Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Chicken Sweaters and Fingerless Mitts

Dear Mom,
Aren't Bonnie Jo's chickens smart! Not only have they figured out how to log onto the blog, but they also know that Aunt Kim will stop just about everything to knit for a niece. Even if that niece is a chicken.
The Chicken Sweater Pattern I used is this oneAfter seeing how lovely Gloria, Marge and Golda look in their jumpers, I imagine that there will be more hens asking for sweaters this Christmas.
The sweaters required less than 50g of yarn and these fit Bonnie Jo's robust ladies just right. I don't know how her girls fit into the scheme of Hen Sizing- are they Average? Plus size? All I can say with certainty is that they are not petite, so if knitting for a petite chicken niece, a knitter might want to scale the pattern down a smidge.
Knitting the sweaters was the easy part. The Chicken Photography was not. (But it was fun!) Chickens do not hold still. I took over 200 photos and Bonnie Jo had to do some deep knee bends.


multi-tasking one handed deep knee bending photographer/chicken whisperer

 I am beginning to think that putting a camera in Bonnie Jo's hands turns her into Super Stretchy Limber Woman!
Our patience, gymnastics, low batteries and rapidly filling memory cards were rewarded with some excellent (or should I say eggcellent?) shots.


Chicken sweaters aren't the only thing I've been knitting. I feel like I am late to the appeal of the fingerless mitts, but having made one pair for the Young Lady, I can't seem to stop. I can knit a mitt a night. They don't require much yarn, and they've been good stash busters.
I've made some with self-striping  and variegated yarns and they look good on their own, but the few pairs I've done out of solid colors needed some embellishments. I pulled out my Colorful Stitchery book and some sock yarn leftovers and had some fun.
I made this pair for Bonnie Jo: (she already opened them so I can show them off )



And I finished the first of this pair last night:

I knew the mitts were a hit when the Young Lady approved my making a pair as a birthday gift for her friend. She chose a bright variegated yarn from the stash for that pair. I also want a pair or three for myself. They are cozy for hugging a warm mug of tea, or for right now when my hands are cold as I sit at the computer keyboard. I don't have a pattern for these- it is in my head- but I probably should write down what I've done somewhere. Right now I am just enjoying the satisfaction of finishing projects.

It amy be cold and snowy, but life is good. I've got hot tea in front of me and two sleeping dogs on the floor beside me.

Keep Warm!
Love,
Kim


11 comments:

dls said...

Dear Sisters, your blog is so adorable I want to share the fun of it with everyone.

Love your sense of humor, your photos, your knitting, etc. Way too much fun...... hope you are "scrap booking" this creativity for your "chicks".

Thanks for today's smile.

dls said...

PS: I purchased the pattern for the Husky, Hasty North Porch hat last night.... it's beautiful and looks easy enough for me to tackle.

Christine said...

I have to say the chicken sweaters are a huge hit around here. That post where they asked for the sno soots just about made me pee my pants. I can assure you there will be sno soots on my needles as soon as I get some other projects done and out of the way. I need to make some fingerless mitts for myself, yours are gorgous with the stitching.

Carol L said...

Ok you two are cracking me up!! I'm enjoying a break from Christmas bustle and having a bowl of chili at panera. I have not checked the blog for many days. Reading this made my day. People are looking at me cause I'm alone and laughing out loud. The hens look fine in their sweaters. The photos are precious and I can see that you all had fun with this project. All the way from buying buttons for chicken sweaters to the gymnastics required to photograph the girls. I would love to be your neighbor and watch those 200 photos being taken. Merry Christmas. Ps. Tell the girls they are safe with me. I'm not eating chicken any longer because of some food intolerance issues. Eating more beef!!

Anonymous said...

Are you sure the chickens don't need some leg warmers?

I love the embroidery on the mitts!

Taryn said...

OMG! I love all your chickens in sweaters. I tried sharing them with people in my office and they just don't get it.

Anonymous said...

Those chicken sweaters are just great! I love them, but I'd have to knit about 120 of them to cover our girls. We sell eggs at the farm here, so there's quite a few of them. I'll just have to hope they huddle together to stay warm at night.
The fingerless gloves are very cool also - no pun intended. :)
I have a couple pairs but love the swirly pattern you made.
In chickens,
Linda Bickford

Elizabeth Beller said...

Love the sweaters! Wish I could knit more than just scarves. Great blog! :)

creationisminc said...

that may be the cutest thing i have ever seen...and something i would do too lol

creationisminc said...

Elizabeth beller...what kind of chick is that i want one its so cute

Unknown said...

I have worsted weight yarn that my daughter loves for her chicken. The pattern calls for DK weight. Can I use worsted weight and a size smaller needle to make the pattern the correct size?
Thanks