Hoot hoot

"A wise old owl lived in an oak,
The more he saw the less he spoke,
The less he spoke the more he heard.
Why can't we all be like that wise old bird?" (Old nursery rhyme)

I love that nursery rhyme--I remember my Great Uncle Fran reciting it to me and my sister. (According to Wikipedia, "During World War II, the United States Army used the rhyme and tweaked the ending to 'Soldier.... be like that old bird!' with the caption 'Silence means security.' "

Anyway, I have found myself drawn to the many, many owl images in the craft blogosphere lately. They're so 70s, but I love them. When I saw this simple pattern from Button It Up, I knew they would be fun to make out of felt. Unfortunately, I didn't take a picture of the backs, which are cute matching fabrics. I added the ribbon trim and emboidered the recipients' names on them. (Those are heart-shaped buttons as claws. Turns out triangle buttons are very hard to find.)













The owls were birthday gifts for these two cuties: my friends Karen and Jeff's twins, Mari and Mesfin, who turned five this month. Karen and Jeff had a cool birthday party for them, complete with face painter and clown--and jello shots that even put me to shame. Let's just say the Chocolate Covered Cherry was to die for. I knit these sweaters for these two when they first came home from Ethiopia two years ago, and gave them this embroidered quilt (which still amazes even me) last year. So this is in keeping with the homemade gift theme. I'm planning to make more of these.

My friend Lourdes and her husband Jason took these photos of me and Sam (and those of Mari and Mesfin) at the party last Sunday.

I love this one.