The boys haven't spent Easter with me in so many years, I nearly forgot how to celebrate. But never fear, I know that you're never too old for an Easter basket.
Even my handknit chickens made their way into the Easter baskets.
Here's hoping you had a very happy Easter!
This year I am reminded of all sorts of Easter celebrations from the past decade that involve some of my favorite things: family recipes and knitting. Here's a look:
We'll start with my Mom's favorite recipe - Uncooked Cookies - that got three mini jelly beans, er, eggs for Birds Nests for Easter.
I try not to make these anymore as I'm the only one who eats them and that's not a good thing!
The original chickens. This was a fabulous craze.
I taught my friend's daughters to knit and they made their own chickens for Easter.
My friend Joanne opted for the Duck craze for Easter.
But Joanne's Dad wanted a chicken.
And of course, there was the mini chicken phase.
And perhaps my favorite of all... My Knitting Peeps!
Here's wishing you a very Happy Easter - no matter how you celebrate.
I made another Wee Wallaby for my American Girl Doll.
I didn't have a full skein of Encore Worsted, so I made the alternative collared version instead of the hoodie.
I'm actually quite happy with the way this worked out. Maybe I'll make a full-sized collared Wallaby for myself.
It's even more fun than a full size Wonderful Wallaby. I finished the adult medium (for my 9-year old niece) and decided it needed a Mini Me version, too. So I quickly began fiddling with the smallest 2-year old pattern to decrease it by 1/3 and came up with the perfect size for my American Girl Doll.
I finished both Wonderful Wallabies, steam blocked them, and rushed off to the Post Office to ship them priority mail so that they might arrive in the midwest by Friday or Saturday. I can't wait to see pictures of Gracie and her doll wearing matching sweaters.
I bought some mini googly eyes today (I just love saying "googly eyes" - don't you?) and knit up two more mini chickens. These are really so much fun.
I also learned something interesting about a chicken's coxcomb. They are red because of blood and were genetically a source of cooling down for the chicken. Interesting, no?
I also googled chicken images and decided to knit mine in the truer colors of the birds. I like yellow and orange, but chickens are not really those colors. So here you have my white, red, black, tan and brown hens.
I think the black chicken is my favorite.
So, there you have it! My chicken clutch is ready for the auction!
Or the return of the chicken craze.
My friends and I are helping knit birds for the Westport Young Woman's League entry for the Project Return Bird House auction. Today I knit four mini chicken egg cozies - but this time I used fingering weight yarn (Knit Picks Palette) and US Size 1 needles. Take a look at this year's blind chickens compared to last year's chickens. I don't have any mini googly eyes - so until tomorrow, my birds are sightless.
I can't guarantee that I'll stop at just four chickadees. They're like potato chips. It's hard to eat just one.
My friend Lynn sent me this great snapshot of her handknit hen staring at a ceramic hen pitcher. Too cute!
Did you get a hen? Please send me a picture of your hen in its new habitat.
I sent a yellow hen to my friend Mary. When she saw my peep, she begged oh-so-nicely for one to go with one she had from way back when.
She was kind enough to send me a picture of the new and the old. I think it looks like a mother hen and her chickadee.
Peep! Peep!
I couldn't resist. My friend asked me to knit her a Delaware Blue Hen. You know how much I hate knitting on demand, but I have to admit, I was intrigued by the thought of knitting a blue hen.
I have a newfound respect for the University of Delaware's mascot. I actually think it's kind of cute.
These Chicken Egg Cozies are simply too much fun. There's no stopping once you start. They're a lot like potato chips. You can't knit just one. Here's the whole peep or brood or clutch.
And now for their close-ups
I think the black chicken is quite possibly my favorite.
Did I mention that these little chickens are addictive?
Change is Good
