Check-In Post December 20th 2023

[falkner]

Hello, lovely crafters! Welcome to our daily check-in post, where you can tell everybody all about your most recent progress (or lack thereof). Feel free to also chat with other members and generally enjoy yourself!

Check-in is not mandatory, you decide if and when to take part in these posts.


Today's optional question:

Do you tend to put deadlines on your crafty projects? Or do you enjoy starting and stopping and finishing whenever?

If you have questions or suggestions about the community, requests for tags, or want to host the daily check-in posts, head over to the Questions & Suggestions post and leave a comment there.

Comments

[annofowlshire]

I do a bit of both on my crafty projects! The baby blanket in progress has a deadline (birthline?), as does the other baby blanket in my queue. I usually do an "Imbloc jumper" as tradition in early February. The cross stitch kits in various states of abandonment... ha ha. Not so much.

I used to do crafting challenges/communities--10 years ago they set my whole crafting calendar!--but these days find them a bit too smothering, although I revisit them now and again because I have such fond memories.

[yarnofariadne]

Well done on your progress!

[badly_knitted]

Great work! Hope the blankets get done in time.

[spiralicious]

Excellent work!

[yarnofariadne]

No luck on knitting today - spent the whole movie running and fetching snacks and such for the kids. Ah well.

I don't set arbitrary deadlines, only necessary ones; for example, gifts for friends who come to visit need to be finished by the time they get here, lol. I did try to finish the beach cover-up I'm currently knitting before a holiday in October but, well. Day job. It should be ready by next summer, though!

[wiseheart]

It isn't easy to do *anything* for yourself when surrounded by kids. (40 years spent working in the education business have taught me that,)

[badly_knitted]

That's too bad. Hope you find some crafting time soon.

[spiralicious]

It was worth a try. Hope you find some knitting time soon.

[wiseheart]

I don't like working with deadlines, but I have to, in too many cases. Birthdays and suchlike aren't easily postponed. ;))

Today, I kept working on my quiet book page. Half the fireplace is fixed; when I've sewn on the other side, we'll see if I can indeed get Santa down the chimney.

[badly_knitted]

Fingers crossed for you!

[spiralicious]

Good luck!

[badly_knitted]

Despite everything, I did manage 30 arm warmer rows last night and I did the final 10 rows today. Got to re-cast off all 4 arm warmers before sewing them up though, they've come out a bit too tight so I'll go up another needle size for the cast off row.

Forgot to answer the question! Again, it depends on what I'm making. If it's a card or gift for someone's birthday or other occasion, obviously there's a deadline I have to stick to, but if it's something for myself or just something I feel like making, then I'll work on it when I'm in the mood, sometimes work on several things at the same time, picking up whichever I fancy working on.

[wiseheart]

That is impressive progress!

[badly_knitted]

Thank you. Hopefully I can sew them up soon.

[spiralicious]

Wait, re-casting off is a thing that can be done?

Excellent progress, by the way.

[badly_knitted]

Yeah, but you have to undo the first cast-off stitch by stitch, which is a pain. Did it last night though, they're all cast-off a bit looser.

[spiralicious]

Ahh, that's good to know.

[badly_knitted]

Most knitting can be un-knitted, but it can be tedious.

[spiralicious]

I am learning this.

[badly_knitted]

It is a necessary thing to learn, sadly. No matter how experienced, all knitters make mistakes.

[spiralicious]

I have added it to my list.

[badly_knitted]

Good luck! You can practice such skills on test swatches.

[spiralicious]

Thanks! Excellent point.

[althea_valara]

I work a lot with deadlines, because a lot of what I make is for Nerdopolis (a crafting competition with rounds a month long) and I'm trying to finish in enough time to submit the items. I have so-so luck with this! Earlier this year I made a list of my WIPs and a good many of those were failed Nerdopolis projects, lol. I always start with good intentions, but then Things Happen and the month gets away from me.

I am still crocheting with laser focus on the poinsettia. The petals are DONE as of last night! The pattern designer made 7 leaves, but I'm aiming for 5, partially because my hands can't handle any more and partially because I want to put it all together at Stitch Club tomorrow and there's not enough time to make more leaves.

I already had 1 leaf done. Today I've made 2 more. I have scheduled myself for one more today, and one tomorrow morning before Stitch Club which will get me to 5. It's only 3:30ish pm here so plenty of time to crank out one more today!

[wiseheart]

Sounds like a lot has been done. Go you! And good luck with one more leaf.

[badly_knitted]

Good luck with your leaves! You can do it!

[spiralicious]

Go you! *\o/*

[matsushima]

I generally don't give myself deadlines unless there's a reason to - it's a birthday gift or a holiday decoration or something. I try to start those projects far in advance (but I don't always - my friends' wedding blanket was 6 months late, oops).

[spiralicious]

Very sensible!

[spiralicious]

Today really wasn't a great day, but I did make one of the batches of cookies I was supposed to, I got the bird feeders refilled, I made it to the store to get some things I needed, I got a couple non-crafty items off my to do list, and I had a minor breakthrough with the cats I'm taking care of. One of them has issues with people in general, like she wants her needs met, she just doesn't want to interact, but I briefly had both of them on the couch with me at one point, though when Miss Mimi realized I could perceive her, she ran off.

Re: optional question: I avoid putting deadlines on my crafty projects. Some naturally haven them due to challenges, birthdays, holidays, etc, but I do not self-impose deadlines if at all possible. It's not a strategy that works for me, when things happen, self-imposed deadlines are the first things that get thrown to the wayside, and all they really accomplish is stressing me out.

[badly_knitted]

You achieved things though! You baked! Feeding the birds is important, and the cat breakthrough, though short, was great!

[spiralicious]

Thanks!