Wednesday 10 November 2010

Ladyfingers, gifts (part two), and birds

Last night I finished my Ladyfingers bag, with light purple beads and the handles I bought in Germany.



This was my first attempt at Dresden plate pattern, but with the special Dresden ruler the sweet Stephanie sent me with the Ladyfingers pattern I won in her giveaway, it was no problem. Originally I wanted to make this with my father's ties, but as the material is more difficult to handle than cotton, I practiced with this one first.


I made the inside pocket a little wider than in the pattern as I was not using charm packs but fabrics from my stash. (Who could have guessed?)


Now that Melanie and Simone have shown theirs, I can show mine. Here are the coffee place mats dear Suzie gave me when I met her in Germany.


Now I'll take you for a walk in the village, as it was a sunny day on Monday. This is the biggest pond, right next to the highschool, with a nice little beach for warm summer days.


Only a small area was free of ice, and all the waterbirds were gathered there.


The local whooper swan family was there, and a new adult alone, maybe one of the last year's cygnets. Swans gather together for their move, and on the west coast you can see hundreds of them, eating themselves fat and round, and waiting for a suitable flight weather.


This is one of the parents, with white feathers.


And the other one. They have three young swans left, one of the four died during the summer.


The young swans still have grey feathers, and their bills are rather pink and grey than yellow and black. One is half-diving like ducks!


Usually they only dip their head and neck in the water to find something to eat.


The ice was very thin, and it bent and made funny noises when the mallards climbed on it. Slippery!


The mallards either made attacks at each other or wanted to keep the water in motion to prevent the ice from forming.


The male mallards' green heads looked beautiful in the sun.


After yesterday's cold weather and snow the swans had left for open water and only some of the smaller birds remained. During last night it rained again, so the mallards may come back, but for the whooper swans it is time to fly south. I'll be waiting to hear their trumpets again in April when they return here to nest.

9 comments:

  1. Ohh your bag turned out beautiful Ulla. Hmmm I want this patterntoo!!
    Maybe after christmas...

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  2. The swans are enchanting! I've never seen them in large flocks like that.

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  3. Love the handbag, Ulla!! So pretty! The swans are gorgeous too. We get a huge flock of swans...50-100 in a farmers field every year in late summer, early fall. It's like a conference before they head for warmer country! Beautiful birds!
    Thanks for sharing!
    Paulette

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  4. how exciting to meet up with Suzie..........your bag is lovely and I wished I had a lake nearby with such beautiful water birds......winter is closing in for you..........does the water freeze completely on the lake??

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  5. Your handbag turned out so beautiful, Ulla! Your handwork is so fine! A lovely walk, I love the colors, blue, light grey and white and a little sunshine.

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  6. There are many Whooper Swans at Martin Mere now. The Pink Footed Geese go over our house each day to graze away from the mere. They were flying very low in the bad weather Brian said they barely skimmed our roof.

    Aren't Suzie's mats amazing- I had to stare and stare at the border working out how she had managed such a feat. She is such a darling.

    As for your ladyfingers bag- it is wonderful it came out really well. You have a real eye for putting fabrics together.

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  7. Die wunderschönen, blau angehauchten Bilder lassen mich direkt die Kälte spüren...Ja, der Winter steht vor der Tür...auch bei uns. Die Tasche ist originell, mir gefällt sie sehr. Ich kann mir gut vorstellen, dass sie auch toll aussehen würde mit Kravattenstoff. Nur ist dieser meistens ja aus Seide und somit nicht ganz leicht zu verarbeiten. Wer weiss, vielleicht wagst du dich ja doch noch an dieses Material?
    Liebe Herbstgrüsse,
    Barbara

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  8. Ladyfingers is beautiful. It would be gorgeous too with the old ties. Beautiful swans on the lake.

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