No 30 again, Elephants!

A quick change to Elephants......

while we are still in Zoo mode!

Elephants were No 30 in my Tatted Animal Challenge, tatted way back in 2008.

You can see them here .

SO 

this is elephants revisited.

Those elephants were accompanied by real elephants in Dublin zoo.

This time it's elephants from Chester Zoo that have st me off.

The elephant enclosure was massive and superbly landscaped....I wouldn't have minded living there myself!

Who wouldn't with a swimming pool like that!

How different they look when wet or dry.

So mmm! have I got any suitable colours to tat them in......would like it to be Size 10 to go with the Rhinos.

Light grey might be good...

Or maybe light brown....

Or slightly smaller in Coats Red Heart in what looked like a dark grey...but is actually a grey green.

Or finally a different grey in Red Heart.

Cute or what. he came out a little bit different.

Of course the resident expert asked if I could make them with two ears. Not a bad idea as I have the two winged pig hanging in a ring.

They all wanted to go to the zoo!

One little fella nearly got left behind.

The pattern is in Martha Ess's new book, More Critters on the Block.

One of my friends said that the book was going to be worth it if only for the elephant!

In size 10 they measure  7cm/2.5in.

using the modified shoelace trick method took

Sh 1.5m,   ball 4.6m

In Red Heart 20, measures 6cm/2.25in and took

Sh 1.25m, ball 4.25m

By the time that you read this I hope to be in Lloret de Mar in Spain, near Barcelona, with my lace Guild at the Lace Festival.

Safe!!!

IsDihara is one of my best tatting buddies, and I have been in cohoots with her as she hatched her plan for Palmetto tat days.

You can read all about it here.

This is then gist of it.....

......she has been responsible for the discovery of a cure for that dastardly bacterium/virus/microbe....

that causes Necrotizing filitis.

Ok so big deal !

Well you wouldn't think that if it statred eating your precious thread!

This thing takes no prisoners!

So what did she do

but

sent it over to me (not on purpose I can assure you!)

Was I scared??

You bet I was!

Is that scary or what!

My stash is HUGE.

So as soon as I got home from the wedding, I had to tat the cure as fast as my shuttles would go.

Which is pretty fast!

My first Thyme Leaf is in my favourite varg' Flora 20,

BUT WAS ONE LEAF ENOUGH?

Maybe if I tatted it with a stem......a long one.....I could hang it up near my stash!

Good thinking!

This one is much prettier in real life. It has the added protection of dew drops.....

.......bet you didn't know that!

I tatted this one from the bottom up...so my ends could make the stem....

.....another magic trick!

It's hanging near my stash

Think maybe I should tat some more .....

...just to be on the safe side!

Animal No 34. Rhinocerus!

If you have been following my blog you will have already seen these Rhinos on my Rhino Mania posts.

I just want to bring them all together under my Tatting Animal Challenge.....the original purpose of this blog....together with a few details.

Size comparison... the white Rhino was tatted in Hakelgarn 15 from Germany.

Fawn and Grey Rhinos in Coats Red Heart 20

All the rest in Flora 10.

Thread used for size 10 using shuttle and ball (modified shoelace trick method).

Shuttle   1.35m, Ball 4.5 m Eye bead on ball.

they measure 7cm/2.5in.
They are from Martha Ess's new book.
More critters on the block
An absolute gem.

Warning
Tatting this Rhino is addictive!

Last of the Rhinos!

Our hunt for Rhinos today takes us to Cheshire Oaks Designer Outlet Mall near Chester....one of a growing breed in the UK.

The shops showcased dozens of small  Rhinos decorated by the schools....as well as a few full size ones.

Grandbaby was enchanted again at each shop window, he had to go in and touch, they were just his size.

Outside the mall was The Ladybug.

 

Then there was The Wallower 

He tries to keep the bugs away by covering himself in mud. can you spot the Oxpecker pecking at his hide?

My Rhinos are again being influenced by all this....

This is Blueberry wearing a very smart tatted jumper in stunning colours of Flora 10.

His partner Rose decided to wear flowers.

Rose and Blueberry LOVE flowers.

So does Goldie who decided to wear a flower behind her ear Tahitian style.

A good/very poignant one to finish on...

While Stocks Last

.......lets hope that our beloved Rhino....and all that he stands for in our world,

survives all that man has thrown at it.

LONG LIVE THE RHINO!

We only got to see just over a third of the Rhinos. If you really want to see the others and learn more about Rhino Mania go to...

www.rhinomania.co.uk

We're all going to the thzoo!

A trip to the zoo to see the Rhinos was a MUST! especially for the little laddie.

It's got the cutest monorail.....

There was another train decorated like a snake.

This beats a little train on the ground.....didn't go on it tho'.

Chester Zoo is the largest in the UK and very different from when we last went...when daughter was same age as grandbaby is now!

It is still famous for it's beautiful flower beds, but is now very much a modern conservation zoo......which is now the main purpose of a zoo.

They have 9 Rhinos. Mostly African Black Rhinos with one Indian Rhino.

Grandbaby was enchanted. He must have thought it strange to have seen so many brightly coloured

 Rhinos....how does a small boy cope with the world!

We saw something else that I am going to tat from Martha's book, but that's for later.

I was also fascinated but the group of baby Vasayan Warty Pigs....

Earlier in the year on our trip to Belfast Zoo we saw the adult that had come from Chester Zoo....waiting for the arrival that day of it's mate to be from Rotterdam Zoo.

Zoos and Wildlife Parks (like ours) do such a wonderful job.

There were Rhinos to spot....

This is Ecko.....covered in the most gorgeous graffiti.....

Isn't he something.

Then there was Splodge.....

Splodge had the greatest influence on my tatting.

Rainbow Rhino jumped into my mind!

 He is tatted in some size 10 Rainbow Bright that I dyed to make Lucet cords. The only size 10 I have ever dyed. Now I need more colours in size 10! This one has the longer horn of a Black Rhino.

Had to make more of these....

This is one of the freaks of HDT......they all came out almost identical!!!

the flowers are made with the length of thread left over after each one.....all the same too.

One last Rhino to see at the Zoo.....this one is on the roundabout on the approach to the Zoo... not easy to photograph!

He is called Liverpool's Loveliest One 

and refers to the latest fashions hanging on the silver limbs of the tree. 

Cheshire shopping rocks!!

Our last look at Rhino Mania takes us shopping...

see ya there.

Even more Rhinos!

It was becoming increasingly obvious that we weren't going to see all the Rhinos in Chester,

there are 62 of them scattered around the city and it was getting near to train time.

I addition to the large Rhinos, 116 miniature Rhinos...about a quarter of the size of the big ones, were distributed to Schools all over Cheshire West and Chester.

These were to be seen in shop windows....I wouldn't even begin to show these to you!

Onwards on our trail,

Safety Sally 

This Rhino is from the Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service, the design resulting from a competition at Christleton High School.

Apparently she will be sending Bluetooth safety messages to all who come to see her.

Grandbaby was keen to learn all about the 6th Sense Campaign!

The final Rhino that we saw in the City was....

Guardian

he protects the walled city of Chester.....but who is going to protect him???

We all hope that he will not become a part of history.

My own little team of Rhinos has been joined by......

Lavendar....

....and.....

.....Violet.....

both tatted in size 10 Flora....I think this a great size for the block tat animals. the have faceted crystal eyes that sparkle.

Violet and Lavendar are great friends and like to make the other happy.

More tomorrow as we hunt for more Rhinos.

More Rhinos in a beautiful city!

Chester is a beautiful city,

A walled city, the walls were built built during it's Roman occupation 2,000 years ago.

Nowadays it is famous for The Rows.

Built over 700 years ago this two level shopping extravaganza lines both sides of on of the main streets.

In this square was....another Rhino....

Rhino Mosaica inspired by the tiling found in Roman ruins around Chester.

At the end of this street you can just see the Famous Eastgate Clock (the one that Rhino 'O' Clock was based on).

It's said to be the most photographed clock in the world. Built to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria in 1897.

This is Regal Rhino, isn't he stunning.

This is Hollyoaks Omnibus honouring the TV soap.

Chester also boasts a Roman Amphitheatre......currently under renovation.

Standing in it is Rhino Romano, described as 'naturally armour plated, pre-dating the Roman Empire by many milennia...this uniformed foot soldier could well have been their military mascot.'

You can see part of the city walls in this shot.

Still covered in soapy suds from his wash, this Rhino...Almost wiped out shows the painter wiping out the Rhino and the colour that it brings to our world.....very apt.

More tatted Rhinos from me.....got to get the tatting bit in for you. If you have read this far then you deserve it. If you enjoy these posts please leave a comment.

These two are made in Red Heart by Coates of India size 20, they are exactly the same size as the Hakelgarn 15 that I used previously.

Getting the hang of this design...but oh they look so boring and bland beside the Rinos we have seen today.....mmm...methinks some colour!

See ya.