Collecting Sea Shells

One of my favorite things when I went to Florida as a kid was collecting shells that washed up on the beach. There is a tiny glass vial of them in my jewelry box still, memories in a bottle of a fun time with my family.  These memories grow more precious with time as pretty soon I will be the only one still alive from that family group.  But I can always pick up the bottle of shells to return to Florida with my parents and baby brother through my memories of our time at the beach.

I think its memories like mine that are driving the popularity of Melissa Shirley's shells in a bucket designs.  Have you seen them?  Scroll through the Seaside section of Melissa's website and see how many shells you find piled in a pretty bowl or collected in a bucket.  A great many of these designs have been turned into classes.
http://melissashirleydesigns.com//gallery/?cat=67

Laura Taylor of Aristeia has stitched two of the bowls of shells patterns and you can get stitch guides  now that the classes Aristeia did for these pieces are over.  You can do the larger piece, or...
http://melissashirleydesigns.com/gallery/?index=4098&cat=67

...you can stitch the smaller with Laura's help.  Note that both of these designs are on 13 count.
http://melissashirleydesigns.com/gallery/?index=5662&cat=70

Quail Run is doing a class on the shells in a bucket design.  You can follow their progress on the new QR blog and just perhaps they will write a guide at the end you could buy if you are a long distance admirer.
http://sonorandesertstitching.blogspot.com/2012/07/seashell-pail-class.html

http://sonorandesertstitching.blogspot.com/2012/07/seashell-pail-class-progress.html

http://sonorandesertstitching.blogspot.com/2012/08/update-on-seashell-pail-class_8.html

Amy Bunger is busily writing a stitch guide for one of the shell compote bowl canvases (the one with the sea urchin in the right lower corner) for the 18 count version.  She just posted a message about it on her Facebook page.  If you are a fan of 18 count, let Amy know you are interested in her guide when she finishes it.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=354429627967376&set=a.245111968899143.57228.100002010242464&type=1&theater


If sea shells bring back memories for you, how about stitching a new memory with one of the above?

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com