Is there a difference?

I got some yarn in the mail yesterday that im going to use for my Beekeeper Quilt, and it inspired me to drag out all the fingering im planning on using for my quilt, lay it out and look at all the colors together.

What do yall think?

I think it will make a very cool beekeepers quilt! Somehow, in a weird sort of way, all the unmatched colors together, match. I envy some of the quilts going tho! There are some very gorgeous ones that have matching colors!! But I think mine will turn out just fine! 

And BTW: If you are doing this quilt, and want to swap any of the above yarn with me, let me know!! I also have some close up pics of the 10 skeins of Koiguo in my stash on Ravlery.  

I also have been fine tuning the pattern for the hexipuffs. Yanno, a way that I feel all nice and comfy with, that still is easy and portable. 

Heres a couple things Ive been doing with them. 

First, I haven't like the fact that the cast on doesn't match the bind off. I had decided from the very first time I read the pattern that I was gonna do a kitchener bind off. no question. Its just easier for me, and I actually like doing the kitchener. Not to mention the results secretly make feel like im a superpower. So kitchener it was. 

Now, about that dang cast on....... 

WAY too fiddly for me. If you do your toe up socks the suggested cast on way, your golden. But I don't. Never have liked the looks or the execution of that technique. 

So I present to you, a comparison of two cast ons that will match the kitchener bind off. Click on any pic to embiggin

One of these pictures shows the results of a tubular cast on for a 1x1 rib, and one of these shows Judy's Magic Cast On. 

                        

Can you tell the difference? Is there one? 

No. Not in the looks of it. Not in my opinion. Both cast ons look like a row of knitting and therefore are invisible, and therefore match the kitchener bind off. 

So it comes down to which technique is easier for you to pull off. And for me, which one is quicker?

Just for the record, the one on the left is Judy's cast on, and the one on the right is the tubular cast on.  

To accomplish the tubular cast on for 1x1 rib and incorporate it into the hexis:

1. Cast on all stitches onto one needle.

2. slip wyif, knit wyib, repeat to end. turn.  

3.  repeat #2. 

(steps two and three will give you the first knit row as instructed in the pattern.)

4. Using 2 free dpn's, put purls on back needle and knits on front needle.

5. Begin pattern at first increase row.

Pros:

~you can get some distance between the first increase row and the cast on. This will make things easier to work the increases. 

~ Cast on and first knit row is done on one needle. 

Cons:

~with every slip, you are stretching those stitches out. which causes a loose cast on. 

Too loose of a cast on for this one. 

To accomplish Judy's cast on:

1. cast on all stitches onto 2 needles. Half the required cast on amount onto each needle. 

2. begin pattern at "knit one row". 

Pros:

~Cast on and stitch separation as instructed in pattern are combined in this cast on. 

~This method can produce a tighter cast on than the tubular cast on. 

Cons:

~Its easy to do this cast on extremely tight. You have to watch yourself. If too tight, this cast on will become fiddly and unworkable, then we are back at square one.

~the top needle stitches are cast on twisted so you have to remember to knit them thro the back loop.   

~When doing the kitchener bind off, you need to leave it a little loose to match the cast on. 

If you leave the kitchener a little loose, this matches perfectly! 

So, there you have it in a nutshell....my cast on will be Judy's. It shortens your steps so you can finish your hexi quicker and get to squishing it. And, for this application, its a better cast on, in this knitters opinion. 

Ive also been perplexed by this left leaning decrease....

Ive done the k2togtbl, the plain ole SSK and neither of them looked good to me.

Then I found Cat Bordi's Slim and Trim SSK's. 

Folks, forget every other left leaning decrease for this small, squishy thing. This is the one you want. 

Its easy. It looks just like the k2tog. nuff said. done. 

So now all I need, is to figure out what to do to avoid that ear at the end of a kitchener. Any advise? 

Thank you to treetracker who directed me to some answers!! I'll explain them in my Kitchener post. 

So up to now, Ive been toying with different methods of doing these hexipuffs to keep them portable and fun. Yes, I way over think things. But I am anal like that. I hope Ive helped someone by writing all this down! 

So yea, all of these, are tests, but you can bet your sweet potatoes that you will find them in my Beekeepers Quilt!! 

6 down, 718 more to go according to this calculator!! 

What is yalls hexipuff count? 

TTFN