These Chickens Ain’t Got No Names!

My chicken story. And afterward, a contest!

Last year we started keeping chickens. First came Prudence and Dame Judy, both of whom are no longer with us. Then came four adorable bantams, two black ones (Spooky and Silver-Backed Gorilla); a fluffy-booted, matronly white hen named Hollywood Madam; and our favorite tiny white girl “Heart of a Champion” heehee.

When we went to the hardware store for coop-building materials last summer, I told Zach very firmly that he was not to build a rickety ramshackle piece of crap that would look terrible in our ever-improving backyard. The end result is this $900 Chicken Chalet, with nicer windows than our house. It was a bit of poor communication on my part (I never intended to spent THAT much), but I have to admit it’s the nicest coop I’ve ever seen.

Unfortunately, last autumn before the door was put on, a racoon got in and butchered all the banties. We were heartbroken!

The raccoon did not kill the imposing Kai und Kai, named after a same-named couple we knew in San Francisco. These two hawkish hens lay BIG eggs and are inseparable.

We also had a rooster named Fidel for a while, but he was too loud for the neighborhood (we think he’s the one who announced to the raccoon world Chickens! Chickens to Eat!) so we gave him to a friend with more land in Sandy.

I believe you met Curly Coquinche last week (she lays tiny little eggs!):

The contest part? Here are three fancy pants chickens we received for xmas. It shames me to admit that they have no names!!

If you have ever photographed free-range chickens, you know that they do not stand still. The chickens are unsexed, so may turn out to be roosters, in which case they’ll be looking for homes in less urban environments.

Please use the comment area to enter your names for my chickens. The winners of the naming contest will receive a handmade chicken-item, which I am madly designing now! The deadline is April 21. GO!

The Chibberty

This is the ChibChub. The Chibberty. The IbbertySkibberty. THE IbbySkibby.

This weekend my niece and her family moved into our house. Mosca is wonderful with children, but after a full day of playing with two 1-year-old boys and a 7-year-old girl, he took a moment to “find his happy place”.

Quartet of Elf-Babies

So many new babies in the last year! I made a pixie hat for most. This rainbow hat is for my guy, whose sex was unknown until birth. You can see him in it here.

My nephew’s hat was photographed atop an appliquéd quilt made 25(?) years ago by my mom for her second granddaughter, Rachel:

Rachel is the recipient of pixie hat for her own daughter, born in January. This is the detail shot so you can really see the colorplay.

Pattern Notes: I found the Crystal Palace pattern to be too big when I used Koigu yarn (my favorite yarn for this project). So I cast on only 78 stitches and followed the pattern in all other regards…perfect for a newborn head. My friend Kristin (a Delicate Genius!) agrees with me on this and also casts on 78. The pattern is easily resized by casting on a multiple of 4 plus 2.

I also found that the hat needed some way to hold it on! I started with skinny braided cords, but they were too long and cut into chubby soft baby chins. This hat has shorter i-cords that can just be tied and untied easily. I think this is my favorite option so far. I’ve thought of experimenting with tabs and velcro, but velcro gets unattractive quickly, and tying a knot is timeless!

Kool-aid? Never touch the stuff!

I never liked Kool-aid, even as a kid. But when I caught the internet-fad-fever to dye some yarn, I went right out and bought 10 packs.

My inspiration was Knitty, but for a tutorial on dying self-striping yarn I read Streets and YO’s excellent instructions and pics. It wasn’t until I was pasting in this link that I realized how similar my colors are!

The intended project is a pair of hyperbolic pants from this book.

Using 4 balls of super-soft Mission Falls 1824 Wool:

Here it is, strung between the high chair and a baby chair set atop the dining room table. I had to do this FAST, while distracting the Boogedy with a video. After this step I tied it loosely at close intervals with pearl cotton.

Then hung it up to dry under the carport:

And here is curious Curly Coquinche, our friendliest chicken-lady, come to inspect my work: