Home >
cerublu's shop >
Hat and Mitts Sets >
The CAVORTING CANETOAD Earflap Hat and Fingerless Mitts Set

The CAVORTING CANETOAD Earflap Hat and Fingerless Mitts Set

Description

The cane toad- originally introduced to Australia to eat beetles in sugar cane crops and now spreading widely with dire consequences- may be described as an "invasive species" or more bluntly, feral pests. But you have to give them credit, however grudging, for their tenacity and adaptability!

Some consider the cane toad a rather creepy critter. Since 1936, when cane toads were first introduced into Australia, a lot of stories have sprung up around the cane toad. For example, most Australians know someone who knows someone who has licked a toad... But it's not all urban myths.

Toads have inspired all sorts of things, like cane toad racing, toad musters and of course they've aided the taxidermy industry by providing amphibian corpses which are often seen posed in all sorts of bizarre positions with tiny "props". They're made into purses, fertiliser, all sorts of things! Personally, I may not like cane toads or what they're doing to our wildlife and environment, but it's not easy to ignore them either. They've even been adopted by the National Trust of Queensland as a state icon!

Imagine stepping out into your back yard one rainy night, flicking on the outside light and seeing thousands of cane toads, queasily reflecting multitudinous pinpoints of light, the entire mass bouncing and seething, carpeting the ground like something from a B-grade horror movie. Sounds wild? I reckon Alfred Hitchcock could have had a field day with cane toads! This scene isn't imaginary or from a movie. I've seen such swarms of toads myself. Just ask anyone who lives in Queensland about rainy nights and the toads...

This crocheted set captures the lumpy, bumpy texture of the came toad's back with high-relief entarsia-work, crochet bobbles around the hat's crown and across the backs of the mitts' hand sections. (The palms of the mitts are plain in texture for added functionality and comfort.) Unlike the (live) cane toad, this hat is beautifully soft and wearable, with plenty of fuzzy yarns providing cozy warmth.

The hat and mitts feature varying shades of brown, from chocolate to warm burnt umber to rich ochre with touches of almost-khaki, which contrast against the lighter creams- reminiscent of the contrast seen in the cane toads' protective coloration, featured in their camouflaged upper tones and paler underbellies. The head section of the hat is predominantly in browns, accented by creams, while the hat's narrow, elegant, toad's-leg tail is predominantly cream, accented with light brown and gold. The fingerless mittens continue the color scheme, with darker hand sections and lighter wrist/arm sections.

This is a set which the buyer could have a lot of fun wearing as a conversation piece- and my work DOES invite admiring comments, I promise you!- but which could also be worn throughout the colder months as simply attractive, functional garments.

A very soft, subtle "widow's peak", shaped a little like its amphibian namesake's broad, tapering head, turns slightly down over the centre forehead section of the hat to emphasise the wearer's eyes. In fact, while this hat captures some of the roundness and robustness of the cane toad's silhouette, the shape is really quite subtle and exquisite.

The yarns used in this set are an eclectic mixture and include pure Australian wool, both handspun and commercial yarns, handspun Australian merino/mohair and synthetics such as the exotic feature yarns, feathers and eyelash yarns.

The Cavorting Canetoad earflap hat was designed to snuggle up to an average-to-large sized cranium of between 21.5"/55cm and 23.5"/60cm in circumference. Its sculptural, spheroided tail is 46"/117cm long overall with a fuzzy, handtwisted fall of 3"/8cm and a super-thick tassel of 8"/21cm. The earflap tails, also handtwisted, measure 15"/38cm including their luxuriant tassels of 4"/10cm.

The mitts would warm and enliven medium-to-large sized hands and wrists with the measurements around the wrists being approximately 7"/18.5cm and around the knuckles 8"/21cm. The mitts are a useful short length, measuring approx 2.5"/6cm from wrists to their fuzzy upper edges.

Being sturdily-constructed by myself using freeform crochet techniques, this striking, OOAK set should give its owner long, cozy wear. Gentle washing in lukewarm water and no tumble drying is recommended because the Cavorting Canetoad set contains both natural and synthetic fibres.

This piece won first prize at the Dungog Agricultural and Horticultural Show in the "Crocheted Article or Garment" class and its prize card will accompany it to its new home!

If you would like your own unique, custom-made Cerublu-designed garment, please contact me.

Shipping-
While I love to see my creations go to Australian homes, I am always delighted to send items overseas. It would be REALLY strangely appropriate for this set to go to the US, in particular! Postage from here to the US/UK/Europe usually takes about a week.

Payment-
As well as Paypal, bank cheque or money order, I accept direct deposit to my bank account from Australians, either via the net or at a bank branch. Please contact me for details if you'd like to use this method of payment.

Thanks for looking!

Added on Sep 03, 2009