Tag hexipuff

Laying Out My Beekeeper’s Quilt

remilyknits 4 Comments

Last week, while I mulled over the implications of the Challenge Three Twist for the Fiber Factor, I spent a couple hours laying out some of my hexipuffs (over which I have over 400, yikes!).  I had already (mostly) sorted them into broad categories:

  • Red/Pink/Purple
  • Orange/Yellow
  • Green/Blue
  • Neutral
  • Multi-colored (no dominant color)

I could see after sorting that about half my puffs fit into a color group.  Of these, about half were Red/Pink/Purple.  I had very little Orange/Yellow, so I started with those, then transitioned to green/blue. I’m trying to put the more “pure” colors near the bottom edge, shading into more “muddy” or striped puffs towards the top (where they can blend into the neutral and multi puffs, later on).

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I was on a roll, so I broke out the pink/red/purple! I put the warmer ones on the orange side, and the cooler ones on the blue side — plenty to cover both ends, since I had so many in this color grouping.

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That’s where I stopped! I want to let this layout settle for a couple days — I will play with it a bit, then sew them in place. It can be helpful to view in black and white, when making big color choices … helps see the values of the different colors:

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FO Friday: Ravellenic Edition (Part II)

remilyknits 1 Comment

I finished my other two projects for the Ravellenic Games!

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Project: Blue Tiles

Pattern: Parquet Tiles

Designer: Rose Beck

Available: $5 for this pattern alone, or $12.99 for the Archi-textural Collection (on Ravelry, naturally)

Yarn: Knit Picks Capra in Celestial

I love this soft and luscious yarn!  The pattern was not my usual “type” — I’m not often drawn to plain-old knit&purl designs. Too many are poorly-rendered, overly-cutesy designs fit only for washcloths.  But, Parquet Tiles is elegant and lovely — not washcloth-like at all.  Enjoyable knit, reasonably quick, well-written pattern.  High marks!

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I worked hard throughout the Olympics on my puffs.  I’m proud to say I have officially “caught up” to my 366 in 2012 goal, and I’m currently running 4 puffs ahead of schedule! I was helped greatly by a mini-skein swap of 40 gorgeous new STR Lightweight colorways.

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Project: 40 STR Puffs

Pattern: the beekeeper’s quilt

Designer: tiny owl knits

Available: $5.50 on Ravelry

Yarn: BMFA Socks That Rock Lightweight

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Zombies Heart Brains: Mini-Skein Swap

remilyknits 3 Comments

I have succumbed to hexipuffs!

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My goal for 2012 is to make one hexipuff each day … but of course I started in February, and sometimes I miss a day, so my tally so far is a mere 20 of 366. I was also hampered by a distinct lack of the right kind of sock yarn.  I have a scrap blankie also in the works, and for that one I am restricting myself to yarn from socks/shawls/etc. that I have actually knit — it is more of a memory blanket, and I love looking at the squares and remembering the projects I made with that yarn.  But, for my beekeeper’s quilt, I’m being a bit snobby — I want to use “fancy” sock yarn only, and have no repeating colors.  It says something about my knitting habits that I was able to make 20 little puffs that meet this requirement, using only what I had lying around. But aren’t they pretty?

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In order to get enough different yarns, I have jumped down the mini-skein swap rabbit hole. The basic concept is that 19 or 20 mad knitters totally sane people agree to each take a perfectly good 100-gram skein of sock yarn and chop it up into 5-gram miniature skeins, good only for hexipuffs, blankie squares, and the like.  I’ve signed up for six different swaps so far, and the first batch arrived yesterday, hooray! This swap had a “rainbow” theme — each swapper signed up for a color and went from there. Joy! I actually knit four hexipuffs last night (the last four from my own stash), so that I could give myself permission to start in on this batch.

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Which all brings me to … Zombies Heart Brains! I’m hosting a swap!  The theme, naturally, is zombies — all kinds.  As of this writing, I have filled 14 of the 19 slots — which means 5 slots are still open to you, dear reader.  Allow me to tantalize you will some of the yarns already in the swap.  Surely you want 5 grams of each?? 🙂

 

Cast-On Monday: Lacy Cardi Prototype, Cuckoo for Hexipuffs

remilyknits 1 Comment

Early last week I received a shipment of yarn from the UK.  All week I’ve worked almost exclusively on the prototype for a lacy summer cardi for KNIT Magazine.  The good news is … I’m nearly done!  I have a bit more of the back to do, then (short) sleeves, then it’s just wash, block, and ship.  Naturally I can’t share any photos or design details, but I think you’ll like it, when it comes out later this year.

The other knitting event in my life this week was hexipuffs: I have succumbed to the madness.  I have joined a mini-skein swap, and chopped up a skein of Butternut Merino/Tencel from Mind’s Eye Yarn.

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I also dug through my box of sock-yarn-leftovers for all my “premium” bits, and I’ve made four puffs already. I am using puff-making as a reward for chugging through on the design project. Which is not to say that the design project is a problem (not at all — in fact it’s quick). Rather, I’m not usually a monogamous knitter, so I have to find ways to motivate myself to stay on task. Mostly.

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