i've been quietly working on my beekeepers quilt, knitting a few hexigon puffs here and there, on my train ride to work, when i'm watching tv, waiting in line. after amassing all of my beautiful yarns, i realized that 1, I absolutely *love* chroma yarn from knit picks in mesa colorway. and 2, it doesn't go with the rest of my colors.....at all. so, now do i proceed anyway? focus only on 1 set of colors? or knit two beekeeper quilts (omg)?
the only thing i've decided so far is to keep going with the chroma. for all of my trash talk on variegated yarns, i realize that ombre yarns are a whole different story. chroma is not variagated. it doesn't change color so quickly. you don't have stripes. you just get beautiful, slowly shifting colors. and i'm not sure if it always works out this way, but these small puffs were meant for this yarn. they are small enough so that the color only shifts once per puff, so you just get a dual color puff with a nice, slow transition. i love them! i think my favorite puffs are these red-orange shifts to brown, and the blue/gray combinations.
and, since i frequently knit on the train, here are the top questions i get asked:
"what are you making?" ..."WHAT? how is that going to be a quilt?"
"why you need that wire between your needles? is that so you don't lose them?"
"is this the first thing you've ever made?" (no, jerk!)
"are all of the sides of the hexagon supposed to be even?"...(uncomfortable stare)... "maybe after you practice for a while the sides will be even?"
my project: beekeepers quilt
yarn: chroma in mesa from knit picks
pattern: beekeepers quilt at ravelry
current puff count: 20 (not counting the non-chroma puffs)
in my current quilt obsession, it's only fitting that i came across this magical little hexagon knit quilt by tiny owl knits. i love all of her patterns, but this one is just exceptional. i think this quilt has changed my mind about variegated yarns. i know knitters love them, but i've just never been a fan. every project seems so homemade, instead of handmade (i know i'm breaking some sort of knitter's code of conduct here). but of course, after seeing this quilt and immediately falling in love with it, i realized when i saw other versions using only solid yarn, some of the magic was lost. soooo, i finally broke down and made my first ever variegated yarn purchase. i feel like i'm moving into new craft territory here.
i literally spent all weekend looking at colors, refining my palette, swatching up sample hexagons and then ripping them back out. i finally decided to go with a very autumn colorset that reminds me of a sunset, and of a sort of pendleton-inspired navajo-ish look. these are the colors i've picked so far...
notice, not one but TWO variegated yarns...and the koigu that i just bought yesterday at purl soho makes three. oh my. and here are my little hexagons i've knit so far with some extra bits of yarn i have lying around the house that i thought were plain enough to match up with my color palette.
and i think the variation in the colors give this quilt a nice texture-look, so i'm going to be mixing the solid colors with the variegated yarns, making stripes, and also adding a few different fair isle patterns...like these adorable little argyle patterns by chalk legs. AND i found a whole slew of fair isle woodland creature patterns by chronographia on ravelry.
i estimate if i can knit about 2 of these hexagons a day on my daily subway ride to work, plus a few extra on the weekend...it will only take me just short of a year to finish. good thing i picked out some nice autumn colors...for 2012.
