Wednesday 27 March 2013

When Spring Won't Spring...

When Spring won't spring, every right-thinking chicken goes broody and retires to a cosy nest box ...


... out of the biting wind and icy garden with a friend or two for company.


This applies to all chickens in the vicinity - real ones and hooky ones! The real ones are sitting on their own eggs, the hooky ones on Cadbury's Creme Eggs. The latter look slightly surprised, as well you might if you'd discovered you'd laid a Cadbury's Creme Egg!




A friend gave me a very sweet knitting pattern for hollow Easter hens in which to hide Easter eggs but although she assured me it was "very simple" I felt it was beyond my very limited knitting powers and sent it instead to my French friend in Toulouse who knits beautifully, regardless of which language the pattern is in, and she made short work of it, within hours of its arriving through the post. So cute was the pic of the result that she emailed me that I felt I must see if I couldn't have a go at a crochet version which I had tracked down here at Delights-Gems. The shaping feels slightly counterintuitive, or so I thought to begin with, but it works perfectly and I've now made several of these little brown hens. I used an aran weight acrylic / wool mix in King Cole Moorland which happens to be the most speckledy-hen-like yarn I could find when I popped into my LYS. Not quite as variegated as my own bantams but passably speckledy!


Having made the hens, however, they looked chilly and egged on (sorry!) by the rapid spread of broodiness among the bantams, I decided a nest was the only way forward.

A hooky nest of course! I'm rather pleased with it and so are they!



It was very straightforward to hook up if you want to make one yourself.

You start off by making a circle of single crochet (US terms) and when it's the right sort of diameter you are after, you stop increasing and just single crochet without increases, on up, until you get the sides the right height. I used Jacquie of Bunny Mummy's lovely and very clear pattern and tutorial for crocheted bowls as a starting point for this and adapted it to suit the needs of my hooky hens.



I used two colours of yarn as per Jacquie's original instructions because it gives the nest enough substance and body so that it stands up properly but instead of changing colours regularly, I used the same two colours throughout - the brown I used for the hens and a green. The green is actually a totally different yarn, it's Forest Green from my beloved collection of Cascade Ultra Pima cotton. Works fine along with the aran weight acrylic / wool mix though, and a 5mm hook made a good tight fabric, without being too difficult to work the double strands of yarn.

I chose quite a dark green because I wanted it to blend with the brown and give a sort of mossy nest appearance. It's worked quite well, I think. To make leaves, growing, as it were, out of the sides of the nest, at intervals along the way, I periodically dropped the brown yarn and made little chain stems of 8 chain stitches out at the sides, just using the green yarn, then slip-stitching, still just in green, down the side of the chain, then picking up the brown yarn again and carrying on with the round using both yarns together. In the round after a round in which I had made stems, I made a 1 ch instead of a sc where I encountered each stem base and in the next round after, I crocheted my sc stitch into the chain loop for those stitches. This helped to turn the little stems outwards nicely. Can't show you a pic because I forgot to take one when the nest was still a WIP.

Once I'd finished the basic nest with a round of slip stitches, I then crocheted leaves onto each little chain stem so that the nest has the appearance of being made from leafy twigs. I crocheted the leaves using the principle of Lucy of Attic 24's leaves on her Happy Flower Decoration but with a slightly different distribution of stitches because I wanted slightly smaller leaves, so my chain stems are a little shorter than in the Happy Flower Decoration. There are twenty one leaves altogether, crocheted on seven little stems in each of three rows, dotted around the sides of the nest at varying intervals.

I used the same colour green yarn for the leaves as the stems but you could use a different green for a varied effect.

And of course I couldn't resist making a few pink blossoms to tuck in among the leaves. These blossoms are my own pattern - more fragile blackthorn blossom than frothy cherry, I think, despite the fact that blackthorn blossom is white, not pink - but any small flower pattern worked on a smallish hook and with thinnish yarn would work fine. Mine are crocheted in two shades of Patons mercerised cotton on a 3 mm hook.


If you don't want to crochet the stems for the leaves as you go, you could always make free-standing leaves and just stitch them in place. Even if you do crochet them integrally with the nest, as you sew in the ends, you may just want to put a small, strategic stitch into the back of each leaf to anchor it against the nest at the jaunty angle you want. That's what I did anyway.

If the hooky hens can be persuaded to stop sitting, the nest will make a nice container for tiny foil-wrapped Easter eggs but at the moment I can't shift them, or only momentarily to be photographed!

When Spring won't spring, unlike the hens, I don't go broody, but I do find myself travelling in two directions at once:

1: I back-track to Winter and make seriously sweet puddings like sticky toffee pudding or syrup tart* with a really deep filling - twice as deep as the recipe says to make it. My version uses 8oz homemade white bread crumbed in the food processor, the juice of a lemon (or may be two) to sharpen the sweetness and a generous slurping of warmed golden syrup - don't ask me how much; this is one of the rare things I measure by eye but by a generous slurping, I do mean pretty generous - the mixture needs to be quite slack and not at all stiff or the result will be tough and not melting. I stir this lot together, pile it into a homemade pastry case,  bake it for 20 minutes in a hot oven and eat it with a spoonful of crème frâiche on the side. You only need a small slice as it is so sweet but it is a very good antidote to lack of sunshine and the bitter cold that currently creeps into every crevice of the house.

* I grew up calling this pudding "syrup tart"; I know many will know it better as "treacle tart". In a way I prefer "treacle tart" - it's more euphonious but my version doesn't actually contain treacle and I like the childhood echoes of "syrup tart" so "syrup tart" it remains.


2: I fast-forward to Summer, dreaming of sunny days to come by beginning to sew a floaty summer dress from this Japanese book:


Hopefully, before long, I will be travelling in just one direction again! And I don't mean the cold one!

In the meantime I think the broody hens have it about right! 


E x


33 comments:

  1. Your broody hens are very just perfect as is the ones waiting for Spring... Your Nest for your Broody Hens is absolutely gorgeous and the flowers and leaves truly add to its wonderful creation. We have our fingers crossed that Spring will arrive soon. Like your Broody Hens I am itching to get outside to my gardens. Hugs Judy

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    1. Thank you so much Judy. Your own beautiful pink nest though takes the prize! I popped over to visit and it is SO beautiful! E x

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  2. I so love that you crochet your little chickens their own perfect little nest!!!!! I've been harking back to winter cooking as well - something about it that is very comforting and an activity that you can do no matter what the weather! I love the fabric that you've chosen for your dress and look forward to seeing it all sewn up. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the sun will come out soon! x

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    1. My fingers are crossed too! Here's hoping for a sunny Easter weekend after all! E x

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  3. Those chicks are so cute, and the nest is ADORABLE!

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    1. Thank you Ana - it was such fun to make I can't tell you! E x

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  4. Awwwwwwww, love your chickens and their nest turned out great, thanks for linking.
    Jacquie x

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    1. Thank YOU Jacquie! As I say in my post that pattern of yours for the crocheted bowls is brilliant! E x

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  5. Those real Hens are so lovely, gorgeous feathers. And I love your Hen and nest tribute to them, it is heartwarming, which we need right now! It's so cold hard to believe it is Easter. I worry for all beasts and bugs outside. Please Spring come! x

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    1. It's worrying the impact of the persistent cold on wildlife - lots of creatures finding it hard I think. The bantams say "Thank you for the compliment on our feathers!" E x

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  6. Those chickens are adorable. And your real ones look snuggly together out of the snow and biting winds. I am still comfort eating and I think with it being Easter this weekend, the chocolate will be welcome and a hearty roast dinner will go down a treat! Take care. Chel x

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    1. Chocolate will indeed be welcome even after roast lamb and cheesecake which is what I shall be cooking! Happy Easter Chel! E x

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  7. The picture of the hens in their nest is so appealing. I don't know how you did it, but the hens actually do show expression on their tiny faces. I agree that they seem a bit in shock or dazed somehow! Adding flowers and leaves to your nest makes your project unique and interesting, too.

    I've been doing some sewing lately, too. I actually took on a complex project, as I am making a short rose-colored trench coat to take with me when I'm in your area in July. I can't believe how many pieces the pattern has, but I've got a large portion of the garment completed, and just have to add the arms, lining, and hems. I'm also making a dress for my trip, using a green cotton and linen blend. We'll have to see if it's warm enough to wear it then. I am only able to sew on the weekends, but I have spring break next week and am looking forward to perhaps finishing these projects.

    I found some great made-in-America yarn I'm going to pack to bring to you, along with the frog purse.

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    1. Getting expressions right on these things is rather hit and miss I've found but the hooky hens have come out quite pleasingly, if slightly comically! Your sweing sounds wonderful - I've never had the courage to sew a coat. Looking forward to seeing you in it! The made in America yarn sounds very exciting - can't wait! E x

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  8. Teehee you made me smile with this post. The chickens are lovely. I love the pic of the three hens watching the egg!

    Helen xx

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    1. Yes, they are quite comical aren't they?! Happy Easter to all of you! E x

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  9. wow I love this latest creation the nest and hens it is so effective. Your winter cooking is making me hungry just thinking about it, my gran used to make us a similar pudding. Great to lift the mood I think I will give it ago and see what everyone thinks.I also love the material you have for your dress, you really are creative. I haven't made clothes for myself but have recently been making dresses for girls in nairobi and uganda. I really enjoyed making them .I have recently replied to your email but do not know whether you got it?
    anyway Happy Easter it's a sppecial time of yearxxxpippa

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    1. I hadn't got your email so am glad you flagged up your reply here. I have sent you an email reply and a parcel is already on its way to you! E x

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  10. The nest and hens look gorgeous, I think they looked surprised over the size of the egg they have laid! No wonder their eyes are open wide. I thought Spring had come but we are right back to winter weather here and the winds off the sea have been awful, have a look at the Sand! Post on my blog lots of the sand has been blown off the beach and onto the seafront. Not good just before Easter weekend! Rowen@ Coastal Colours x

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    1. Thank you Rowen! They do indeed look surprised at the size of egg! I too thought we had seen the back of winter and cleared out the grate and cleaned everything that gets covered with fine sooty dust over the winter when we have the open fire and what happens? The next day we get three inches of snow! So far I have held out about relighting the fire 'cos otherwise I will have to do my Mrs Mop act all over again! E x

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  11. I am surprised out how surprised these chickens are. :-)

    This is such an original and creative idea. I like how you combined several patterns and created this one-of-a-kind Spring project. I picture it as part of a centerpiece for a dining get-together.

    Oh and that syrup tart made my tummy perform a somersault. Yummy!

    Good weekend to you, E!

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  12. If I had a warm nest box then I think that's where I'd hide too. I have one hen who seems to spend most of her life sitting in the nest box and gets very put out when I lift her out every day to collect the assortment of eggs from underneath. Your syrup tart looks a welcome addition to the table - it's turned cold again today and I've started knitting a jumper that I thought I'd wait until autumn to make (maybe that will bring the sun out).

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  13. Loving the hens, what fun!

    That syrup tart looks divine :D

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  14. Dear E - what fun! Your chickens are exquisite and so full of character! Can't wait to see the new addition to your summer wardrobe...... xxx

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  15. These are wonderful, both the hens and their adorable little nest. I love the details. And your real hens look very cosy in their house. If I was a chicken that's where I would be too!

    Gillian x

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  16. So many darling things in this post! I don't know which to try first. Would you consider posting your recipe for Syrup Tart? Do you use fresh or dried breadcrumbs?

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  17. The nest of hens is a triumph - they look so comical - and I love the real ones too. I'm not surprised that they want to stay indoors out of this unpleasant weather - I've been doing lots of that too. Once again we seem to have been perusing the same books - I bought the Japanese dress book too last summer but haven't tackled any of them yet - I'm a bit anxious about sizing as I am much bigger than the average Japanese lady, but I love the simplicity and looseness of the patterns - which one are you starting off with? Judy.

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  18. Glad you too are thinking of having a go at something from the Japanese dress book. It's not quite as straightforward to use as I thought! Tracing the pattern pieces from the gazillion million printed on each pattern sheet for a start! I too have erred on the side of caution with the sizing - Japanese women are indeed generally petite - I've decided I need to add 8" to the length for starters as I am quite tall. More in due course as things progress! E x

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  19. You are too clever. The hens are delightful.

    I am using your picture of the crochet flowers on the stems covering that pink shawl you posted a while back as my iPad wallpaper and think of you each time I use the iPad ... Almost every hour. And I showed that wheeled shawl...Catherine wheel? The cluster crochet anyway...to a few friends and one helped me with the stitches and we did a few together, so am going to try that pattern soon.

    Have a lovely day...I am reading new thought into The Prodigal Son each time I pick it up. And I continue to pray for reconciliation. Hugs.
    Nancy

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    1. Dear Nancy thank you so much! I am very touched you like my cherry blossom photo and are using it as iPad wallpaper. Have fun with the Catherine Wheels! They are so addictive! Glad you have been enjoying Nouwen's exploration of The Prodigal Son. So hope the reconciliation you pray for comes over the horizon. E x

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  20. I agree with Nancy above, you are too clever! I love this little nest and hens, most delightful :). I would love to give this a go, thankyou for sharing the patterns. Love juliexx

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  21. Your handmade hens made me laugh, and your real ones are quite beautiful! I love the subtitle of your book -- Wear with Freedom -- and will be interested in what you make out of it:)

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