No Peeps, Just KIP

Join us tomorrow night (Thursday) for our usual knit night, sans small sugary birds!

Alliance Bakery
1736 Division
7-9 p.m.

Hope to see you there! And if you wanted to arrive a few minutes early to help snag some tables, that would be ideal.

PDIP Numero Uno (and KIP)

Thanks to everyone who came out to KIP last night...and to all who PDIP'ped, perhaps in spite of themselves! What in blazes am I talking about? I am talking about the Peeps Diorama contest being held by the Q Section of the Chicago Tribune, and about our fantastic entry into said contest. Feast your eyes upon the Peepness!

It was what could only be called a team effort...Dana scoring the box from a liquor store, working on chairs, publishing the newspaper (magnify the photo to read the day's headlines!), and building the table...Michelle the Composer knitting up tiny items with sock yarn, including a "sweater," on No. 1s, then transferring them to the toothpicks, which were held in wings made by Our Other Michelle (blow up the first photo to see details. No, really, you have to see the details!)...Jewell supplying the sine-qua-non Peeps in all their pastel glory, making a mirror from origami paper, and building a couch and a club chair from the Peeps packaging...Rachel calling upon design and structural engineering skills we didn't know she had in fabricating chairs from chenille sticks (formerly known as pipe cleaners), helping to match Peeps with knitting, and, crucially, helping to clean up (with others -- thanks, all!)...yours truly making a flowerpot and pompon flowers...Angela having contributed the theme two weeks ago...Corinne, Molly, and Andrea thinking we were insane but being too polite to admit it....A Pleasant Time was Had By All.

Sincerely yours,

the PeepsKeeper

Chocolate in myriad, marvelous forms

Thanks to all who came out to KIP on Thursday! KIP Swap: Chocolate was a great time, as you can see from the joy in these photos. We treated each other to Godiva hot chocolate, our own local haut chocolatier Vosges, Swedish Bakery petits fours, classic Russell Stover, a chocolate rose, You Go Girl kisses, chocolate-covered strawberries (health food, you know), and other delights too numerous to mention!

Now Accepting Nominations for the next swap item or theme...maybe in April? We could connect it to Earth Day! KIP Goes Green! Half-kidding.

We also discussed initiating an -along called the One Project Project, or OPP (OPP-along?) -- the idea is to knit one project from all the books you own from which you have yet to make anything. That's the basic premise, anyway..."rules" and maybe even the announcement of prizes to follow! Please submit suggestions, desiderata, et ceterata, below. And keep warm! See you Feb. 21.

KIP meeting and Chocolate Swap!

Hope you can wade through the slush to join us at KIP tomorrow night! We'll be having a chocolate swap. If you're interested in participating, at least one chocolate item (two, if you like) and spend approximately $5 per item. I'm sure they will already be in some sort of packaging, so no additional wrapping is necessary.

What is a chocolate item, you ask? Well, it could be a chocolate bar, chocolate-covered fruit, truffles, chocolate cookies, fudge, etc. -- even a pastry if you are adventurous! Obviously the item does not have to be 100% chocolate but we are going for a theme here. :)

See you at 7pm at Alliance Bakery!

Happy Birthday!

We had a great time last month celebrating KIPper birthdays! We all indulged quite a bit. We also had a fun ornament exchange and a knitting book giveaway!


Alliance Bakery made us a terrific cake (white cake with raspberry mousse filling and chocolate ganache.


The birthday lady (hiding from the camera) and Bonne Marie, both in their handknit finery!


The whole group, with the birthday lady at top center!

Everyone had so much fun that we are thinking about adding a quarterly birthday celebration and/or gift exchange to our KIP schedule. There was some discussion about a February celebration, with a chocolate exchange!

Our first KIP of 2008 will be this Thursday, January 3 at Alliance Bakery, from 7-9 pm. Please join us! And, Happy New Year!

Many Thanks

To all my lovely KIP friends--thank you for the lovely birthday and holiday celebration. I can't imagine a nicer or more inspiring group of people to knit with. Really, you are all so amazing! Thursday evenings are really special for me.

Countdown to cake!

Come one, come all, to the KIP Holiday/Birthday Extravaganza! We'll be celebrating Corinne's and Rachel's birthdays as well as doing an ornament exchange. 7-9 p.m. this Thursday, the 20th, at Alliance Bakery, 1736 Division.

To get in on the ornament swap, please bring two ornaments, storebought or handmade. Hope to see you all there!