Chico helping with the HexiPuffs!

There is a contest over at Ravelry.com on the TinyOwlKnits group for the BeeKeeper's Quilt and the winner could score some really nice mini-skeins of sock yarn (that I would LOVE to get my hands on!!) so I've submitted several pics and this was my submission yesterday.  After taking Chico to the dog park for the second day in a row to watch him swim like a mad man I was able to pile the puffs on him without him moving!!

So, here he and the Puffs LOVE each other so much that they decided to take a nap together.

Here, the Puffs have attacked and taken down the mighty Pit Bull!!

New Hexipuffs and the last batch for August

I promised myself I would try for at least 5 puffs a day so this Beekeeper's quilt would actually have a chance at being completed in my lifetime but I have not been very good this week.  I did decorate the few I managed to get knitted so that makes it all better, right?  NOT!  Oh well, now that school has started and all my bosses are back in full swing my days of  watching Disney movies and knitting at my desk are OVER!!!

I made a little cupcake puff!  I think it needs a cherry on top, may add that later on because if I hate it I can undo it!

Some random Daisies

and a Moon.  I chose a varigated yarn for the moon and so I didn't add the highlighting or shading stitches per the pattern.  I also left off the pink cheek and blue eye.  I like it.

Phoebe's Sweater and Freddie's Blanket - Knitting Children's Books

I just ran across these beautiful children's books from a pop up ad on Ravelry.com.  They are beautifully illustrated by the author's husband. 

Phoebe's Sweater is a unique children's storybook written by Joanna Johnson and illustrated by her husband, Eric Johnson. Phoebe's Sweater is a full-color illustrated children's storybook which includes a series of knitting patterns which accompany the story. The book is published by Joanna's independent press, Slate Falls Press, and includes knitting patterns for a girl's sweater, doll, and matching doll sweater. The doll sweater fits the knitted toy from the book as well as most 16" -18" dolls.

Freddie's Blanket is a unique children's storybook written by Joanna Johnson and illustrated by her husband, Eric Johnson. Freddie's Blanket is a full-color illustrated children's storybook which includes a series of five knitting patterns to accompany the story. The book is published by Joanna's independent press, Slate Falls Press, and includes knitting patterns for a child's colorwork blanket, boy platypus doll and clothes, girl platypus doll and clothes, toddler coveralls with toy hammer, and infant swaddling blanket.

So, if you have kiddos to knit for and read to, these are perfect!  Also, you can get signed copies on Etsy.com.  Seller is slatefallsknits. 

HAAA YAAA!! Ninja Death HexiPuff!!!!

I'm Bored...=(

Bare Naked Ladies:

I woke up this morning and everything was different

Something was strange in the air
I woke up this morning and everything was different
I knew that the ninjas had been there
I looked all around my bedroom, underneath the dresser
Behind the bed, but nothing could be found
There was nothing left behind them, nowhere that I could find them
No fingerprints or crumbs on the ground
The ninjas are deadly and silent
They're also unspeakably violent
They speak Japanese, they do whatever they please
And sometimes they vacation in Ireland

The ninjas are deadly and silent
They're also unspeakably violent
They speak Japanese, they do whatever they please
And if you tear off their masks they'll be smiling

HexiPuff Progress

I knit several puffs this weekend.  They don't take very long and the pattern is easy to memorize so you don't need anything other than yarn and needles.  A little ball of polyfill for the very end and bag or basket to pop the finished puff into.  Great couch project!! 

Just laid out, not stitched together.  This is not how it will look, I just wanted to see how large a space 25 puffs would cover.  Not much....

The decorated ones.  Since this picture I've finished a little Fox Face so he will be added at a later date. 

Piled, it just looks like there are more of them when you pile 'em up!

I read on the KAL group forum that one person had set a goal of knitting 1 puff per day!  That is wonderful, set a goal and work towards it.  However, I would like to at least be able to start stitching a quilt together before I'm dead so I will try for several in a day.  Not sure how many but I'm going to try for 5.  5 a day and I need over 500 that means about 100 days. 

I put a little HexiPuff counter on my sidebar for me to keep track.  Progress Pics once a week?  This is going to be awesome!

New Grace Ennis Patterns!!! YAY! Well, not new...

I went to my Ebay account Saturday morning to check and see if a customer had left feedback because I honestly took longer to mail her item than I should have and decided to see if there were any Grace Ennis patterns out there.  There were 13 or so and several I didn't have!  Score!  They are all Buy It Now so no fighting, GOOD!  I purchase the ones I need, send the seller an email requesting combined shipping and tell her THNX she had filled some holes in my collection. 

She responds that she has 40-50 more to post along with the original GE Binder.  I didn't even know there was such a thing!  COOL!!  I ask if she would be willing to tell me just what she had left because I was still missing several and she said to just check back on Sunday, she was a slow typer!?!  She's KILLING me!! Not only did she NOT list anything new on Sunday, she went up a dollar in price!  Lesson?  Keep your mouth shut and lurk!!  Oh well, my new awesome finds.....

#7216 Outline Diamond-Overlay which appears to have a monogram so there will be an alphbet chart on the back, I can sort of see it through the paper.  I've never seen this one listed before.

#7288 German Shepherd or Police Dog Socks and Necktie.  I've been looking for this one, I knew it existed just had never seen it listed before.  As with all the dog series the necktie pattern comes with.

#7287 Boston Terrier Socks and Necktie.  This completes the dog series!  I now have them ALL!!  YAY!

#7292 Football Player Socks, Necktie and Car Charm.  This the second Football themed sock in Grace's line that I know of.  I have the other titled TouchDown which is a ball and the endzone thingy.  SO 1940-50s with the car charms!  I've heard rumor there is a Fuzzy Dice pattern but have never seen it!  LOL

Wish me luck on my furture Ebay purchases!  I really can't wait to see what this seller has, I just wish she was faster at listing.  In her defense, she does have 8 listed right now, I just have them all already!  Fingers crossed.....

Tiny Owl's BeeKeeper Quilt

Yesterday I started  what may well take a year to complete if you believe the designer.  I joined a KAL or Knit-A-Long on Ravelry.com to knit a BeeKeeper Quilt.  Below is the picture provided by the designer, TinyOwlKnits.  Here's how she describes them.

"Made of little stuffed honeycomb shaped puffy pockets ♥

Use leftover scrap sock wool & it doesn’t have to be lined because it’s puffy & double sided!"

So you knit these little honycomb shaped pieces then stuff them.  You can also decorate them using the duplicate stitch that I found out was totally beyond me!  UGH!  How can that be?  Oh well, now I've watched a YouTube video by VeryPink.com, thanks Staci and I will try again at a later date!

Here are my first 9 HexiPuffs.  All using scrap or leftover sock yarn so this project could be an awesome way to destash.  I don't really love the different color combos together but to go buy matchy-matchy yarn would totally defeat the purpose here!!!  I will resist!

I am a little ashamed to show the close up of my two failed attempts at duplicate stitch but since I'm not frogging them, go ahead and look!  I'll get better at it and the blanket will be for me so I don't care!

The designer says you need 102 HexiPuffs for a 2 x 2 foot pram quilt.  167 for a 2 x 3 foot quilt and 384 to cover the top of her daybed.  This very well could take a years time to complete something useable.  I've timed the process, so far and totally uninterrupted I can complete one HexiPuff from cast on to stuffed in just under 50 minutes.  I'll get faster and I can already do them while watching TV/movies so ....

Last night I started a solid powder blue puff.  Just naked and boring.  This morning I tried that darn Duplicate Stitch again and it worked better.  I made an Emery puff.  She will have a special spot on my blanket!  Also did a little sheep on a leaf green puff.  I'm kinda diggin' this stitch now that I know what I'm suppose to do with it!  Still need to practice but since I need upwards of 500 of these little darhlin's I will get it!!

See, my adorable little white pibble with the brown spot above her tail.  Oh well...

Chris says this doesn't look like a little sheep but a skull and crossbones!  I will NOT be asking for his opinion!!  LOL

This little HexiPuff is made using Yarn Bee baby Pitter Patter in Angel (white)!  WOW what a soft little puffy pillow!  This yarn is a thin chenille and if I hadn't promised myself I would NOT buy any more yarn I would be out there getting more of this yarn!!!  Someone on Ravelry just said they could see doing a baby blanket in blue with little white clouds and it would be heavenly!  It would be the softest thing ever, that's for sure!

I HexiPuffed all weekend, off and on, and now have 25 Puffs!  I would have more puffs if I hadn't stopped knitting and started decorating existing puffs.  The Flowers, the Gnome, the Heart...