THE COOP

Monday, March 22, 2010

Unfinished Chicken Business...

Hi World,

I was on Mrs. P's blog and as she is a quilter, I mentioned in jest the quilts I began but never finished 14 years ago.  I know.  Chicken quilting.  Who would have thunk it.  I love quilts.  They appeal to the country girl in me as well as the ADD (all those patterns, and colors, and shapes-oh my).

She asked for pictures and so I dug out my camera and obligingly took some.

Without further ado, here is a quilt that I never finished.


This is an Ohio Star quilt that I started when I was pregnant with my oldest son.  Who is now 14.  It was to be his crib quilt and because I am sentimental like that, I wanted it to be all hand sewn. Note the little hand sewn stitches:


Very "Little House on the Prairie", don't you think?  But as it turned out, nine months was not quite long enough and after he was born I could drink wine again.  So I never finished it. 

Here is another quilt I never finished.


I call this the "Clipped Geese" quilt because, having never done it before, the triangles aren't quite triangles.  This one was done on my sewing machine.  I know.  It's kind of fugly.  It won't hurt my feelings if you say so.  It was my first attempt.


Not sure why I never finished the quilts.   Maybe I just don't like to hem things in.  Maybe I like my quilts to live outside the box.  Whatever the reason, here's the proof that Chicken does have somewhat of a nesting gene despite the irreverant sense of humor. 

True to my nature, which is annoying even to me, what started out as a simple task to provide Mrs. P with photos of my unfinished quilts turned into an introspective exercise, and I began looking about for other things I have started and not finished.

For instance, 7 or 8 years ago I thought it would be fun to start knitting and I promptly went about acquiring all the materials, picturing myself the knitter of cute sweaters and homemade mittens and hats, like my Grammy Nat tried to teach me to knit way back when.  Grammy Nat had an enquiring mind, however, and there was always a big stack of  the "Enquirer" to catch up on at her house. At 12, the Enquirer was way too much to resist.  All that relevant information!  I was too busy reading about shark attacks and UFOs to learn how to properly cast on or retrieve a dropped stitch, never mind casting off.  My knitting projects never really got off the ground, but still all the colorful yarns look quaint in their little basket, don't they?  If someone walked in and saw it, they would be all like, hey, Chicken knits, isn't that adorable?  Of course, this would have to be someone I've never met before who has never heard me swear like a sailor and demand that everyone have another margarita.  Here's my knitting basket:




littleb likes to borrow the knitting needles and pretend he's Charlie Watts.  That's why you only see one.  In reality, I have at least 5 sets languishing throughout the house, ready for any drumming opportunity that may arise.  If Mick Jagger ever pays an impromptu visit, littleb is prepared.  Don't worry.  I always warn him in my best David Sedaris voice not to run with them. 

Speaking of rockstars and unfinished projects, that reminds me of a story that I have not told you.

WhenI was 39 I had what might have been, looking back, a small mid-life crisis.  I decided that I needed to learn how to play the guitar.  Because, you know, I have always secretly wanted to be a rockstar.  Come on.  I cannot be the only one, so 'fess up to your inner rockstar people, and tell me all about it.  Anyway, I decided I wanted to learn to play the guitar and started searching E-bay for a used one.  I am fussy.  It couldn't be just any guitar, it had to be a special guitar.  And in case you do not know me very well, I am a big Springsteen fan.  



Naturally, I needed to find out what kind of guitar the Boss played, and as it turns out, his favored brand is one named "Takamine".  I needed me a Takamine.  Even though I have no idea how to pronounce Takamine.  If ever I was talking to a real guitarist and mentioned that I play guitar and they asked me what kind, I would be all sorts of embrrassed.  I'd be like, "TAK-a-meen-e?  Ta-KAN-a-Meen?  ta-ka-MINE?...here, let me write it down..."  Anyway, I found one.  Here it is:



And just in case you don't quite believe me:


Maybe you can't quite see that with the glare, but it is a genuine Takamine.  Certainly not the model that the Boss spins his lyrics upon, but in the family.  A great nephew, perhaps.

I bought the guitar and stocked up with "Guitar for Dummies" books.  For weeks I practiced diligently. 

You see, I had a plan. 

Bruce Springsteen was scheduled to play at Gilette Stadium on my 40th birthday.  My plan was to write Bruce ahead of time to let him know I'd be there, that I knew how to play the guitar, and that it was my 40th birthday.  Because I know Bruce to be a real down to earth sort, I was sure that he would be responsive to my letter, and would probably send me complimentary tickets.  I mean, I know that's what I would do if I was a rockstar and a Chicken wrote to me.  Then, when I got to the stadium, somehow, miraculously, I would be in the front row.  Bruce would play all my favorite Bruce songs, and then he would announce to the audience that it was Chicken's 40th birthday.  He would pull me up on the stage, hand me a Takamine and we would play together.  I would finally have my Rockstar moment.  I think maybe "Human Touch" was the song I had in mind but I don'treally remember. There are so many great ones.  And then there might have been vague fantasies of a private interlude due to the sudden, harmless disappearance of both Patty and BigB.

Anyway, and to tie this whole sordid story together, I never did get around to teaching myself to play guitar, and I never did write Bruce or attend that concert or meet my destiny.  Just another thing I never finished, like the quilts and the knitting.  But I will be turning 50 in a few years, and if Bruce is still up for it, so am I.  Maybe if I start practicing now...

Take care,

Chicken out

(and as to the Chicken Crossing The Road, I'm sure you know what you will find.  If you are a Bruce fan, go there:-))

14 comments:

  1. Wow...I thought ..Oh I'm glad she's going to make this quick, because I can probably hold my bladder for as long as it takes to read this post. That was my first mistake.

    After I'd changed, I came back and finished the second half of your post.

    The ohio star quilt is a-mazing! Hand sewn. You're talented or insane. Possibly both. We both need to find a "Friday Night Sew in" group so you can finish this gorgeous creation. Or I can send you my mystery quilt and you can start hand sewing that.

    "Maybe it will be done in time for my son's first child. Not too soon, that, I hope." Shhhhh be careful what you say. I am younger than you and already a grandmother , which is ironic because I dont even feel I've matured enough to be an effective parent yet.

    Is that a chenille under the ohio star Are you and I to be united by another shared passion of chenille? Please say it's so!

    One day I'm going to learn not write War and Peace type responses to your posts....

    P.S There is still plenty of time to learn to play the guitar, or maybe cow bells, or door bells if it comes to that.

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  2. Thanks, Mrs. P. It would be the second one...insane. I don't know if I will ever learn enough to feel like an effective parent. Each kid is so different. You think you've got it figured out, and bam, you are back at square one with the next one! I don't know if it is chenille...isn't that kind of fuzzy? I think it is matalasse, but I am not sure. I don't mind the long comments. Write away. I think blogging is my pet project for now. It's perfect for me because it will never be finished!

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  3. :-) Great post Chicken! CB

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  4. Hey Chicken!

    Thanks for stopping by my blog. Loooove your blog name by the way!
    Good golly, "And after he was born, I could drink wine again. So I never finished." So flippin' fantastic! I could say that about so many things.

    And I have a plan, too. Although I do adore The Boss, there is one who owns my heart and that would be Bono. I'm not sure what my plan is, it certainly involves Oprah because she is the maker of magic and she is bff's with Bono, but other than that, I'm out of ideas. I did send her a video, I'm embarrassed to say, many years ago, professing my love and begging for a meet up, but I'm pretty sure it was thrown in the trash, (probably written off as another wacko.) I'll let you know if I think of anything that might work. I'll let you use it for Bruce.

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  5. Thanks CB. Hey,I went back to check the page and I couldn't find it on my pages I'm a fan of. Not sure what I did. I wanted to spend some time with it, get to know it, since we will be lambasting the world with it soon!

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  6. Hi Joann-Ha! I love Bono. I featured one of his on my March 17th post. It's gone now, sadly, but I agree with you. Thank you for visiting here. I love yours! And yeah, if you come up with a good plan, let me know. Two heads are better than one!

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  7. The fact that you even can quilt is quite amazing. I can't tie my shoelaces right.

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  8. Ha. I have a guitar in my living room. It's on a special stand. It is covered in dust, and has a broken string. I can't play a single chord. Until a month ago, I had a similar basket of yarn, along with about 8 different gauges of crochet hooks. I finally admitted defeat there and donated all of them to our public library knitting club. I like to think my yarn is now keeping some sick baby's head warm somewhere...

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  9. Chicken, Chicken,
    Now you know that Bad Scooter always has a hungry heart. He loves good stories. All you had to do was say the word and you know that the night would have been yours. Hell, Red wouldn't have minded taking the night off. Well, maybe for your fiftieth. And keep the great stories coming. That one of you, in the Lexus, middle of puddle, sparking a Marlboro - classic. I soiled myself. Maybe your next ride should be a big old Cadillac - long and dark, shiny and black. Rock on.
    The Boss

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  10. Chicken,

    Do you still need to know where your fan page is? You can do a search on facebook (at the top). I still need the proper link for the website.

    Keep blogging Chicken!
    CB

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  11. LSLW-thanks for checking in with my blog. You crack me up and I love your blog. I feel right at home there, also. As far as the quilting thing goes, I believe there might be a hormonal surge when you are pregnant that results in an ability to quilt, sew on buttons, tie shoelaces, and do other homey stuff. Sadly, for some of us, it recedes like a flood once the storm has passed.

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  12. SS-good for you for passing on your yarn. I have to hold onto mine because someday in the middle of winter...well, the urge to knit just might strike again. Same with the guitar.

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  13. Oh, my guitar isn't going anywhere. If nothing else, it serves as a phony testament to my potential coolness.

    I think you should sing Rosalita.

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  14. I would if only she would come a little closer.

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