Beekeeper's Quilt: 40 Hexipuffs.

So, I'm basically a hexipuff factory.  Now that school is back in, being on the train for about 2 hours each day means that I can get around 3-4 of these done a day.  Ignoring the fact that I'm becoming a brittle old lady from all of this, I'm hoping this means that I've effectively cut my expected time of completion in half.   We'll see how this really goes in a few weeks...

Go here to see my first hexipuff post and look at how far I've come.



Then there's the fact that all of my plain-colored hexipuffs stand out too much and look so empty. Clearly, the only solution is to embroider some wonderful images on these guys.  Any ideas?
40 hexipuffs made in 25 days.  Not too shabby, eh?

The hexagonal shape of the hexipuffs really seems like it would lend itself well to chemistry allusions.

That one with the mustache on it?   That guy is starting off my collection of mustache hexipuffs.  Should I portmanteau this?  Mustachipuffs?  Hexistaches?

Beekeeper's Quilt: 10 Hexipuffs.

I finally caved.

For those of you who are perhaps unfamiliar or out-of-touch with the online knitting community, I'd like to momentarily direct your attention here: The Beekeeper's Quilt by Tiny Owl Knits.  The idea is to knit hexagonal-shaped plushie motifs ("hexipuffs"), stitch them together and form a quilt.  I think it's swell. In order to avoid being such an impulse buyer, I let the idea of this project sit on the shelf for a few months, and when I came back to it I was still just as enamored and had to buy the pattern.

Hexipuffs are addictive.  I'm not sure if that's a warning or a testimonial, but whatever the case I'm already up to 10.

An interesting component of the hexipuff quilt is the suggestion to use your scrap sock yarn.  I've never actually knitted any socks before nor have I saved up any sock yarn.  So, clearly this does not apply to me and therefore won't be saving nearly as much money as I theoretically could have been if I were a sock-knitter.  

But I, being the silly person that I am, immediately ran out to buy armfuls of yarn with a sick, sick grin on my face....

Tutorial: Blocking Acrylic Yarn

I work with Acrylic yarn a lot.  And for some reason, I feel the need to justify this to you.  I'll just say that Acrylic lends itself well to the type of projects I tend to make (e.g. 8-bit game crochet, miscellaneous items that need to be durable, etc.).  Furthermore, I rarely ever make any sort of garment, thereby making it not economically nor practically favorable to work with cellulose or natural fibers.  Lastly, there's that small part of my 12-year-old self that sort of loves the squeaky, grossly-colored variegated yarns of mismatched and puke-styled purples and greens and says I couldn't ever possibly let go of acrylic yarns.

I've almost finished a knitting project made entirely of acrylic yarn.  Honestly, I make many things without finishing them properly and I normally regret not putting in that little bit of extra time to make it look more professional.  This time, I'm doing it right; I'm finishing my knitted project off by blocking each individual square, and I am sharing the tutorial with you.

Everyone has a slightly different method they prefer for blocking yarn.  In fact, some people will argue with you that blocking acrylic yarn should NEVER be done.  But, I believe in lightly blocking acrylic.  Keep in mind that your blocking will be permanent.  I've tried using steam before, and I find that with the yarn I use (most often Red Heart, and Loops & Threads Impeccable), this ends up making the yarn really flat, shiny, and scratchy.  Also, you can use this method for blocking other types of materials too!

Here is my method for how to Block Acrylic Yarn: