Susan Bates - Designing the “Oceans of Love” Patterns for StitchableCards

Photo credits for moodboard: Fish by David Clode, Shell by Javardh, Whale Tail by Andrew Bain, Background by Milos Prelevic (ocean) and Chinh Le Duc (whale) on Unsplash. 

In my younger days I often dreamed of living by the sea; this was fueled by family holidays spent in Cornwall as a child. We’d visit beautiful golden sandy beaches, spending time building sand castles and walking along the shoreline. I used to love paddling in the water, looking for shells. When the tide went out we’d explore rock pools; sometimes seeing a small crab taking refuge under a shell, or small fishes waiting for the tide to come in and wash them back out to sea. So, when in later life I was able to choose to live by the sea, this made me very happy! Even now, after many years of living by the sea I enjoy walks along the beach. I still find myself looking at the pretty shells and pebbles that the sea washes up. So my latest collection of designs is inspired by trips to the sea – and for it I’ve chosen a colour palette of coral reds and yellows and bright lime greens – with, of course, a selection of blue colours; to depict the sea and the sky.

I wanted to include some other sea creatures in this set, so I decided to make some sketches of tropical fish. I was drawn to the Butterfly fish, which has very distinct yellow and white stripes running vertically down its body. Butterfly fish also have ‘eyespot’ on their sides. This set of markings is often thought to look similar to a butterfly’s wings, hence the name Butterfly fish. These fish live in tropical oceans and feed on coral and sea anemones. I’ve placed my little Butterfly fish inside the circular stitchable template and surrounded him with strands of coral and sea plants in oranges, reds and lime greens, to give the impression of him swimming amongst a colourful underwater habitat.

After looking at creatures in the sea I switched my focus to the shoreline and the life that you can see here. You can spot shells in all manner of shapes and sizes, with pretty markings and colours, even when walking along a UK beach. The focal point here is a large conch shell in shades of salmon pink and coral red. I’d love to find something like this on my walks along the beach – in fact they are probably best left alone! In the background, behind the conch shell, you can see a smaller scallop and mollusk shell and some bright tendrils of coral. The colours of the subjects in this design are harmonious, as they are all in warm shades of yellow, orange and coral red. The shades of turquoise blue in the background give a watery feel and suggest warm, shallow water. Together all of these elements create a pretty, decorative picture.

For my final design in the set I’ve continued to focus on creatures that we can see on the shoreline. As already mentioned, when the tide goes out you can sometimes see crabs in rock-pools. It seems that most crabs walk sideways, which can give them a slightly comical look, but they can move very quickly this way. Crabs attack their prey with their large front pincers, so be very careful if you attempt to pick one up when you’re down at the beach! For this design the symmetrical nature of the crab’s body seemed to me to fit well into the heart-shaped stitchable template. I love their bright orangey-red colour and their distinctive darker tipped front claws. This crab is surrounded by a soft turquoise blue background, suggesting the warm, shallow waters of the shoreline.

These designs were really fun to come up with – so I hope you enjoy stitching them and creating your own cards and gifts from them!