Check-In Post January 23rd 2023

[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]

Today has been quite eventful! Sent my car for her MOT test and she passed, no repairs required, so YAY! Only had to pay the test fee.


I happened to glance out the window while working on my computer and saw something odd in the sky so I whipped my reading glasses off and put my regular glasses on so I could see properly... There were two paragliders drifting past, on a bitterly cold day in January. I live in the suburbs, so where they took off from and where they were headed I have no idea.


On the crafting front, I had to adjust my plans for the sweater slightly because I miscalculated and increased to 122 stitches but when I added up the panels I had planned, it came to 120. I didn't want to undo the increase row so I fiddled with the layout and went with cables over 8 stitches instead of six between the pattern panels. I've done the first 26 rows, but it's a 38 row pattern repeat for the main panels. It's looking good so far.

[wiseheart]

Oh dear, it's so annoying when you have to adjust your original plans! But you got it under control, so it's good, right?

Congratulations to the car test! I didn't even know you had a car.

[badly_knitted]

It wasn't a serious problem. Adapting a pattern or combining two or more always requires a certain amount of planning and double-checking calculations, it's easy to miscount how many stitches are needed, but it's fine now I'm underway.

I learned to drive as soon as I was legally allowed to and I've owned cars since I was 18. I don't drive a lot these days, but I hate being without a car. It makes life a lot easier whenever I have to go anywhere, but it's expensive to run.

[darkcedars]

At least it was only minor fiddling.

Congrats on the car getting good grades. I would also do a huge double-take at gliders!

[badly_knitted]

Yes, and the results so far are very promising!

Hot air balloons in summer is an occasional thing, although not since the pandemic started, and I've seen the odd microlight flying high overhead, also in summer, but paragliders is a new one, and very unexpected in midwinter. I wish I could have taken a photograph, but there must have been a pretty good wind up where they were because they were travelling fast.

[spiralicious]

You have had an eventful day.

Congrats on the car test.

The paragliders had to be quite a shock.

Hurray for being able to adjust your sweater plans

[badly_knitted]

Very eventful indeed!

I was relieved not to have a huge repair bill. I get to keep my car going another year.

It was weird to see. They weren't close or anything, quite high up, but still not something I would have expected.

Thanks. I've been knitting long enough that it wasn't a big problem, and what I've done so far looks good.

[spiralicious]

:)

[wiseheart]

I was less than lucky today. After I had sewn in the last page of Dani's quiet book and was about to fix the other edge of the spine, I realized that the distance between the last page and the previous one was half a cm wider than between the other pages. It looked ugly, and I refuse to hand out ugly things. Not after I'd worked on it so much. So I swore a blue streak, and then undid the whole thing, pinned it together again and started anew. It isn't finished yet, as the time wasn't enough for that, plus my fingers rebelled, but I have high hopes for tomorrow.

[darkcedars]

OH no. :(

[wiseheart]

Oh, yes.:( There's a good reason why I dread this phase whenever a book is near finished.

[badly_knitted]

Ugh, it's awful when you have to re-do something. Here's hoping it goes right on the second attempt.

[wiseheart]

Thanks. It did.

[badly_knitted]

Yay!

[spiralicious]

My condolences. Hopefully tomorrow will go better.

[wiseheart]

It did, even though I had to add half a dozen or so unplanned seams to keep things even moderately straight. But the whole thing is almost finished now, which is a relief.

[darkcedars]

I'm on the fifth round of blue on the first half of the cardigan (I think I need 10 rows).

After telling myself I would only put out some seed on a dish, I bought a suet block feeder and put it out this morning. It was quickly being snacked on (though I did not see it in action). I also worked on moving a pile of leaves that had accumulated to the south side of the house.

[badly_knitted]

Halfway there on the first half then! Great progress.

Toss the leaves on your compost heat if you've got one. The leaves I cleared from my driveway got dumped on my front garden. Waste not, want not!

Your birds must be more intelligent than mine, because several of my feeders the birds don't seem able to figure out, and they also don't seem to like the suet pellets I've got. My usual kind hasn't been available the last year or two, and the new ones must not be as tasty. Even the pigeons don't want to eat them.

[darkcedars]

This particular leaf pile is going to be used to kill off some weedy grass and the area will eventually be a flowerbed. I will put the container garden on this spot for this year.

This suet smells pretty good. It's peanuts and walnuts.

[badly_knitted]

Excellent, kill the grass and enrich the soil, all at once.

Mmm, yummy! My birds like the kind with insects or mealworms, but the last lot I got was plain suet and it doesn't seem to appeal. I only got them because that was all there was. I figured plain was better than none. The birds disagree.

[darkcedars]

I'm imagining them grumbling about how there must be a new chef. I went with the nuts because I haven't seen the woodpeckers recently. Considered the fruit one, but I assume the robins and other birds that like that are eating out of the compost bin anyway.

[badly_knitted]

Well I put out the last of that bag so I should be back to better suet pellets soon. I won't get that kind again. A also have suet balls, suet-filled half coconut shells hanging up, and a seed feeder that the birds seem unable to get the hang of. Got sunflower kernels and dried mealworms as well. I prefer the live mealworms as they're fun to care for, but no one seems to stock them anymore. =(

(Might be a while before I can post your meece - there was a 'cyber incident' a week or two ago that put a halt to sending overseas mail and while it's okay to send letters now, the post office has a backlog of packages to clear and aren't accepting anything new that requires a customs label. Hopefully they'll get back to normal operations in the next couple of weeks, but I'll have to wait to post until the post office starts accepting new packages.)

[spiralicious]

*\o/*

[celli]

I have been AWOL of late due to some stressors, but I have been taking out my stress via stitching - my friend L calls it "productive stabbing," which makes me laugh every time. I'm almost done with two samplers for my stitching class, and then there's only one left to catch up on 2022! I haven't decided if I'm doing it again in 2023. I have that booth at the art show in August and I should probably focus on the stuff I want to show there.

[badly_knitted]

What a fun way of describing your stitching!

Well done with almost getting caught up!

[darkcedars]

Haha productive stabbing!

[wiseheart]

It is a great name for it!

[spiralicious]

That is productive stabbing, indeed!

[spiralicious]

Today was the first day this year of weekly crafting sessions with an elderly friend of mine. It's something we started last year, but had been on hold for the holidays. She didn't feel up to doing anything after we got things set up, so we had tea while she talked, then she made pushy suggestions while I made Valentine's day cards. She said she had more fun with that than making cards herself.

Next week, I'll try to talk her into doing one of the unopened kits she has. She does pretty well with those. And I'll try to remember to bake something in case all she wants to do is talk.

The downside to all this is that she is trying to bully me into coming more than once a week, but 2-5 hours on Mondays is about all I can handle.

After a few hours of recovery time, I did some stich and stream. I got another 10 rows done on the new scarf and watched the limited series Gudetama: An Eggcellent Adventure.

[badly_knitted]

I'm sure your friend enjoys the company, and at least you got some crafting done.

Good scarf progress!

[spiralicious]

She does and I hope that continues.

Thanks!

[wiseheart]

2-5 hours on Mondays is about all I can handle.

Then you definitely shouldn't allow her to bully you into more. Visiting someone on a regular basis is only good as long as both sides enjoy it.

[spiralicious]

I am staying firm on my boundaries, but it is hard. I just keep reminding myself that over committing myself out of guilt and perceived obligation is no good for anyone.

She is trying to bully me into becoming her daily caregiver, but what she needs is outside my wheelhouse.

[althea_valara]

Carbuncle is nearing completion! It took longer than I expected - I thought I could whip it up in a day, but it's taken four days so far with at least an hour of work each day. I need to attach the ears and nose, make eyes (I started the eyes tonight but I am using black floss for them and I can't see the stitches this late at night), do the back stripes, and finish the tail. I think I should be able to finish tomorrow. Tuesdays are usually non-busy for me.

I also took a break from Carby yesterday and worked on my crocheted hoodie. The hood is complete and I've started the body. It's a good thing I can read stitches in both knitting and crochet, because my stitch count is off a bit - I have more than I should. I decided not to sweat it, because it's not drastically more and besides I'd rather err on the big side. I'm just making sure to place the raglans correctly. Hopefully this will work fine.

[badly_knitted]

Looking forward to seeing Carbuncle once he's finished. Sounds like he's coming along well. Yes, working in black under artificial light is impossible. I still want to make a black sweater, but that's summer knitting.

Excellent with the hoodie, even if you've got a few too many stitches you know what you're doing. I'm sure it will work out.

[sister_raphael]

See how I feel, but I might tackle that hem tonight after work... maybe.

[badly_knitted]

Fingers crossed for you!

[wiseheart]

Good luck!