We have a new pigeon member in the household. Please give Funky Pigeon a warm welcome!

I’m not sure Elmo is impressed with this new addition.

Elmo has a long history of attacking any soft toy that we try to pair him up with. I guess Elmo really does only have eyes for his human mate, Richard.

Elmo loves attacking his fat woodpigeon toy:

Our pigeon isn’t the only one who likes to attack toys. Here are two other pigeons attacking their cuddly friends:

My knitting addiction has led me to knit another pigeon.

I have now knitted five different pigeons and here they all are:

Back row:

• Feral pigeon, pattern from Mad Monkey Knits: My pet pigeons
• White “Wonky” pigeon, pattern from Alan Dart: Percy the pigeon
• Fat woodpigeon in nest, pattern modified from Petite purls: Fat Robin

Front row:

• Cooey pigeon, pattern from Stitch London
• Tiny pigeon, pattern from Mochimochi Land: Tiny perching pigeons

And a close up of the feral pigeon:

We hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas this year. We certainly did. Elmo and Georgie helped decorate the tree by flying up to the top to place the baubles and the star. … Just kidding. Our two pigeons cannot fly that well.

We placed Elmo and Georgie’s presents under the tree and they were certainly intrigued by the shiny packages.

Georgie and Elmo's Christmas presents

Georgie taking a closer look!

Elmo is curious too!

Here’s the boy opening his present:

We thought it was the perfect gift for Elmo because it moves about and is soft so he can preen it (or peck it if he so pleases!). Elmo sure had fun with the yappy puppy!

Georgie received a soft cuddly hedgehog to have in her cage so she can preen it (since she loves to preen fluffy things). Sadly, Georgie doesn’t like the camera so she rarely lets me take any video of her.

After we had all opened our presents and there were boxes, wrapping paper and bubblewrap everywhere, Georgie decided to have another look in case we’d missed anything. She loved the bubblewrap!

We wish everyone a Happy New Year!

Richard received a surprising gift from his Secret Santa at work, and he couldn’t wait to show them to Elmo when he got home. Meet Fergie and Scarlet, the newest members of our pigeon family:

We think they’re awesome – a lovely Christmas present! – however, Elmo wasn’t impressed at all:

Georgie didn’t like the sound they made so she ran away whenever she heard them near her.

Georgie pigeon meets Fergie

We tried again to introduce Scarlet and Fergie to Elmo without him pecking them.

Elmo pecking the toy pigeons

Richard calmed Elmo down and then placed the toys near him in his nest, and Elmo tolerated them while he cooed and twitched to Richard:

We’ve already learnt that Elmo does not like any other pigeons in the home (our attempts with Dora, Minnie, and Button have all been a failure), so we really should stop collecting other pigeons (even inanimate, or in this case, animate ones). But I cannot help myself. Pigeons are simply too adorable.

I have been bitten by the knitting bug. I cannot stop. … Must create knitted pigeon flock!

(Oh, sorry pigeon folk if I’m boring you with all my knitting posts. I promise to write about Elmo and Georgie again soon.)

I first knitted Percy Pigeon by Alan Dart, however, my pigeon is more “Wonky the Pigeon”. Have a look:

Wonky pigeon

Wonky pigeon

Please bear in mind that this is the very first toy that I’ve ever knitted. While I found it easy to knit the pieces, I found it very hard to stitch the pigeon together. Practice makes perfect, though, so hopefully the next one will be more “together” and “with it”.

Although, with his wonky tail and lopsided body, he does look like a pigeon in need of care and rehabilitation – so he’s really the perfect mascot for my work at the wildlife rescue centre!

I next knitted a flock of tiny perching pigeons by Anna Hrachovec.

Tiny perching pigeon flock

The first tiny pigeon I knitted

There will be more to come!! I think I’ll have a few hundred of these little guys perched around the house and possibly in the garden too.

Mr. Pigeon (not knitted by me, by the way) wanted to meet the new additions and I think they’ll get along just fine:

Mr. Pigeon (top right) with the new knitted pigeons

My next pigeon project will be Cooey the Pigeon by Lauren O’Farrell (once I buy the book. Couldn’t find the pattern for free). I will be looking for pigeon patterns to knit and will one day have a big flock of different pigeons to keep Elmo and Georgie company.

Elmo has decided to make his own Percy Pigeon.

Having found the wonderful world of knitted pigeons, we couldn’t wait to receive our very own Mr. Pigeon, which we did in June (see: New addition: Mr. Pigeon!). While Elmo loves Mr. Knitted Pigeon, I think he wants another one (greedy boy!) so he stole my wool and knitting needles to start on the project:

Elmo covered in wool

Elmo takes the knitting needles

I’m new to the knitting game, so it may take me a few years to actually knit a pigeon – but it will happen one day, and when it does, I’ll post the results. Cannot promise, though, that it’ll look like a pigeon (might be a mutant one).

Mr. Pigeon arrives waving hello!

We received a present from Elmo and Georgie yesterday. They surprised us by getting us our very own Mr. Pigeon!

He arrived in style, complete with passport and name tag. I also found some instructions for me to knit a top for him (hmmm, now do I have a “Knitting for Dummies” somewhere?).

I love him. Mr. Pigeon is adorable. A great mascot too! I haven’t decided his first name yet, so he’ll be addressed as “Mr. Pigeon” for the time being. After he gets used to living with us and we see his character coming out, we’ll then think of a suitable first name.

I couldn’t wait to introduce him to Georgie and Elmo.

Here’s Elmo’s reaction to seeing Mr. Pigeon for the first time:

Hilarious! I don’t think Mr. Pigeon appreciated all that attention.

New arrival: the adorable Mr. Pigeon

We placed Mr. Pigeon next to Elmo in his nest while Elmo was still very excited, and after a few strokes from Mr. Pigeon, Elmo tried to feed him!!

Elmo feeding Mr. Pigeon

Georgie wasn’t too sure about him. She gave him a light peck and walked away. He’ll have to try harder to win her affections.

Mr. Pigeon and Georgie

I discovered the wonderful life of Mr. Pigeon when I came upon this fun blog by Charlie P: The Pigeon Loft. And you can buy one from Charlie’s shop when they are available: The Pigeon Loft Shop on Etsy. (More about knitted pigeons: Knitted pigeons.)

We’ll keep you posted on how Elmo and Georgie take to sharing their home with Mr. Pigeon! I’ll have to remember to share my time equally so that no one becomes jealous.

Elmo sizes Mr. Pigeon up

Elmo greets Mr. Pigeon, "Why, hello there!"

Now, many of you have seen the silly things Elmo has taken to his nest. There was a bit of wire, a minicard, feathers (which he’s usually afraid of), and he’s also tucked rings and coins under him if Richard hands them to him (I’ve not been able to capture that on video yet). The other day Richard gave Elmo a thin plastic rod which Elmo thought would be great to take to his nest. It was a bit long and I was afraid Elmo would stumble over it, however, he managed to take it to his nest and place it down before twitching and cooing to Richard with glee. What a sweetheart!

I’ve discovered that Georgie loves Templeton, the soft toy rat. Of course she would love him! What’s not to love? However, a part of me thinks, “Does she love Templeton because Elmo hates him?” Hmmmm. I wonder.

Georgie and Templeton

Georgie is being very loving:

And here’s Elmo showing his true feelings towards Templeton:

Playtime! Some pigeons and doves play nicely, others will attack, and some are just naughty!