MeggaYarnz in 2023 An Emu Stole my Beanie

Traveller's Tales is the 2023 theme for Beaniefest, so I chose an old, long-tailed, emu-beanie-reject, to be my large canvas for crocheting my long-tale of a traveller's story. A reject? Why was it a reject, you may ask. Well, it was my third attempt, many years ago, to create an Emu Beanie, with a neck that stood tall. and didn't lean and sag. It is now incased inside the neck of number 4 (pictured above), which received the addition of a scarf one year, as the soft beanie part, did make a rather cosy snood-like hood, so a wrap around scarf seemed like the way to go. That is how this Emu came to have a Long Tail.

When I was in my early teens, my mum took us off one holiday, on one of her car-adventure-camping-journeys, this one up into northern Victoria. It was there, gazing dreamily out of a back seat window one day, that I saw a huge mob of Emus, a hundred or more! all racing madly across a massive paddock, some running sideways thru the fencing, along the long-paddock, and some across the road infront of our car, a Kingswood by then, the VW Bug having been written off by our house-sitters when we lived in Singapore for 6 months. You don't see Emus in that number these days, so felt it meaningful to felt that story, onto the hat band of a found-object-beanie, I attached inside, to insure such a weighty, beaning might need, to be worn comfortably, without tending to slide off one's head. . . (Modelled by Yuto Nomura)

Did an Emu really steal my Beanie? Well nearly: my friends living down beside Mt Elephanat, near Elephants Pass, ,in north-eastern Tasmania, had two pet emus. When we stayed there, camped in my little yellow camper-van, these two emus would race across the paddy-melon-cropped grass, to check out the visitors, when they were let out of their night time yard. They'd wake us up Uuuup Uuuuping deep bass sounds as they swayed around the van. When we opened up and began spreading out cushions on the mat outside for breakfast, they'd weave their necks around the open doors, trying to investigate our intriguing items on our dash, sparkly things and found wood and feathers etc. They plucked every scrap of sparkly turquoise fabric, from a cushion with colourful shapes sewn on. As we sat eating breakfast, my beanie was easy pluckings for an emu, but I soon got it back. Later on that day, I learnt how to fend off an emu getting too close and domnineering, I raised my hand, bent my wrist, formed an emu beak and low and behold, he stepped back and walked more sedatley beside me. #beanies #alicespringsbeaniefest #alicespringsbeaniefestival #AliceSpringsBeanieFestival #emubeanies #emus #lifeontheroad # #artnomadix #artnomadixmeggayarnz #meganjack #megganjack

Old Stories New Yarns Beaniefest

Yes it's that time of year again....... Beaniefest in Alice Springs !

and this year to honour the Theme for this year, I have attempted to tell two stories that play a big part in my life.

First the Rainbow Regions biggest extinct Volcanic Caldera of the southern hemisphere, with Mt Warning in it's centre.

Mt Warning is a Weather magnet !  It draws rain, clouds and rainbows to its fertile vibrant green flanks almost continually ! 

It has rained  so much over the past 4 years, since my journey in the bus decided that 12 years was long enough, and it was Time to be close to my genetic family, for some quality time. 

Mt Warning (viewed from the south on the hat, and from the north in the background), is always catching clouds on it's peak.

The second hat story is about The Rainbow Chai Tent, which I have been involved with for nearly all of it's  30 years of existence, from the early days at St Andrews Market, and Down To Earth's 'Confests'

 I may have to start making another hat like this just incase it sells and doesn't come home, as Benny Zable, the infamous painter of Rainbow Flags, and amazing banners, has declared he wants to paint a portrait of my brother Michael 'Wombat' Chai, wearing a Chai Tent Hat, and enter it in The Archibald !

I have never attempted to make something like this before, and I had many ideas of how it might finish up.  My 'fatigue' that has been 'plague-ing' me for the past 4 years, meant that I left my beanie making to the Very Last month this year !! and I found I ran out of time to add in all the detail, I thought I wanted to try and include.
'Tho in hindsight, less is better. It has a nice simple and clean, uncluttered feel to it , and I felt pleased with what I achieved. I do hope it does come home after the exhibition, as I had only a day to really admire it before it was gone.

Last years hat, won the Champion Elements - Earth, Fire, Air and Water, and was sold, so didn't come home to me ! Luckily I did get some lovely photos, but I miss that it is not part of my collection in our local Tweed Valley Artist's Co-op Gallery here in Tyalgum, Northern Rivers Rainbow Region, NSW, Australia.

Hyperbolic Crochet and Anti Rally Protests

Wow where does Time Go ? I knew it was quite a while since my last blogpost, but April 16th ! Where did May go ?



I have been very busy lately, with many things, I have neglected this blog, and I have not been very active with my Etsy shop or our DUST (Down Under Street Team) Forums either.

I have been made a moderator and admin on our two Anti Rally groups (Yahoo and Ning), and seem to spend lots of time doing lots, of both online and offline 'stuff', for the 'No Rally Group', or NRG Warriors as we are also affectionately called.

I have also been busy crocheting and needle felting...
( and dreaming about trying to 'fix the cardboard rally cars by finding the photos of them on the PC and Needle-Felting them !! ) How Bizarre can your dreams get !

Getting two competition hats and 10 hats ready the Alice Springs Beaniefest and sent off



Finishing and devising my After the Firestorm Hat, for the 'Fibble Fabble Fibre' Exhibition at a local gallery, along with several other pieces and more on sale in the attached shop.


This 'After The Fire Storm' Hat was inspired by the images broadcast around the country and world during the horrific Mega Firestorm in Victoria in February 09, (Trees left standing ,unburnt amidst devastation, Blackened trees on a ground of Ash, Huge clouds of roiling smoke(need to take more photos over at the gallery soon to show the final fluffier smoke), in front of the massive wall of flames, and very Thirsty Koalas.)



We had members of the Tyalgum Women's Group painting these cardboard cars, what fun, it was like 'Play School'




We got over 300 people, mid afternoon on a weekday ! I made this hood/poncho to be worn with one of the plastic Roo masks, with paws and tail from a scrap of material I found at local Tip Shop.
See here for a short video of out Street Theatre
Now for a bit of light relief I have been having lots of crocheting fun making Hyperbolic Coral Reef piecesto send down to the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney, to contribute to the Australian Branch of the now worldwide Hyperbolic Coral Reef Installations.
First started by the Australian born Werthiem sisters, Christine and Margaret, who live in NewYork, to high light the plight of the worlds Coral Reefs, The Institute for Figuring http://www.theiff.org has spread the artform of Hyperbolic Crocheting, far and wide.



Learnt yesterday a wonderful easy 'trick' to cut plastic bags into 'Plarn' I had used some last year by laboriously cutting up old plastic rain ponchos, but to receive an email from a fellow Etsy Trashionista with the YouTube link was so timely , as plarn is the most suitable yarn for Coral !! It has a wonderful sculptural rigidity, and the florescent translucence that you see when swimming above Coral. Reminding me of Ningaloo Reef Aaaah !
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