Inspiration
A Heartfelt Message from a Knitted Chicken
It’s not like me to jump on a bandwagon—at least not until that bandwagon has become a juggernaut.
Meet my Emotional Support Chicken: Lilli-hen Gardiner, first of her name, unless you count my Most Moisturized Mom, who can pick-a-little-talk-a-little with the best of them, and for whom Lilli-hen is named.
Made of 100% MDK Atlas scraps, Lill-hen is rendering honest-to-goodness emotional support, which came as a surprise to Ms. Cynical City Gal here.
Lilli-hen comes to us today with an important Public Service Announcement.
The MDK Field Guides need your support.
As one of the few remaining print publications in the knitting world, the Field Guides are a cultural treasure. (Yes! I said that! And I mean it.)
They also require a team of the best professional creatives we know, an expert printer in Winnipeg, plus ink and paper, which have risen in cost along with everything else these days. The Field Guides are expensive to produce—and they’re worth it.
So we invite you, with all our hearts, to subscribe to the MDK Field Guides for 2024.
It’s a timely request, because this week, all hands have been on deck, summoned by DG to prep stacks of early copies of the next Field Guide, chock full of beautiful design work from the amazing Fatimah Hinds, to go out to subscribers next week.
The benefits of subscribing are many, here.
If you love MDK’s daily content, subscribing to the Field Guides is a win for you and a win for us. You’ll get a wonderful surprise in your mailbox, and you’ll have the satisfaction of directly supporting an independent small publisher whose one and only mission is to delight knitters.
What do we get? The support we need to keep our tiny team going, and to keep making Field Guides, hiring writers and designers, and generally causing a joyful ruckus every chance we get.
Meanwhile . . .
Lilli-hen also wants to say that if you have yet to knit an Emotional Support Chicken, now’s your chance! Franklin Habit is hosting a knitalong on his Patreon that promises to be a wonderful time. I am going to join it, if only for the opportunity to name my second chicken Ruth Bader Hensburg. Will I knit a whole thing for the chance to make a silly joke? You know I will.
If you’re already a Field Guide Subscriber, thank you. It means the world to us. Watch your mailbox next week, and your email—we’ll be sending you the ebook!
I’d love to subscribe but I’m in the UK. Luckily I’ve found a lovely shop that sells them. I wonder if they could run a subscription for the Field Guides?
I’m also in the UK. Which shop does this service? Thanks.
It’s Fine Fettle Fibres, in Morpeth. They have guide 27 on pre-order at the moment!
Yes, Fine Fettle Fibres. What we need is for them to stock Atlas yarn as well…
Alas, no shops carry Atlas yarn; it’s simply not made in a large enough quantity to wholesale. We’d be on backorder forever. Literally: forever.
Ah, OK. So I was absolutely right to order some from you for my retirement present to myself… I’m going to make the Cottage Throw once the parcel makes its way through customs
I’ll subscribe because it is 1000% worth it!! I can’t do the kal right now because I’m doing a test knit for a yarn maker and I’m woefully behind but I’m saving the pattern because… who doesn’t need to knit an emotional support chicken??
I live in the United Kingdom. I want to buy quite a few of your guides. I agree, they are little works of art and the MDK blog is a wee paradise. One problem, postage/shipping. Aaaaaaaargh!
It pays off postage-wise to buy more than one at once. It’s the one-at-a-time postage that really adds up.
The MDK field guides have won this graphic designer’s heart with their every thoughtful detail. Their handy, just-right scale. The delicious uncoated paper! The simple, clean design! The gorgeous photography! Perfect binding ❤️! And their content has this knitter inspired for life. Thank you for them — they are truly a delight.
I don’t subscribe to many magazines anymore but my field guide subscription is a favorite! So happy to be a subscriber
I made four of the support chickens in the crochet version for my mostly teen-aged grandsons for Easter and they loved the. Great scrap buster! I love, love, love the Field Guides! The narrative, photography, and deep dive into either a technique or a designer makes each into a mini-workshop. And I love how MDK has been creating community through Zoom and other workshops to elevate the experience even further.
Would love to support Field Guides but you don’t ship to Canada. Would it be possible to have a PDF version available for purchase?
We happily ship to Canada (or alomst anywhere else in the world) – you can buy single copies of Field Guides (or a box full of them) the regular way whenever you like. It’s just the subscription model that’s not available internationally.
Shipping info and costs are on the Returns + Shipping Policies page.
There are quite a few shops in Canada that carry the Field Guides if you want hard copies. If you put “mdk field guide canada” in your search bar, there are quiite a few of them. Be forewarned, a lot of them are amazing shops and you may find yourself building your stash at the same time!
If you use Ravelry, they’re available there!
It was exciting to find the MDK guides in print in a yarn store in Alexandria VA. I get the e copies, of course. But they are so much more beautiful in print!
Oh, and the emotional support chicken is a thing for sure! The friend i gifted mine to, Sleeps with it every night
I made NINE emotional support chickens a couple of months ago. I brought them to my sister-in-law’s birthday party as gifts for the attendees. They were VERY well-received! There is something about them that is just . . . huggable. The day after the party one of the attendees texted me a photo of several of the chickens attending a wine-tasting! They are living their best life.
I showed a picture of Lilli-hen to the all-women team at my dentist’s office yesterday (they see me knitting in the waiting room and always want to know the latest knit news, I’m not even kidding)—they went absolutely WILD for it. It’s the funniest thing! Do I have 4 chickens in me for this stalwart dental team? They have been so kind to my teefs over the years….
Actually saw one in the wild on my last airplane flight – sitting loud and proud on their passenger’s snack tray. Even I, a seasoned traveler, felt comforted by the darn thing. I have such a long queue and am such a slow knitter otherwise I’d have finished one by now. Just because…. Looking forward to my copy!
I’ve subscribed for years and have one complete set and a second almost complete set! They are my joy!
I’m one f those Canadians who would love to subscribe! I have e-books, but they’re not the same. I have a couple that I have come across in yarn shops (Kaffe Fasset, Dee Hardwicke, Helene Magnussen), but I love the paper copies…. If there’s a way, sign me up!
This peep afraid to subscribe…because have lost $$$ on paid for but cancelled subscriptions to:
Interweave Knits
Vogue Knitting
Taproot
Knit Scene
Knit Simple
Birdwatching (not knit, I know)
That’s one reason why we do our subscription on a yearly basis. We get them lined up for each year in advance.
We’re small, we’ve been here a long time, we’re accountable, and we would love to have your support.
Kay, I would ❤️ this reply if I could!
I’m so happy that I decided to subscribe! It’s so great to be the first to see the new Field Guides. It’s a great value and there are many perks to being a subscriber! Everyone should do this!!!!!
The field guides are available at the Knitting Loft in Toronto, Canada.
Hip, hip, hooray!
Ruth Ellen Greenwood
I’ve been a Field Guide subscriber since you first offered the subscription and I own all of the issues. I’m don’t own many hard copy books or magazines anymore, but I love the Field Guides!
I’m planning to join the Chock-a-Long but may make mine truly chick-sized by using fingering weight yarn.
I wish I was subscribed, but unfortunately I live in Canada! Would there be a way to make international subscriptions all be mailed together at the end of the year? Then we’d be able to subscribe, but the shipping costs wouldn’t be AS crazy?
That is in essence how international shoppers can do it now. Just wait until the third one is released to the public, and then order all three in that year’s subscription series. We can’t automate it, but you can certainly do it!
I, too, love my Field Guides. There is one more service that you could add for subscribers: an email blast when you find errata for a project you’re promoting. I was so disheartened to discover the mixup of directions for the Moss blanket that it still sits in time out while I debate frogging it.
I know you post it somewhere, but I don’t think I should have to check the pattern out online every day to discover errors.
I gotta second this emotion! I am about to knit the fabled Shakerag top & see many comments about the design & directions for knitting the neckline being: meh. When I pay for a high quality knitting publication (& I have a good number of Field Guides, both in paper & download formats), I want any errata, corrections, or improved designs to be easily accessible. I think there used to be an errata link somewheres on the website…
Back to praise: I taught my crafty niece to knit last summer. She took off like a rocket & started with a mohair garment!! Every time she sees my Field Guides (or any pattern I have in print format) she’s thoroughly impressed. The Young People, they are so e-everything. Books! Paper! Such a worthwhile investment.
Just subscribed and ordered a kit to knit the ESC Perhaps there will be a Field Guide to knitted poultry in the future?
I’ve been a subscriber for 2 years now. Even though I don’t knit many of the projects I love the knowledgeable content. Also the 10 percent discount on yarn, etc is something I’ve taken advantage of. Thanks
I tried but you don’t send them to Canada!
While you cannot subscribe as an international customer, you can certainly purchase any individual Field Guide (or all 26 of them) and we’ll ship them to you.
The field guides are the only “magazine” I subscribe to now. I love seeing how each designer shares their work with us. I may not make any pattern, but I find ideas in each volume to make me a better knitter. Looking forward to the new issue.
I love the Field Guides! I have opted for the digital versions (because the space for hard copies in my library is at a premium) but am looking forward to future issues. Each one has been a treasure!
Lill needs a Lina fren. Most moisturized meets the Card Shark—or chicken. lol
Pollina!
I already am subscribed. To anyone that is hesitating, I’ve been getting them a couple years and have only made one thing BUT they are high, high quality and lovely to just look at. Do it if you’re able to do so!
Agree, Kristen.
I’m really happy that I subscribe, even though (slow knitter) I’ve made only a few items. But I dream on.
This is my situation too, but Kay is correct, it is such a treat to get the newest edition in the mail in the perky orange package!
I have been subscribing to the MDK wonderful guides for quite awhile now. There are a few earlier guides I still need to collect, but I should have all of them soon. Absolutely love these little gems.
Isn’t Olive jealous of Lilli-hen? Will they be on “The Real Housepets of New York?”
The Field Guides are well worth it! A treat in the mail, and a pdf on you computer or Ravelry library. Can’t find the book, easy to do a digital search. You owe it to yourself!
Also, so jealous I didn’t think of Ruth Bader Hensburg. What color eyes did she have…
Love my Field Guides. I’ve been a subscriber for only two years but I’m hooked. Now to check out Franklin’s support chicken. I could use one. Thank you.
I am so glad I found MDK. I have been knitting all my life, attending conferences religiously, traveling, doing yarn crawls, cruising . Knitting everywhere, MDK needs more talking up among knitters. I have found this community to be one of the most professional and sophisticated regarding style, information and creativity. The posts, classes, and the field guides are incredible.
I am looking forward to the Nashville event. Thank you to the leadership and team at MDK
Please keep it going!
Janet, we so appreciate you talking us UP! We’d like to be a very badly kept secret 😉
I’ve been subscribing to the Field Guides for a while now & will continue to do so. I look forward to seeing each release!
I’ve had this silly chicken pattern in my shopping cart for a while, but I can’t quite decide if it’s something I’ll actually knit up. My resolve to hold off buying it is faltering….
Resistance is futile, she’ll get you sooner or later….
I am subscribed and I have all of them, and they delight me. It is so wonderful to see them on my craft shelves, and to browse through them when I want to start something new. Actually, a couple of them I have duplicates because I literally wore the first one out…hmmm. Is that a me problem?
Anyway, when I decided I wanted to complete the set, it was a mid-year gift to get the little box full of field guides and made me so happy. Treat yourself, people! Future you will love their present from now you!
Mitzi, this made me smile for all kinds of reasons, but your comment about wearing one copy out reminded me of when Ann came to visit years ago, when we first knew each other, and she looked at my shelf of Rowan Magazines and said “um, why do you have 2 of so many of them?” I had to confess to wanting to knit from one and keep the other one “nice.” No regrets!
Wow, a pattern w/wings that has really taken off! Makes me as happy as the Toad & Frog patterns and Little Cotton Rabbits 🙂 As a retired Graphic Designer who once had a small library of books (love books), I know what it takes to create/produce the Field Guilds. Even if it were only available as a PDF it takes the same amount of work & money, would only save printing & mailing costs. Once retired we downsized to almost nothing, nearly all my books were donated. I don’t buy them anymore, use the library or ebooks & buy the Field Guides as a PDF so have never actually held one.
I love the Field Guides. I learn so much from every issue. I think I have them all now, and I refer to them often. Thank you for publishing these wonderful little books!
I love my field guides! And wouldn’t dream of not subscribing!!
Yarn Chicken is headed to a friend as I write. She has a chicken coop and lots of nice farm acreage. Yarn Chicken will be very much at home there. Her sibling, City Chicken will remain here.
Looking forward to receiving my Field Guide next week!
Dolly Part HEN from here in Nashville pledges her continuing support!
Please knit a lace collar for Ruth Bader Hensberg. ❤️
Oh thank you for this brilliant idea! I’ll just make the comb a little longer, and in white!
Love the subscription – the best and the most convenient.
Mini you have had our backs from Day 1.
I love the MDK Field Guides! Thank you for having them in print.
I am such a fan of MDK everything. The Field Guides are so beautifully done. I feel it has helped get to “know” many talented designers. I have been a subscriber for years. I have owned the complete set. When I moved recently from a senior living community to a new one, I gifted my wonderful friends in our Fiber Club, some of my collection of Field Guides. They were a big hit.
Keep up the good work. We need you small independents to keep us grounded.
Thank you for the encouragement, Diane! I love that your Field Guide collection went to a good home.
I’m looking forward to receiving mine next week! Thank you for all the fun and joy you give to we knitters!
Love your sense of humor!
I am thinking I should run up to Canada three times per year to deliver Field Guides. My life would not be the same without my MDK world and I want as many as possible to share the joy. I, too, worked with printers and graphic designers and love, love, love the care that goes into the design and publication of each guide. Not to mention the wonderful knit designers I have been introduced to. Just a win, win, win.
The subscription is not available in Canada. 🙁 🙁 🙁
Good Saturday;
I hope you and Mr. Habit will make the pattern for the Emotion Support Chicken available in future as I am unable to join the knit-a-long.
I agree that the Field Guides are a wonderful addition to the limited availability of printed knitted pattern. I need the physical pattern for note taking and keeping track of my progress. HOPE tons more people subscribe as I love getting the gorgeous little books.
Best,
I love my subscription. Field Guide 11 has a permanent home in my sock knitting bag always at the ready!
And I have been that hat I need a second copy to keep “nice” like Kay says.
I have been *thinking* that I need a second copy!
Where do I get my chicken pattern—I need support!
Would love to subscribe if you would send to Canada!
When my friend retired, she started keeping chickens for the eggs. She would send me pictures of them hanging out in her back yard. We have a running joke based on the t-shirt that reads…I raise chickens, therefore I AM a chicken tender!
When I saw the knitted chickens, I just had to make one for her. It turned out wonderfully, and she was so happy to receive it.
I love the field guides. When I want to start a new project, they are the first place I look. Having the file on my computer is great so I can write all over it and save the book for future reading.
I love my field guides – I print out computer copies to work from and make notes, and keep the book for forever inspiration. I’ve subscribed since the beginning, and as other magazine subscriptions have ended year by year, they leave me little regret because the MDK Field Guides are so much better. I encourage everyone to join the club, and you Canadian fans, just order a bundle each year.
I recently discovered the Emotional Support Hen and plan to make one for my niece-in-law’s sister and her kids. They have a bunch of hens and share their abundance of eggs with us, and they won’t accept any payment. So I buy occasional bags of mealworms for the hens and will make a Henny Penny for the family. Love it!!
Ruth Bader Hensberg also needs a broach. She will be gorgeous.
Please could I get a pattern for an emotional support chicken.
The ESC pattern was in my sights and then, as usual, you read my mind. It has a destination (and, all of a sudden, now there are two ) but I haven’t named it yet. However, I did just now complete the two sections of the tail and am pleased to say that I won yarn chicken. Will take that as a harbinger of good cluck.