Third time's the charm

Do you know that feeling? That awful feeling when you realize, you are not as on track as you thought you were? That's where I was last Wednesday morning.

I already knew by the "C" that the flower section was too long and I would probably have to pick it off and just use the title. The spine of the book is only 8.25" long and at the "C' the spine already measured in at 7 inches. No way was I going to be able to squeeze the S-T-I-T into an inch and a quarter, never mind the bee motif at the top of the design. 

But I persisted...

And then, on Wednesday morning, with a strong cup of coffee under my fingers, and the "S" knitted snugger,  I realized that the quality of the knitting was not acceptable. It was far to loose and no matter how well I blocked it, I was never going to get the piece to look as good as it would if had I knitted all of it better. I took a break and ran the last minute Thanksgiving Day errands in hopes that I wasn't just second guessing myself, but I knew I was right. I had to start over. 

Yup, I was right. The bottom piece is so much better. 

I also knew I had to nix the flower motif which was too bad after all that hard work, but once I was finished with the title, it still seemed a little bland. I really wanted to add the bees. 

 Instead of the larger bees I had worked out for the earlier design, I opted for the smaller ones in a band at the base.

I really like them, even though I probably should have used a different color for the wings. They are a little bit difficult to make out. But if in the end, I want to enhance them, I can use a thin thread to outline the wings. Otherwise I can live with this. 

Not to mention this is a much better size.