, and long stretches of daffodils under the cherry trees...

I really loved finding unfamiliar trees, like this hornbeam with its very vertical branches, some flowering witch hazels, and some interesting conifers I'd never come across before:

Now I know what fake Christmas trees are modelled after!

Before making our way back through the garden and home (via a great fish-and-chip shop), we paused for a rest by the camellias. Willie took a few snaps of me in my green woolly hat, which I realised I hadn't shown off yet. It's a simple ribbed beanie in Brooklyn Tweed's Shelter. The colour is called 'Button Jar', and the pattern is Swoon. I think it's just right. :)

 

New pattern: Kea

I'm thrilled and honoured to have a design in Brooklyn Tweed's latest Wool People collection! This is Kea, a triangular shawl with a feather-lace edging named after NZ's mischievous green parrot:

Photo by Brooklyn Tweed

Photo by Brooklyn Tweed

Photo by Brooklyn Tweed

Features:

• traditional top-down triangular construction
• garter stitch with ribs and lace to create the impression of feathers
• two sizes: small shawlette and large shawl
• beginner-friendly charted and written instructions

The yarn is Brooklyn Tweed's Loft, which I love - its tweediness gives a cosy, rustic feel to the shawl, and the colours are very rich. The complex greens we used for the sample shawls reminded me of kea feathers, and the name stuck! You can read about the birds here and here.

Do check out the beautiful Lookbook for the collection - there are some wonderfully clever lace shawls and wraps and wearable garments in the set, by designers I really admire.

Kea has been a secret project for several months, so it's especially exciting to have it out in the world at last. Just for fun, here are a couple of photos Willie and I took of the large-sized shawl, just before I sent it off to the USofA...

You can purchase the Kea pattern from Ravelry or Brooklyn Tweed.

New pattern: Peacowl

Ta-da! Here is the second of my new DK-weight cowl designs, Peacowl. ;)

Once again, I used one 100g ball of Outlaw Yarn's Vanitas DK (90% alpaca and 10% organic merino). The colour is called 'Vanity', which is perfect for a silver peacock cowl! If you wish to substitute a different yarn, I recommend a DK-weight yarn with good drape and stitch definition (e.g. an alpaca or silk blend).

Features:

• lace-and-texture motifs inspired by stylised peacock feathers
• worked in the round, with clean garter-stitch edges
• one size (short and drapey), with simple instructions for re-sizing both height and circumference if desired
• a one-skein project: you will need 205 yards of DK-weight yarn
• full charted and written instructions, so you can follow your preferred type.

When I first got the idea for this cowl, I researched stylised peacock-feather motifs and fell in love with the peacocks on 1890s book covers. My favourites are this Pride and Prejudice cover by Hugh Thomson (I managed to get hold of a modern paperback with this design)...

...And this Gryll Grange cover by A.A. Turbayne (the peacock is a reference to the author's name, Thomas Love Peacock). I used this peacock's tail as the basis of my lace design - the way the feathers are simplified and arranged in streams translates well to a repeating lace motif.

After much charting, swatching, and refining, I finally had my peacock lace. :)

Sanctuary II

It's parrot time! The 'Land of Parrots' enclosure was definitely the highlight of our trip to Healesville. We were a little nervous feeding the birds (with birdseed and 'nectar') at first, because they're pretty rowdy and are as likely to land on your arm/hand as on the feeding dish. But we soon got used to them, and had a great time admiring their colourful feathers close up - and taking zillions of photos! Make sure you click to enlarge the ones below. :)

These green-and-red Scaly-Breasted Lorikeets were the busiest and noisiest birds there:

Feasting on flowering wattle

Nectar party!

Posing with parrots

 

My favourite birds were the Regent Parrots, who were a little more reserved than the lorikeets. I love their colours, and cute faces...

Such a cool colour combo!

There were also budgies and finches flitting about, and popping in and out of holes in the tree trunks. They mostly stayed out of the way of the lorikeets, and we didn't manage to lure any down for a feed.

Budgie meeting

In an adjoining enclosure, we found the bigger birds. The keeper was trying to lure some of the parrots and cockatoos down for the 'Spirits of the Sky' show, but they had other ideas! This Red-Tailed Cockatoo eventually cooperated, and got a treat for his trouble:

A well-camouflaged bird with a bright blue eye

An Eclectus Parrot eating out of Willie's hand

I definitely want to visit again! Birds are so cool. :)

Sanctuary I

Last weekend we made a trip to the Healesville Sanctuary, which is a large native-birds-and-animals sanctuary about an hour and a half out of Melbourne. It was really nice to get out of the city, and be around trees and birds that aren't pigeons or crows! Even the drive was nice - I liked seeing a bit more of the surrounding countryside.

When we arrived, Celena made a beeline for the dingo pups (she adores dogs of all kinds). Willie and I hadn't been to the sanctuary before, so we strolled around exploring.

One of the highlights for me was seeing the koalas in various states of wakefulness. They look like such characters...

Munching on eucalyptus leaves

Waiting for the keeper to bring in more leaves

Lunch time!

Siesta time :)

I was also very taken with the echidnas. They're so cute! Kind of like giant hedgehogs, with long snouts.

Two echidnas snuffling about

Hello!

There are lots of different areas in the Sanctuary, connected by paths through trees and across streams. Some of the animals are separated from the public (like the Tasmanian devils and emus), and some roam around in the same space (like the other birds and wallabies).

A Tasmanian devil checking us out

An emu

Synchronised pelicans

The wetlands area

I couldn't resist posing on a sculpture. ;)

Another really cool thing was the 'Spirits of the Sky' bird show, which Chloe had told us not to miss. A couple of bird-handlers showed off various parrots and birds of prey, tossing food for them to snatch out of the air and letting them glide right over our heads - some people had to duck! A big owl with alarming-looking eyes passed us close enough to touch...

My favourite part of all was the parrot enclosure, where you're allowed to feed the birds by hand. They were amazing and totally cheeky! So stay tuned for part two - I've saved the best for last.