Tuesday, November 09, 2010

Block no.3.....

Block no.3 in my
I made block #145 Chocolate Box
from the book
by Jan Eaton
I really love this block.....
it's a very clever twist on the traditional Granny Square
and works up really quickly and is very easy.
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I am trying to finish off the striped cushion this week,
it seems to be taking a lot longer than I thought it would to complete
and because of this I am easily distracted from it!
But I must get it finished as Jacob is keen to claim it for his room :)
.........................................
I also wanted to show you these lovely little
Noisy Miner Chicks
Manorian melanocephala
This nest is very close to our front verandah, it has been a joy to watch the adult birds build the nest and then to watch these sweet little chicks grow, I've been trying for a bit over a week to get a good photo of them to share with you all and finally today I managed to get one, it helps that they have grown a bit and are now easier to see :)

And here is one of the adult birds back with a little food for them.

I wish I had a big zoom lens so I could really photograph them properly and study them a little more, they have nested in one of our melaleuca trees.

I found this interesting info in -

The Reader's Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds

Only female builds a nest, but males occasionally carry materials - although not necessarily to the nest site. As many as 10 or more males visit a single nest while it contains eggs and most of these participate in the feeding of the nestlings. In a single nesting season, one female may been helped by as many as 24 males.

Thank you so much for visiting today
I hope you are having a great week.

~ Gillian ♥

16 comments:

frou-frou said...

Hi Gillian

The little birds are so lovely. Are they actually noisy? I love birds and I'm kind of fascinated by them but never see them up close.

I am enjoying watching you working through the squares

Fiona x

Anonymous said...

I love the colours in your square, very pretty!
How wonderful having the birds nest so close to you. :)
Vivienne x

Terrie said...

I love the colours you have used on this one - you are doing soooo much better than me! Mine keep on coming out in rather dodgy shapes!

Gillian said...

Thank you Fiona, Vivienne & Terrie :)

to answer your question Fiona,
yes they are a little noisy, but only in a lovely birdy sort of way ;)

this is the book I have notes on their call - repeated two or three syllable teu-teu-teu-teu uttered in short, undulating flight. Females may utter four or five throaty, chuckling notes in sequence with pitch of the last rising questioningly; often in answer to territorial call of male. Nasal, miaowing alarm call made to ground predators; purewhstle to flying predators.

and to Terrie, Mine look a little wonky too when they are finished, but I block them & spray them with a little water and then press them gently with a cool iron.

Gillian x

- said...

Love the uniformity of the square. Great photos.

Anne said...

I'm really enjoying seeing these squares. Would you recommend buying the book? If so, I might put it on my Christmas list. :-)
The bird photos are gorgeous. Wouldn't it be great if we had that many helpers when we had our babies?
Perhaps not.
Anne xx

Selfsewn said...

Aah, the miner bird is the only thing I really remember from the 80s zoo in our town!

Probably because it could talk, rather than any other reason!

Loving the squares, bet you want to make more than one a week though.

Clare (squark!!)

Gillian said...

Thanks so much Clara, Anne & Clare xx

to answer your question Anne,

Yes I would recommend it, I dont particularly like all of the blocks in the book, but most of them are just brilliant! I've already learnt heaps just in the blocks I have made so far and I'm only working the One Hook blocks (they are the easiest)
I bought mine through fishpond it's on sale at the moment with free shipping this week.

apparently there are a couple of errors in the book, I haven't come across them as yet.
there is a Crochet Along group on Ravelry for this book and in their forum they list the errors and have suggestions for fixing them.
so I will be checking with it each time I plan to make a block.

Clare, yes I am finding it really hard to only make one a week! :D

Melissa said...

A beautiful block. And oh what lovely birds. :)

Cat said...

I like this block and the colours you used and how it's a fun twist on a granny square. What are you going to do with all the blocks you make?

Your photos are great and capture those sweet little babies so well. :)

melissa said...

I love all the blocks you are working on, the colours in this one is great!
Very cute birds too! :)

Just-Do said...

Your block is beautiful. I just had a look at the pattern and I think it is a nice one to make; not too difficult. Maybe I will give it a try too. How wonderful to have a birdsnest so close to your window that you can see it that well and watch those little birdies grow and being fed. Must be awesome.
groetjes, Dorien

Teje said...

Hello! This crochet block is really lovely! I'm sure you enjoy making all those different crochet squares! Thank you also for sharing this special sight in your garden - it's always so exiting to watch animals in the nature!
Best wishes from the landscape in Crete!

Terrie said...

Hi Gillian - Just to let you know I have passed on my beautiful blogger award to you x

June said...

Beautiful craft square, love the colours and adore your photographs,what wonderful subjects
hugs June xx

KT said...

I love your square! I've got the same book and wasn't really a fan of the pattern but it's amazing how different colours can make something look so different. Your colours are fab!