Mini Quilt

I can finally post pictures of my "Lucy Locket's Mini-Quilt Swap" mini quilt, which my swap partner Nicky in Australia received this week...

The photo was taken at night, standing on a chair at an odd angle so isn't very clear or straight. The word you can't read says "pink".

Now, I can’t avoid it any longer. I have now been tagged to do the “7 random things”, “4 things” and …erm… the “whatever the other one is called” meme by various people. The truth is, in between pigeon production, dissertation-writing and translations I have no time to do them… so I decided to bend the rules and get somebody else to do it for me…somebody with a lot of time on his hands wings...





1) What was I doing 10 years ago? 1998....?

I was probably still part of a sheep.

2) What are 5 things on my to-do list for today (not in any particular order):

I don't really have a to-do list, I’m a pigeon of leisure.

3) Snacks I enjoy:

Cake, seed, crumbs...just not toffee- it wasn't made for beaks (:>

4) Things I would do if I were a billionaire:

Buy a pigeon loft, a big bag of seed and give the rest to a pigeon hospital. Oh…and employ 100 pigeon-crocheters so that one day there might be more woolly pigeons in the world than real ones.

5) Places I have lived:

I was made in Salamanca (Spain), go “home” to Tynemouth (England), am currently nesting in Heidelberg (Germany) and next year will live in Bristol…but in all those places I’ve lived on a shelf with Miss Hennypenny and various brothers.

6) A random fact: You never see the original Mr.Pigeon 001. Although we are all made from his pattern, he looks very different from later pigeons (like the original Mickey Mouse or Homer Simpson). He’s much thinner, has light pink feet and has purple and white stripes on his wings.

I'm sure you need no reminding that the greatest musical event of the year is taking place in Belgrade this Saturday. As Mr. Pigeon was made in Spain, he will be waving his little red and yellow flag for THIS MAN.

A pigeon on a mission

I'd caught Mr.Pigeon staring thoughtfully up at my dictionary on quite a few occasions...



...I'd also caught him trying to read it...but I think it may have been a bit difficult as it is twice the size of our feathered friend...

...so I took pity on Mr. Pigeon and bought him a little present to make things easier for him...

...although I still wasn't sure what a pigeon would want with a German dictionary...

...I did ask, but was told to mind my own business....charming.

He then demanded a lift on my bicycle (with a folded piece of paper under his wing)...

...to one of my favourite places- Cafe Frisch, the best bakery in Heidelberg.

I was told to stay put and in he went still holding the little bit of paper...

( I should point out that I was alone, had been hanging around suspiciously outside the bakery for about 10 minutes holding a woolly pigeon , waiting for an opportune moment (i.e. a moment when nobody would be watching) and just as I though the coast was clear, that woman appeared and must have thought I was a complete lunatic...you can see it in her face)



Anyway, Mr. Pigeon emerged a few minutes later with a package and I gave him and his mystery item a lift home...

...what was written on the folded paper?

I thought so- "one piece of cake for Mr.Pigeon please"

Introducing....THE WONDER CHAIR!

I had a problem. It was a beautiful sunny day, the sun was shining directly onto my balcony but I had nowhere to sit. The spinny desk chair just wouldn't do so I set off on a mission to find a chair that was up for the job.



I found it in the first place I looked- near the station, sitting outside the shop in all its glory. I paid for it, was presented with a very long bag which I attached to myself and cycled home with at great risk to myself and other cyclists (you've seen the slapstick 'turning around holding a plank and hitting somebody' sketches? well imagine that but with a chair in a bag on my back and a lamp-post.)



What's so great about it? Attractive it is NOT but practical it most certainly IS. Look...it's even got a footrest built in...

"Now wait just one minute" I hear you say. "What's all this got to do with knitting and pigeons and...well, interesting things?"

Funny you should say that.



This chair not only has a yarn holder on one side...

...it has a pigeon holder on the other side!

Those chair designers think of everything.

And don't worry, Mr. Pigeon was well protected from the sun. I didn't want him burning his beak so we got his sun hat out...





And finally I'll leave you with a picture of the apple that cares.

Who needs a man when fruit can say it for 40 cents?

012 takes to the skies

Do you remember Mr. Pigeon 012? I first mentioned him in this post.


Since then Mr. P 012 has been to the rugby club bar for many a pint with his owner, has caused (too) many other rugby-shirted birds to be ordered and this week he finally got the chance to spread his little crocheted wings and fly.


Can you tell where he is?




Maybe this would help...

Mr.Pigeon's owner is taking flying lessons and after much badgering I persuaded him to take "Percy" along and take some photos to prove that crocheted pigeons really can fly.

Here Mr. P prepares for take-off...

...and sits on the throttle keeping a beady eye on all the instruments...

Mr. Pigeon 007 was understandably jealous as he has only ever flown with easyjet where you have to pay £2 for a cup of tea in a paper cup. So when we went to Cumbria for the day, 007 was taken here for some real afternoon tea with pigeon-sized apple turnovers, fruit cake and the biggest scones his little acrylic eyes had ever seen...

Not a bad life for two woolly pigeons :)