A number of small female figurines have been found in Europe made by people during the height of the last glaciation. Most of them are quite crude (all senses of the word!) but the one from Kostenki, Russia, is a beautifully observed portrayal of a woman with braided and beaded hair, wearing a band around her chest with shoulder straps. Here sh...

How can you not love these gorgeous creatures? This racoon is about 6 inches (15cm) high and has the correct number of toes and ears. Some short rows and simple two colour knitting are all you need for this.

“…his antlers resemble those of a stag, his head that of a camel, his eyes those of a demon, his neck that of a snake, his belly that of a clam, his scales those of a carp, his claws those of an eagle, his soles those of a tiger, his ears those of a cow.”

Chameleons are intensely appealing reptiles that can change colour. Irritate a calm, green chameleon and it can change to a threatening red. Their famously long tongues are used to catch insects but you don’t have to add one if you don’t want to. With a curled up tail this is about 8 inches (20cm) long. I sewed one up with the curly tail and le...

This is a simple hand warmer festooned with Christmas cheer. The trees are make from separate parts sewn together to give some shape to the tree, which is decorated with a knitted star and small buttons (about 9mm/ 1/2 inch).

Protoceratops andrewsi has been found in Upper Cretaceous deposits (about 70 million years ago) from Mongolia. Related to the later Triceratops, the adults were about 6ft/1.8m long. Enough fossils of this little dinosaur have been found to show how hatchlings grew into adults. These models show the differing frill shapes that the animals are be...

Stegosaurus stenops is an armoured dinosaur found during the Late Jurassic of between 155 and 150 million years ago in the western United States. It had back legs longer than the front legs, with the tail held high off the ground. The ‘thagomizer’ (the tail spikes) swinging from side to side, seems to have been an effective weapon against preda...

Latimeria is a genus of living coelacanth, a type of ‘lobe-finned’ fish that has distinct bones in the fins. These are related to the bones in our own arms and legs. The distinctive shape of the coelacanth tail means it can form a tessellation.

This pattern is for varieties of mountain sheep farmed in Wales. There are these six for you to try. Each has a characteristic colouring. The patterns use either simple changes of colour or two-colour knitting so that you can pick one that meets your knitting experience. I have given them cute little ears, a nice fat tum and they stand up on th...

Here’s a stab at modelling Brontosaurus from the Jurassic period, now that there is a good chance that this genus name is ok to use again. This model includes the authentic features of the whip-like tail and the single claw on each front feet. With the tail uncurled, this is about 20 inches long. This dinosaur is a heavier build compared to the...

Here’s a stab at modelling Diplodocus from the Jurassic period. This model includes the authentic features of the whip-like tail and the single claw on each front feet. With the tail uncurled, this is about 20 inches long. Compared to the Brontosaurus also published here, this dinosaur is a lighter build (relatively, anyway! 8-D ) and a more de...

Max and Angus are a happy pair of Highland bulls. Max is ginger, Angus is brown. This uses a loop stitch to make the hair, which you can cut as is the photo or leave as the loops if you prefer.

Hildithryth was a nun, probably an abbess, at Whitby Abbey (in Yorkshire, England) in Saxon times. Her name is celebrated on a grave marker stone found there. These stones are also called ‘Pillow Stones’. The line drawing is of the original stone and the photo shows my version. The top two panels have the Greek ‘alpha’ and ‘omega’ symbols and t...

Here’s an idea I have had to get off my chest… Being an incomer to Wales ( ie. ‘“Sqwelsh”), I love the attitude that the Welsh dragon seems to have..

Here is my first stab at modelling Triceratops horridus, probably the most iconic and FUN dinosaurs going. I have tried to keep the body proportions accurate to the reconstructions of the fossil skeletons. the number of toes (always important! 8-) ) is correct as is the arrangement of ankles, knees, wrists and elbows. I cannot guarantee that th...

Here is a stab at modelling one of my favourite beasties.

Here are some trilobites to adorn some hand warmers. Out of the many thousands of known species I have had a go at representing three different types - there are many more!

This is what the daughter got for Christmas this year!

This is a model of Anomalcaris from the Cambrian period ( about 500 million years ago). This probably preyed on Opabinia that I have also modelled.

This is a stab at modelling the Cambrian cutie Opabinia (c. 500 million year old), contempory with Anomalocaris and Wiwaxia (both coming soon…) in DK yarn. This strange beastie probably hovered the sea floor a bit like an aquatic Henry vacuum cleaner.

This is a cheerful beanie hat on top of which is Euoplocephalus ( this means ‘well armoured head’ - although all of him looks well armoured to me ;-) - and is a type of ankylosaur). I have tried to give him as much anatomical accuracy as reasonable for this kind of thing, especially the number of toes…but not the right number of spikes because ...

This is a cheerful beanie hat with a Stegosaurus on top. I have tried to give him as much anatomical accuracy as reasonable for this kind of thing, especially the number of toes and the spikey tail bit…

This is a cheerful beanie hat with a Triceratops on top. I have tried to give him as much anatomical accuracy as reasonable for this kind of thing, especially the number of toes…

This is a cheerful beanie hat with a Tyrannosaurus rex on top. I have tried to give him as much anatomical accuracy as reasonable for this kind of thing.