Check-In Post May 15th 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]

It was supposed to rain today but I don't think it has. I stayed in anyway because the sky kept going black and I couldn't see the point of getting everything ready for gardening only to wind up dashing indoors five minutes later if the heavens opened. Instead, I started cutting bases for the bouncy spiders I keep forgetting I want to make for Halloween. I used my one inch circular punch, and it worked great on some pieces of felt, but jammed when I was using it on other pieces, so I spent a lot of time unjamming it. I still cut 30 or so bases, maybe more. I wasn't counting. I still have around the same number to do. When all the bases are done I can start making spiders!

[wiseheart]

Yay, spiders!

[wiseheart]

I gave my knitting experiment another try. Very carefully, I started a sample piece of only 20 stitches (after having studied the blanket Mum had knitted a few years ago in detail) and lo and behold!the pattern actually showed itself. I've very little yarn left from this ball (is it called a ball?) so I'll continue with this pattern as long as it lasts, and then I'll try out something else.

[darkcedars]

That's a good amount done, especially with all the jamming.

[darkcedars]

That's great! Ball works. Or skein.

[darkcedars]

It absolutely poured rain most of the morning. This afternoon it is dark and sprinkles sometimes. So we took a day off of house projects (usually we do that on Mondays). I have made a couple dishcloths and will get up to make chicken alfredo for supper soon.

[wiseheart]

Thanks. I'll try to remember the expression. I want to improve my English.

[wiseheart]

Chicken alfredo sounds yummy. Bon appétit!

[althea_valara]

Bouncy spiders! Sounds fun. Good luck with your project, and fingers crossed that the remaining go well with minimal jamming.

[althea_valara]

Congrats on your success! Cheering you on!

If it's a commercially made acrylic yarn, you're liking working with a skein - they are wound by machine, and many are made so you can pull the yarn from the inside, thus preventing the yarn from bouncing around as you work with it. Many people also refer to skeins as balls, though. I myself mostly say "ball" even though I know that technically it's a skein.

Here's an article with descriptions of the different put-ups of yarn, and the terminology for each: https://easycrochet.com/what-is-a-skein-of-yarn/

[althea_valara]

Dishcloths are always useful, and can be lots of fun--since they're quick it's easy to try out different patterns. And chicken alfredo: YUM!!!

[althea_valara]

I have started the stranded colorwork section of my secret project and it looks so COOL! though, I knit rather tightly with stranding, oops. It should be okay though, as it doesn't need to fit me. I'm hoping to get at least half of this piece done today. Just taking a short break to give my eyes a rest - one of the colors I'm working with is black, which is a pain to work with as many of you know, plus my eyes go blurry after doing close-up work for a while. (And yes, I **will** be mentioning that to my eye doctor when I see her at the end of this month.)

[badly_knitted]

With a bit of luck. I'm out of practice with hand sewing and I still need to get plastic curtain rings to hang the spiders from.

[badly_knitted]

Well done for getting right back to the knitting and making positive progress!

Yes, yarn does come in balls, or sometimes in skeins.

[badly_knitted]

Thanks, I was reasonably pleased with progress, but I bet my hands will hurt tomorrow.

[badly_knitted]

That sounds like a good way to spend a dark and rainy day. Enjoy your supper!

[badly_knitted]

They're easy to make. Hopefully I'll be able to take pictures of them in progress

Thanks. It depends a lot on which felt I'm cutting. I'm trying to make sure the felt I use for each one either matches or contrasts with one of the colours in the fabric, but I'm using a lot of fabric oddments so there's a wide range of colours.

[badly_knitted]

Thanks for the link, that's really useful. I still call them balls even though they're technically skeins. I think the skein tern is probably more recent? I prefer to work from the inside. Saves me having to chase my yarn.

[badly_knitted]

Yay! Glad it's looking good!

I'm the same, give me more than one colour wo work with and I knit WAY too tight. As long as it turns out okay though.

That reminds me, I need to book my eye test...

[darkcedars]

Probably, punches are rough on them.

[darkcedars]

it's so nice when things work out! Good luck getting through the half.

[badly_knitted]

And unjamming it multiple times added extra strain. Still easier than trying to cut out circles by hand. At least this way they're more or less circular...