Check-In Post October 25th 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]

No crafting today. Between writing and chores, I ended up running out of time =(


I didn't even sort any of the Halloween treats.

[wiseheart]

Those must have been some chores! But at least you got your writing done.

[badly_knitted]

Just washing dishes, cleaning out the fire, getting coal in, and filling the washing machine for laundry day tomorrow. The writing took longer than expected because I ended up having to do some research, and then I went back to editing my spook_me story, which is 10.5k words and needs organising into chapters. I have this same problem every year.

[darkcedars]

At least you had writing time, which completely counts to me.

[badly_knitted]

I have writing time every day. The chores can often wait a bit, but I haven't missed a day of writing in ten years or more.

[darkcedars]

Ah then it's definitely in a different category from crafts for you.

[badly_knitted]

It's essential for my mental health, because the plot bunnies would drive me nuts otherwise. Seriously though, I do find writing therapeutic. It got me through some very bad times.

[spiralicious]

*hugs*

[badly_knitted]

Thanks *hugs back*

[wiseheart]

I had a slightly mad day.

In the morning I folded and filled all 46 surprise boxes from yesterday. I'm up to 74 now. The minor goal is to get up to 100. The major goal would be around 120, to get in the full intended price per piece (about 25 eurocents), despite the fact that the ones containing a silver apricot pit enable the customer to take another box for free.

In the afternoon I've cut out parts to a few more felt Christmas ornaments I want to give a try: six-pointed stars for angels and five-pointed stars for Santas. Those will be for my own entertainment and for our own Christmas tree, so making them isn't urgent. In the process, however, I've produced some more felt rests, of which tiny little stars and even more felt baubles were made. Yes, I know. No, I can't help myself. There'll be photos, eventually.

In the evening I processed the grapefruits for the marmalade that will be made tomorrow (the fruit needs to rest for a night). That took about two hours and caused an unholy mess. But I have high hopes for the marmalade-to-be.

And now it's late evening again and another day is over. Why does time fly by so quickly?

[darkcedars]

That's a lot!

I have never had grapefruit marmalade but I would like it.

[wiseheart]

So would I! Unfortunately, my attempts resulted in grapefruit syrup. Very yummy grapefruit syrup, but I wanted marmalade, dammit!

[badly_knitted]

That's a very busy day! Great work with the boxes, and have fun making the ornaments!

The grapefruit marmalade sounds amazing.

I have no idea, I had the same problem today. Time just went.

[spiralicious]

That is a mad day 0.0

Grapefruit marmalade sounds delicious.

[wiseheart]

It does. That's why I tried my hand on it. Unfortunately, I ended up with syrup instead.

[badly_knitted]

Well, that didn't go to plan!

[wiseheart]

No, not really. :(

[spiralicious]

Drat. That's too bad :(

[darkcedars]

It's finally raining! Though a bizarre storm dropped 9 inches in less than 12 hours south of me, where my parents live. It's crazy.

I am working on hanging basket #2 and may have sorted out the middle color for the house paint. Maybe.

[badly_knitted]

Rain is fine, in moderation, but that's a bit much! Then again, there's flooding locally here at present thanks to a storm. I'm not personally affected thanks to being on slightly higher ground and a couple of miles from the river, but it's affecting a lot of places in the vicinity.

Good luck with the basket, and I hope the paint colour will work for you.

[darkcedars]

They sent me a video of the creek near their house. I wouldn't say it's out of its banks, because it's very deep old bed (the type where you stop and look down to see the water) but its over the little bridge. It does not look like a creek.

[badly_knitted]

Yikes! That'd not h-good, hope the water doesn't rise any higher.

[spiralicious]

That is a lot of rain at once.

Good luck with your basket and paint color.

[matsushima]

I finally cut the rest of my quilt squares and pinned (most of them) together. (I ran out of pins or I would've done the whole thing.) I even set up my sewing machine so it's all ready to go when I get home from work!

[darkcedars]

That's great! Sounds like you're all ready.

[spiralicious]

Well done!

[badly_knitted]

Yay! Great progress! You'd better get some more pins though.

[wiseheart]

Hooray! Looking forward to the results. I so admire everyone who can tame a sewing machine.

[tielan]

Still binding.

[spiralicious]

*\o/*

[badly_knitted]

It's an important task, even if it gets a bit tedious. You'll get there.

[spiralicious]

My brain is mushy. Tired + deadlines + multiple video essays that ended up being heavier topics than my brain could handle at the moment does not make for good focus.

I had a art book workshop today, part of the bimonthly series I've been attending this year. We did Day of the Dead books with a hollowed out alcove. In the inside hole, we put sugar skulls made of shrink plastic. And we decorated it with a big sugar skull on the outside and fancy flower stickers on the inside. We also attached a page explaining Days of the Dead and a place to write names of people we'd like to honor.

I also finished decorating inside the house. I got all my new bats on the art wall, a very reduced version of my Halloween village on the mantel, and I found a spot for the big paper spider a friend gifted me last year.

I also knitted a few rows on the mitten.

There was, unfortunately, no writing. I'm crossing my fingers for a huge burst of inspiration after work tomorrow.

[badly_knitted]

Sounds like a tough day.

Well done with the decorating, and the book workshop sounds brilliant.

Fingers crossed for the writing. I'm still trying to finish my spook_me fic, editing it in preparation for splitting it into chapters. It's 10.5k, so once more I only got one done instead of the two I signed up for. Might still write the other one and save it for next year.

[wiseheart]

That's a lot for one day! Go you!
I'd like to send good writing vibes your way but I've run out of them myself quite some time ago. *commiserates*

[spiralicious]

Thanks *hugs*