Snapping Turtle

This was my first actual project from one of my favorite books, Knitting Nature. I’ve thumbed through my copy so many times, it looks like I must have knitted all the patterns already but it was just fantasy until now. The pattern was genius and very easy to catch the hang of. After I finished this, I turned right around a knit another for Ruby in more vibrant colors. The yarn is Garnstudio DROPS Bomull/Lin that I bought in Copenhagen three(!) years ago, and Katia Linen that I bought in Paris this April.

I opted for the knit-side out, instead of the purl-side out as specified in the pattern. The pattern says the purl-side ended up with a better delineation between the blocks since the picked up stitches made a ridge on the purl side. I picked up the stitches so that the ridge was on the knit side, so there you go!

The bottom edge tended to curl up quite a bit, even after blocking, so I sewed some gross grain ribbon on the back and it keeps it nice and flat!

I tried a zipper closure as in the pattern, but I guess I bought a zipper that was too heavy or maybe I sewed it in wrong, because it tended to just pucker and get lumpy. Also, I knit a size too large and it tended to slip dangerously low on my hips. I took out the zipper and added elastic. This was a much better solution for me.