Cockle Shell Pattern

I have been busy making cockle shells from my new patttern. My idea is that these will be hanging decorations, perhaps for Christmas, as shells can be a religious symbol. So expect a few more photos when I have attached ribbons. Although I also think it would be cute to make a seaside mobile, with some knitted shells and some of my other sea creatures. I may have a go at this.

A cockle shell is fairly easy to make, and another good pattern to use up any oddments of wool you have left over from other projects. I tried to be fairly realistic with the colours (except for the red which I thought would be Christmassy), but you could go wild and make all sorts. I had an idea that they might look cute with some silver bells, like the nursery rhyme "Mary Mary". 

The only technique that might be a bit unusal is making some turns midrow to make the base of the shell thicker. (I have not put in the wrap stitches which I often do, as this didn't seem necessary.) My other tip is not to over fill the shells with wadding, and to a bit of squeezing to adjust the filling, so that the shells are flatter at the edges.) I enjoyed making this striped shell above, which was just done by switching colours occasionally.

The pattern is available on ravelry, Etsy and Loveknitting.

 

Still plenty of time to to join in Ginx Woolly Linx Party for September.

Seahorse

It's been a long time since I've produced a sea creature pattern. I have had a seahorse in mind for a while, and as usual it is a documentary by David Attenborough that has inspired me.

They are such interesting creatures, and come in such a range of colours that you really can't go wrong with whatever colour wool you use.

Apologies for the number of photos.  This pattern reminds me quite a bit of my Bat pattern, as it is a really good way to use up the little oddments of wool that you might have left over from other projects. 

The main body is knitted in one part, with a seam down the back, and a little sewing on the head. The only separate part to attach is the tail fin.

You will need doublepoint needles, and the main techniques are icord knitting for the tail and nose, and some short rows. There is a photo tutorial for the icord knitting in my sidebar, or lots of video tutorials on youtube, if you have not tried this before. On some of the seahorses I have sewn the tail into a spiral, or you can just leave it free, and it seems to have a natural twist to it. Each seahorse only takes a few grams of wool, and is about 5 to 6 inches long, depending on whether you spiral the tail or not.

I have not quite decided what to do with mine yet, but I think they would look really nice as a mobile for a child. The pattern will be available on ravelry, Etsy and LoveKnitting.

I have had this post waiting for a while, but thank you to my lovely pattern tester Jennifer, who as usual spotted some errors. I have now put this right.

Still plenty of time to join in Ginx Woolly Linx party for April.

 

 

Sneak Peek Seahorse

Working on a new pattern, and having my same old problem of trying to get the photos right. The seahorse just looked a bit sad lying flat on the table, so here he is under the sea - much more suitable. Done by changing my screensaver, and a nearly invisible thread. Just got to make a lot more now before I am ready to publish.

 

Just a reminder that there is still loads of time join in my Ginx Woolly Linx party for March. I would love to see what you have been working on.

Sea Urchin

I only occasionally knit to order, but someone contacted me through Etsy to ask if my sea urchin pattern would knit up smaller. They wanted a sea urchin that would be 3 inches across to go on a mobile. I was not sure, the only way to find out seemed to be to try to make one. So this is my sea urchin knitted on smaller needles, with a rather strange, but I thought sea urchiny wool that I found in my stash. 

The size turned out exactly right, and I also found one tiny typo in my pattern. How does that happen? I test knit again and again, but I think sometimes the eye just sees what it wants. But anyway, I was also pleased that I could put that right as well. And the sea urchin is already with its new owner in the States.
 

Rainbow Spiral Shells

I have been working on a special commission, which for me has been made a bit of a change, and as don't often knit to order. Some of my spiral shells, but in very specific colours. 

These colours were asked for in order to represent various stages in recovery. At first I had thought to knit the shells in pure bands of colour, but so that they still had a natural look, I decided to use the shell shade wool (Sirdar Crofters) together with each of the nine colours that had been asked for. This has made it an extremely firm knit, and I actually for the first time in my life have a knitting blister. But I was delighted with the way they have turned out, still looking very much as if they could be found on a beach.

It is really nice for me return to my own Spiral Shell pattern. But it was also fun to knit the shells in a slightly different way. Four shells delivered, but this is just the first batch, so back to the needles.

This is a really fun quick knit. The pattern is available in my Etsy and ravelry shops, and although I currently don't have any shells in my shop you can Etsy message me if you would like to order some.

Mermaid's Purse

I've been thinking about this knitting project for a while now, but needed to find the real thing so I had something to work from. And so I was delighted that I stumbled across a mermaid's purse on the beach on holiday. I photographed it, and had a really good look at its shape. 

In case you didn't know, a mermaid's purse is the egg case that surrounds the fertilized eggs of some sharks, skates, and chimaeras. And although it is not strange to find one washed up on the shore, they are also not that common, at least on the beaches where I wander. I do think there is something rather delightful (and a bit magical) about finding a mermaid's purse. 

If you want to read a bit more about them there is a really good site here with advice on identification. And you can take part in a UK survey if you find one yourself, at The Shark's Trust MERMAID'S PURSE. I am going to send them my photo, though I think mine was a Spotted Ray case. I had not realized that there were so many types of mermaid purse until I found this site, so am now wondering if I should come out with a range of knitting patterns for different types. I am sort of joking, as I suspect there may not be a huge demand for this pattern, but sometimes you just have to do something because the spirit moves you.

This is not a long pattern, and contains some icord knitting to make the horns, and short rows to get the curved shape. To get its distinctive slightly deflated shape it is also important not to overstuff it.  

I have set up a Mermaid Purse Promotion. One might look rather nice with some of my other sea creatures.  I have a selection on a shelf in my bathroon, and they make a really nice display. So if you buy this pattern on ravelry in combination with any of my other beach patterns (Spiral Shell, Starfish, Sand Dollar, Scallop Shell, Sea Urchin or Little Minnow) you get a discount of £1. Remember to buy them in one transaction, otherwise this won't work, and email me if you have any problems.

And finally, although I have really tried to be realistic with my mermaid's purse,  my daughter suggested that if I added an eye I would have made Sheldon J. Plankton from SpongeBob Squarepants, which was not my intention at all, but I do see what she means.