columbia gorge | PDXKnitterati

I’m on my way to an Emotional Support Chicken. I’ve been seeing these pop up in my Instagram feed, and they’re all really cute. I bought the pattern last month, but I wasn’t inspired to actually knit…until Franklin Habit announced a chickalong on his Patreon. Sold!

My chicken will be mostly purple, because it takes about a full skein of worsted (200 yards), and that’s what I have in a full skein. It’s Malabrigo Rios. My stripes will be that blue/purple and orange/purple; I don’t have enough of either color for all the stripes, so I’ll need to choose one for her body stripe and one for the 2 stripes near the neck. The orange stands out more, so maybe it should be by her face, but there will also be a yellow (?) beak and red comb and wattle. Too much excitement all together? Would the blue/purple be better by her face?

This half of her tail is almost done, then I’m on to the other half. This is definitely a short row eggstravaganza, but it’s wrap and turn in garter stitch, so no big deal. I’m working on a name for her, maybe Egglantina Rose, or Aubergine (a shade of purple, and also EGGplant!).

What else have I been up to in my nearly 3 week radio silence? DH and I went to the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. Lots of music, and we made time for beignets and cafe au lait at Cafe du Monde, and crawfish-stuffed beignets and cocktails, too.

I went hiking with a friend in the Columbia River Gorge yesterday; the wildflowers were beautiful on a perfect spring day.

Catherine Creek trail, Mount Hood in background

So much variety.

I’m also still knitting my brioche and assigned/algorithmic knitting shawl. It’s a really fun knit, but I haven’t had a lot of time for it in the past couple weeks. Now I’m back at it, and I have chicken knitting, too. Which isn’t the same as yarn chicken. Yet.

What’s on your needles? Are you tempted by the chicken?

I’ve been on several road trips lately, but I’ve been the driver on all of them. I’m a great multi-tasker (knitting while reading or watching TV), but I draw the line at knitting and driving. Fortunately, there’s a new way to road trip. JJ Foster, local knitter/instructor/former LYS owner/hospitality professional has come up with a fun concept: The Traveling Ewe.

The Traveling Ewe is a new tour business focusing on knitters, crocheters and spinners. The Traveling Ewe will offer a new fiber-focused day trip every other month, starting with the Columbia Gorge Adventure on June 28th. Fiberistas will board a swanky luxury coach and head to Hood River for an inspiring day of crafting, eating and shopping. There will be time at Knot Another Hat, lunch at Celilio, a trip to Foothill Fibers Alpaca Farm and Store and, to end the day, a glass of wine on the sunny patio at Mt. Hood Winery . Tickets for this event are available at the Traveling Ewe website.

This sounds like a perfect field trip for me, and no yellow schoolbus! I’m planning to go. Come join the fun!

The sight of Mount Hood still thrills me every time, even though I grew up in Portland. This is an old picture out the back window at Timberline Lodge. The last time I drove out I-84, I kept looking in my mirrors for a view of the mountain. It will be much safer snapping a picture when I’m not the driver!