My First Hexipuffs

Yes, I've jumped on the honeycomb bandwagon. Feel free to roll your eyes; I care not! They are darned addicting little things. I plan to keep them in reserve as an on-going travel project, to take with me on the train or plane or car. They're lovely quick little things, easily memorized, with a nice clear pattern.

(Confused? I've started knitting The Beekeeper's Quilt by Tiny Owl Knits. It consists of hundreds of tiny stuffed knitted hexagons, which have been nicknamed 'hexipuffs'. It's taking Ravelry by storm.)

There's just something about them - they set off the 'finished object' centers of my brain when I want something done fast, and they keep startitis at bay. After all, when you can cast on & off in under an hour, you've both started something and finished something! Even though each puff is only a fraction of the quilt it will eventually be, each one is satisfying as a miniature project.

I also love yarn-scrap projects. I knit a lot of socks, and I've basically figured that this Beekeeper's Quilt will cost me all of $0 in yarn and stuffing. The yarn is leftover from the many pairs of socks I've knit, and the stuffing is yarn & fiber scraps. The project makes me feel nice and frugal. It's economical and green!

Over the course of my first day, I knit 5 hexipuffs - two of those in the car. I've got everything I need in a project bag - the yarn, needles, a handful of stuffing, a crochet hook and a thread cutter.

I've made a few cosmetic modifications to streamline the pattern - I'm doing the puffs on magic loop with the Turkish cast-on (the least fiddly CO I know for socks, and also totally seamless) and the crochet bindoff as written. Does it bother me a teensy little bit that the caston edge does not match the BO? Maybe a little, but not enough to take the time to kitchener the puffs closed. As it is, the puffs are quick, seamless, look decent, and very easy indeed.

~Joyuna