Check-In Post July 10th 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]

8 spiders completed, and 2 waiting to be done, which is surprising considering how many times my thread got tangled and my needle came unthreaded, plus I couldn't remember which eyes were supposed to go on which spider. I had all the eyes in a small bag, so in future I'll have to put the eyes with the correct bodies and hope I don't lose any.

[yarnofariadne]

How frustrating! I'm glad you got some more spiders completed, though. Hopefully the new plan to keep the eyes in order works out!

[verdande_mi]

How many are you making in total?

[darkcedars]

I hope no eyes go missing. That would be very frustrating.

[spiralicious]

This sounds like a wise plan.

[yarnofariadne]

Finished the first part A on the beach cover-up! Next I need to do the second part A piece, but I have another silly question. I know I need to take the first part A off the needles and save the stitches, but what do I do with the working yarn? Do I cut a long tail on that bit and weave it in later? Looking at other people's notes on the pattern, I know I'll be knitting the two pieces together once they're both done, so do I want the working yarn to just be coming off the second piece at the end of the row when I pick up on row 34? I don't know if this is making any sense and I think I just talked myself into how to do it but help would be appreciated 😅

[badly_knitted]

If there's no difference in shaping between the two pieces, cut the yarn on the first piece leaving a long enough end to fasten off and weave in later, but leave it attached on the second piece so you can just carry on knitting when it comes to joining the sections. Slip the piece you've knitted onto a spare needle or a stitch holder so it won't be in the way while you're knitting the matching piece.

[verdande_mi]

Yay for finishing the first of part A. Good luck with the rest!

[wiseheart]

I've made one finger puppet - one of the three cats that are supposed to work in the mill. We had cleaning day and oppressing heat; I was in no shape to do more. Plus AO3 is acting up, which is bad for morale.

[yarnofariadne]

Well done on the finger puppet despite cleaning and heat!

[verdande_mi]

That is one down at least! Sorry you're dealing with heat.

[darkcedars]

Glad you could do something on cleaning day. Especially as your site isn't working well!

[badly_knitted]

But you did make something despite everything, so well done!

AO3 was working a couple of hours ago when I was posting, so hopefully they've fixed the problem, whatever it was.

[matsushima]

Someone just happened to have RT'd an AO3 status update into my timeline and I guess it was a coordinated attack, not just a fluke or some weird server problem? Imagine not having anything better to do with your time than ruin people's day. Sigh.

I hope you were able to find a fic to read.

[verdande_mi]

I haven't done much crafting lately. I went on a trip and haven't gotten back to it.

I have been using my camera and taken photos, so I have enjoyed some hobby time. I have done some gardening as well, and I repotted some indoor plants. I am hoping for better weather so that I can journal outside again.

[darkcedars]

Eh, hobbies go in cycles. Congrats on doing repotting, sometimes that turns into a big job.

[badly_knitted]

You can't fit in everything all the time, you've still been finding time to do things you enjoy.

Weather isn't great here either, too much wind and rain. Hope we both get better weather soon.

[wiseheart]

We all need some hobby time - beyond crafting. Versatility makes life enjoyable.

[matsushima]

Like others have said, I think it's natural for hobbies to wax and wane. I think that's part of what makes hobbies not a job - you can follow your natural interest and enjoyment instead of having to stick to a rigid schedule.

[darkcedars]

Today I finished the sewing on pillowcase 2 of 3. I also suddenly thought "why not just make a giant and mostly plain circle (crochet) placemat?" The yarn is heathered and has texture. So I'm doing that and have gotten much further along than previous attempts.

[badly_knitted]

Yay for completing pillow sewing!

Good luck with the new version of your placemat!

[wiseheart]

A giant placemat sounds good.

[verdande_mi]

Good luck with your placemat!

[matsushima]

I finally got the pieces joined for that woven blanket I've been working on, and now I'm adding a simple (HDC) border.

I had a grand plan to make a granny square scarf, but the granny squares look like nazar amulets, but the pattern I'm using is really difficult to follow and my nazar are coming out all wonky. I might switch to a simpler squaring-the-circle pattern because this is driving me nuts!

[badly_knitted]

Congratulations on blanket progress!

Sorry to hear about your wonky granny squares though. So annoying when things don't turn out the way they're supposed to.

[althea_valara]

* Half a row on the t-shirt I'm knitting English style
* A row and a half on the Stephen West shawl
* A few rows on the crocheted shawl
* Sewed another branch onto the Cherry Blossom Bonsai

Sounds like a lot, but honestly it wasn't all that much. Still, progress is progress and I'm pleased with how this month is going so far.

[badly_knitted]

It may not be all that much from your point of view, but it's progress on 4 projects, which is pretty impressive!