Susan Bates - Designing the “Beach Days” Patterns for StitchableCards
Photo credits for moodboard: Beach Scene by Mink Mingle, Cocktail by Great Cocktails, Dog by Srinivas JD, Sailing Boat by Leonhard Peters, and background by Jr Korpa on Unsplash.
For this latest set of designs I’ve taken inspiration from some of my summer holidays. I remember as a child taking our dog for walks along the beach. We’d stay out all day at the beach and build sandcastles, eat ice creams and swim in the sea. I have lots of happy memories of these times.
Whilst sitting on the beach on these holidays I’d notice sailing boats passing by, with their white sails flapping in the breeze. Drawing upon this memory, I’ve created a picture of a sailing boat, shown in soft pastel shades, as it sails past a rocky coastline. The sun is in the sky and clouds appear in the distance. It’s a scene of calmness and peacefulness. This design seemed to fit quite naturally into the heart-shaped template, which is why I’ve used this shape as a base for it.
For my next design I wanted to depict a friendly dog. He’s sitting on the beach enjoying the warm summer setting. Dogs are such good company and taking your dog for a walk can be a good way to relax and focus on the here and now, rather than worrying about the future.
This dog is very much at home on the beach - I think he’s looking off to the side because he’s spotted a seagull and wants to investigate! The sea is lapping behind him and the sun in the sky, creating a calm and contemplative picture.
When it gets really hot it’s nice to cool down with a cocktail.
I enjoy sitting in a beachside cafe with a friend, sipping my cocktail, chatting and watching the world go by.
For this design I decided that I wanted to create a cocktail that’s colourful and fun. So this one is based around the colour orange; mostly because the orange looks great against a turquoise blue sky, but also because I thought it could be an orange juice based cocktail. I’m thinking it could be a Tequila Sunrise, but anyway, it’s a refreshing drink with cooling ice cubes, a straw and a slice of orange and a little umbrella for decoration.
Whilst it’s nice to sit on the beach and admire the view it’s good to take an interest in the wildlife that’s around us. When I’ve been on coastal holidays sometimes I’ve taken a boat trip out of the harbour and into the wider ocean. I’ve seen local bird life, seals and dolphins – and on a rare occasion I even saw some whales quite close up!
For my final design in this set I was thinking about the many different types of sea life, and that’s when I thought that a sea turtle would make an attractive design. Although I’ve not seen one myself in the wild I know that they’re a valuable part of the environment and that they help to maintain biodiversity.
They also lend themselves well to a design because of their attractive shape and the decorations on their shells. The circular shape of the turtle’s body echoes the circular shape of this template. Their bright green colour contrasts really nicely with the shades of blue in the background. I’ve used backstitching to depict swirls and currents in the water to give a little bit of a feeling of movement.
So, I hope you enjoy making these designs and that they remind you of happy holidays next to the sea!
