Kish the Loch Ness Monster

Kish the Loch Ness Monster is made from 100% cotton yarn, unless requested otherwise. Other color palates available upon request. Please allow a month and a half of production time. Because Kish the Loch Ness Monster is hand-made, and syncing the chips is a delicate process, expedited production time is not possible, although we don’t expect it to take a full six weeks.

Ordering process

To order your Loch Ness Monster email me at dressedlilies@gmail.com, and we’ll get all the details sorted out! 🙂

(If you’re like me, you’re not here for the product but the pattern. Well, my dears, this pattern was one I wrote. You can soon find it on the patterns page of this website. Have fun, and happy making!)

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side view of a crocheted loch ness monster against tan carpet — loch ness monster side view

front view of a crocheted loch ness monster against tan carpet — loch ness monster front view

close up of a crocheted loch ness monster tail against tan carpet — loch ness monster tail

little green head with black eyes peeking out of a white egg — Hatching Loch Ness Monster Egg White

The beach wasn’t pristine, and the water was cold; but, it was sand near a large body of water, it was free, and it was nearby. Kat’s aunt loved to spoil her niece, but she wasn’t rich, so her spoiling and adventures came in one main variety: inexpensive. That didn’t mean they were any less special for Kat, though, who loved both her aunt and unexpected, everyday adventures.

Kat found the rock a good half-hour’s walk from where they’d parked. It was polished to smooth perfection by the waves. The rock was gray, but there was more nuance to it than that. This color wasn’t just gray. There were flecks of light in it, as though something were shining out from within. It was the gray of the sky before a storm–holding mystery and unknown and adventure just beneath its steely outside.

labradorite stone against a white background

It was a wonderful rock, Kat’s aunt said, just the kind of rock perfect for a paperweight–you didn’t even have to paint or varnish it. The natural color was striking enough. Any of Kat’s classmates would be sure to want a paperweight just like it, she was sure.

Unfortunately, that oh-so-perfect rock turned out to be an oh-so-perfect not-rock.

“Katherine Durrant!” Her mother’s exasperated call from the living room pulls Kat out of the world of her videogame. She pauses it so that she doesn’t lose this battle.

“Yeah, Mom?”

Her mother appears in her doorway. “I thought I told you I wanted to take a shower.”

Kat blinks at her, not exactly following. “You did, yes. Is that… a problem?”

Her mother raises her brows, waiting.

Kat spreads her hands. “I’m sorry; I don’t follow. Kish is in my bathtub, and–”

“–and the shower in my bathroom isn’t working, remember?”

“Ohhh…” she hops up from her chair and hurries to the door, before slowing to a stop. “Um… where should I put Kish, exactly? He can’t fit in the sink.”

Her mother sighs. “We’ve talked about this, Kat. Kish can’t live here, anymore.”

Kat shakes her head. “I don’t want to lose him, Mom. We’ll figure out something.”

“Like what, honey? I’ve told you, your aunt Nancy–”

“Aunt Nancy lives five hours away!”

“She’s the only one with somewhere big enough for Kish, honey.”

Kat sighs, and wraps her arms around her middle, turning away from her mother and entering the bathroom. She sits on the edge of her tub, and drops her hand beneath the water. Kish swims over to her, brushing against her hand. The water is warming up. She’ll need to fill it with new, cooler water, again. Suddenly, the tub looks far too small for her friend. He can swim around now, but for how much longer?

“Call Aunt Nancy,” she whispers.

“Really?”

She nods, eyes and sinuses burning. “Now. Before I change my mind.”

A week later, Kat watches Kish swimming under the dock behind her aunt’s house. Around and around the pole, and then speeding out deeper into the ocean, before spinning around and coming back. She’s been here for a few days, and it doesn’t get any easier to walk back to the house, knowing she has to leave Kish here.

Footsteps sound on the dock behind her. She can tell it’s her aunt, and only turns when a second pair of footsteps–ones she doesn’t recognize–start to cross the dock, too. She stands at the sight of the man with her aunt. He’s bald and is wearing sunglasses. His shoes are polished to a shine, and he stands ramrod-straight. He’s clearly some kind of official from somewhere.

She looks between the two. “Aunt Nancy…?”

“It’s okay, Kat. You can trust Neirin. He’s a friend, and has worked with these kinds of creatures, before.”

“‘These kinds of creatures’?”

“Yes, Kat,” Neirin’s voice is softer than his impeccable posture would have one guess, “these kinds of creatures. Kish is what most would refer to as a Loch Ness Monster. They are rare and precious, and there aren’t many that know how to take care of them.”

“A Loch Ness Monster? You mean… like the Loch Ness Monster?”

“Yes, child. Like that Loch Ness Monster.”

Kat turns, open-mouthed, to watch Kish swim deeper out into the ocean, and back, again.”

“…does that mean you have to take Kish to Scotland?”

“No. It just means the people I work for are going to keep an eye on him, and make sure he is doing alright, and continues to do alright. There are several Loch Ness Monsters the world over, Nessy is just the most well-known.”

Kat narrows her eyes at him. “Define ‘keep an eye on him’.”

“We will visit every once in a while and take a few readings and measurements. Length, body temperature, that sort of thing.” He pulls a card out from his jean pocket, and offers it to her.

Kat takes it, and reads it aloud. “NSF. No Sparrow Falls: protecting the commonly strange.” She looks up at him. “How do I know you’re who you say you are?”

“I understand you’re suspicious, Kat; and it’s good you are. It means you care about Kish. I believe your aunt had something to ease your worries. Nancy?”

Kat’s aunt opens the cross-body bag she constantly keeps on her person, and pulls something out of it, handing it to Kat. It’s a yarn replica of Kish. …sort of. It has a proportionately larger frill than Kish does, and a few tendrils hanging off his face that almost resembles a mustache. And the beard on the replica is longer.

“This is what an adult Loch Ness Monster looks like, Kat. A healthy one. I have two chips in my pocket. One we will slide under Kish’s scales–just like microchipping a dog–and the other will be put into that replica. If Kish isn’t doing well, that replica will change. It will lose the beard and mustache. Compare the replica with Kish whenever you visit to help you see that it’s telling you the truth. I promise you it is, but I don’t expect you to take my word for it.”

Kat nods slowly, turning the replica over in her hands, before looking back up at the man. “I want to see you put the chips in, so I know.”

“Of course.” He waves a hand toward the end of the dock. “Shall we begin?”