Chicken Egg

Years ago there was a great magazine named Craft. It was filled with a wide range of crafty tutorials and articles but a pattern by Anna Hrachovec particularly caught my eye. Named “Which Came First?,” the pattern was for a reversible plushie that was both an egg and a chicken.

I fell in love with the pattern immediately. Its name is one of my favorite philosophical questions. But more than that, the cuteness really warmed my heart. Back in 2008 I was not in a happy place and this pattern just made me smile. But I could never bring myself to knit it. I’m not sure why. Maybe I was too depressed at the time. Later when I rebooted my life I was just too busy to knit it. Still though the adorable plushies would always make me smile. I tucked the torn pages into my important paperwork and the pattern moved with me several times, even to Taiwan.

A theme these last couple of years is reflection. Perhaps it’s the pandemic that’s causing the mood. Perhaps it’s middle age. Last month I had thyroid surgery, a procedure I long knew was coming but kept putting off until the timing was right. (And the fear had been processed enough to let me actually do it.) Post surgery recovery seemed a perfect time to make my chicken egg. A dose of earnest cuteness is exactly what I needed. This pattern was easy to make and gave me such joy to complete.

This little plushie makes a fun joke so now lives in our hallway shelf for visitors to find. I added the hair tuft to make it a fluffy head chicken.

Granola refuses to answer the question. But I’ve seen him eat both.

Craft Magazine ceased publication years ago. However, you can still find the pattern on Mochimochi Land, the designer’s website, and on Ravelry.

Name: Chicken Egg
Pattern Source: Which Came First?
Craft: Knitting
Yarn: Quince & Co. Lark-Carrie S. Yellow, Egret
Needle Size: US 4 – 3.5 mm DPNs
Size: NA
Created: June 2022