February Fun and a Flutterby

Carrying on with the calendar blocks, I have now done a February block - well actually I did two as I'm not sure which one I like best:

I also have been working in Janine's block for the Start of Africa Bee.  Janine wanted a butterfly, where the wings represent our home location, and the centre has some words, preferably foreign.

This has had me thinking since November, very unsure what to do.  There is enough OCD in my genetic makeup that if I make a butterfly, it has to be symmetrical and that didn't really lend itself to anything I could think of.  I did think of a map, but went off that idea.  Then I thought of a windmill - there is one within two miles of my house, we watched it being built, about 20 years ago.  It's not a working windmill, its a cross between a home and a folly - the owner wanted to build one, so he did!!

 

 
I tried a machine embroidered picture of the windmill, I could easily do another one as a mirror image to achieve the symmetrical wings, but I still didn't like the idea

This morning I was clicking around some blogs (anything other than get up and go to work) and saw a pinwheel block described as a windmill - and a light bulb went off.  I stitched two halves of a pinwheel block (but symmetrical) and used them for the wings. 

Then I had to consider the requirement for foreign text.   Well I AM Norwegian, and you would think that having lived there until I was three I would be able to speak some of the language, but sadly very little.

One of about three phrases I have left is "Jeg kan ikke snakke norsk", so I machine embroidered that (and it's mirror image) onto the centre strip.  I will save you having to go to translate.google.com - it means "I cannot speak Norwegian"!!!

I hope you like this Janine x x


(Why Flutterby?  That's what I used to call them when I was a kid, and the alliteration worked better!)