Herring Gull Wrap
Updated: Sep 15, 2022
Pattern available on Ravelry and Etsy.
One of the last times we visited our local zoo, we found ourselves lingering in the aviary because our son was absolutely tickled with a little duck that was swimming back and forth and bathing itself. I wandered about a bit and my attention landed on an injured bird that was hopping about on just one foot. It held the other close to its body. It was just a gull, but watching it, it slowly dawned on me that really, this was an unexpectedly beautiful bird.
Non-breeding adult Herring Gulls have tan streaks through the white feathers on their heads (with a very striking pale yellow eye) that immediately reminded me of speckled yarn, of course. Their bodies are a soft dove gray and their wingtips are black. If you'd like to see more pictures and learn more about them, check out https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Herring_Gull/id#.
I know that isn't the clearest picture, but it was the best I could get at the distance with my phone at the time. I do wish I'd had my camera! But watching this unassuming little bird, while my kid giggled at ducks a few feet away, I couldn't help but start thinking about how I could take this moment, this recognition of simple beauty, and transform it into a tangible design. And then, the V shape hit me.
Now, I admit it! It's a bit on the nose, right? But I just couldn't help myself! And so, right there in the zoo, I started imagining how this piece might come to life. Luckily, Steve at Leading Men Fiber Arts was totally on board with this little idea of mine and even though I suggested we could work up the design in a more fabulous colorway (I confess I want to see this in some vibrant parrot inspired colors!), he said he really loved the Herring Gull inspiration and so we stuck with my original plan AND he and Andy dyed up their fabulous new Sand Dollar colorway for me so I could have my neutral colors WITH the tan speckles that started this whole idea!
COULD I possibly have been more excited!? Probably not. When I first dreamed this up, one of my first thoughts was, "This is TOO simple. Too ... PLAIN." But then I would remind myself that people love neutrals! And THEN I got to celebrate that I was going to get to bring this design to life almost exactly how I first envisioned it!! And I gotta tell you, that's pretty awesome. One of the things I've found myself most frustrated with in my designs for magazines is that I lose some of that creative control. So seeing this come into existence almost exactly how I first imagined it was pretty damn fulfilling.
Here's a look at my initial concept swatch and sketch:
