she's just saying...

Chicken sweaters

I forgot: the other very popular search that brings up my site is about knitting sweaters for chickens. This is what they're searching for:

From the BBC: 

In from the cold: chilly chickens given a winter warmer

How would you feel? One minute you're in a warm battery shed [laying shed] squashed up alongside someone who's pecking out your feathers - the next you're out in an open field with nothing to protect you from the elements. Thank the Lord for chicken jumpers...

Queenie and her three friends are feeling the cold a little more than most this winter.

Recovered from a battery farm in November last year, they were largely without feathers and - away from the artificial heat of the chicken sheds - have been feeling the winter weather.

But owner Brigitte Hawley from Benenden has come up with a clever way of allowing her hens to enjoy the outside world, while being as snug as their more feathered friends. (BBC video clip)

A knitted chicken jumper - or 'Chux Tux' as Brigitte calls it - is the latest must-have item for feather-challenged chickens exploring the brave new world outside of the battery.

Poultry pullies

The 'Tux' can come in different designs depending on which parts of the bird are in need of insulation. Brigitte can also create poultry pullies in a variety of colours.

These hens have all been re-housed by the Battery Hen Welfare Trust, a charity that works with farmers to give a new lease of life to 'spent' battery hens when their egg productivity starts to take a slide.

The good news is that once out in the open - and with the help of a Chux Tux - the hens soon start to re-grow their feathers. Great news for Queenie and for the next reformed battery hen to inherit her winter coat.

How's that for a sneaky way to repeat a post?  Um, Kathi, time to learn to knit . . .

A frenzied fit of finishing

At last!! They're off the needles!
Damn, these took forever. I kind of felt nostalgic finishing them - I've been working on them ALL YEAR. They've been with me through a lot. Well, good riddance. Affectionately of course.

Also, this:

This was started years ago as a pullover for toddler Henry. It was a knitted albatross around my neck, always a little niggling guilt in the back of my head when I started a new project. I'm satisfied with it in its final metamorphosis and it will be a fine Christmas present. I just need to get rid of the rest of the hateful yarn and it will all be behind me.

Those of you who don't knit probably don't understand the intensity of emotion I'm dealing with here, but believe me, the relief at finishing these is exquisite.

Time to cast on something new!  Maybe some more socks...

But first:

Christmas project list. I've decided I will give only knitted objects to my family, though Susan gets extra, of course, because she demands it. Just kidding. Maybe. I can't divulge everything, but here's the tally so far.

Funky niece: Noro mitts - done.

Sibling: Mystery Noro project - 35% there. Kind of boring knitting. Good for TV time.

Mom: Bag above: DONE!  Ditto those socks for another sibling.

Henry's Big Brother: Whippet sweater. Started. 2x2 ribbing forever. Boring.

Hip niece: Fetching mitts: don't like the last two tries. Need to do over.

Dad: he has plenty of hats and vests, courtesy of Mom. Hmmm. He may get nut brittle, if I can get it done before my sister does. (I call it, Susan!!)

Henry: expensive plastic electronic junk. What every boy craves.

Nephews get gift cards; a polite way to give cash, which is what they really want.

I'm exceedingly proud that I actually started all this in October. Just possibly I won't be sewing up the last seam Christmas Eve, which I've done too many times to be funny anymore. Really, if I don't do laundry, cooking, cleaning or work out, I have plenty of time. I'm not worried.

Or you could stick pins in them

From Lion Brand Yarns:

Hold Your Own Debate With Presidential Finger Puppets

"These are serious times and we have a serious choice to make, but that doesn't mean we can't have a little fun! Who do yarn lovers choose for president? Tell us who your presidential pick is and we'll publish the results! Click here to vote!

Free Pattern: Crochet Barack Obama Free Pattern: Crochet John McCain

Make one or both of the candidates and make someone smile!"

Knitaholics Anon: meeting transcript*

Shot glasses from ravelry

"Hello, my name is Melissa and I'm a knitaholic." (pause for greetings)

"I learned to knit while watching my mother, aunts and grandmother. It was a family habit - I never questioned it. I knit in moderation throughout my teens and 20's, then was dry for a number of years. Watching my sister knit a scarf with the new eyelash yarn in 2004 was what got me started again. That yarn was so different, so enticing - I thought I'd just make a few scarves for fun. I had no idea where that would eventually lead.

"I was managing a scarf now and then, but slowly, inevitably, other projects started creeping in. My first bender was with a poncho out of turquoise cotton chenille. Just a gift for a niece - I could handle it. Then I found this lovely coral cotton - it had such a silky sheen, I was hooked. Another poncho followed. Gradually my stash grew - skein by skein. Just one here and there, no major single purchase. Still, I was balancing my knitting with the rest of my life, and never touched the needles all summer (I'll talk about my gardening addiction at another meeting). Then, I took a sock class. Socks! Completely innocent and practical! I felt virtuous working on them, then giving them away. I learned a few more techniques, including using two circular needles at once. That led to regular needle buying and hoarding Addi Turbos by the pair.

"I started a knitting group to enable my habit. It's a loose-knit gang, and together we share binge after binge. I even found myself going to a weekend knitting seminar, surrounded by knitters, talking about knitting and indulging in the practice day and night, even during meals. I reveled in it all. Then I found the secret internet knitting sites. Knitting blogs, knitting webrings, free patterns, all the enticements of yarn right there in my home office. You all know what came next: Ravelry.com. I surf for patterns late at night when everyone is asleep. Downloading instructions, joining kinky yarn groups, chatting on forums, sharing tips. I'm close to hitting bottom.

"Now, I live the unraveled life of a knitting addict. I crave the needles night and day. I sneak my habit at work, at football practice, even in darkened movie theaters. And what do I have to show for it? Fingerless mitts! Boleros! Felted entrelac! Nothing I can actually use!! What's it all been for?

"I keep telling myself I can get over it, once I finish this last 'work in progress.' But of course, now Christmas knitting has taken ahold, so the next two months are already down the tubes. And I catch myself already planning my January binge: a Shetland tweed cabled jacket just for myself. With a zipper. My garden is dead, my child has nappy hair, my dog needs a bath. Still I keep knitting.

"OK, thanks for listening. I feel better now. There's just this little ball of Noro I need to take care of ..."

*With apologies to those struggling with more destructive habits. A suggestion: take up knitting - it keeps your hands busy, takes all your money and leaves you no time for anything else.

We got press!

We're getting famous!

The Oregonian has a great knitting blog full of knitterly happenings in the state, and today they featured the Bend Knit-Up. Click to see:

I'm so proud I'm getting teary.

Though she got it mixed up about my Red Sox. No biggie. Just don't tell Jacoby or Dustin.

Finally, a knitting post

Once upon a time, this was supposed to be a knit-centric blog. Oh well -- life intervenes. But for all of you out there clamoring for knitting posts (and you two know who you are) here's the latest.

Yes, I'm still working on those damn socks.  I've decided I definitely don't like knitting two at a time, not because it's hard, as I've gotten into the swing of it, but because you see no progress whatsoever. One sock is bad enough. I knit and knit and knit on these stupid things and at the end of a few hours each sock has grown maybe 3/4". I feel like Persephone, but without the ripping back. Will they never end??? They are my knitting albatross (to throw Ulysses and the Ancient Mariner together).

What is the ongoing fascination with knitting socks, anyway? In the last several years, it seems, socks have become the ultra-cool knitting project, the one that says "I'm a real knitter and you're not." I enjoyed my first seven pairs, but I now find them tedious and boring. Of course it might help if I did them in pattern (vs. stockinette, the vanilla of knitting stitches), but then they lose their mindlessness, at least for me. It is nice to always have one on the needles as they're super-portable and impress the hell out of people. They're just the thing for sports practice and doctor's waiting rooms. I just have to adopt a more zen approach: finishing is not the goal.

On the other hand, fingerless mitts are flying off the needles. (Could that be why the socks aren't getting done? Nah, that's just silly.) Though the incredibly popular Fetching pattern is vexing me. (Today's Ravelry Fetching count: 7,147. That's seven thousand pairs, people!) I undid the first one I just finished and added more cables to the knuckles for length, but the bind-off is still bugging me. I just can't get it to look right.

I need to move on though, as the Christmas queue is getting jammed up behind them...

Our Knit-Up group is doing well, continuing to grow in membership if not in participation. We get about 11-14 knitters in each of our two weekly meetings, which is a nice workable size. Not having a permanent home probably keeps the numbers down, and we haven't been publicizing it much anymore. When I get that Melissa-like urge to get all busy and grow it, I remember the reason I started it: I wanted to find some cool people to knit with. And I have. The women are wonderful, supportive, open, friendly and funny. It's perfect as is. "I LOVE YOU GUYS (sniff)."

Top Ten Tuesday: Back to School edition

For my four readers who don't live in Central Oregon, a weather update: we woke up to frost on the ground yesterday. I realize that Labor Day is the symbolic end of summer, but did we need such an obvious reminder?

I'm really not ready for fall and I resent it being thrust on us so quickly. But in an effort to get back to UPBEAT!, here are the top 10 reasons I welcome the end of summer:

1. Baseball playoffs (especially when the Bosox are involved)
2. Knitting in public doesn't seem as weird
3. No mosquitoes
4. Less temptation for the recovering tanaholic
5. Best tomatoes at the farmer's market
6. Foster kitten season is over til spring
7. Hot flashes are more tolerable (not that I'm having any)
8. Don't need to mow as often
9. I can wear the fingerless mitts I'm knitting
10. OK, scraping the barrel here: um, can't smell the compost bin from the hot tub?

Compost pile with Wonder Worman worms

What are yours? Give me something here, people!

Ravelympics

As mentioned before, Ravelry.com is the worst time-sucking black hole social networking site for knitters. It's an addictive other world, complete with exclusivity (there's a wait list), inside slang, mascots (Bob the Boston Terrier), weird freaky group scenes (Knitters who love "Dexter"?) and a spider's web of links, projects, yarns, designers, patterns, heated discussion forums, stashes, queues, faves and so forth. It's non-profit, run on a shoestring, totally hip and very addictive. Did I mention I'm an addict?

Anyway, in a typical weird/goofy/knitting humor way, they're running the Ravelympics with knitting events and awards AND I WON ONE. (Of course, everyone who completes a project during the  Olympics timeframe wins an award, but so what). So that's what the strange dog thing is in the sidebar over there. And this is what I knit to win it.
that's not a gang sign - I'm hand modeling

Pretty basic, but I started and finished in a week (no surprise given I had a huge work project due).

Sami is knitting an itsy-bitsy bikini as her entry. Can't wait to see that - water disaster in the making, for sure.

So that's my addition to Kathi's 13 more ways to beat Shawn Johnson list. I can knit a mitt. What can you do?

What's on the needles

OK, let's all take a break from my water feature obsession - I'm all banged up with scrapes and bruises, my wrist is sore and my back is protesting. The best part still to come on it I'm afraid - hauling rocks.

KNITTING POST WARNING! This is really too boring to post, as the only new thing started is a secret project for a baby, and I still have to finish the 2x2 socks (2 socks on 2 circs) and the guernsey for Henry that he doesn't want. So I'll list the projects lined up behind those, ready to take off.

1. The Montego Bay scarf in Zen for me
2. Fingerless mitts in Kureyon for Xmas gifts
3. Aran cardigan in Shetland Marl for me
4. Entrelac felted bags in Kureyon for Xmas gifts
5. Worsted socks in Limbo Mexiko for me
6. Felted clogs in Paton's Merino for Xmas gifts

Hmm. I'm beginning to see a pattern here. What are the odds of doing this all by mid-Dec? Right. I guess I should focus on the gifts and hold off on the me stuff. I can't wait to start that scarf though. And I have to get serious and finish the 2x2 socks that have been promised to a sister since January.

Jeez, I've got to get busy! Who has time for a job with all this going on? Honestly.

Knit-Up

So far I've only gotten 4 responses to my Reader Survey. I'm not whining, I'm taking that as an indication that you love it all and happily read everything I blather on about. However, I did get votes for Bend and Knitting, so this post is for you!

The Bend Knit-Up group met last night, as we do every Wed. (and Fridays during the day). We have regular and enthusiastic participation from a core group of about 30 or so attending weekly or every so often. Of our 90 members (yes, since January!) about a third have never attended a meeting, a third have attended less than 5, and a third have attended 5 or more. There are about 16 who've attended 20 or more. That works out to a nice bell curve. (We market researchers like bell curves - they satisfy our expectations of human behavior.)

I know, not very interesting unless you're a statistics geek. So here's a photo:

I'm probably more proud of starting this than anything I've done in the last 9 years (that's when I adopted Henry, and that's definitely my most significant accomplishment).

La Clapotis est fini!

Yes, she's done! I'm ready to make another one. Next time I'd make it out of very thin, silky yarn. But I'm not going to just yet as I have 3 projects in the queue... I must say being a woman of leisure is ideal for getting projects done.

Top 10 procrastination activities

1. Look up projects on Ravelry - the MySpace for knitters
2. Take more pictures of the cats
3. Sudoku!
4. Sharpen all the pencils in the house for Sudoku
5. The Jumble (but only if you're really desperate)
6. Pluck your eyebrows (don't get carried away with this one)
7. Google ex-boyfriends
8. Just one more row on the Clapotis
9. Deadhead the pansies
10. Think up top 10 lists

So what's on your list?  Commenting on blogs is a good one, for sure.

The Clap-otis

Ha! Faked you out! This is a knitting post. Sorry. You may be excused.

"Clapotis" means lapping in French, as in the lapping of the waves on the shore. Weird and kind of repulsive word, actually. The French pronunciation helps: cla-po-TEE.

Anyway, it's a wildly popular shawl pattern among knitters. Ravelry.com (the Facebook for knitters) counts 6400 versions of it. Really.

Here's my clap in progress, using Noro Silk Garden 264:

Yes, those are dropped stitches on the right. You drop them as you go, kind of.

It's an easy pattern, but very daunting, as there are a million blog posts, forums, discussion threads, and spreadsheets on it. This is the spreadsheet I'm following (with thanks to Soul Knitting):

I'm showing it to impress you. The pattern is actually pretty easy to memorize.

Seriously, don't be intimidated. If I can do it, so can you. Of course, mine isn't done yet ...

Knitting with Zen

Warning: knitting-centric post! Not for the uninitiated...

Juniper Fiberworks is selling all their "novelty" yarns for 50% off. These are the yarns down the center aisle of their store - the ones everyone went crazy over for scarves a few years back.

I wasn't moved by anything (lots of fancy eyelash and mixed blends) but turned the corner and fell in love with Berroco Zen,

a ribbon yarn of nylon and cotton, shiny and matte.

Since it retails for $12 a ball (for only 110 yards), this was the only way I was going to get me some. I got enough for the Montego Bay scarf pattern from Amy Singer that just became available on Ravelry. It's a fishnet-type pattern, very slinky and chic.

I'm dying to cast on, but I have three projects on the needles already. I get kind of anxious with too many projects started. That's definitely some sort of neurosis, because who is keeping track? but I can't deal.

So knitters, do you cast on when you get the urge, or do you hold yourself back and force yourself to finish the WIP's? What does it all mean?

knit in public today

If you can't join us at the Riverfront Plaza, knit wherever you are!

Quick post as my dog Flash got badly bitten by another dog and we're taking him to the vet. Always exciting around here...

loose ends

Time to tie up a few:

1.Yes, Henry does not like the retainers. He says he'd rather have the braces again, and even offered to pay for them himself. We're trying them (actually, he's trying them) a few hours at a time. And they have been lost twice in the two days we've had them. Unfortunately, they're clear and small and easily overlooked.

2. I think I've solved the catnip situation. If you can't cage the cats, cage the catnip.  They hang around it alot but haven't tried to break in yet. I think the smell alone drives them crazy - they don't have to ingest it. Does anybody know?

The owner of Chow (the out-of-coffee cafe, in case you didn't guess) sent me a lovely email apologizing for our experience. He said they weren't out of coffee - it was a server misunderstanding. That's good to know - I'm definitely trying it again.

3. Our knitting group may have found a home - Makahna's Cafe on Galveston. Great spot! Meets all our criteria (natural light, not too noisy, comfortable space, parking, beer and wine). The owner, Steve, kept it open just for us, which was wonderful. He's working on staying open evenings more. Check it out!

4. I did buy an electric mower and love it.

5. The laser treatments I had to control my glaucoma were very successful. My interocular (great word) pressures are way down, and should stay that way for a few years, hopefully.

Worldwide Knit in Public Day! location change

The day you've been anxiously awaiting is here again!

Saturday, June 14, all over the world, knitters will be representing in public. From New Zealand to Alaska, on trains, in restaurants, at the bus stop, in bars, all knitting their little fingers off. And Bend will join in!

We'll meet at the outdoor stage at Drake Park Riverfront Plaza on Brooks Alley at noon. Bring a chair, water, snacks and your knitting (or crocheting - we're open-minded people).

You know you want to join us . . . or at least stop by and say hi (and check out the awesome poster Judy made for us, above.)

For more info on events around the world, visit    Their motto:

Better living through stitching together. 

Finished (knitting post)

 

Done! I really like it. Next time I'll make the flap bigger. Still needs button and loop sewn on.

Wacky day

all over the place. Work, friends, money, jobs, dogs all a little off kilter today. Not in a bad way, just different. Which I enjoy, change-junkie that I am.

A friend is here for the weekend with her new adorable sweet black lab puppy, who Flash immediately bit, getting in that pre-emptive strike.

Work is kind of unraveling - people are leaving either short term or for good, everyone's working with different and new folks from Big Globe (there are a million of them!), the payout is happening, and we were notified that we'd be notified about our jobs next week. Plus ca change... (that's french without the accents, fyi).

Here's a cool photo of a few of the entrelac bags in progress:

Mine is the one in the upper right. PJ (who just learned to knit) has pulled well into the lead, so we get to learn from her trials. MUST FINISH before heading back east for two weeks in late June. Shouldn't be a problem, though I tend to slow down near the finish line with these things.

where it's at

I've promised I'd post a knitting update, so here it is. Still working on the felted entrelac bag.
 

It's kind of taken over my non-gardening spare time. It's fascinating to watch what color is coming up next, and the squares are so quickly done that I keep doing just one more. Still have a ways to go yet.

Entrelac Felted Bag Knit-Along

If those words mean nothing to you, you're excused from this post. You can come back later for non-knitting news, I promise.

So, we've started our KAL (knit-along). This is a virtual group who knits the same project at the same time. It's good for moral support, sharing tips, getting help, etc. We're doing this very cool bag that looks like this, out of Noro Kureyon:

Or at least it's supposed to...

Anyway, it's my latest obsession. (That and messing around with this blog.) I'm doing this instead of all the other work I've committed to do. At least when I procrastinate, I'm productive!

I'll post my progress as we go. So far we've already run into a provisional cast-on, knitting backwards and picking up stitches in a weird way. We're clearing those hurdles and are forging ahead. 

Knit your chicken a sweater

From the BBC, in honor of Amber and her chickens.

In from the cold: chilly chickens given a winter warmer

" How would you feel? One minute you're in a warm battery shed [laying shed]squashed up alongside someone who's pecking out your feathers - the next you're out in an open field with nothing to protect you from the elements. Thank the Lord for chicken jumpers...

Queenie and her three friends are feeling the cold a little more than most this winter.

Recovered from a battery farm in November last year, they were largely without feathers and - away from the artificial heat of the chicken sheds - have been feeling the winter weather.

Click here for video:	Chickens with jumpers

But owner Brigitte Hawley from Benenden has come up with a clever way of allowing her hens to enjoy the outside world, while being as snug as their more feathered friends.

A knitted chicken jumper - or 'Chux Tux' as Brigitte calls it - is the latest must-have item for feather-challenged chickens exploring the brave new world outside of the battery.

Poultry pullies

The 'Tux' can come in different designs depending on which parts of the bird are in need of insulation. Brigitte can also create poultry pullies in a variety of colours.

These hens have all been re-housed by the Battery Hen Welfare Trust, a charity that works with farmers to give a new lease of life to 'spent' battery hens when their egg productivity starts to take a slide.

The good news is that once out in the open - and with the help of a Chux Tux - the hens soon start to re-grow their feathers. Great news for Queenie and for the next reformed battery hen to inherit her winter coat."

I'm in love...

with my knitting group. A stimulating mix of women from early 20's to late 60's (guessing here!) who have instantly bonded over sticks and string. They're funny, smart, positive, open-minded, nonconformist, creative - all the things I look for in my companions. New faces keep arriving and the group welcomes them in. Not to mention the good wine and food.

I can't say I get a lot of knitting done at our gatherings, but I wouldn't miss it for the world. If you're interested, click on the Bend Knit-Up link to the right. (Or left. Things keep moving around here.)

What's on the needles

Monthly tally of all my WIP's (works-in-progress to you non-knitters).

1. Two socks on two circular needles: Cascade Fixation
2. Two socks on two circs: Trekking
(I can explain why I have two pair started at once - Judy taught a group at my house on Sat. and I had to jump in and participate, of course. But socks don't count anyway - this is something upon which all knitters agree. Just like sock yarn in stash.)



3. The child's guernsey in cotton that will never die or be finished (H now says he wants it, so I have to re-knit the ribbing I started to pull out, never mind the sleeves, etc.) This is threatening to move to the "in hibernation" status.
4. The entrelac scarf which I've got to finish before our entrelac felted bag knit-along starts NEXT WEEK.
5. Various swatches for future projects which of course don't count either, I really don't even know why I'm mentioning them.

Not so bad! Knitting Daily did a poll on how many UFO's (unfinished objects) the average knitter has going. The bell curve average is 3-6, so I'm right in there. Especially as 23% of respondents have 10 or more going.

I've decided that by airing my count monthly, I can't get too far gone - it's keeping me from a secretive casting-on binge. I'm actually one of those knitters for whom UFO's create a bit of anxiety and nagging guilt, but I do like having options to knit among depending on the setting.

OK, all you knitters out there, what's YOUR count?

Labels: knitting

entrelac-less

I pulled out the "Silk Garden" entrelac block. I realized it was too wide for a scarf and too small for a purse or pillow or anything - it was useless, actually. Weirdly, it took all evening to take out, as it got very knotted up and nasty. Started up again much narrower to make a scarf.

It really takes a lot of repetition to understand the stitch. It's all about reading the knitting and remembering the sequences. Since it's widely known I have no short-term memory, this is proving to be tricky.

And the instructions are tedious.
I think I'll have to make a cheat sheet.

Labels: knitting