Google-eyed knitting

A few days ago I spotted an irresistible-to-me pattern for googly-eyed chicks and went almost directly to Cheezombie to buy one (almost directly, because I had to convince myself I could spare a few hours from the Big Project.)

The pattern requirements refer to cotton leftovers, of which I have none, so I bought this:


and this:


and then yesterday I cast on. I knit the essentials of one in about two hours, and then I ripped it out and knit it again with smaller needles because the stuffing showed through. This time I got all the way to the beak in just under another two hours. Familiarity: it breeds speed.

Knitting cotton at a tight gauge on small needles with the throwing method, however, breeds a hurty index finger. I had to stop there for a while, with images of bright yellow yarn in a fluffy wool/angora blend dancing in front of my eyes. Why oh why did I not buy yellow wool for this project?

(answer: because there wasn't any in the store I was in when I bought the cotton.)

I bonded with this design over the googly eyes, but my gauge is so relaxed I couldn't get mine small enough not to look creepy and weird, so I'm opting for embroidered eyes instead. It's still a very, very cute chick! And potentially more so with legs, when my finger stops hurting.