Buoy Tea Cosy

I first thought up the idea of a Buoy tea cosy when visiting the Isle of Skye last summer. I love that they are so simple but save so many lives. I find it intriguing that they are different in design and have letters and numbers on them, which I guess mean something to someone, it's like sea messages that I can't decode.

So my buoy is a bright red buoy, with metal bars coming down around it. I'm not sure what they are about, they look like handles, but I suspect that they are bars to protect the buoy maybe, or to attach things to perhaps?

I have the waves lapping at the bottom of the buoy. The waves have white tops where they are bumping into the buoy. I'd like to make the waves whilst avoiding colour work such as Fair isle or intarsia because I know this puts some people off.

I love that seagulls perch on anything and I know if I was a seagull and I needed a little rest that I'd happily have a perch on the top of a sea buoy. I bet they are ideally placed for gull rests.

It's funny but when you see a buoy in the sea, they don't look very big, but when a gull is on top, you can see the scale of the buoy.

I think I'm most looking forward to knitting the waves and the seagull. The waves because I haven't figured it out yet and the gull because he's the characterful part of the cosy. I'm not usually a fan of seagulls when they are squawking in towns, or trying to steal your fish and chips, but when they are at sea doing seagull activities, I am very fond of them and can appreciate their beauty.

So, come on my old shipmates and sing me a sea shanty whilst I knit!









Tags: bird