Check-In Post April 17th 2024

[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.


This Week's Question: We all make mistakes - what's your most memorable crafting disaster?


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]

I finished the design I was working on, very pleased with it, then I started the final one in the set. I was being so careful, double-checking the positions of the stitches, finished my first strand of thread, checked again, and realised I had the fabric the wrong way around. The design is two squares taller than it is wide, and I cut the fabric precisely to leave a margin around the design, but because I had it the wrong way around, the top and bottom margins were going to be narrower than I need, and the right side margin wider. *headdesk* I had to rip all the stitching out. I'll start again tomorrow.

So, that's my latest memorable disaster =(

[wiseheart]

Oh bother, that is really a disaster! *hugs*

[badly_knitted]

Thanks. I was doing so well up to that point =(

[wiseheart]

That is the worst part: to have to undo all your hard work!

[badly_knitted]

Especially as it took as long to undo as it took to stitch =(

[spiralicious]

That is quite a disaster! Hopefully, tomorrow will go better.

[badly_knitted]

I have all my fingers crossed, although that might make stitching a bit difficult!

[spiralicious]

LOL

[wiseheart]

I was too busy to make any quality crafting today, but at least worked a bit on the seaming of the second pot holder. Small steps and all that.

As for the question of the week, I can't remember any profound disaster. I do have small disasters regularly, though, most of them involving double-sized tape, mistakenly cut paper and the likes. ;)

[badly_knitted]

At least you did get a little stitching done.

Small disasters are just as annoying as big ones.

[wiseheart]

Especially as they happen all the time.

[badly_knitted]

Yep! One of the joys of crafting.

[spiralicious]

Well done on getting some seam work in.

In some ways, the little disasters are worse, especially when they start piling up. Death by 1000 duck bites. Also, double sided tape is fairly evil for something so useful.

[althea_valara]

Working on the starfish pillow today. I've made all the ampullae and ironed the fabric I'm using for the pillow backing. Now searching for a tapestry needle to sew the ampullae on.

I also worked on nephew's blanket some, and am on the last two rows of the first colorwork section. Then there's 40 rows of simple stripes in single crochet.

[wiseheart]

Ampullae???

You've done a lot of work - go you!

[althea_valara]

Ampullae are "tube feet" on a starfish that helps them move about. For this pattern, they are just crocheted circles: 5 small, 5 medium, 5 large, so 3 on each arm of the starfish. The pattern calls for eyes and a mouth to make it look cute, but I'm leaving those off. I wanted the ampullae though for some bonus color.

Still looking for my tapestry needle, sigh. I do love to misplace those...

[wiseheart]

Oh, I see. Sounds interesting. I only ever made starfish out of felt; and only small ones. I used beads for their arms.

I hope you'll find your tapestry needle. I tend to misplace my tools, too, and then waste ungodly amounts of time looking for them. :(

[badly_knitted]

Yar for the starfish! Sounds like it's coming along well =D

Also well done on the blanket! It's growing!

[spiralicious]

Excellent work!

[tielan]

I did a 'test run' (of sorts) with some other fabric I have around, and got a basic dress finished; it needs sleeves and a hem and a zip.



The zip is going to be the difficut part - the fit of it, the look of it. How well it's done will make the dress look professional or home-made, I think.

However, this might actually be good enough for a garden party! (I do this quite a lot, in fact; I made a toile and then...I don't make the 'real' outfit...)

[badly_knitted]

Hopefully, this time you will make the actual dress and not just the test run!

[spiralicious]

It does look lovely.

[spiralicious]

I haven't been doing much crafting the last few days. While at the library for one of the book clubs I'm in, I checked out a couple movies to knit to. We'll see if that sparks something.

Saturday, Lynne and Co came home and it was a bit of a circus, but I got to go home! So, no crafting that day or Sunday, as I spent that time catching up on my sleep.

Monday, I was supposed to go back to Lynne's for crafting, but thankfully, they cancelled that morning as Lynne and her son needed more time to recover from their trip and her surgery, and frankly, so did I. I started a card and poked at my supplies, but that went nowhere.

Other than that, my anxiety is way up, I am just all out of sorts, my mother rearranged the house, including my room, while I was gone, so I'm relearning where everything is, and we have been bickering nearly nonstop since I got back.

Honestly, I just feel at a loss on where to start with anything.

[badly_knitted]

*hugs* I wouldn't be able to cope if someone rearranged my living space while I wasn't there. My sister used to do that to her kids all the time when they were at school and I felt so bad for them, not knowing where anything was.

Hope you're caught up on your sleep, and that your crafting mojo will return once your anxiety has a chance to settle down and you learn where everything is now.

[spiralicious]

*hugs* It's very frustrating. At least it happens less than it used to.

Thanks.

[badly_knitted]

I suppose that's something, but it shouldn't happen at all. You're an adult, your room should be your private space.

[spiralicious]

True. It is something we're working on.

[badly_knitted]

Some people find boundaries difficult. My mum was a bit that way, but at least she didn't move stuff around.

[spiralicious]

Yeah. That is unfortunate, but I'm glad you didn't have to deal with the moving stuff around bit.

[badly_knitted]

For which I am profoundly grateful. She did have a bad habit of breaking things I asked her not to touch though.

[spiralicious]

Oof, that is pretty bad all on it's own.

[badly_knitted]

She broke her own things too, then blamed me. She could be... difficult. I loved her and I miss her, but there were times she drove me round the bend.

[wiseheart]

Why would your mother do that? Especially your room? I find that inconsiderate!

[badly_knitted]

So do I.

[spiralicious]

She sees it as helping and there is no convincing her otherwise. After we talked about it, she had been communicating a little better about wanting to do things and thinking things should be done instead of just doing things, but she's backslid this week. At least that was about the plans for my aunt's birthday party, not rearranging my things. This is an ongoing lifelong (my life) problem. Which does not make it less frustrating.

[spiralicious]

Oh! To answer the question, my most memorable crafting disaster was probably when I was learning pottery in middle school and not only did my project explode in the kiln, it took out four other people's projects with it. I don't even remember what I had made.

[badly_knitted]

Ooof! That must have been a bit embarrassing! Bad enough your own should decide to detonate, but all that collateral damage... *hugs*

[spiralicious]

It was. Luckily, everyone who's project I'd taken out reacted well. *Hug*

[badly_knitted]

That's a relief.