Check-In Post July 12th 2022

[badly_knitted]

Hello to all members, passers-by, curious onlookers, and shy lurkers, and welcome to our regular daily check-in post. Just leave a comment below to let us know how your current projects are progressing, or even if they're not.
Checking in is NOT compulsory, check in as often or as seldom as you want, this community isn't about pressure it's about encouragement, motivation, and support. Crafting is meant to be fun, and what's more fun than sharing achievements and seeing the wonderful things everyone else is creating?

There may also occasionally be questions, but again you don't have to answer them, they're just a way of getting to know each other a bit better.


Today's Question: No question today.


If anyone has any questions of their own about the community, or suggestions for tags, questions to be asked on the check-in posts, or if anyone is interested in playing check-in host for a week here on the community, which would entail putting up the daily check-in posts and responding to comments, go to the Questions & Suggestions post and leave a comment.

I now declare this Check-In OPEN!

Comments

[badly_knitted]

A bit of gentle pottering in the garden, cutting back the winter jasmine and ivy. In the process I discovered what looks like a Hart's Tongue fern I didn't know was there =D

It's a bit battered and I'll have to protect it somehow when the trees are being cut down, but hopefully it will survive.

[wiseheart]

The things one finds when pottering in the garden... :)

[badly_knitted]

Indeed. I found a rusty nail too, but that was less interesting...

[wiseheart]

As long as you don't find it firmly inserted in your palm...

[badly_knitted]

I'm much too careful for that. I thought it was a dead twig until I picked it up.

[wiseheart]

That's a relief to hear!

[badly_knitted]

Finding such things in my garden is not too unusual. With all the thorns and other spiky things it pays to watch what you're grabbing.

[smallhobbit]

Hello little fern
We didn't know you were there
It's amazing what we can learn
When others plants we pare

[badly_knitted]

*grins* Somewhere down there in the lawn are a couple of Cyclamen too. I have no idea where any of them have come from, fern included, but I'm happy to have them.

[wiseheart]

I managed a tiny bit of writing - less than a page, really, but still progress -, worked a bit on the quiet book inner binding and cut out a few more pieces for the Christmas felt project. The latter promises to be an ongoing activity, as these little Nativity scenes require an ungodly amount of detail, so I decided to start early. Oh, the joy when all I'll have to do is to sew together the pieces!

[smallhobbit]

The Nativity scenes should look good when finished - very wise to begin early!

[wiseheart]

The advantage is that I can work on the project even if I only have a little time to spare. Today I was cutting out the Baby Jesus outlines. Mary, Joseph, the shepherd and the sheep are done so far, although they don't have any faces yet - nor any other details.

I'm also considering to make a few designs of my own, using the base shapes. I'm thinking of Santa and perhaps angels. We'll see.

[badly_knitted]

Yay for sheep and shepherds!

Adapting the idea to your own designs sounds like a great idea!

[wiseheart]

It is pure self-protection, really. One can only make the exact same things so many time before dying from boredom.

[badly_knitted]

Very true.

Unless it's meeces ;)

[wiseheart]

But your meeces are all different!

[badly_knitted]

I have done some duplicates, but the basic pattern is the same for all of them.

[wiseheart]

The same will be true for my Nativityg scenes. Same pattern, different colours and accedsoirs.

[badly_knitted]

Sounds like a sensible plan. Variety is good.

[badly_knitted]

You've done well today, writing AND crafting! *\0/*

Cutting out the pieces can be so fiddly, but it's the essential first step.

[wiseheart]

True, which is why one has to start early. That way I can cut out about a dozen or so pieces at a time and stop as soon as it becomes too boring. ;)

[badly_knitted]

And then it's smooth sailing when you come to sew the bits together.

[wiseheart]

We'll see about *that*, but it will be definitely easier with all parts ready to be put together.

[badly_knitted]

At the very least it saves some fiddling.

[smallhobbit]

I finished another square for my throw today - this one is 'New York'. They're not growing as fast as I'm concentrating on the mermaid cardi.

[wiseheart]

A nice pattern and a lovely, warm colour! And yeah, working on several projects simultaneously can slow donw the process. I'm looking forward to the mermaid cardigan.

[smallhobbit]

Thank you. I like that colour, and the pattern is definitely one of the better ones. The mermaid is progressing, although I've had to undo the odd half row when I've realised I've misread the pattern.

[wiseheart]

Gah, how frustrating! That happens to me time and again, too, when I'm stitching along the edges - dratted stitches are so often uneven,

[badly_knitted]

Having to undo bits gets so frustrating.

[badly_knitted]

I really like that, it looks sort of scrunchy.

The cardigan does need to take priority, you don't want to end up having to rush to finish it.

[smallhobbit]

Thank you :) Yes, the cardi will be my main project, but it's nice to have something else when I'm tired of counting stitches for the mermaid.

[badly_knitted]

The counting can get really annoying =/