A Chicken for Suzanne

My dear friend Suzanne is a self-proclaimed "chicken gal" and suburbanite-of-necessity who longs to return to her farmgirl days living in the country with a yard full of chickens.

What better way to celebrate her upcoming birthday than sending an Emotional Support Chicken for her to hug and hold while she dreams her sweet farmgirl dreams?

The Emotional Support Chicken by Annette Corsino is just a downright fun pattern to knit, and I think it looks best when executed in tweedy-ish yarn colorways that are reminiscent of the feathers of real chickens. When I saw the lovely marled colorways of KnitPal Cotton to the Core, I just knew they would produce some lovely chickens well worth adding to any metaphorical flock. For this hen, I'm using Caramel Brown as color A and Fresh Peach as color B.

This yarn is on the lighter side for being labeled as a worsted weight - definitely much lighter than the stuff that Red Heart labels as worsted weight. In my opinion, it's closer to being DK weight. I'm still using the needle size specified in the pattern, though, so we'll see how big this hen ends up being compared to the other ones I've knitted with Red Heart. 😅 

I hope Suzanne loves her new chicken, and if she gives it a name, I will update this post to let all y'all know what it is! 💜🐔💜

I'm pretty sure that Suzanne's chicken is the first one of these that I've managed to sew together according to the way the pattern designer intended. Yay!

Emotional Support Chicken

I just couldn't resist the allure of the Emotional Support Chicken any longer. Meet Scrappy Henrietta! 😍

This pattern arrived on the knitting scene sometime in 2023 or 2024 (I believe), and the internet practically EXPLODED with excitement.

I added the pattern to my Ravelry favorites for safe-keeping but decided to wait before making one. I noticed, however, as the months went by the way the emotional support chicken consistently remained on the first page of Ravelry's "hot right now" designs, suggesting that the internet's adoration for the ESCs had yet to abate. It was on FIRE.

Eventually, I just couldn't resist the pull of the ESC any more.  

I think the thing that put me over the edge was when I discovered that The Knitting Tree LA had made a companion video for the pattern. Checking out the video was my undoing. 😂

Tail part 1

I grabbed a long old scrap of Hobby Lobby's I Love This Yarn in the Jazzy Stripe colorway (left over from an Infinite Granny Square afghan project) and cast on to follow along with the video, which starts at the tail.

Tail part 2

For part 2 of the tail and the main part of the body, I used a couple of long scraps of Red Heart With Love in the Pewter Gray colorway that were left over from when I made my Autumn Mists vest with no pattern.

Tail and main body

I don't know which yarn I used for the neck and head, but it was one long scrap of an ombre-ish yarn with purple, dark pink, and raspberry colors that is probably something by Red Heart, but I didn't have a label for it anymore.

Neck and head added

I used up the remainder of the raspberry ombre scrap for the top end of the undersection piece, and more of the gray yarn to finish the undersection.

Henrietta got a bit wonky as I was sewing her up, where the two ends of her neck stripes don't line up at the front, but hey. She is still adorable, and I wuv her!! She has 15 mm blue safety eyes from a pack that I bought off Etsy years ago from a seller named 6060, who is no longer active on the site. Whenever I'm installing safety eyes, I always use this tool to help set the backs, because it makes it a lot easier for my arthritic hands to handle the task of snapping them on securely.

You might be able to knit a whole ESC by only watching the video, but I think the video really makes a better accompaniment if you also own the written pattern, so before I reached the end of the first tail section, I bought the pattern: And the emotional support chicken claimed yet another willing (happy) victim. 😂

I followed this up by making a friend for Scrappy Henrietta, another Emotional Support Chicken, Scrappy Patty, in colors to match our guest bedroom.

Scrappy Patty and Scrappy Henrietta

 

Scrappy Patty sitting on the bed in our guest bedroom

Scrappy Patty side view

Witchypoo Scarf

This pattern came to me when I was drifting in that place where I was not quite asleep but not quite awake. It's an easy crescent moon-shaped scarf that can be made with just about any yarn at any gauge. Just in time for Halloween stitching, I present to you the Witchypoo Scarf!

The Witchypoo Scarf can be made in a solid colorway, or a variegated, or an ombre, or in any yarn that your heart desires, but I think making it in two colors really makes the curves of the crescent shape pop visually.

304 stitches on needle

Comprised of mostly mindless, movie-watching-friendly, reversible garter stitch, you only need to pay attention to what you're doing during the first few stitches of each row, where the bottom edging detail is worked as you go.

200 stitches on needle

This pattern is best worked with an interchangeable needle with a long cable (at least 42 inches) to accommodate the large number of stitches.

Seeing the black and purple stripes in my scarf reminds me of the fun witchy-poo striped tights that my daughters used to wear at Halloween, which are memories that bring a smile to my soul. I hope your soul will find reasons to smile, too, as you knit and wear this scarf.

Measuring my gauge

As you can see in the "measuring my gauge" photo above, my gauge is about 4 stitches per inch and 4 rows per inch. Details about the yarn and needles used are on my Ravelry project page.

The scarf grows quickly; the only reason why it took me a couple of months to finish mine is because I was multitasking and working on several other projects at the same time. 😂 

My only question now is: Should I release this scarf design as a paid pattern? Would you be interested in making it if the pattern was available?

Zuzu's Petals - fingering

This is my very first project using fingering weight yarn! And if that weren't a cool enough fact all by itself, the yarn I'm using is a lovely ball that I found at a thrift shop for only 99 cents! How's that for cool?!

The yarn didn't come with a manufacturer's label on it, so I have no idea what brand it is or even what the fiber content is. It kind of feels like it has cotton in it; it might even be 100% cotton, for all I know. I just liked the color - it reminds me of the faded grayish blue of denim blue jeans, and I think it will make a lovely Zuzu's Petals cowlette. This is a paid pattern designed by Carina Spencer.

Because the width of the neck opening was only 16 inches when I reached the end of section 1, I knew I would need to keep adding width to make it be possible to pull the cowlette over my head. I decided to work two more 12-row repeats, hoping that would bring the width to something closer to 20 inches wide, which I figured would be a dimension that would fit better over my head. That meant my final stitch count at the end of section 1 was 151.

End of section 1 with 103 stitches

 

End of section 1 with 151 stitches

As I got toward the end, I was worried about losing at yarn chicken (running out of yarn, in other words). So I skipped the optional purl round and instead went directly to the cast off. But then, after casting off, I could see that I did actually have enough yarn left on the skein to be able to do the purl round, so I tinked back the cast-off round and added the purl round before casting off again. I just knew that I would always regret not having the purl round in there, if I didn't add it, because it really does help straighten out the edge curling, even before blocking. 

Before blocking

I could have saved myself the trouble of tinking back if I had weighed my skein when working the last few rounds. If I had weighed it, I would have been able to know that I'd have enough to work the last optional purl round before casting off. Live and learn! But it was pretty close!

Blocking

Gauge

Haiku Cardi

 

Finished cardi

It would have been helpful to me if the pattern had provided more of an overview description of the process of how the cardigan will come together, because although I do enjoy patterns with unconventional construction techniques, If I had realized before starting this that the fit of the cardigan would be closer to that of a cocoon-style cardigan with a sort of dolman-type sleeve, I might not have opted to work this pattern, because I generally don't care for cocoons or dolman sleeves.

Nevertheless, I am glad that I made this cardigan. It is a paid pattern designed by Svetlana Volkova. At about 21 inches length, measured from the top of the shoulder, I decided to add pockets of 29 stitches wide by 44 rows deep. I knitted the pocket linings in contrasting black yarn.

Some ways I deviated from the written pattern include making simple kfb increases instead of M1R/M1L increases and adding the pockets. I like the oversized fit even if the cardigan is somewhat less constructed than I had expected before starting the project. Total stitches after rejoining below armholes: 253.

This cardigan begins in the center-back and works upward from there in the shape of a triangle. When the triangle is large enough, the point of the triangle is at the back of the wearer's neck, and the wide side of the triangle wraps around the waist. The slanted sides of the triangle are then worked separately to finish the upper back on each side and wrap around the shoulder and become the upper front on each side. The front sides are then rejoined to the back to form the arm holes and stitches picked up along the bottom of the triangle. Then all stitches are knitted together to make the bottom part of the cardigan.

I do like how this project turned out, but I think if I make it again I will incorporate garter stitch instead of ribbing, because the ribbed front placket on this one wants to fold over toward the stockinette. Hopefully washing and blocking will fix that issue, but I'm thinking that using garter stitch plackets would naturally lie better than the ribbing.

CPAP hose sleeve

This is my first attempt at making a CPAP hose sleeve. Even though this is a simple project I looked at some other similar projects to get ideas for how to go about it. I was originally thinking of knitting this seamlessly in the round but decided it would be easier for me to work this first one flat and seam it. 

This yarn and needle combination swatched at about 5 stitches/6 rows per inch. I'm using Big Twist Sincerely Ombres in the Gray Denim colorway and 4.5mm needles.

The CPAP hose end caps are about 3.5 inches in circumference at the widest point and the main hose tubing about 2.75 inches in circumference with a length of 72 inches (6 feet). 

Initially I cast on 15 stitches and worked in 2x1 ribbing for 24 rows/4 inches then switched to stockinette for the main body of the sleeve. But I decided I needed to add a couple more stitches to the sides to act as selvage for when I sewed the sides together to make the tube, so I ripped out what I had done and started over by casting on 17 stitches. The first stitch on each side would be a selvage worked in garter stitch. Again I did 24 rows/4 inches in 2x1 ribbing then switched to stockinette for the main body. I continued in stockinette (plus the selvage stitches) until the length measured about 68 inches, then I finished the other end with 24 rows/4 inches of ribbing.

To seam the length, without breaking the yarn I switched to a crochet hook, chained 1 and then single crocheted the length closed to form a long, thin tube. My thinking was in doing it this way it would be easy to "unzip" the seam and recover the yarn if I needed/wanted to redo this project later.

Lanyards for festival season

Break out the handmade lanyards — it's festival time again. 

Knitting a long 3-stitch i-cord is a fast and easy way to make lanyards that are soft and comfortable to wear. These won't cut into your skin or feel scratchy like standard ribbon lanyards or lanyards with breakaway clasps. You can customize your lanyard by using any colors you desire and even add beads or other findings for a truly unique piece that suits you.

I used worsted weight yarn and size 6 DPNs to make the lanyards in the photo, but they can be made with any yarn weight and needles that give you a nice, snug gauge on the i-cord. Leave a 6-inch tail at each end of your work so you have plenty of length to secure the hardware and fasten with knots before weaving in the ends.

I'm thinking a nice fingering weight yarn on size 1 needles with lots of sparkly seed beads would make a lovely one. I'm going to have to try that next.

These work up quickly. I made the worsted weight ones approximately 36-38 inches long, and they each took just about an hour to knit. (Adding beads would, of course, make the knitting time significantly longer.) At this gauge my lanyards each used about 12.5 yards of yarn. After fastening off and securing the hardware with a few knots and weaving in the ends, I'd estimate each lanyard takes about 90 minutes to complete. And you could easily sell these for about $10 each, depending on your audience, so ... not a bad ROI.

Before tying the ends together add a small keychain split ring or a large jump ring and a spring-close clip or lobster clasp. Tie the ends together over the split ring/jump ring and weave the ends back through the i-cord. Simple, easy finish.

Moussaillon sideways cardigan free pattern

Finished my lil sideways sweater.

This simply brilliant free pattern is called Moussaillon by Cléonis.

You know how with most patterns (especially patterns for something as complex as a cardigan) you have to repeatedly count (and count AND COUNT) every stitch, every row? With Moussaillon, you can actually relax.

Front left panel complete; left sleeve started

Moussaillon incorporates picot edging and short rows, but don't let these frighten you because it's very easy to see when it's time to add them in the course of your knitting. (What row am I on??? What stitch number is this??? You can put all these concerns to rest because you simply will see where you are at all times.)

 The English translation of the pattern is written by a nonnative English speaker, so some native English speakers may find it difficult to read. But if you are generally familiar with knitting techniques, you shouldn't have much trouble figuring it out. And if you aren't familiar with making picots or short rows, there are dozens of video tutorials on YouTube that can show you how, so you don't have to rely solely on the pattern to explain them to you.

Trying on after finishing front left panel, left sleeve, and left side

A project this size you of course will not be knitting all in one session. With some knitting projects, after you put them down and come back to them later, it can take an agonizingly long time to figure out where you left off if you didn't leave yourself detailed notes/counts/etc. With Moussaillon, it is always easy to see where you are when you return to the project.

When you get to the beginning of a row, will this be a picot row? Just look at where the previous picot is. Are you two rows away from it? Then just begin the row with regular knitting. Are you four rows away from it? Then it's time for a picot here. Simple as that.

I used two stitch markers when making this: one on the top edge to show where I began a new section, and one on the needle to show where to turn for a short row (that way I didn't have to count how many stitches were left on the needle each time it was time to make a short row). How will you know if it's time to make a short row? Well, is the stitch beside your turning marker a regular knit stitch or a wrapped stitch? If it's a regular stitch, it's time to make a short row. If it's a wrapped stitch, knit through to the end of the row. So easy!! I didn't even fuss with picking up the wraps on the knit-through rows because they all but disappear on their own inside the garter stitch fabric.

Yes, Moussaillon DOES require some counting, but the beauty of it is that you don't have to spend your time CONSTANTLY counting and recounting (and getting frustrated when someone else in the room speaks to you and causes you to lose count!). When I finished the first front panel, I counted how many rows wide it was so I could make a note to make the same number of rows when I got to the other front panel. Ditto for the width of the sleeve and the width of the underarm side. To determine the width of the back (as well as the width of the front panels and sleeves), the designer repeatedly suggests that you try on the cardigan and make adjustments based on how you want it to fit. This is very easy to do and gives you excellent feedback on how to personalize the fit.

All in all, I highly recommend this pattern. I plan to make it again and am looking forward to experimenting with different yarn weights/needle sizes and even maybe adding some lacy yarn-overs to change up the look. SO FUN!!!!

Front panel: two rows plus 28 bumps. Sleeve top: 28 bumps. Underarm side: 9 bumps. Back panel: 32 bumps.

Improvisational vest of many purples

I finally finished my funky, scrappy vest of many purples. 😁

Here's a link to my Ravelry project page.

Following the very helpful and detailed guidance at Karen Templer's Fringe Association blog, I decided to make a V-neck vest in stripes that would use up some of the scraps in my stash.

Following the instructions for a shaped back of the neck sweater, I started with an i-cord cast on and continued the i-cord throughout along the vest front edges. I wanted the vest to have a deep V, so I increased the front every fourth row. (I decided that if I make another one of these, I'll increase every-other row next time.)

Worked the body in garter stitch with one stockinette row inset at every 20th row for a bit of textural interest. The stripes change color simply where each particular scrap ball ran out. (It would have been "neater" to only change colors while working RS rows, yes, but this project was intended to use up stash scraps, so by golly, I used each scrap up completely.) :-)

I wanted the bottom to have a sort of handkerchief hem effect in the front and be longer in front than the back, so after achieving sufficient width for the front edges of the vest to meet (increasing every fourth row), where one would normally stop increasing the width for a regular-looking vest, I continued to add increases at the vest front (only faster, working them every-other row) until the desired back length was achieved. I wanted the front edges to drape into pointed ends sort of like the way the ends of a shawl drape. The final result came pretty close to what I was hoping for.

A long knit

I've been knitting for a looooong time ... 😎

This is a straight poncho, so the shape is very basic. I'm almost done with it (finally!), so stretched out lengthwise, it also doubles as a blanket. Except for the neck opening in the middle, which you can see in the photo right about where my knees are underneath.