A PELICAN with a fish in its beak has helped Redlands fibre artist Miriam Elkin earn recognition at the 2026 Alice Springs Beanie Festival.
Ms Elkin, of Redland Spinners and Weavers, created a winning beanie inspired by the creatures and treasures of Moreton Bay and the Redlands.
She began with homespun merino wool, knitting and then felting the beanie before decorating it with local sea life, animals and native plants.
Bream, crabs, dolphins, eagles, flathead, frogs, jellyfish, kookaburras, lorikeets, seagulls, turtles, whales and whiting featured in the colourful work alongside acacia, banksia, bottlebrush and wattle.
“On the top was a large white and black pelican with a fish held in his beak,” Ms Elkin said.
The beanie was sold at the festival, and Redland Spinners and Weavers archivist Sandra King said the achievement was a welcome reminder of the enduring value of traditional crafts.
“It is encouraging to see crafts practised in this current technological world,” she said.
“And it is even better to see them recognised.”
