So this is my "big" progress on Pretty Thing:
Well...at least it's more than last week. I used Jeny's Surprisingly Stretchy Cast-on, because I tend to cast on and off very tightly, this piece has a sewn cast-off, and I wanted it to be consistent. However! The cast-on was a HUGE pain in the neck to knit the first row into. Despite the fact that it's really stretchy NOW, it was SO TIGHT on the needles it was ridiculous. Even the stitches on the cable, before they are knit, stretch by creating gaps between them rather than the individual stitches getting bigger. I'm sure it will pay off in the long run, but it wasn't fun. And I also decided to switch my cable length to 24" AFTER I had knit two rounds (I added two extra repeats...that was some math there...figuring out if, as others had done, an extra repeat in the length equaled to an extra repeat in the width). For some reason, switching the cable was mind-bending for me...probably because I was going from Magic Loop to...not.
I also made some progress on Random Thoughts...
SQUIRREL!!!
And I finally screwed up my courage and cut the loops on the Bumblebee! Here's a closeup after I cut half the loops on his abdomen.
All of the abdomen and half of the thorax cut. Mmmm...thorax...have I used that word since eighth grade biology? Shame on me if I haven't.
Then I trimmed. And trimmed. And trimmed and trimmed and trimmed. And finally I stopped, because I was afraid I'd keep "evening up" until there was no fuzz left. You know, kind of like my mom used to do with the brownie pan..."I'm just evening up this row!"...and then suddenly there were no brownies left. So here's the result...the thorax still needs trimming, but I was mentally exhausted from trying not to FREAK OUT the whole time I was cutting, so that will have to wait.
The wings are FINALLY done (I had to redo some veins I had stitched when the written directions didn't jive with what I remembered from class). Well...I still have to cut them out, too...SCARIER EVEN. But the end is in sight!
For more WIP Wednesday eye candy goodness, with 50% less drama, head over to Tami's Amis!
12 comments:
The bee is looking awesome :) Love how he's all fuzzy.
I'm with you on Jeny's cast on... May be stretchy when you're a few rows in, but it isn't half fiddly to do it!
That bee is really adorable :)
You've been hard at work! I like your sampler, what are you going to use the bee for?
The bee is awesome, now you have trimmed him, he really looks fuzzy like they are supposed to. Now the wings.
OMG, those mushroom stitch markers! <3
The bee looks so awesome! Can't wait to see him with his wings!
I love how the bee is turning out! It looks so realistic! I always breathe a sigh of relief when I reach row 2 of a project, especially when there are a lot of stitches involved. I hate knitting the tight CO row. I'm loving your stitch markers!
Ooooh I didn't know there was a surprisingly stretchy cast-on (I have used the cast-off though, pure genius!) I will check that out. Fab stitching too, really lovely work :) xx
Oh wow - I love that bumble bee.
Your Souvenir Sampler is fantastic too - what a huge sampler! Is that the one where you get several different motifs and you design a personal sampler while stitching? So neat!
The bee is looking awesome. I can totally relate to the dangers of "evening up" - my brothers had some scary haircuts when we were younger in the name of "evening up". One was so bad that he had to go to the barber to get it fixed. The barber called my Mom to give her hell and then shaved it almost to the wood!
WOW - you've done a lot on Random Thoughts - looks great ! the bee is just wonderful - can't wait to see those wings attached. YGG
Mel
awww i love him!!!! he is sooo cute and fuzzy!!
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