The Sanguine Gryphon | Knittymuggins

The Sanguine Gryphon Bugga! in Colorado Hairstreak

I have not {gasp} seen Frozen. Yes, there might be a big rock somewhere that I just crawled out from underneath. Even so, I’ve heard the “Let It Go” song a lot of times. I mean a lot. Usually belted out off-key by preschool girls twirling around in tutus. Ugh.

I mean the song, not the girls. The girls are totally adorable.

But even though I pretty much despise the song, the whole “Let It Go” refrain keeps bouncing around in my head every time I look at this yarn I pulled out of my stash the other day.

A few years ago I was all nerdy fan-girl wacked out over (the now defunct) The Sanguine Gryphon. The obsession was a little over the top to put it mildly. I was constantly checking for updates, cruising Ravelry destashes for rare colors, and doing my best to bankrupt myself collecting every color I could get my grubby little paws on. If they’d stayed in business just a little longer, I’d probably have sold a kidney to keep the collection going. Can you spell hoarder? Yes, you can. It’s spelled K-n-i-t-t-y-m-u-g-g-i-n-s, thankyouverymuch.

My Sanguine Gryphon stash has long been classified CDH, i.e. “cold dead hands.” As in, you cannot even pry this from my cold dead hands. I will come back from the dead and school your butt if you even try. But the other day I was looking for some purple yarn to knit a gift for Uptown’s Kindergarten teacher and, shockingly, I decided to use a skein of my precious, limited edition, SG Bugga! When I pulled it out, I tried to look at it objectively (for once). It was a beautiful color, but it wasn’t a color that suited me all that well. I didn’t buy it for a special project, and it had been sitting in my stash since 2011. What was I waiting for? The apocalypse? I’m pretty sure none of the Four Horsemen need shawlettes or socks in lavender. Neither was I going to need them after I died. So why not use it? There really wasn’t a single reason I could think of for keeping it around.

So now my beloved SG Bugga! in Colorado Hairstreak, will become a Frisson for an end of the year teacher gift. I’m finally letting it go.

Love, thy name is Hexipuff.

Hexipuffs!

Ever since my lovely friend Jess bought me the The Beekeeper’s Quilt pattern and we agreed to knit it together for “however long”, I have been undeniably enamored with this charming little project. Hexipuffs are smooshy, and squooshy, sweet and cute. And each one is a little mini FO that you can pat and poke and imagine occupying its future spot in your darling little quilt.

At first I thought I wouldn’t dare touch my enormous sock yarn stash. I mean, that’s for socks, right? So being short on sock yarn scraps, I scoured etsy, and found someone selling minis. Then I scoured Ravelry and found another. A few bucks later and I was in business! Then I joined a swap at the Sanguine Gryphon Group on Ravelry. Lucky for me, there was one for newbies that didn’t fill up about 2 seconds after it was posted. I swear those SG people are fanatics (me included, mwah-ha-ha!). It’s hard to get in on a destash or a swap because things disappear before you can say “flapjack”. Sadly, The Sanguine Gryphon is no more in a few short days. But that’s a big boo hoo for another day :( I’d say my bank account would breathe a ginormous sigh of relief if it weren’t for the fact that they are dissolving into two new dye studios and I’m afraid that means twice the amount of temptation!

I also discovered that the very talented Didi (creator of Little Red Bicycle; whom I got to meet at Sock Summit 2011 for the first time after “knowing” her for a few years online) had a mini-skein club going. What better way to support a friend, and a mini-skein habit, than by signing up? I’ve already received October and November, am waiting on December, and have signed up for another 3 months of January – March 2012. Everything I’ve received so far has been gorgeous! I can’t wait to make puffs out of them, and I am just stunned by her beautiful sense of color.

October 2011 Mini-skein Club from Little Red Bicycle

November 2011 Mini-Skein Club from Little Red Bicycle

Finally, after a little contemplation of my stash, I decided there were definitely some fingering weight sock yarns that I could (and should) part with. I had a few smaller skeins that weren’t enough for a full pair of socks anyway and I didn’t have immediate plans for them. Nor was I sure they’d look good on a larger scale. That’s the nice thing about the Hexipuffs. You can use some of your loudest or even – dare I say it – ugliest yarns, and they don’t look so bad on a small scale.

Flush with so many choices, I am working steadily on this project. I know it will take me years to make enough to fill out a quilt, but each time I finish one I get a tiny spark of satisfaction. They are the perfect little fillers for when Knittymunchkin is in his high chair eating a snack, or when he is playing independently (however briefly) and I have a spare moment without him clinging to my leg. They are simple, elegant, and can be put down at a moment’s notice without losing your place. In case you didn’t already guess…. I love Hexipuffs!

Because I’ll be working on this for the rest of my natural life (most likely) I think it would be fun to do a little gallery each month of the puffs that I’ve knit. I’ve been keeping count and I knit anywhere from 10 – 25 of these in any given month. So a little retrospective might be fun. January is just days away (how did that happen?) so I think I’ll start after I’ve knit January’s puffs.

Until then, Happy Holidays! May your days be merry & bright :)