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.

Spiral Shell

I've been spiral shell knitting again. I couldn't get the colour wool that I normally use, but thought I would try this slightly darker shade 0053. It is still Sirdar Crofter DK, and I really like the result. 

I like to return to my own patterns from time to time. It is quite nice to just follow a pattern, rather than inventing, and sometimes gives me some fresh ideas. Although the thought "Did I really make this up?" also seems to pass through my head. Strange.

I also wanted to show you my Christmas presents which are in the background. Hubby bought me these lovely sea urchins to use as props. He bought them online from a company called Buy the Sea. I would really recommend them, as they were very reasonable, and although one urchin arrived broken they sent a replacement free of charge, and very quickly.

The pattern to knit a spiral shell is available on ravelry. I am working really hard at the moment on some new seaside patterns.

Christmas Hearts and A Winner

Getting ready for Christmas fairs, I have been making some decorations from my own Christmas Heart pattern. I decided to go a bit less traditional, and used my lovely sparkly blue wool, which you may have seen before on this blog.
 

This simple pattern is in my ravelry and Craftsy shops for free, and has instructions for three different sizes of ornament. 

I love embroidering snowflakes on the hearts with wool, but you could let your imagination go wild. There are some embroidery tips in my righthand sidebar. You could also add buttons or beads.  

But my top tip for making tree decorations is to always make the loop twice as long as you think. There is nothing more frustrating than struggling to hang your decoration because you have sewn on a tiny loop.

A few of these decorations are for sale in my Etsy Shop. There are two types of snowflake, but can't quite decide how to distinguish them by name. Spikey and Knotty?

Unusual Uses for Knitting Needles
 
Announcing the winner in my Unusual Uses Competition. After a bit of debate my children decided that the most amusing use was from Mari of MariReads who said:

"Let's see, my 2 year old finds lots of crazy uses for my needles...drumsticks, cat torture device. The hubby has used one for detangling the brush on our Roomba. Yuck."

So a spiral shell is hopefully mid-Atlantic on its way to her!

Thank you do everyone who left a comment. We enjoyed reading them all.

Spirals

Spiral Artwork, Made from Weathered Wood

This week I am going to try and do a photography post (only one little bit of knitting has slipped its way in). Spirals are important in both nature and mathematics, and art. I cannot give you much more information, but I do know there is something called the golden ratio, which is very important.  

This shell below was in the bathroom of our holiday cottage. It is real, and as huge as it looks.

Spiral Shell

Knitted Spiral Shells

I love this shot. The angles of the spiral are so beautiful. But I also really like the odd bits of human anatomy that have been caught. (I have another shot, which doesn't have any of the bits of hand, and although might be a better photograph technically, is not as exciting.) This was taken at The Monument in Pudding Lane, built to mark the spot where the Great Fire of London began.

Shells

I've been busy on one of my little knits, that I know may provoke the question "why?" Not sure what the answer is. 

I made several attempts to design a spiral shell last year and each time I failed. Eventually I put the idea aside. I had designed a collection of small seaside knits, and a spiral shell seemed to be the main thing missing. So the idea has been niggling away in the back of my mind.

I have spent quite a lot of time looking at various shells in textbooks and online. There are so many different types, but I wanted my shell to be definitely conical and not a flat spiral. So I think you might call this a turret or auger shell, depending on which part of the world you live in. I would love to try and knit a conch shell, but I'm not sure knitting lends itself to all those spikes.

My shells are knitted with two doublepointed needles and short rows, and the shaping makes the knitting fall into a natural spiral. The knitting of the shell is not too tricky, although some people may hate the way I have written the pattern. 155 rows may seem a bit much to produce a tiny shell, but as you are decreasing all the time it does not take as long as you might think. I can knock off a complete shell in an evening. The wool is ordinary 4ply sock wool, and I am now slightly fixated on finding realistic shell shades in multi-coloured sock wool. Well it's a hobby! To find the pattern CLICK HERE!

There is one long seam, and I found it easiest to sew and stuff as you go. And then sewing it into a spiral is done with tiny stitches. The pattern has detailed photographs and instructions explaining how to do this.

Just a reminder of my other sea creature patterns. My recent trip to the seaside gave me the chance take some new photographs, on a real beach.

But if this all seems like too much work then keep an eye on my ETSY SHOP, as I still have a few sets of sea creatures for sale there

Sand Dollars, if you were wondering.

Scallop Shell

Starfish