Amateur Amalgam

Part 1

Aug 21, 2024

This one is another project that I’m in the middle of – and will therefore be in multiple parts – but unlike the poppy cross stitch piece, I came upon this one kind of by accident. I saw someone working on a paper piecing project, and thought ‘I wanna try that!’ so I went looking for instructions and inspiration. I wanted something that I could work on while I was on-the-go, so it had to be small enough to git in my bag, but not so small that it would fall apart or I would lose parts of it while I worked on it if I was out of the house. The paper piecing seemed like a perfect compromise, but I ran into a couple of problems:

• I don’t have that much scrap fabric, so I would need to buy more
• I did not like the fact that the paper was left inside after it was done – or at least that’s what happened in the video I saw

So I set about trying to find different methods of making the little hexagons without the paper inside. Another thought that occurred to me was that if I made the blanket in a regular square or rectangle shape, I would need to make half hexagons for the sides, and I didn’t much like the look of that. I decided to scroll through Pinterest to see if there was another orientation I could use. Leaving the edges with full hexagons was an idea, but the edges would be weird and it felt like it would be really easy to rip if I did that.

Then, entirely by chance, I saw a knitted blanket made up of little hexagons that matched the vibe of the paper piecing perfectly! This was a much better option because:

• I have lots of scrap yarn I could use
• It’s portable
• No paper, but I could stuff it and make a fluffy blanket!

While reading through the instructions I went through a bunch of alterations – in my head – that I thought about making. At first I thought about keeping it one dimensional (no stuffing) so it would be more true to the original idea, but I would eventually need to add a backing so it would be more efficient to get that out of the way from the beginning.

Then insanity gripped me and I thought about making the little puffs smaller than the size in the pattern, but it took the creator a year to make hers and I knew it would take me significantly longer than that, so I calmed down and kept them the same size.

I decided that the final shape, instead of being a big rectangle, would be a giant hexagon, and having access to many engineers and mathematicians in the family, I gave them the task of calculating out how many I would need to make (it was enrichment for them). The number we came to was 631 puffs to make a hexagon blanket large enough to cover me. Thankfully, I am a short person so this is not as many as I was worried it would be, but still a fair bit more than what the original pattern calls for.

Before I started, I timed it out estimating 2 puffs a day and according to that I would finish (including putting it together) in about a year. However, life got in the was and so far I’ve only made about 43. I started it last year so I was supposed to finish it around now. Since starting this blog though, I have gotten back to it, so I’m hopeful I can get back on track (albeit a year overdue but oh well 🤷🏾‍♀️).

I’ve broken up the making process into batches of 25, and as I finished the first batch I got the brilliant idea of adding glass pebbles to the puffs so I can get a weighted blanket. I’ve added them to all the ones I’ve made after, and I might vary the amount later on, but for now I like the weight that it gives them.

Since this is a project made up of scrap yarn (I will have to buy more at some point but for now I’ll be working through my stash), I haven’t narrowed down the final look of the blanket so I haven’t stitched anything together yet. The original plan was to stitch the 25 together into a big hexagon and then put the flowers together as I finish, but I fear that I would hate the final product if I did it that way, so I’m keeping them separate and then arrange them at the end. I kind of like the random patchwork quilt look, but given the range of yarn colours and types I’m utilizing it might be a little toooo much – even for me. So I figure this is a safe bet.

Part 2

Jan 22, 2025

Picture this. I’m making progress with the number of puffs I’m meant to be working on. I’ve got a schedule set and I’m (amazingly) sticking to it. I’m even getting a bunch of other things done the way I want and establishing a proper schedule! Everything is going great, then snap!

My crochet hook broke!!!! 😭😭😭

I was right at the end of puff #63 too!

This was back in November, so I had to stop and order a new one. While I was on pause, 2 new knitting ideas came to me – although one of them has morphed into a mixed media thing. Since I couldn’t just order a hook all alone (a waste of shipping), I also bought some tester yarn for the aforementioned ideas (which will be revealed in due time).

My stuff didn’t arrive till the end of November, and December was supper busy so I didn’t have any time to actually work on anything. Then I got sick for the first half of January so no that I am finally feeling better, I can hopefully get back to it.

I’m hoping to get at least one puff done per day (although I should really be doing 2), and I know myself. I’ll get lazy if I set that goal any higher. With this schedule I should be done within about 2 years! (a normal time-frame for me tbh)