Check-In Post September 15th 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]

Haven't done much today. I had a wander around the garden and pulled up a few weeds, and I saw an adult squirrel on the other side of the road. Also noticed half the plant pots have gone, so yay!

Now I'm off to do some more work on my Master Lists, editing out unwanted bits of html code. I don't know a lot about html code, but I'm learning which bits shouldn't be in there because they're screwing up the font sizes and spacing, and making some of my links open in new pages. All that extra code on LJ means I keep having to divide my lists, so... Fixing them on dreamwidth will be harden because all the code is smooshed together in a single block.

[wiseheart]

Oh dear, that sounds like a real bother!

[badly_knitted]

The editing on LJ is easy enough, but I have a feeling I can't do anything on dreamwidth. The mass of coding looks impossible to sort out.

[smallhobbit]

I'm not a fan of dreamwidth coding.

[badly_knitted]

I'm not a fan of coding full stop. *grins* Dreamwidth is still running an old update page so that probably accounts for a lot of the messiness.

[spiralicious]

Good luck!

[badly_knitted]

Thanks, I'll need it!

Craft-less day

[wiseheart]

I was running about all day like a poisoned mouse, as we say in Hungarian, so I had neither time nor strength left to do any crafting. But while running my errands, I bought some craft supplies (that I didn't really need, but they were pretty), so that ought to count for today.

Re: Craft-less day

[badly_knitted]

Oh, definitely. Buying craft supplies is an important part of crafting. =)

Re: Craft-less day

[smallhobbit]

Buying craft supplies is always important - especially when they are pretty.

Re: Craft-less day

[spiralicious]

Buying supplies is an important part of crafting, especially if they are pretty. It totally counts.

[smallhobbit]

I think I may have used the wrong yarn from my angel knitting kit for some decoration for the angel's skirt. (The skirt is the first bit to be made.) However, it does look very pretty so I'm not worried - I've got plenty of my own yarn I can use if necessary.

[badly_knitted]

Well, it'll be a unique little angel!

[smallhobbit]

Very true!

[spiralicious]

It shall have personality!

[smallhobbit]

As it should!

[spiralicious]

Indeed!

[spiralicious]

It was a weird knitting day. I found some time to start tackling the practice patterns. The first two I breezed through, but the third one had me stumped. It was 1x1 ribbed pattern and for hours, I just ended up repeatedly making these weird bunched up lumpy masses instead of a square. I tried about 5 different video tutorials, I changed needles, I did a tiny knitting stitch swatch to make sure I remembered how correctly, nothing helped. I looked at working ahead on a different pattern, but the 15 remaining ones all used the pattern I was working on in some way. I was totally stumped.

Before I decided to call it a night, I decided to watch one more video. I found one where the knitter was using big enough needles and was going slow enough that I could really see what she was doing.

Yeah, I wasn't flipping my yarn right between stiches.

It was smooth sailing after that. I've done the 1x1 ribbing practice swatch and the 2x2 now.

I feel so silly.

[smallhobbit]

You won't be the first to have struggled with that.

[spiralicious]

Thanks. I'm sure. It was just so maddening and then I felt so silly once I realized what was wrong XD

[annofowlshire]

Videos have been transformative for people learning crafts on their own, but definitely isn't quite the same as having a knowledgeable person with you.

I went years and years before I could get past the garter stitch scarf stage, and videos and in person workshops definitely helped me with that. Then I realized I was accidentally doing a "twisted" knit stitch which was why my stockinette looked so funny XD I only figured it out when another friend (in the LJ days) realized she'd been doing it and talked about it on her journal!

I offer to show people in person (maybe too enthustiastically) when I can because I know how much that can result in a light bulb moment.

I'm still hopeless for crochet as I'm lefthanded, which has to be done differently. I need to find a leftie who can teach me.

[badly_knitted]

Sometimes it's the seemingly simplest things that catch us out. What matters is that you didn't give up and you DID figure it out in the end, so well done! *high five* I'm an experienced knitter, been knitting for over 40 years, and I STILL screw things up at times and can't figure out where I went wrong, so take heart.

[annofowlshire]

I'm a broken record - still knitting my sparkly socks. I finished the heel turn and decreases, and now I'm back to knitting a tube until I get to the toe.

[badly_knitted]

Sounds like the sparkly socks are growing fast!

[annofowlshire]

I am a speedy knitter and have itty bitty feet. I think it's one of the reasons I like knitting socks for me so much - relatively fast and very gratifying.

My husband, on the other hand, who has ENORMOUS feet still mourns that I haven't yet knit him socks because it would take forever :P

review reply

[badly_knitted]

I too have tiny feet, but I'm not a sock knitter because I'm not fond of knitting in the round. I can do it, but I'd rather not, lol! I don't blame you for not knitting socks for your husband. Anything big is just so daunting!

Re: review reply

[annofowlshire]

Ah, I must prefer knitting in the round to knitting flat! ^_^

Re: review reply

[badly_knitted]

To each their own! We all have our preferences. I don't much like garter stitch either, I get bored *grins*

[sister_raphael]

There's been a load of family drama going down, so I've done a little crafting but not as much as I'd like. I've got the artwork for the new squirrel shield for the medieval group ready to trace on.

[badly_knitted]

Hop the drama settles down so you can work on your squirrel shield!