The GYB giveaway, a starling, 4 rosettes and daft cat : )

Hope you all had a great Easter break, these holidays are over way too soon for my liking mind you and the need to go back to work is almost upon me!
Just as I was getting used to not being there ~

When I offered a giveaway in the Grow Your Blog Hop, I suggested sending UK magazines if it was an overseas winner and US magazines, if it were a UK winner.
However, Nanette who won and lives in Australia had quite enough magazines, which I quite understood, so we agreed I would make her a bird pennant, like some I made a short while ago.
Now I know it has arrived safely, I can post a picture of it and thank fully Nanette does prefer it to magazines!

I was thinking it could be hung from a piece of natural twig but since Australia is particularly hot on not having that kind of thing brought, or posted, into the country - I was hoping Nanette would find a suitable something for hanging it on.
The backing fabric was one of my foliage dyed fabrics but I have quite forgotten what I used to get the lovely colours and pattern. It's hard to see but the word stitched on the top is Hopeful.

I printed off some rosette pattern papers the other day and Harvey, who has limited experience of the printer was fascinated.

Hey what's this noisy gadget Mum?

 

Is it sposed to do this? Its moving!

 

It's doing it AGAIN!

 

 

                                           This is so spooky ~

I think the printer stressed him out so much that he went out back and sat on the new growth of the catnip plant to chill out!

   This was my 3 Millefiori rosettes last week, with the still unfinished burgundy 1st rosette, bottom right, which I fell out of like with.
It wasn't Millefiori enough for me once I began to realise what I should be doing.
So before starting my April, 4th rosette, I decided to remake my 1st.

But I opted for completely different colours and will re-use the blocks from the first, 1st elsewhere ~
This is the new plan so far -

Enlarge the picture below, spot the dried pampas grass on the top left?
Don next door watched a starling struggling in flight carrying a piece of this pampas grass, which is a good 4' long, up to the roof!
No, just an average sized starling!
 (Did you know their numbers have dropped dramatically and they are almost on the endangered list in UK?
No neither did I before the Spring Watch bird count. )

I had found several pieces of dried pampas on the floor beneath that bay window area the other day and knew some had previously been laying in my other side, next door neighbours back garden.
A bit odd and unlikely though it seemed, I assumed the high winds had blown them all over the house.

But I now know it was one very ambitious starling trying to build a bloody nest with it!!
I'm guessing he's new to nest building bless him.
All this effort on his part despite the fact that I had a chap fill that area with anti nest plastic stuff last autumn, precisely so I didn't have a bevy of baby birds stomping above my bedroom ceiling all night long again this year lol
Life can be amazing and funny at times!
Have you felt pampass grass?
It feels like a cats tongue, raspy ...........
not what I'd ever choose to build a nest with, not that I've had much practise mind ....