December Daily Hexipuff - Finale

One bag of yarn, 24 mini balls of brightly colored happiness, knit up into 24 hexipuffs, soon to be joined to what will one day be hundreds of others. Did I say hundreds? Agh!

It's been interesting, focusing on each puff individually, giving it some much-warranted close-up attention.

This way, they're not little bite-sized morsels, the knitting equivalent of a quick snack. They become memories.

And what colorful memories they are!

Who's my favorite? I don't know. I certainly loved some more than others, but they were all some shade of fabulous!

It just goes to show. in yarn, as in life, variety is the key.

Now. What yarn will I knit up next?

December Daily Hexipuff - 24

Side A

The final puff for puff-a-day in December. Can you believe it? Elegant purple Emperor's Palace sure can. This is a rich color blend that reminds me of silks and saris and hot summer sunsets.
I especially love the hints of yellow throughout the rich pinks and purples.
I would make long gloves out of this yarn, or special socks, but I could also see this as a shrug or shawlette. These colors would suit a variety of people.

For the hexi-quilt, side A is the clear winner. notice how the yellow adds all that interest that's missing from the purple-heavy side B?

Side B

December Daily Hexipuff - 23

Side A

We're almost at the end, and Meiji Shrine is determined to stand out with spring-like happy yellow and bright blue.
The Sweden of yarns, this color can't help but cheer you up. Daffodils, spring skies and happy ready-to-assemble furniture with funny names are all captured in this colorway.
I adore it.
I want knee-high socks out of this yarn, to wear with a flowy skirt while I ride my bike to the market.
I want a close-fitting beanie that gets me noticed on even the foggiest grey days.

Side B

I want to strand this color for mittens. I want a whole cardigan...
Yeah. Color love overload.

But for now, for the hexi-quilt, side B wins by a tiny margin.
More, please!

Bulbasaur Vine Whip Beret

Okay, I'll admit it, often the name of a yarn will get me to look at it more favourably.
The first sock yarn I bought was Lorna's Laces Robot Overlord. No guessing what drew me to the yarn.
Fortunately, I love it (and the Monkey socks I made from it) very much.
So when I heard that Another Crafty Girl, an indie dyer on Etsy, had a series of yarn named after Pokemon, how could I resist?
I watched her shop for a few weeks, and when the Bulbasaur yarn came up, I grabbed it.
Not only did it really look like everyone's favourite grass-type monster, it is a gorgeously complex color in general!
I knew as soon as I unwrapped my parcel that this would have to be a hat.
But not just any hat.
This had to be a leaf-themed hat to complete the Pokemon picture.

I've been listening to Alana Dakos from the Never Not Knitting podcast for a few months now and I love her show.
She's also the co-author of the popular Coastal Knits, and she created this gorgeous hat pattern called the Vine Leaf Beret.
There's been buzz about this pattern around the blog and podcast world.
It was the perfect get-together of pattern and yarn.
This had to be it.

Neither the yarn nor the pattern disappointed. It was challenging for me, having never really done a lot of cables (or a hat that fit well, for that matter), but everything came out just the way I wanted to.
The yarn is gorgeous and squishy, the pattern clear and well written.
And the resulting hat?
Well, I couldn't be more pleased.
It's my new favourite hat (and I love hats!). If only the weather was cooler so I could wear it more often!
I still have some yarn left. Perhaps some mitts are in order. Or some Pokemon socks?
One thing is clear though. I'll be getting more of this fabulous yarn, and I'll be checking out Alana's other patterns in greater detail, too.

December Daily Hexipuff - 22

Side A

Side B

Warm, earthy and traditional, Ryogoku is all browns with a hint of green, like late-fall leaf litter. Not the disgusting, mouldy kind, but the pretty, shiny kind that makes you think wonderful autumnal thoughts.
This is an understated, mature color that would look elegant paired with a knotty glove design, or a big, smooth shawl.
These are not really my colors, but I admire their elegance.

For the hexipuff quilt, I'm going with side B. I like the way the purples waft over from left to right.

December Daily Hexipuff - 21

Side A

Side B

Another blue blend, Nihonbashi adds lavender for a very different, elegant feel.
The way it knit up, it reminds me of the sky at sunrise, when color floods back into the world. It's a beautiful, understated color, and I'd love a snug beanie out of it, or some cheery socks with a simple, flowing pattern to highlight the colors.
I want to stripe all the different blues together to create... something. Gloves? A shawlette? What would you do?

For the hexipuff quilt, side B wins, although I like side A better on an individual level.

December Daily Hexipuff - 20

Side B

Side A

The softest green and dusty rose pinks blend together in Yoyogi.
I wasn't sure from the ball that I was going to like this knitted up, but I love it!
The different shades and hues of pink are accented by the pale eucalypt green to create a romantic, flowing color.
I'd love a skein of this for socks or very long gloves with complicated lace.
This would also be excellent in an open, airy shawl, or something dense that shows off the colors on a grand scale.

For the hexi-quilt, side B wins for me, although both sides are pretty much identical.

Knotty gloves of Alpaca Gentility

 Nerd Wars has certainly stretched me as a knitter, challenged me in unexpected ways and kept me knitting happily along.

I've been thinking for a while now that I'd like to make myself some nice gloves, warm soft ones that are different than any gloves I could buy at the store.
Gloves for our fickle, short winter. no, gloves for an overseas winter! A real one!
I bought some Yarn Pirate alpaca/wool yarn on sale at the Loopy Ewe a while ago, not quite sure what I was going to do with it. I just wanted to experience a new fiber.
Alpaca is supposedly warmer than wool, so perfect for snowy weather gloves!
I also felt like learning more about cabling, so the Knotty gloves by Julia Mueller seemed like the perfect match here.
Good idea.

I modified the pattern a bit to fit me, but the result speaks for itself.

I made the ribbing before the braid a bit longer.
Started the pal 2 rounds earlier than indicated in the pattern.
Cut the thumb gusset short by 2 rounds.
Started with the little finger, knitted one round before starting each subsequent finger.
Knitted body of glove on one long circular, 2 at a time. Knit the fingers with bamboo DPNs.

I can't wait to try them out in real weather.
It's getting hot here. Definitely not glove weather. At all.

December Daily Hexipuff - 19

Side A

The future is now in Odaiba. Green, blue, pink and green compete for attention in the ball. This yarn is bright, bright, BRIGHT! And I love it. how could you not be cheered by the prospect of some plain or lightly textured gloves or socks in this yarn? I'm envisioning bike riding gloves especially. Full of cheer and wonderfulness!
This would also make the perfect color for fair isle-ing or other colorwork. It'll make you look so much smarter!
And we all know I love looking smarter than I am...

Side B

I also adore how different the two sides came out. For the hexi-quilt, I choose side B. But honestly, I'm going to squeeze more puffs out of this ball to get more interesting variations, for sure!

December Daily Hexipuff - 18

Side B

Side A

Warm autumnals blend together here in Sugamo. With warm peach and apricot yellow, muted by a warm grey, this is a color that is sure to stand out when knit up. I think pooling would actually be desirable in this color, reminiscent of cloudy sunsets.
I could see this knit up into a hat, or something relying on garter stitch to break up and blend the colors. A shawl would be lovely if these are your colors. This is also an excellent color for socks.
For some reason, this color makes me think of toys, especially monsters. Maybe it's the old-skool sweater colors that do it.

For the hexipuff blanket, side B wins for me. I like the salmon next to the grey more so than the yellow.

December Daily Hexipuff - 17

Two soft shades of blue set the tone for Minakami. Another one in the low-contrast series, this is a great color for pretty much anything.
I'd love a skein of this for socks. I think the lightness and low ontrast would show off a complex lace pattern nicely.
It would also be lovely as a skinny summer scarf, or airy wristers.

For the hexipuff blanket, I don't actually have a side preference at all. they both look pretty identical to me.
That's not a bad thing at all, miind you. It just means the colors flowed evenly for me with this one.

December Daily Hexipuff - 16

Ginza for gold is the motto of this little puff. Gold and muted tealy blue blend together in a harmonious but interesting puff.

I loved these colors in the ball, and I enjoyed them knitted up, too.

I'd absolutely love a skein of this. i think it would make a very elegant shawl or a classy beret.

Or if you want your socks colorful but not too jarring, this would look great knitted up into socks to go with jeans or a blue-toned professional attire.

For the hexipuff quilt, I'm going with side B. I love how the gold and grey makes it look a little like a sunrise.

December Daily Hexipuff - 15

Side B

Side A

Happy green day, Todoroki Valley! Another low-contrast yarn, the greens and yellows blend together to give a deep, layered, calm effect. Green is a true neutral (just look around nature!), so I'd love a skein of this for pretty much anything, from a leafy tam to a shawlette to happy socks, or layered into some colorwork.

For the hexi-quilt, I'm giving love to side B, which is slightly more yellow in overall appearance. But I'm definitely knitting another puff to add the bluer side to it as well.

December Daily Hexipuff - 14

Meet Shinjuku. Another firm favorite for me, I love the vintage feel of pastel pink, baby blue and soft yellow, brightened up by chocolate brown. The dark color really brings out the lights and gives the overall color interest.

Side A

Side B

I so want a skein of this for some interesting socks or mitts. I can also see this working most excellently as a hat. Must. Have. Yarn.

The hexipuff upside will be side B. I just adore the chocolate brown swirled through it like this...

December Daily Hexipuff - 13

Past the half-way mark, meet Tsukiji, a blend of bright blues, salmon pink and fresh blood red. I loved how it blended in the ball, but knitted up, i'm not as convinced. I do love how different the two sides are though.

The pink is a difficult color for me, but I could see this knit up in some very cheery socks, or combined with something more muted for a very interesting colorwork hat or mittens. Part of me wants to knit this up some more to see what else it could become.

Side A

Side B

For the hexi-quilt, I'm going with side A, mainly because the red and pink together makes me think of a stab wound. not what I was going for, stabbed puff...

December Daily Hexipuff - 12

Side B

Side A

Does this remind you of Puff 1, Roppongi Hills? Me, too. The difference is subtle, but there. The pink is a little more orange, and the orange a little more pink, making this yarn a little lower in contrast. Tokyo Midtown takes all the good sides from Roppongi hills and makes them softer and more sophisticated. Probably perfect for interesting socks or gloves where you want the stitches to show off a pattern, this would also make a great statement cowl to keep out the winter blues.

For the hexiblanket, I'm going with side B, because the pooling is interesting in this low-contrast variation.

December Daily Hexipuff - 11

Side A

Hot, hot hot! We're burning it up today with Ameyoko. Bright reds and oranges are barely muted with a greyish lavender. It's hot and bright and cheery and I want a skein of this for bike riding gloves or a hat for the greyest autumn days. Something thick and cably and slouchy would be perfect in this yarn.
Or the kind of socks that make you want to pull up your pants legs in front of perfect strangers.

Side B

For the hexipuff blanket, side A wins for even color spread.

December Daily Hexipuff - 10

Side A

 We're enjoying the colors of the ocean with Hakone. Low contrast blues and greens and purple blend together to create a lovely, deep effect.
The effect of the yarn reminds me of deepest summer, so I would love to knit it up into a big, lacy shawl or a summery slouchy hat with all-over lace. Seaweed lace, perhaps?

For the hexipuff quilt, side A wins, but only by a tiny margin.

Side B

December Daily Hexipuff - 9

Side A

Side B

Traffic-light bright is the theme for Asakusa. I love how evenly the colors spread, and while red-yellow-green sounds like it would be jarring, I in fact happen to think it's perfect and cheery. I would love a skein of this apply yarn for cheery socks or a happy scarf. I'm loving both sides of this puff, but for the quilt, I'm going with slightly-more-red side A.

Is that a Green Lantern Lantern?

 This is my tiniest knit ever!
After the crochet disaster of the poor doomed penguin, I wasn't about to try another crochet pattern straight away.
Instead, I adapted a crochet pattern that fellow team mate dulcymh on Ravelry wrote up.
Hey, it's all stitches, right?
So I knitted the Green Lantern lantern.
I mainly followed dulcymh's pattern, but made a few modifications on the fly.

It worked out much better than I expected, and I'm quite pleased with the result.

Look at Sheldon the cat with his fancy new lantern!
He's got accessories of nerddom, all thanks to Nerd Wars and the need for tiny projects.

This was fun.
Of course, now I want to knit more tiny things. Perhaps even develop some sort of skill in it...

Knit with DK yarn on size 2.25mm needles for a *very* tight fabric.