Benjamine the Watervole by Cinthia Vallet | Annual (issue 5) Pattern Previews
We’re huge fans of Cinthia Vallet’s cute little knitted creatures, so it comes as no surprise that we just had to add one to our Annual (issue five)! Meet Benjamine, the Watervole, and her family – sunning themselves at the beach, resisting the rain in their incredibly sweet raincoats, and frolicking about the Devon coast. If you’d like to have Benjamine and her family in your life, you can preorder the Annual (issue five) mid August!
Meet: Benjamine the Watervole by Cinthia Vallet
Benjamine the Watervole is a little critter who lives the most beautiful summer by the seaside, quietly sailing on the waves, trotting in the mist, nestling in a little beach hut or sleeping under the stars. She is a joyful little vole who loves to share her adventures with her family, Little Mo and Grand-Ma.
Benjamine is worked seamlessly, all in one piece, starting from the nose, and knitted down to her little feet. All finishing is done as you knit with no assembly.
Benjamine and her little brother are worked up in 4ply yarn – Knit by Numbers 4ply and Exmoor Sock – while Grand-Ma is knitted in Harvest Hues Worsted, Knit by Numbers DK, and Devon Naturals DK. As you only need small yarn amounts for them, our Minis are an excellent choice!
For the Annual (issue five), we thought it’d be fun to introduce you to our designers and patterns one by one, and ask them a few questions about the inspiration behind the design, what they liked about the yarn they worked with, and their favourite beach memory. Without further ado – meet Cinthia Vallet, designer of Benjamine the Watervole!
Hi Cinthia! Thank you for taking the time to chat with us! Let’s start with the idea of your submission for the Annual (issue five):
What’s the main inspiration behind Benjamine the Watervole?
When I started thinking about a little animal that would fit into the pages of the Annual, I made a search about species that would be local to the beautiful area of John Arbon Textiles. This is how I crossed the path of the watervoles, for which I instantly felt a lot of love, and this how Benjamine the Watervole took life in my mind first, and then on my needles.
Then came the theme for the annual 5, Seaside Kitsch, and I imagined my little Benjamine visiting her grandma at the seaside, with her little brother, and spending the most delightful endless days on the beach.
What’s your favourite element of the design?
As with all my animals, Benjamine is worked fully in the round, and shaped with short rows when needed. But for her, I designed only with the most simple short rows ever, which only involves turning your work when it says “turn”, and decreasing when you’re instructed to do so. Which means that there is nothing specific to master except knitting, purling, increasing and decreasing. I really like this idea of the most easy approach possible, so we can focus on the joy of seeing our little animal friend growing on the needles.
What makes Knit by Numbers 4ply and Benjamine the Watervole such a great combination?
What I love about Knit by Numbers 4ply is that it gives me the same joy as having a beautiful box of pencils at hand, with which I could “draw” so many things! Having such a palette at hand, with so many colors available in mini skeins, is amazing for me! And this is great that the palette covers everything from natural hues to bright and fun colors. Such a treat to knit with the bright yellow I used for Benjamine’s raincoat! I also love how the yarn can be so easily knitted at a tight gauge, with no pain for the hands.
What’s your favourite beach memory?
Seaside is my happy place and what I love the most is long walks on the wet sand with my dog, and endless scrutinizing sessions to collect tiny shells. If you met her, I’m very closed to Agi the sheep from my book Mouche and friends!
Thank you so much, Cinthia, for taking the time to answer our questions! You can find more about Cinthia over on Instagram and Ravelry.
The Annual (issue five) will be available for preorder mid August. Keep your eyes peeled on the blog for more pattern intros, and on our newsletter for the preorder release!