Houston.......We have THREE!!!

 Such a patient Birdie Mom

 Getting sleepy doing nothing but sitting

 Oops!  She caught me being a peeping Maria!  When is she going to leave the nest so I can see?!

 WOO HOO! THREE!!!

*deep sigh of relief........then wondering if we can count on one more.....

PS:  I'm still getting my knitting done but it is not near as interesting as watching the Birdie.

Houston..............we have two....count them....two eggs

 Birdie waiting.....

 .....and waiting with her eyes shut

 .....to lay another egg

My Oh My.....how many more until she sits to hatch them?

This nest is 5 feet from our dining room window and about 6 feet from the ground on a ladder rung under the carport.

I take pictures of Birdie in her nest from the inside of the house but when I see her fly off and out of sight, I run out and have my camera take a peek (and picture) of the inside of the nest.  So far, I'm happy with how the pictures are turning out!

Houston...........We have an egg

 Birdie huffed......

 ....and puffed

.....until she laid a Robins Egg Blue

This little beauty was laid around 11:30 this morning. 

Let the 12-14 day countdown begin!

Here is a website with more details of the American Robin.

Knitted Footies

Nothing puts a smile on a person quicker than a hand knitted pair of footies.  This pair is for Leslie, who works at a Chiropractic Care Center and is very dedicated to her work.

I make these footies with 2 strands of Cascade 220 Superwash worsted wool in the favorite colors of the recipient.  I hope you can tell these are red and black.

Houston....we have a Robin.

a few....Quilt Blocks of the Month....

...these are made using reproduction 1800's fabrics except for the light background fabric that I chose.  Still, I think they look pretty good!

Have you been quilting?

A Market Bag

I made this bag at Billie's Designer Fabrics and I was one of three in the 2nd class.  It's made of oilcloth and finished at 15 1/2" tall, 13 1/2" wide, and 7" deep.  I got enough fabric to make two more because a gal can never have enough market bags!

The accents are a ruffly poly scarf (knit by mwah) and a cup of cocoa (made by mwah because of Chris and Denise).

Sewing a bit

Any guesses to what these want to be?  ;o)

Chicken Soup, Tatting and something else

 My mom worked as the Head Cook for a lady, and her family, in England over 70 years ago.  She is considered a gourmet cook and taught me to cook like her.

Nothing goes better with this soup than Sage Dumplings.  Yum.

 This Glass Mat Spinning Wheel finished at 5 inches.  I used sz 20 Lizbeth thread in...black and I want to make many more of this lovely design by Mary Konior.

 We should all hold hands like this......

Now I wonder what I'm going to be making out of those letters, that apostrophe and the fabric peeking out underneath them....;)

WEFT Fiber Arts Magazine comes to life.....

This is exciting news from my friend, Marilyn, who lives on a boat.  I will be joining the many subscribers for many reasons.....1)  I love fiber, 2) It's at a great price, and 3) I know Marilyn!!!!  

Here is the news:

THE ISLAND SHUTTLE IS RE-BORN!

I’m very excited to announce that the former Island Shuttle has been re-born as WEFT Fiber Arts Magazine  – the first issue will be available on March 1^st!

Many of you know me as the former producer of the Victoria FibreFest, an avid knitter and long-time ambassador of all things fibre-related. The first time I laid eyes on the Island Shuttle (probably ten years ago now) I introduced myself to Dianne, offered my help if she ever needed it – and then boldly informed her that if she ever wanted to give it up, I’d be interested in taking it on. So when I saw ‘The Shuttle Says Goodbye’ on the front page of the final issue, I had to call! 

What you might not know is that, in addition to my enthusiasm for all things fibre, I have a 25-year background as a freelance writer and publisher, so newsletter production is a great fit for me. After ‘laying low’ here on Salt Spring Island for the last year-and-a-half, I was ready to jump back in – those of you who know me will be surprised that it took me this long!

Dianne suggested that I do a ‘fresh start’ instead of carrying on under the Island Shuttle banner.  So I’ve changed its name and the publication frequency (it will be published every other month now), but otherwise, I’ve always had the philosophy that ‘if it works, don’t fix it!’ In other words, ad and subscription rates won’t change any time soon, and you can expect the same great coverage of news, events, contacts, and classifieds that made the Island Shuttle such a wonderful  resource for all of us! 

Here’s what Dianne had to say… 

“I think there is a place for a publication for fibre enthusiasts in British Columbia, one that connects people and organizations, introduces new people to sources, equipment and teachers and publicizes events. I wish Marilyn well with her new endeavour.”  

~ Dianne Cross, Editor/Publisher, former Island Shuttle ~ 

If you are a former advertiser, I’d love to hear from you to re-start your ad. If you are a former subscriber, I’d love to hear from you to re-start your subscription. If you’d like to be a NEW advertiser or subscriber, I’d love to hear from you to get you started!  If you are simply a former fan of Island Shuttle, I look forward to being read (and recommended!) by you, and to hearing from you (comments, critiques and suggestions welcome) as I build the new WEFT (Westcoast Enthusiasts For The Fibre Arts) Magazine!  Looking forward to hearing from you!  

Subscriptions: are $20 for two years. 

AD PRICES: A business card was $10, a quarter page $25 and a half page $50 for the two year subscription period.

PH: (250)653-4445    EMAIL: weftfibrearts@gmail.com

Cheques can be made out to:

Marilyn Guille DBA WEFT

2878 Fulford-Ganges Rd

Salt Spring Island, BC

V8K1X6

It was C.O.L.D. this morning!

 Dragon Ice Crystal?

This looks like an Ice Crystal leaf!

Reba always sits and looks straight up at the camera when I take her picture.

Finished Objects

 Waldesgrund Doily

 Love those close ups...

 Charity sewing hats and mittens

 Flannel back of quilt below

 My own way of not having to line up the blocks....

 Flannel back of next quilt

 Having fun with Free Motion Quilting (FMQ)

Apron and oven mitts for Leah

 The garden is finished, too.

They moved in...

Knitted Clogs and a Christmas Stole

Meet my new house slippers with pixie toe!  Who else, but Elizabeth Zimmermann, would design this adorable and quick knit to keep your feet warm.  The wool used is Sheepsdown and US sz 9 needles at 2.75 stitches to the inch.

This is the Belle Affaire stole (knit through Clue 12) by Birgit of Knitting Delight.  Yarn used is Navy Merino/Silk from the Little Wool Co in New Zealand and produced by Anna Gratton.

You, too....can Make It With Wool

 I chose a pattern from the January 2009 issue of Creative Knitting.  It is called Cables & Lace Tunic and is designed by Susan Shildmyer.  Ms. Shildmyer can also be found on Ravelry.  

While knitting this lovely tunic, with 100% Donegal Tweed wool by Tahki, I decided to leave the pockets out and make the 4-stitch cable twist in the opposite direction on either side of the large centered gorgeous cable.  I was able to complete the tunic in 8 days with a little over 8 hanks.

And.  Here I am.  This was taken in Yakima, WA at the Make It With Wool State competition.  I placed 1st in District in my age category, went to compete in State and placed 3rd out of 6.  The winners will go to the National Competition in San Antonio, TX in January 2013.

I had the best of time.....meeting the other contestants and getting to tell some of my stories to people who haven't heard them yet!

Some things I sewed....

This pair of 'travel toothpaste and toothbrush holder' are already in Arizona.  The free pattern can be found here.

This.....is.....a laundry bag for my son.  He likes being an individual and gave me his ideas on what he would like.  :)

Lady in Pink.....

This is a great over sized garter knit sweater!  It's from Sally Melville's book, "Book 1: The Knit Stitch" and the pattern is called Sally's Favorite Summer Sweater.  I used Tahki Cotton Classic in.....well.....pink.
I normally knit everything in the round no matter what a pattern says to do, but this one is super simple in garter and easy to seam up.

Tatting is fun!

 I've been a little busy with tatting this and tatting that..........

 The doily (sz 30 thread) on the right isn't laying flat....because my thought of 1/4" thread spacing isn't what the ruler says.  I will have to tat it over again.

The square motif is tatted with sz 20 thread and isn't finished yet.

 Ahh, yes, [with the help of Sharon Briggs website] my first tatted wild rose (sz 20 thread).....love it!

Using sz 20 thread, I tatted a few chain links and then moved on to Marliee Rockley's earrings from April 2012 Bead & Button Magazine.