The Dutch Postal System

I have been selling knitted items on Etsy for quite a number of years, and until recently have had no problems. But in the last few months I have had two packages go misssing, and strangely both were to customers in The Netherlands. For both customer I have remade the items, and then sent them tracked. (It is quite dispiriting, but it is the seller's responsibility to get the items there, and I am also very proud of my customer satisfaction rates and 100% good reviews.)  

One item was one of my mini cars, and the other these phone cosies. I did enjoy remaking the phone cosies, and it has put in my head to make a completely new set, with different flowers.

I have just found this article in The Daily Mail about the Dutch postal service. I don't believe very much in The Daily Mail, but in this case my experience does back this up.

Guelder Rose and Bumble Bee

Shepherd's Purse

More Phone Cosies

Wild Rose

Wild Rose and Guelder Rose

I promised you more phone cosies, and have been busy stitching away. I have had such fun deciding what flowers to do next, and then researching them.  Thank you for all the suggestions. I now have a few more ideas in the pipeline. 

I have tried to stick to wild flowers, and have been a little bit influenced by the flowers in my favourite flower fairy books. I have a fairly good knowledge of wild flowers. Lots of long walks as a child. But it is still useful to do a bit of research to get them just right.

These are a selection of the books I have used. The book in the centre called Our Country's Flowers I found in a secondhand shop. It dates from Victorian times, and is full of beautiful old plates.

Guelder Rose and Bumble Bee

Shepherd's Purse

I've gone slightly off theme with my final cosy: the Monarch Butterfly below. Someone on ravelry asked me if I had considered a knitting pattern for Milkweed, a favourite flower of the Monarch Butterfly. I think it is beyond me to knit, so I decided to embroider one on this cosy. The new cosies are for sale in my Etsy Shop.

Monarch Butterfly on Milkweed

The basic knitting pattern for the cosy is now available for free on ravelry. It is a pretty simple knit, but this will save anyone working out the sizing. The bits that I think are quite cool is that I have used a stretchy cast on technique, which makes the top easy to get your phone in and out, but also keeps it nice and safe. The bottom of the cosy is grafted, so it has a lovely smooth finish.  I have photo tutorials on my blog for both these techniques.