Lakers lose.

This week's Chickenheads session had it all - competition, international intrigue, performance art, and even audience participation. Gotta love Tuesday nights.

It was the third game of the NBA finals that night, between the Lakers and some other team. I only know this much information because Obamette is apparently very interested. She is the mother of two teenage boys and the wife of one husband, all of whom are sports nuts. What choice does she have but to care?

But God bless her, she still agreed to come to knitting night - as long as she could watch the game. So we set her up in the corner, oddly angled right in front of the big screen TV, while the rest of us knitted and gabbed. We would occasionally get a jolt from the corner of the room when she would release a loud "Yessss!" or "Where's the foul???!!!" (I was happy to find out as we were all leaving that the Lakers lost. Sorry Obamette, but I just hate Kobe.)

As entertaining as Obamette's spectatorship was, I was excited to hear all about Rugby's recent trip to Ireland. She had missed the last two weeks while traveling with her husband throughout the country and visiting with his family. It sounds like it was a terrific trip, complete with hurling - both the Irish sport and head-in-toilet varieties.

Then Big Sis attempted to explain the plot of David Lynch's "Eraserhead" to the group. Let's just say she had to stand up in the center of the room in order to more effectively portray the characters and their quirks. This was easily more bizarre and hysterical than the movie itself. In fact, it was the only conversation of the night that got Obamette to turn away from the game to see what the hell was going on. It was awesome.

Finally, CertainT surveyed the group to get ideas for what song she and her son should dance to at his October wedding. This was towards the end of the night after several beers, yummy meat calzones (thanks Bubbles!) and huge slices of an absurdly tasty ice cream cake I bought at Trader Joe's for only $8. Needless to say, the suggestions got more ridiculous by the second. I offered The Police's "Every Breath You Take" - but only if CertainT wants to scare the hell out of her newly acquired daughter-in-law.

I'm sorry to say that I can't for the life of me remember the other song suggestions that were so funny. So I'm asking my Chickenheads to comment here and share (CertainT - you can figure out how to do this!).

And any of you other honorary Chickenheads out there, feel free to throw in your two cents. It would be good to hear from you!

Bock, bock.

p.s. Oh yeah, we knitted too. Well, everyone except our disappointed Laker fan.

Bock Bock Birthday

After two weeks of no Chickenheads (for me), it felt good to get back to the group last night. Although Rugby was missing - still on her vacation in Ireland, poor thing -- it was a festive evening as we celebrated Miss Sunshine's birthday. She is turning a full 26 years old, so needless to say the rest of us felt terribly sad for her elderly status.

During the first year of the Chickenhead's existence, birthdays were a big deal. I think we were all so excited to be a part of this group and wanted to show appreciation to everyone when their special day came. This involved a huge balloon, a cake and a present from the group, usually knitting related. It was a fun year and we all got the royal treatment. But once the last birthday was celebrated we all quietly agreed that we can tone it down for the future. I mean, this economy is hurting everyone and we can celebrate each other without forking over $20/each every few weeks.

So we celebrated Miss Sunshine with a nice big balloon and tasty grocery store cupcakes and even found a lone candle for her to blow out, while wearing a birthday tiara of course.

The rest of the night was nice and mellow, with Bubbles doing her normal rounds of helping the lesser skilled knitters. She helped get me back on track with my ear flap hat and taught CertainT how to increase.

The girls also made plans to get together at Obamette's house Sunday night to watch the Tony Awards. I opted to pass on that extravaganza as there is only so much hysteria over Broadway shows and performers I've never heard of that I can take (as I wrote about here). But I wish them all a wonderful evening of Big Apple entertainment.

Til next week, Bock Bock.

Borrow or Buy?

Knitting night got off to a wonderful start this week when Obamette presented me with a yellow rose of friendship. I was a little confused at first. She approached me with such a grateful countenance that I thought, "Wow, she really must have liked the pizza I brought last week."

But no, she was thanking me for some advice I gave her the week before when she presented the group with a personal problem in need of an immediate solution. Apparently the advice I offered was the winning strategy and she was so relieved and happy that she felt the need to thank me.

Of course, she's the one that made it all fall into place. But still, it's nice to have a little confirmation that maybe I've learned a thing or two over the years that can help someone else.

This pleasant exchange was also further confirmation that our weekly knitting night has become a lot more than just a bunch of chicks gabbing. We all help each other through our various life events. I think they call that "friendship."

Let's see....what else happened this week?

Babies, babies, babies.

Yet another friend of mine is knocked up -- a bit of a shocker to everyone, including her -- so I need to pick another baby pattern and have it completed before the shower in August.

Rugby, who has knit an entire Babies R Us full of items, suggested an adorable hooded baby carrying bag that is in a new book of baby patterns she just bought. She passed the book around and, although I fell in love with the baby bag, I opted instead to take on the bathrobe. It just felt more like something my friend would like (and didn't involve a zipper or buttons). I think I'm going for a pastel purple or blue with a lime green edging. Cute for a baby boy!

When the book got to CertainT's lap she exclaimed, "You bought this!?" When Rugby answered in the affirmative, CertainT delivered a little lecture on borrowing knitting books from the library rather than wasting money buying them. Rugby countered saying that so many of her friends are having babies, it just made sense to buy it. Plus, it is an absolutely beautiful book (and Rugby hopes to be knitting for her own spawn at some point down the line).

Just like her nickname implies, CertainT was unconvinced and remained certain that borrowing pattern books from the library is the only way to go.

For me, I don't do either. I can barely handle the flood of free patterns on sites like Ravelry, Knitty and KnitPicks (feel free to share any other resources you know of!). Plus, I can always borrow the books from my generous Chickenheads. The only books I've invested in so far are Stitch & Bitch (of course) and the wonderful Luxury Yarn One-Skein Wonders, which I've already used enough times to make it worth what I spent. Throw in a few stitch bibles and I consider myself loaded up with projects until perhaps 2012.

What side are you guys on?

Bock, bock.

Sock It To Me

As much as I'd like to think the Chickenheads couldn't possibly exist without me, they can - though I like to think it's not quite as much fun.

For the past three weeks I've been down and out, having had some major orthopedic surgery at the end of March. For the first week I was in the hospital, then 30 miles away at my mom's while I recovered. After two weeks I had a clear enough head to cast on my recovery blanket project, but quickly got stuck. Normally, getting stuck is no biggie since you can always wait til the following Tuesday night when one of the Chicks will help you. But my isolated situation made it more like a concrete-walled dead end. So I put the knitting aside and focused on my Barack Obama audio book instead (a worthy substitute I must say).

I finally came home last week and last night the Chickenheads were kind enough to relocate knitting night from CertainT's house to mine, relegating my poor boyfriend to the office downstairs in a failed attempt to drown out the bock, bocking.It was wonderful to have the group back together, though I will say I haven't been used to that much chitchat having been in near isolation during most of my recovery. But I suspect I will ease back in to the high energy level of the group as my own energy begins to return.

Clearly, some sort of sock fever has taken over the Chickenheads - a virus I have yet to catch. Rugby is insane about socks. When she is not knitting baby blankets for her pregnant friends, you can guarantee you will find her knitting up another adorable pair of socks. And Bubbles is now equally obsessed - dying her own sock yarn and acquiring sock books like they're going out of style. This is the book they are all obsessed with at the moment, and there are some tempting patterns in it for sure.

But for some reason I can't seem to get excited about knitting socks. I have had a half-knit pair on circulars sitting in my basket for months and I keep avoiding them. This, after an initial sock disaster that left me cursing socks for all eternity, which only inspired Bubbles to buy me some better sock yarn (she insists the yarn is why I had such a hard time) housed in a plastic contraption that keeps the balls of yarn from tangling up while you knit two socks at a time on double circulars.

As touched as I was (am) by Bubbles' fighting spirit, I still feel defeated by them. Perhaps I will change my mind - someday, when I run out of everything else. Or when I see Rugby's next cute pair and finally decide I have to have them for myself.

In the meantime, it's good to be back.
Bock, bock.

Musical Nuts and More

No Chickenheads group this week as most of them opted to go on a field trip to see the stage production of "Rent," which just came to town. Being the group grump, I opted out as I've seen it twice already and, frankly, have no desire to see it again. It's just feels a bit dated to me.

But for Miss Sunshine, Bubbles and Big Sis, there is no such thing as getting sick of a Broadway musical. You know how young girls shriek and get all breathless over Justin Timberlake or the Jonas brothers? That's how these grown women - ranging in age from 25 to 50 - get when they talk about "Raoul" or "Anthony" or whatever Broadway star they are obsessed with and know on a first name basis.

In a way, I envy their passion for something they so clearly love. But at the same time, I want to put earplugs in when they get on their conversation kicks about how great this song was, or when so-and-so did that number and they cried. It can go on for hours. But I usually put a stop to it after about 20 minutes with a cynical, "How much longer are you going to talk about this?" comment.

I think it's less the subject matter that bothers me (I like musical theater a lot actually) but more the high pitch squeals it seems to inspire in them. Ear piercing sometimes. I guess they get more like Baby Chicks than Chickenheads at that point.

So off they all went to "Rent" while Rugby and I opted out to do our own thing on a Tuesday night. I used the time to have dinner with my ex-fiance. Yeah, I know. Knitting probably would have been better for me. But still, he bought me sushi (as always) and he is kind of like family so it's good to catch up.

Next week is my last Chickenhead group for awhile, sadly. I am having some pretty major orthopedic surgery on March 23 and will be VERY out of commission for a few weeks/months. I feel blessed because the Chickenheads insist that they will come to me for our Tuesday night sessions until I'm back on my feet. I look forward to it already - even with the squealing.

In the meantime, I am stocking up on knitting projects to keep me busy during recovery. The biggest one is a beautiful blanket I am making just for myself. It will be one of those keep-for-a-lifetime blankets. It's actually from a shawl pattern that I saw knitted up at a yarn shop months ago and, after some poking around, found out that it is an older Vogue Knitting pattern.

I already ordered the pattern, which for some lame reason can only come by mail. Last weekend I went to my favorite yarn store in San Diego and found the perfect taupe-colored kid mohair, which is now on order and is going to cost me a pretty penny. Good thing I have $150 in gift certificates saved up for this very project. If ever there was a time to splurge on myself, the next three months is it.

Bock, bock.

Chickenheads Knit: Cast of Characters

Hi there and welcome to Chickenheads Knit.

Some background: I am part of a knitting group that has met every Tuesday night since March 2008. This blog is an attempt to capture the essence of how this random grouping of seven women - two in their 20s, two in their 30s, and three in their 50s - somehow managed to turn into family.

*For info on the cute knitted chicken in the picture, scroll to the bottom for a link.

My name is DatingTrooper, and I am also the author of Dating is Warfare. If you read that blog, you probably have already read a bit about the Chickenheads - that's what I call our knitting group. Actually, that's what my boyfriend Wine Guy calls us because when we all get in the same room we end up sounding like a bunch of squawking chickens (bock, bock, BOCK). His famous quote, "I don't understand how you can all understand each other when everyone's talking at the same time." Yeah, he pretty much nailed it.

To tell you the truth, I usually get a headache about three hours into knitting night. Which is also exactly when it's time to go home -- so it's perfect. But those first three hours are what I suspect it feels like to sit in a room full of your sisters - if you actually had a good childhood and generally like each other. You chat, you tease, you are totally crude and inappropriate, and you laugh with and at each other. But no matter what happens, deep down you know you can trust each other and are rooting for each other every knit and every purl. So, for me anyway, it really does feel like family - or what I'd like to think it is anyway.

I've warned my fellow Chickenheads that I am starting this blog and they all say, "Go for it." Let's just hope they aren't like real sisters that get all pissed off and bitchy when they read something they don't like:-). Let the games begin.

Cast of Characters (more at original Chickenheads post)

DT (me) - 36, living with Wine Guy, unmarried but wants to be - yesterday. Started knitting on the first night of knitting group, March 2008.

BigSis - 50, single divorced mom with two teenage kids, just started dating for first time in many years and is acting like a giddy teenager. Started knitting about one week before I did.

Obamette (originally named Spunky in my first Chickenhead post but, now that I know her, I must change it) - 50ish, longtime friend of Big Sis, disgustingly happily married with two teenage boys. Started knitting again at knitting group, but quickly remembered what her grandmother taught her as a little girl.

Miss Sunshine - 20s, Big Sis's niece, has had the same semi-mysterious boyfriend since high school. Been knitting for a few years and is certifiably insane about it (and musicals).

Rugby - 30s, Miss Sunshine's coworker, recently married and endlessly knitting baby blankets for her friends - and I think it's getting old for her. Been knitting for years and is quietly expert about it.

Bubbles (formerly called Crafty, but now that I know her I have to call her this instead) - 20s, Miss Sunshine's friend from high school, happily lives at home with her parents and younger sisters, has had an "older" boyfriend (he's 30) for years, but he lives in LA and she is not so patiently waiting for him to get on with it. The most expert knitter of the group, she recently purchased her own spinning wheel and is taking a long-anticipated "vacation" next month to attend a knitting convention in San Jose. She fixes just about every knitting mistake I make and I worship her for it.

CertainT - 50s, longtime friend of Big Sis, married with three grown sons. She hosts knitting night every week and every time her husband comes home, he walks across the room, leans down, and gives her a kiss hello. Every. Single. Damn. Sweet. Time. She's been knitting since the group started, and quite possibly before.

So that's us. I know it sounds terribly "chick lit" cliche. And sometimes it feels it. But I'd like to think that we talk about our bathroom habits and other disgusting things enough to disqualify us. My plan is to give brief summaries of what we covered in each week's group (or at least the most entertaining stuff). I'll try to leave it as poop-free as possible. But as my Chickenheads know, if I'm around, be prepared for the worst.

Bock, bock.

*** For those of you correctly admiring the chicken in the photo above, I apologzie for not giving it the proper credit - I wish it was my work! The truth is, I forgot where I found the picture so long ago. Alas, I found it again and it is the adorable work of Beth who writes about it in her blog Loxosceles, here. Perhaps I will tackle it soon as a group mascot.