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I've fallen down the rabbit hole. The hexipuff rabbit hole.
The Beekeeper's Quilt and the adorable, colorful hexipuffs are all over the place. Everyone is making hexipuffs.
A couple friends and I had discussed a mini KAL - make hexipuffs, swap yarn, share in the joining. We never got it off the ground, and I vowed to put this project on the far back burner. I don't know what got into me, but the other day I decided to try one.
Just one. What could be the harm in that? I have oodles of leftover yarn rolling around, and each hexipuff takes just a smidge. I knit the hexipuff, stuffed it and closed the end - quick and easy. A soft, cushy mini pillow. All I need is several hundred more and I can have a whole quilt. This could be a problem, I said to myself. Before I knew it I was digging through baskets and bags, looking for yarn remnants, lining up more colors to use. Just one more hexipuff.
I have a lot of dyeing on my plate right now, and this new obsession could be either really good or really bad. It's nice to have a quick knitting fix when I'm so busy. But if I can't stop making them, they are a total distraction and time suck. I'll never get any work done.
Be warned - hexipuffs are potato chip knitting. You can't knit just one.
In two short weeks I'll be hitting the road for my first event of 2012. I'm busy planning - making lists, dyeing yarn, knitting a couple of new samples. And I'm working on knitting kits - yarn and pattern in one tidy bundle. Knitting kits are popular. In addition to my regular lineup of kits I'll have a couple of new ones available at this event.
These skeins will be wound off into smaller skeins for kits. With several color choices there's something for everyone.
Sometimes a color catches my eye because it seems so out of place, so uncharacteristic for the surroundings. That describes my color inspiration for the week.
Mother Nature's graffiti.
New booth samples. It's always fun and exciting to knit new samples for the booth. Adding new samples is my way of redecorating and giving the booth a fresh look. I've chosen several patterns and colors have been selected. The process is underway.
But I was stuck - stuck looking for one more design, one more . . . something. I didn't know exactly what I was looking for, but I would know it when I saw it. I searched books, the internet, Ravelry. I convinced myself that if I spent just a little more time I would find that one last design - the one that spoke to me. I spent hours sipping coffee and perusing patterns all to no avail.
Yesterday I brought my search to a halt and decided to walk away from it. For now at least.
There's nothing like a new project with new decisions to clear my head. Distraction is a wonderful thing.
I do a fair amount of traveling throughout New England, but most of it is work related. I live in an area rich in fiber festivals and events. Last year I was a vendor at almost twenty events, all but one of them in either New England or New York. Don't get me wrong. I love hitting the road with a truck filled to capacity with fiber, but every once in a while it's nice to travel light with just my personal knitting.
I had a small window of opportunity to visit a dear friend in Maine and had been planning a long weekend getaway.
The weather cooperated, and I was gone.
Gone to a small coastal fishing village near the Canadian border.
It's nice to escape every once in a while.
Lingering over a late breakfast with knitting in tow.
Plenty of time for late night chats and a couple of beers.
Plenty of time for knitting. I worked on several projects and finished this one. Another Scrunchie Hat.
This Scrunchie is for me.
Made with leftovers of Edna - Slate, Dijon, From The Bog.
Change of scenery and time with a friend - just what I needed. I would have loved to stay longer.
The time passed all too quickly, but I came back rested, refreshed and ready to get back to work.
Just last week I started a new booth sample.
I was consumed with the magic of short rows and couldn't stop knitting.
In no time the enchantment was over, and I was binding off.
Captiva Wrap.
This design is worked from side to side in a series of short row waves. The short row shaping makes Captiva a shawl that stays put when you wear it.
The scallop border is knit as you go.
The end of the border is finished with a tail.
A tail that's perfect for tossing over your shoulder.
The yarn is Dirty Water DyeWorks Edna, colorway From The Bog.
This yarn is one of my current favorites. Edna is a blend of Polwarth wool and silk, a combination that gives Captiva elegance and drape. You'll have to excuse the color variation in these pictures. Winter lighting is not my friend.
But I am enjoying the winter weather. An arctic blast created my color inspiration for the week.
Icy gray.
I've been surveying odds and ends of yarn. They are everywhere - buried on my desk, tumbling off the work table, spilling out of my bag. Bits of this and that. Remnants of completed projects.
I set a challenge for myself to use up some of these yarn leftovers. It so happens I need a new traveling project - something that doesn't require all the charts and elaborate pattern instructions I'm currently working on. A sock project would be the logical choice, but that doesn't work so well with a mishmash of yarn. Instead I'm going with a hat. The bonus to knitting a hat is that it's fairly quick. A little instant gratification now and then is a good thing.
I've narrowed the yarn down to these four. They are all Edna so I won't have to deal with varying weights and gauges. Deciding on colors is the next step. Mix and match, pick and choose. Now the real fun begins.
I have a steady stream of knitting requests from family and friends. While there is always a wait time, eventually I come through. This project seemed to take especially long.
The popular Felt Clogs. It took me quite a while to finish this pair. It could be because I've made this pattern so many times now that I'm bored to tears with it. Or it could be because this pair is for men's size 12 feet. Either way it was a bit of a struggle.
I was relieved to get these slippers off the needles and even more so to felt them. The final detail was finishing the soles.
These slippers are wonderfully woolly warm, but they are like skating on ice if you have hardwood floors.
Over the years I've tried different things to deal with the slippery soles - everything from adding full leather soles to strategically placed leather patches.
My current solution is Plasti Dip, a rubber coating often used on tool handles. I get this wonderful goo at my local hardware store. It comes in a variety of colors, but usually I settle on basic black.
I've developed a method for applying the Plasti Dip.
First put the slipper over a full one liter bottle. This makes it easy to work on the sole and keeps the slipper steady.
Give your Plasti Dip a stir and grab a paintbrush.
I prefer to use a foam brush but any kind of paintbrush will work. Be warned that Plasti Dip has a strong odor. Do this outside or in a well ventilated space. Cover the entire sole with a layer of the goo. It's very thick and won't drip down the sole.
Allow the Plasti Dip to dry. Then paint on another layer. I add 3 or 4 layers for a nice solid, non-slip surface. Yesterday I applied all 4 layers, and today this pair is ready to wear.
Now I can start the process all over. My son just informed me that he's worn out his pair. Men's size 14.
