Tag Archives: Simple Bird and Nest

Making No. 9 Simple – Simple Bird and Nest

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I love this magazine! Every one that I have purchased has at least a few patterns that I’d like to try to make. Note, I said, “try”.

This time, in issue 9 Simple, it’s the Simple Bird and Nest by Susan B. Anderson. Susan has made a beautiful little business for herself designing the most exquisite “toys”. Ostensibly for children, the toys are so clever that they’re tempting to make for yourself (even if you’re a senior citizen!) This time, the birds just got me.

I dove deep into my stash and found a couple of colors of DK or Sport weight yarn. I know the first color is a Knit Picks City Tweed DK that I was given for mothers’ day a long, long time ago. It’s a soft, 2-ply yarn that knits up beautifully. Just so happens that I am planning two bird and i had two colors of this yarn in my stash. One is more purple and the other more a dusty rose. The pattern calls for several colors … I found a creamy white, a brown, and a grey. Since they’re for toys that probably won’t be washed, I’m not going to worry about fiber content. Suffice it to say, they’re all wool or wool blends and some may be superwash.

The pattern is so simply written that it makes it a cinch to knit. The bird is quick to knit with a couple of rounds of beginner colorwork. Not too scary when you can do it on something small. The nest has a Latvian braid at the top which is, again, described so as to make it easy for anybody to try. I finished the bird and nests in a couple of sittings but I do knit quickly – and have a lot of experience. The eggs, too, are quick and simple. I’ve got one knitted for each bird so far. Again, stashed “rainbow” yarn will make the eggs completely fictional but colorful. My intent is to write a little story to go along with the gifts … we will see if I get that part done.

Gone knitting!

Mid-May in Maine

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Plant baby in my atelier

I have a new plant baby, a ZZ plant, in my atelier! I bought this for my hubby back in the wintertime thinking he’d like a plant in his studio space which is on our third floor. He was concerned that it would die up there because he’d forget to water it. So, since then, it’s been living in our living room with all the other plants and I’ve been taking care of it. This morning, I decided to take it up to my studio where I can enjoy it and it’s something green and alive.

Pansies in my bee pot

Yesterday was a beautiful, albeit windy and chilly, day and we went to the nearest garden center, a small family business in the next town to get some vegetable plants to put into our garden. I wanted to start some greens (they’re supposed to be hardy enough for this time of year) and get a leg up on growing our own food this spring/summer and into the fall. We have a very short growing season and last year we had a garden fail. I hope we are more successful this year. We bought a few pansies to decorate our front dooryard, too. Pansies are such bright and happy plants and we will enjoy these well into the summer!

I did do some knitting yesterday and finished a bird. The pattern is Susan B. Anderson’s Simple Bird and Nest which can be found in the most recent Making Magazine, #9 Simple. I dove into my stash to find the yarn and it is really cute. I’ll make the nest today … and maybe its eggs. This will be a gift so I won’t show the whole “set” until it’s been received. I’ll be making two … or maybe three of these for some special friends.

Susan B. Anderson’s Simple Bird and Nest

All of my new veggie plants were in the garden to be planted yesterday and I ran out of steam. That turned out to be lucky because we had a frost last night … go figure, it’s the middle of May! Ha! Ha! I wonder if we will ever see summer this year. The weathermen said that should be our last frost … I’ll plant the greens: kale, spinach, lettuces, and some spring mix this afternoon or tomorrow. I think tomorrow.

5/13/2020 Messalonskee Morning with Moon and Merganser

Gone knitting.