knitmisc &c.

Among other things, I made another veg:

[image description: a small knit broccoli floret /end description]

It's approximately broccoli.

stitches worked: 0

stitches frogged: 0

I did not knit at all today. I also did not frog the work I've done so far on the skirt piece. I want to try another swatch first to make sure it's not a foolish choice. I don't know if I'll get to it tomorrow either (for once I have plans).

stitches worked: 870

stitches frogged: 72

stitches cast on: 20

Seven rows, and part of me wants to keep going tonight. However, I'm considering frogging the whole thing so far and restarting to double-knit the bottom edge instead of the folded hem I currently have, especially since I didn't actually catch the edge along the way (a deliberate choice at the time, perhaps foolish). I figure dk would save a bit of work when seaming, plus less bulk at the bottom edges of the seams.

stitches worked: 342

stitches frogged: 0

stitches worked: 912

stitches frogged: 0

stitches cast on: 114

stitches worked: 1,140

stitches frogged: 0

I started on the first third of what will be a pleated skirt. Ten rows: a strong start. I anticipate 60 rows total (plus a waistband worked separately.) I'm not going to hold myself to ten a day, because that seems too lofty (though I wish).

I have to work in thirds because of the length of my dpns; I like dpns enough generally that I'm not fussed about adding a circular needle to my collection at this point. The only issue is more of a slump risk between pieces but slumps can happen in the middle of projects too so maybe it all shakes out over the course.

stitches cast on: 6

stitches worked: 414

stitches frogged: 0

I finished the second eye. I think I got the stuffing level about right, which is nice. There's still embroidering to attempt, and I'll get to that eventually. Tomorrow maybe I'll start the skirt since I have a plan for that.

stitches worked: 240

stitches frogged: 0

I finished the eye, and I think it's better than the previous attempts. I didn't try to do any kind of colorwork for the iris while knitting, so it's basically just a white sphere, but I will attempt iris-embroidery after I make a second. It got messy at the end like the attempts with thinner fiber, but less so; I don't know if it's a "slightly overstuffed" issue or a tension issue. I'm trying to let it go.

stitches cast on: 6

stitches worked: 174

stitches frogged: 0

stitches worked: 400

stitches frogged: 0

stitches bound off: 45

stitches cast on: 20

It turns out I already had a swatch for crochet thread on 5-0 needles; it had just gotten buried in the box I got hoping it would help keep my stuff more organized. Oh well. It was nice to have something small and simple to do because I'm not sure if I'm up for more right now.

stitches cast on: 25

stitches worked: 210

stitches frogged: 10

I'm making a swatch of crochet thread on 5-0 needles to see if I think the fabric will behave more like I want for eyeballs (or other things, I suppose). It's harder to work with a bit. Or maybe I'm just tired.

I spent too much time trying to figure out how many stitches I'd need in the eye even though I'm not done with the swatch yet.

stitches worked: 324

stitches frogged: 0

Finished the eye, and it's fine (though again I'm not impressed with myself). I haven't done the embroidery bit yet, but I think I'll make the second one first to have a better chance at a closer match.

My tension got wonky at the end after I stuffed it and worked it closed. That's partly because I'm a bit out of practice with the 5-0 needles and thread (even two strands together) is slightly thinner than would be best for a really firm fabric. Maybe I should swatch the crochet thread for it? But also the back doesn't really matter for how I'm using it. If I were going for a keychain or charm, sure.

stitches cast on: 9

stitches worked: 175

stitches frogged: 4

I almost didn't knit at all today. I felt distracted and off-kilter most of the day and didn't start planning for a bigger project. It's more than I'm up for.

So instead I'm back to eyes again, and hopefully going to make a good pair this time. No skimping on stuffing or trying to skip rounds at the end. And I'm going for a mostly-embroidered iris, so we'll see how that goes. After a stumble on the first cast on attempt I'm making decent progress, and almost done with the increases.

stitches worked: 360

stitches frogged: 0

stitches bound off: 60

I finished the leg warmer and I feel a bit disappointed. I guess maybe I don't have a clear enough vision of what I want and what's possible. I mean, it's not terrible, but I don't know if I want to spend two weeks on another if I'm this underwhelmed.

Here it is on. I think it gives cozy but doesn't have enough shape (understandable because it is essentially just a knit tube). Working at scale for an inanimate object makes it tricky. Maybe I don't know enough about style to figure out how to make it work as part of an outfit.

Next might be a skirt of some kind, but I haven't started any figuring for it yet.

stitches worked: 1,041

stitches frogged: 1