KAL in COLORBOMBers!

Things I learned (and MODS):

• when I CO there’s an unsightly bump where the slip knot is so I switched to a simple loop there, and voila, all gone!

• knit the first few as-written w/ the KFB increases, but didn’t like the bars that form so switched to M1R & M1L

• however, my hexis were top-heavy (taller above the mid-line than below); initially I added a 2nd knit round after the CO (before beginning increases), which solved the problem, BUT sarujin pointed out that it was the M1 sts pulling the rows down & causing the problem - switching to YO increases fixed it! directions can be found in this post - thanks, sarujin!

• I got the cleanest edge on my decreases w/ a ssk, slipping the 1st st as if to knit & the 2nd as if to purl UNTIL I found the pre-update version of the pattern & tried s2k - we have a winner!

• the crochet BO is a 3-needle BO, just using different tools, so I eventually switched to the latter, which I find faster

• I BO on the back side (skipping the 2nd half of the last knit round, binding off there), because I don’t like the look of the sts created that lie perpendicular atop the rest of the puff

• when BO last 4 sts as 2 sts, I got a gap and a bump, but by simply purling the last 2 sts together fixed it - trial and error got me to this as the cleanest top left corner I could achieve

• I love the look of stuffed puffs (who doesn’t?), but I want a more flexible fabric that doesn’t get lumpy & doesn’t take 3 weeks to dry in my humid climate, so I’m doing un-stuffed un-puffs

• did my first duplicate stitching for this project! not sure if I’m a fan (soooo slow going), but I did learn that if I use yarn slightly heavier weight than the puff, it fills in nicely

• learned Magic Loop & Judy’s Magic CO for this project (thanks SincereSheep!); knitting some hexis with these techniques as the mood strikes

• decided I like the Kollage circs better than my usual beloved Addis for Magic Loop - love that noodley cable! but need to remind myself to go UP a needle size when using them

• I read a post where someone said it takes her ~1/2hr to knit 1 puff, so I assumed that was a good rule of thumb; but I timed myself & it’s actually more like an hour for me, w/o embellishment (those take about double) - that should give me a good estimate of the knitting time invested in this project: plain puffs count + 2x embellished puff count = # of hours knitting

DETAILS:
Color scheme: Retina-burn Skittles Rainbow
Size (planned): 60.62”x51.25”^*
Puff count: 191 (as of 3/29)

My puffs are approx. 1.25” on a side, 3” diagonally, 2.5-5 grams each (handspun = 5-6 grams)

I’m expecting to make 28 columns & 27 rows.

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YARNS USED

COLORBOMB Family Jewels Fingering Minis
Hawt
Creamlicklesicle
Krazy for Kornblume
Lime Lolly
Turqonton
Lemony Fresh
Goodbye Kitty
Radioactive
Octopuses Not Octopi
Purpulation Explosion
Confess Your Sins
Razorblade Barbie
Uaine
Candy Corn Upchuck
Gracious LJ
Burnt Embers
Razor Wire
Does Your Window Cleaner Streak?
The King’s Red Shoes
Better Red Than Dead (6-color combo)
Double Budgie-sicle

COLORBOMB Potlatch MCN Minis
Miss Beauregard, I Presume?

COLORBOMB Ménage à Trois handspun
Plumeria

COLORBOMB Singleton handspun
Son of Cheez Whiz
Hottie

COLORBOMB TooFly TwoPly handspun - Radioactive

Wollmeise 80/20
Ballerina
Merlot
Vamp (I think)
Clementine
Fliederbusch

Wollmeise 100%
Turkise
Pfefferminz Prinz
Campari Piccolo
Turkise Markise

madelinetosh sock
Fjord
Beach Blanket
Flashdance
Baltic
Forestry

Blue Moon STR LW
Apple Valley Rd.
Psychobarbie
Spawn of Braun
Sunstone
Hot Lips
Sherbet
Hot Sox
Pink Flamingo
The New Color of Love
Pride
Becky Sue
Love
Rare Gems - Purple Rain?

Humboldt Colors Fingering
Dungeness Crab
Love
Rhody

Dream in Color Smooshy
Lipstick Lava
Strange Harvest

Little Red Bicycle Penny Farthing
Shub Niggurath
Bees Knees

Odd-ish Creations Painted Toes Light - Blades of Grass
Tausendschön Handgefärbte Merino/Nylon - Mango
Colinette Jitterbug - Turquoise
Zwerger Garn Opal Uni Solid 4ply - 2606 Orange
Cherry Tree Hill Supersock - Fall Foliage
Tactile Fiber Arts Merino Bamboo - Cherry Blossom
Lornas Laces Shepherd Sock - Jungle Stripe
White Iris Thick Stripe - She’s in Love with a Boy
Fiber Optic Foot Notes - Citron Batik
Dyelectable Yarns Lolita Sock - Wild Violet
Perfect Day Beat Sock - Blustery Autumn Sky
Politically Incorrect - Is That a Banana in Your Pocket?
Zwerger Garn Opal - Neon 1933
Noro Kureyon Sock - S226 (red, turquoise)
Tofutsies - some kind of aqua
Zitron Unisono - orange 1158
Knit Picks Color Your Own (I dyed) - Tarzhay Wannabe
Koigu KPPPM - a crapton of colorways
Turtle Socks - Fresh Cut Grass
Oldfield Creek 80/20 - 420 pink/yellow
Studioloo Candy Sprinkles - Candy
Bugga! - Orange Assassin Bug
Gothsocks Asphodel - Strawberries on Acid
Play at Life Jest Sock - Foliage
Miss Babs Yummy - French Marigold
Elann Peruvian Baby Silk - Persimmon
Million Stars Circe - Firecrack This!
Skeindalous Betty - Pibgorn
Little Red Bicycle Tricycle Sock - Fathom
Rio de la Plata Merino - SP23 (yellow-green)
Schaeffer Anne - Tropicana
Zen Yarn Garden Squooshy - Chinese Guava
Aslan Trends Santa Fe - World’s End
Spud & Chloe Fine - Lipstick
Sandnes Garn Sisu - Rainbow
Sweet Shop Sweet Sock - Project Spectrum Purple Path
Knitted Wit Sock It to Me! - Gumballs
Hyena in Petticoats les femmes - Mae West
ddknits Technicolor Dream Toes - Apple Blossom
Aurucania Itata - 1004 (blues)
Lisa Souza Sock! - Emerald City
Mini Mochi - Strawberry-Limes Rainbow
Ella Rae Merino Lace - 102 (pink/purple/blue)
SR Kertzer On Your Toes - Sunset Print
Cider Moon Flurry - Peas & Carrots
OnLine Savanne - 1031 (multi)
sKNITCHES Bebop Sock - Clarisse
JL Yarns Vinca - Sunny 804
A Swell Yarn Shop Middy Duet Sock - Sugar Blush
madelinetosh Merino Light - Posy
Periwinkle Sheep Watercolors - Cherry on Top
Schaefer Yarn Heather - Pomegranate
Sweet Paprika Vivace - Self-Striping Flamingo
Pigeon Roof Original Sock - Glinda
Decadent Sock Plus - Echinacea Pink Double Delight
Kuan-Yin Sock - Lolita
Fibernymph Dyeworks Amble - Let’s Hear it for the Girls
Magic & Moonshine Charming Incantations - Juicy
Sincere Sheep Agleam - Sanguinello
Politically Incorrect MCN 435 - Bring Your Own Boy
Haindmaiden Casbah - Rose
Fleece Artist 3/6 - Fruit Punch
Lorna’s Laces - S.W.A.K.
Cannon Hand Dyes William - Beatrice
Sweet Sheep SW Merino - Love Rocks!
Yarn Love Juliet - Sugared Grapefruit
Abstract Fiber Supersock - Snapdragon
Shibui Staccato - 50s Kitchen
Knit it Up Bamboozled - Mermaid
Froelich Wolle - Special Blauband
Little Red Bicycle Hipster Sock - Beach Glass
White Iris MCN - Blueberries
The Loopy Ewe Solids - Malachite
Creatively Dyed Almost There - Lawless #103
Black Bunny SW Merino Classic - Twilight 2
Crystal Palace Panda Cotton - Purlescence
Little Red Bicycle Tandem Sock - Dagon
Yarn Love Elizabeth Bennett - Darling
Filatura di Crosa Dolce Amore - Dark Turquoise 071
Filati Luna Park - 201 (green/orange/pink/salmon stripes)
Knit Picks Bare - Spring Incarnate (I dyed it!)
Little Red Bicycle Boneshaker - She Wasn’t a Wallfower
Fleece Artist Merino unnamed colorway
The Yarn Yard Clan - Mischief

handspun from Heidimonkey, Knitsocks
…and numerous random unidentified yarns

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Charts & other cool ideas used
Center-out puff from CraftyHedgehog
Goldfish from SanguineKitsune
Doctor Who 2 Hearts from SpaghettiLegs

Still to get to:
Garden Gnome from Kataish
Honeybee & Bumblebee from Bidibid
fair isle & houndstooth from LenaSwan
cable owl from vintagegrrl
argyle, question mark and gemini/cancer constellations from chalklegs
apiary puff crochet version from anamurphyous
other shapes from jennyflame
alternate border from Lykkefanten
slip-stitch fiddly puff from panuru
flower from coxabey
’V’ and a ‘C’ (make a chart)

^* I’m making a quilt with these dimensions because those are the numbers that this hexagon calculator spit out to use 720 puffs, also equivalent to the total number of degrees in a hexagon! yes, I am that nerdy; why do you ask?

Totals:
October 2011 - 78
November 2011 - 59 (137)
December 2011 - 49 (186)

Milestones:
5% (36) reached 10/15/11
10% (72) reached 10/30/11
15% (108) reached 11/18/11
20% (144) reached 12/2/11
25% (180) reached 12/16/11
30% (216) reached…