For this year's Morpeth Tea Cosy Challenge we made a display of Russian dolls.
Members had fun planning and making their variations of Russian Dolls. Babushka Dolls were associated with the healthy, plump image of a peasant woman and a large family. The colourful earth mother dolls have long been a part of our childhoods with their ever shrinking figurines fitting neatly inside one another to tell the story of a mother and her family. Babushka Dolls or nesting dolls began life around 1890 in Sergiev Posad, a busy little village near the famous Trinity Monastery St Sergei about 73 km outside Moscow. Sergiev Posad became famous for its wooden toys in particular its Babushka Dolls. The dolls in decreasing order of size are by Nerida O’Donnel, Eleanor Goldfinch, Kerry Edwards, Yvonne Fazzolari and Kate Semler. Yvonne’s doll also portrays the Amish Doll in that it has no face. The Amish believe that God creates faces.
An entry called "Double Yolker" submitted by Kerry Edwards won the animal section. The photo below shows the winning entry. The tea cosy to the right is "Three Chicks in a Nest" and was also made by Kerry Edwards.
The West Ryde branch of the Knitters Guild NSW submitted a group entry "Flower Garden" and several individual entries to the Morpeth Gallery's Tea Cosy Challenge held in August 2010.
Group members, Kerry and Lyndall, had entries chosen as finalists in the Flower Tea Cosy section. The Tea Cosy Challenge was held in conjunction with a magnificent display of tea pots, a theme continued throughout the historic Morpeth precinct.
The group had so much fun planning and executing our entries, that we will be back for the 2011 festival.
Photo Captions:
Winner of Best of Show is top centre: several wrens around the map of Australia. The rabbit and the hen cosies nearby are the work of Kerry Edwards from West Ryde Group.
Kerry Edward's Little Black Hen entry
Kerry and Kate either side of the West Ryde Group entry - Flower Garden.
The West Ryde branch of the Knitters Guild NSW submitted a group entry "Little Bo Peep and her lost sheep" and several individual entries to the Morpeth Gallery's Tea Cosy Challenge held in August 2009.
Group convenor, Kerry Edwards, had an entry chosen as one of six finalists for the best of show award. Her cosy was called "A Nest of Eggs". The outright winner was a beaded and embroidered confection in black, red and shades of pink.
The Tea Cosy Challenge was held in conjunction with a magnificent display of tea pots, a theme continued throughout the historic Morpeth precinct.
The group had so much fun planning and executing our entries, that we will be back for the 2010 festival.
Our old name was the "Epping Evening Group", which was a little deceptive - we meet at the Ryde Eastwood Leagues Club, which is opposite the train station at West Ryde.
You don't have to be a member of the Club to attend our group - there is a sign in sheet at the front desk, if you fill it in and ask they'll point you in the right direction.
You don't have to be an experienced knitter to join us either. There are all level of knitters in our group, from Prize Winners to those just beginning.... you'll fit in. Still too shy to come and knit? Well it's not all knitting in our group either. Members often bring magazines or interesting books along and if you're a little shy you can browse these a while and join in the conversation.
We have 'show and tell time'. It's inspiring to look at all the finished items - especially for some one who has a giant pile of UnFinished Objects (UFOs).
Would you like help? We have knitters in our group who have encountered pretty much everything, they can help. Don't be shy, ask! We all often learn things when people ask and it might just get your item finished.
We try to keep our group busy so recently we've seen steeking, three needle cast offs, spinning cotton on a takhil, how to block your finished items and plenty of little tips and hints.
If you have any questions please send an email, or simply come and visit us one Thursday.
West Ryde Group
