Oystercatchers and Oystercatcher fingerless mitts

Last year, in September, I went on holiday to Penrhyn Bay in North Wales.  The self-catering holiday home directly over-looked the beach, which was not suitable for swimming but was suitable for wading birds such as these two Oystercatchers.  This photograph was taken from the outdoor terrace in front of the house.  Unfortunately the Oystercatchers were too far away to get good photographs and, if you tried to creep near them, they flew away!

2 Oystercatchers on the beach at Penrhyn Bay

One day, I went for a walk on the beach and managed to get a bit nearer, so got some slightly clearer photographs.

Oystercatcher on the beach in North Wales

Oystercatcher looking for food on the beach

On the last morning of the holiday, I had time to kill while waiting for the train in Colwyn Bay so I went to investigate what was happening on the beach.  It was fairly early in the morning and I came across a group of sleepy Oystercatchers.  When I got too near, they woke up and flew off.

Sleepy Oystercatchers on the beach in Colywn Bay, North Wales

 I love Oystercatchers and, after I got home, I decided to design some fingerless mitts with an Oystercatcher on the front.  They were hand knitted in mid blue Drops 4ply Alpaca.

Oystercatcher hand knit fingerless gloves - left mitt

Oystercatcher fingerless mitts - background blue 4ply alpaca

Dog roses - inspiration for cardigan and gloves

I love the delicate nature of dog roses and how pretty they look all over this hand knitted cotton bolero.

Hand knit cotton Dog Rose bolero

Below is a photograph of a 4ply wool hand knitted cardigan with the body in a patchwork pattern of squares, each containing a dog rose or textured lacy leaf pattern.  The roses and lace panels are vertical along the sleeves.

Madder Rose and lace patchwork hand knit wool cardigan

I have not got any photos of my own of real dog roses, but have added a public photograph taken from the internet.

Dog Roses

The design is now on a pair of hand knitted fingerless mitts.  The knitting pattern is available from my Ravelry shop - TwistedClassics.  The gloves, hand knitted in bluey-grey with rose and pink intarsia Dog Roses, are available from TwistedClassics shop on Etsy.

Dog Rose mitts - right hand

Hand knitted Dog Rose fingerless mitts

http://www.ravelry.com/designers/twisted-classics

Puffin on Staffa, Puffin hand knit mitts and Puffin carousel ride

During a holiday to Oban in Scotland, I went on a long day trip, via several ferries and over several hours, to Staffa in the Inner Hebrides.  There, after clambering along soggy uneven ground on the top of the cliffs, I fulfilled a dream - seeing a real puffin.  Mind you - only one was obliging enough to put in an appearance.  It had just popped out from its nest in a hole a long way down the side of the cliff and, to this day, I don't know how I managed to get it to appear in my photograph!  I only had a small digital camera with me and the viewfinder was so tiny that I couldn't see anything in it.  All I could do was point and hope for the best - and, miracle of miracles - it worked!!!  So, in my eyes, the long, long journey was very worth while.

Puffin on the cliffs in Staffa

And, inspired, by this cute comical bird, I designed a pair of fingerless mitts with puffins on the front.   You can see them at TwistedClassics - on Ravelry  - where the knitting pattern is for sale.  The knitted gloves are available from TwistedClassics Etsy shop

Puffin fingerless mitts

Puffin mitts - left hand glove

 

On another trip to North Berwick, which is on the coast not far from Edinburgh, I came across this great brightly coloured Puffin carousel.  I did not have time to ride in a puffin tea cup though.

Puffin children's tea cup carousel fairground ride