Tags
beekeeper's quilt, Books, crochet, Cynthia Parker, hexipuffs, knitting, Les Miserables, projects, TinyOwlKnits
Since my last post there has been more of the same. There were many dragon souls absorbed…
There have been some differences though. I’ve been doing some reading. Specifically a short story collection. (Look for a review by the end of next week.) The non-fiction books are going much slower than I anticipated unfortunately. The fact that one of them is fairly dense and in order to get through even a few pages I have to really concentrate on what the author is trying to convey doesn’t make reading it easier. But I will persevere.
On the design front I have this to share:
I’ve managed to get the first part done and now I am working out exactly how to do the next part that will make this a truly unique pattern.
I’m really liking the simplicity of this design so far. It was entirely inspired by the Irish Lace scarf I made for my sister over the holidays. (Recognize the stitch pattern?)
If all goes well, and according to my time table, I should have a written pattern finished by the end of February.
On a personal project note:
You may or may not know that I actually carry a yarn project with me to most places I go – given the chance I will pull out the hook or the needles and work with yarn. Shortly after my trip to Austin I began such a project. Here is the inspiration that made me pick up three skeins of Malabrigo Lace…
This is called Les Miserables, a pattern by Cynthia Parker, and is available via Ravelry. When I first saw this photo I was struck by the deconstructed feel and after going over the pattern I knew I had to make it. The yarn I went with was, as I said, Malabrigo Lace – the color is olive. The yarn has a mild color variegation that will add even more depth to the shawl once it is done. Since this is what I call my “traveling project” – meaning I only work on it when I am not at home. This will likely take some time to finish. So I dubbed this my 2012 Traveling Project.
I had dinner with a dear friend of mine on Friday night. Indian food. Delish. It was a wonderful evening filled with yummy food and good conversation. It culminated with my receiving two bags filled with yarn from a yarn de-stashing that had occurred earlier in the week by another knitter in the community.
The majority of the yarn was sock yarn remnants with some novelty yarns mixed in. This is just a small sampling:
A lot of it is variegated and I honestly probably wouldn’t have purchased some of the color variants myself, but I will never complain about free yarn, no matter the color combinations. One of my favorites is actually in the sealed bag in the picture – the purple/pink combo. And it’s mohair so it’s also FUZZY!
Want to know what I am going to do with all that sock yarn? Especially since there are a lot of remnants of skeins. What could I possibly do with those?
I am going to make a ton of these. Just what are they? They are what folks all over Ravelry and any one that is familiar with Tiny Owl Knits call hexipuffs. They are the base for the Beekeeper’s Quilt. It takes me about 45 minutes to make a hexipuff. [Including adding the poly-fill and seaming closed] I am not a fast knitter, but given enough practice it will likely shorten to about 30 minutes. And I will be getting a lot of practice. For a 3×4 foot quilt I need at least 384 hexipuffs. I’m not going to be sitting here and doing nothing but make these tiny little puffs. No, I’ll be making one or two here or there. When ever the mood strikes really. They make really great quick gratification knitting. They will end up in a basket I have stationed next to my lovely chair. It’s a small basket for right now. (It also holds my 2012 Traveling Project yarn and the yarn I am using to test design) My goal is to upgrade the basket once it gets filled. This truly will be a year long project. Hell, it might be a two year project depending on how things work out in the end. And that’s alright. I’ll just change the working name I have for it right now – The 2012 Beekeeper’s Quilt a.k.a The Forever and a Day Quilt.
All things considered, even though I didn’t post a lot this week (again-sorry!) I can honestly say I did more than just play the Skyrims.
I love seeing all your projects
It’s really exciting! I actually watched the video of the woman who invented the bee-keeper quilt, I think you might have blogged it ages ago? So, I knew what you were talking about without further investigation! Made me feel totally in the loop 
Not sure if you got my messages on twitter but the gloves arrives on the 24th and are absolutely divine. I ADORE them, and they couldn’t have been more perfect. The design is fabulous, the sizing is spot on, and the colour couldn’t be more ‘me’. Thank you SO much. I had been having a rubbish day and when I saw the package in the letterbox I was in tears before I even opened it. You’re an angel. Thank you SO much.
I did indeed blog about the Beekeeper Quilt in a Designer Spotlight. And the video of her explaining the process is an absolute hoot!
Ah! I didn’t realize that that the DM was about the arrival of the gloves. Good to know that they arrived safely (and on a day that you needed a pick-me-up) I am so glad you like them.
I gave them the name “Purple Prose” as every time someone asked me what I was working on I replied with “I’m making a pair of gloves for a writer (that is also a friend-even if we haven’t met) in NZ.”
I truly hope that you get plenty of use out of them.