Chick Knits

Well, I'm still waiting for that magical moment to finish the Vinnland Socks.  You know, the uninterrupted time, free of distractions, that never seems to arrive?  I'm sure it's not difficult to do the grafting, but I want to do it well, as they will be a gift.  Soon. 

Meanwhile, here are my latest distractions, newly hatched Araucana chicks:

One of our hens had been sitting on a clutch of eggs, which we thought were due to hatch today.  So, we were surprised on Thursday, when collecting eggs, to find they had already started to hatch.  As we were wrong about the timing, we hadn't yet separated the broody hen from the other girls.  And, unfortunately, other laying hens had hurt some of the fragile half-hatched eggs.  My son held out a cracked shell in his hand, looked up at me with worry in his eyes, and said, "Mom, we have to help them."  Luckily, we had some incubators stashed away.  We set them up in the house, and carefully moved the remaining eggs into them.  It wasn't until the next day that this happened:

Finding myself without an appropriate knitting project, I did what many of us knitters would do when we know we will be sitting around waiting:  I cast on for a new project.

This is the Alhambra Scarf pattern, by the talented Anne Hanson, of Knitspot.  I love the color of scarf pictured on the pattern, so I dug into my stash for this Handmaiden Sea Silk in Pumpkin.  I knit away, while checking on the hatching chicks and moving them into a brooder, under a heat lamp, to dry off then they were ready.  Soon enough, the little fuzz balls were rested from their ordeal and finding their way around. . .

So, the chicks are happy and healthy, and I have a new knitting project!