Soon spring will be upon us (yesterday was very sunny here in Somerset, even though the temperature dropped to below freezing overnight), and that's when wildlife rescue centres become inundated with baby birds and animals which have somehow become separated from their parents. At this time of year there is a huge need for nests of varying sizes and shapes which can act as substitutes for the ones the babies have come from.
As part of Loving Hands Winter challenges, we were encouraged to make nests for wildlife centres, ready for the spring influx. Using patterns from this Nest Guide, I have started making nests and caves:
These need to be knitted and crocheted very tightly so that little claws cannot get trapped in the fabric, and they need to be quite dense so that they will stand upright with firm sides. The small nests were knitted on size 5.00 double pointed needles with 2 strands of dk. The cave was crocheted with one strand of aran and one of dk with a 4.50 crochet hook.
Secret World Wildlife Rescue Centre is situated quite close to where I live in Somerset, and they have a collection point in a local supermarket for people to donate suitable pet food, kitchen towels and other useful items for the Centre. I shall pop these in on Saturday when I do my shopping.
What a great idea! You're quite a nest builder ;) I wonder if felting the nests would work with keeping the dense? I'll bet the wildlife centre will love your hard work.
ReplyDeleteWendy
They ask for acrylic yarn to be used, Wendy, so unfortunately felting isn't possible. But I agree, if they were made of wool, felting would be a great idea.
Delete