Check-In Post April 26th 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

[b_e_x]

Hi! I am new here - a geriatric LJer returning to Dreamwidth for a place to write a little more than my typical social media platforms allow! Super excited to find this community.

I'm a crocheter, a pandemic hobby that uhhhhhh escalated quickly and turned into a lil' side gig. I enjoy making fantasy creatures like dragons, unicorns, etc., and recently started designing my own patterns. I also enjoy making safety eyes and 3D printed stuff to use on my projects, like horns and antlers as well as yarn bowls, hook holders, all sorts of nerdy things.

[badly_knitted]

Hello and welcome! I started out on LJ too, I think a lot of us here did =)

Crochet is awesome, there are quite a few crocheters here (not me, I can only manage a few basic stitchers. Brilliant that you've been able to turn your talent into a side-gig, especially with making fantasy creatures. That sounds like a lot of fun! Nerdy things are good.

[b_e_x]

Thank you so much for propping up this group for everyone!

[badly_knitted]

I enjoy chatting with everyone =)

I was taking part in a write every day check-in a few years back and thought... This sort of thing would work as a crafting community. Asked a few people if they'd be interested, and they were, so I set it up. People pop in and out as they feel like it, and there are a few regulars, but I just wanted a place where all kinds of crafters could get together and share what they love, help each other out, and learn new things. Members are free to make their own posts here, but so far not many people have. I guess the daily check-ins are easier.

[illariy]

Hello and welcome! I, too, came from LJ, I think many did. ;-)

Wow, you do crocheting as a side gig? What exactly do you do, like where do you sell and items and now patterns, too, yes? That sounds very intriguing!

I learned crochet as well as knitting, weaving etc as a child but have not done any fibre arts in years. Wanting to get back into it but my high Youtube watchtime keeps me from getting too much done. I am now transitioning to crafting (paper crafts) while watching YT so hopefully, some crocheting might be in my future. :-)

Am excited to see you here. :-) Yeah, having more space to write and an active community to interact with are both awesome things about DW. DW is my favourite social network, in fact.

[b_e_x]

I do, yeah! It started out with just selling some of the stuff I made, mostly to people I know. I think I had been crocheting for like 8-9 months when I opened my Etsy store (I started in Jan 2021 and opened the store that October, iirc). Then I got into painting my own safety eyes and selling those, and I'd say that's what drives most of my business now - I always feel like the biggest customers for crafters are... other crafters, so I sell a lot more supplies and patterns than I sell finished objects. And then last summer I designed my first pattern and started selling it on Ravelry and Etsy, and now I have three published patterns! The pattern design stuff can be REALLY time-consuming, though, so it's hard to find the time around my actual paid work (I've been a university professor for a decade, and I'm now moving into a fulltime research role).

I definitely crochet while I'm watching stuff at night! My husband and I have a home office with side-by-side desk (not to be cutesy, just for keeping all the cords managed, haha!). So our nightly routine is that we stream something on my second monitor, I sit at my desk and crochet, and he plays a game on his PC!

[illariy]

So cool to hear about how you started your crochet business, thank you for sharing!

I'd say that's what drives most of my business now - I always feel like the biggest customers for crafters are... other crafters

Oh, I had been wondering about that so intrigued to hear it confirmed for your business!

Your evenings with your husband sound so cosy. ♥

Oh, are you on tenure track now and will still be in the new role or are you purposefully moving away from tenure? I am doing another bachelor's degree because I want to change careers and not gonna lie, I love going to uni and everything around it so am curious about your career change.

[b_e_x]

I was tenure track, yes, and became tenured last year! So walking away from that is sorta a big deal, eek. But I always knew that while I do think tenure is an important protection for academic freedom, for many people it becomes "golden handcuffs" and keeps them in their jobs long after they stop enjoying them or being particularly good at them. I always knew that if I wasn't enjoying the work anymore, I should leave.

Academia is a tough path to walk, tbh. I don't regret my choices too much, but it is getting harder and harder to encourage anyone to become a professor. For the luckiest (or just most privileged), yes, it can be amazing, but the overwhelming majority of higher ed teaching jobs are not tenure track, pay little relative to other jobs a person with a PhD could do, and are very tough to manage if you have attachments (because you don't have much say in where you might end up living).

[wiseheart]

Welcome to the club! Me, I'm still on LJ, but come over to this place for the crafty discussions. I have no-one in real life to get really nerdy with about crafts. ;))

Your hobbies/designs sound intriguing. Can we hope to see some photos eventually?

[b_e_x]

Sure! Let's see if I can remember how to add pics...

[wiseheart]

Awww, how cute! I could cuddle that elephant all day (and that at my advanced age, too)! :))

[badly_knitted]

Those are amazing! I particularly love the dragon, because I'm a big fan of dragons. I love that you've taken him and your unicorn outside for photoshoots, so they're in their natural environments. Your elephant is obviously more at home indoors. He likes his home comforts.

[jupiter2932]

Oh, those are so neat!! I'm nowhere near that good with my own crocheting, but would love to look at your patterns, if you have a link :D

And welcome to the comm! I'm also from LJ from way back when, and I'm finding DW to be really welcoming :D

[illariy]

Ooooh, how adorable! Especially the dragon. So cute. I love them so much. :D

[spiralicious]

Hello & welcome! Like a lot of us, I started on LJ too :)

Very cool :D

[badly_knitted]

No pics yet, sorry. Doing the laundry put me behind with my writing and I ended up running out of time. Still haven't loaded the pics to my computer. I will get there, just bear with me.


I did manage to finish stitching the first Delft tile design though. It's not one I can see myself stitching again, the backstitch on the flowers was hellishly fiddly and I kept losing my place on the chart. I also know I've made a mistake with it, although it's doubtful anyone else would notice. I do, however, like the border, so I might use that again, in different colours, on some other small designs to make them a more suitable size for cards.


Tomorrow I can start on the next one in the set, the Fritillaria. That one's really pretty.

[illariy]

Happy to see your photos whenever you have time, no rush.

So impressive that you finished the first Delft tile design, though! :D

I googled the Fritillaria Delft tile and it seems indeed beyond pretty. Hope it is as much fun as it promises to be. :-)

[badly_knitted]

Hopefully at some point over the weekend...

It was a relatively small design with a border, so it was never going to take long.

I'll have to google that myself, see how it matches up to the design in the cross stitch magazine...

[wiseheart]

Housework does have the ugly tendency to interfere with more pleasant activities. Like crafting.

Congratulations to finishing the first tile. At least you liked the border, so that will be useful for other projects. That's the great thing with crafting: you can always use ideas/leftover materials/whatever for other purposes.

[badly_knitted]

It does, but I needed clean clothes, lol!

Yes, there's always things that can be applied to other projects. I have some small butterfly designs that might benefit for having borders.

The first tile is pretty enough, it was just a bit of a beast to stitch. The backstitch on the other three designs is mostly outlining, which is much easier.

[jupiter2932]

Oh, backstitching is such a pain. Hope the Fritillaria goes easily :)

[badly_knitted]

I normally enjoy backstitch, it really brings designs to life, but this was a tiny floral design of a cluster of flowers and the backstitch basically divide a blob in four shades of blue into the individual flowers. It was so hard to keep track of where I was on the chart. It might have been easier on 14hpi fabric, but I'm working on 16hpi for these designs, and it didn't help that the needle I was using was a bit too big. At least I got that one done.

[illariy]

No crafting for me today and since I procrastinated studying, I think no time left to do any crafting today. But I am hoping to write some penpal letters and/or handmake some more envelopes during the weekend. Am very excited about that!

[badly_knitted]

Your plans for the weekend sound great, may your weekend be full of fun! Sounds like you need it.

[illariy]

Thanks! Yes, I sure need a break but will need to study more tomorrow since I did so little of it today. Argh. Well, keeps the brain sharp so that is good. :-) I am much looking forward to some crafty and penpalling fun on the weekend, though, indeed.

Hope your weekend is relaxing and filled with crafting, too.

[badly_knitted]

Study responsibly ;)

Enjoy your crafting and letter writing when you get to it.

I have plans for more cross stitch, but I also have writing I need to get done. So many challenges, so little time...

[jupiter2932]

Oh, writing letters is always fun :D> Good luck with your studying!!

[illariy]

Thanks! Unfortunately, I put off studying for too long today and now it is too late as I still haven't eaten a warm meal today and need to get that done asap as it's already 23.04 here in Germany.

I also discovered late last night that there were after all errands I needed to run and household tasks I needed to do so that contributed.

I also didn't get any letter writing done so far but might squeeze in one very short note, we shall see.

Still haven't decided yet if I want to try and study more tomorrow or keep the day free from my always looming to do list, hehe.

Hope your Saturday is going well!

Jammy goodness

[wiseheart]

Behold the jammies yummies:



Strawberry jam on the left, spicy apple jam on the right. Both absolutely delicious!

I finally picked up the long-overdue felt songbook again and started working on the book-binding. I hate that part; it's a killer on the fingers, sewing through so many layers of hard felt and double-sided tape. But I've sewn together the inner binding and pined on the individual pages, so that's progress. Tomorrow I'll go easy and seam the spine of the book with blanket stitch before attacking the really brutal part: the sewing in of the pages. But I'm on the way now, which is a relief.

Re: Jammy goodness

[badly_knitted]

They look great!

Yay for progress on the songbook! I know how much you hate the binding part, but you can do it Good luck, be kind to your fingers by not doing too much at a time.

Re: Jammy goodness

[wiseheart]

That is the plan, yes: frequent breaks. *g*

Re: Jammy goodness

[badly_knitted]

Very sensible *nods*

Re: Jammy goodness

[jupiter2932]

Yum :D.

Oh, sewing through thick layers is such a pain--hope it goes quickly. Sounds like you're making some good progress on it :)

Re: Jammy goodness

[wiseheart]

The progress is woefully slow, but I'm trying to be considerate with my poor fingers.

Re: Jammy goodness

[jupiter2932]

Ouch, I feel you--aching fingers are so frustrating. But slow and steady will get you there :).

Re: Jammy goodness

[wiseheart]

True. No need to ruin those fingers permanently - I'll need them for many, many other projects. ;))

Re: Jammy goodness

[illariy]

Hehe, love that play on words. :D

They look yummy.

The felt songbook sounds like such a cool project, although the painful sewing doesn't sound like fun. Hope you get through it all right and with a little less pain than expected.

[althea_valara]

About an hour on niece's blanket this morning, and 45 minutes on a double-knitted blanket square. That latter is for Nerdopolis' Love What You Do theme, where teams come up with their own theme to craft to. My team (which is all about gaming) picked "A game that came out in the last year", so I am knitting a blanket square with Torgal from Final Fantasy XVI on it. It's only 24 columns by 29 rows, so what, if I get six rows done a day I can finish by end of month? Doable!

Also did some running around with errands today. I've been productive!

It's only 4pm here, so gonna do more blanketing. This time I'll work on nephew's blanket. Hoping to get 4-6 rows done.

[badly_knitted]

Sounds like you're doing great, making time for all your projects!

Good luck with the nephew's blanket!

[jupiter2932]

Oh, sounds like some great progress! What a fun idea for a blanket, with the video game :D

[illariy]

Yesss, great progress on niece's blanket and lots of progress overall. I didn't know there is gaming themed crafting, that sounds awesome!

Hoping your weekend continues to go well.

[althea_valara]

I didn't know there is gaming themed crafting, that sounds awesome!

Oh boy, is there ever! I both do crafting that is inspired by video games, and play in a crafting game.

Crafting inspired by video games!

I'm a HUGE fan of the Final Fantasy franchise and have made +checks Ravelry+ 45 projects related to it. Probably my favorite/most impressive item is a doll I made of one of my characters from Final Fantasy XIV, wearing a particular outfit from the game that everyone went nuts for. (seriously, everyone was drawing their characters in the outfit. Well, I can't draw but I *CAN* knit, so I knitted it instead.) I completed designed both the doll and her outfit myself, based on their in-game appearance. I had to learn how to do box pleats and bottom-up raglans to knit her outfit. It wasn't easy but I did it!





A crafting game - Nerdopolis

Nerdopolis is a crafting game on Ravelry. If you're a knitter, crocheter, weaving, spinner, or dyer, we'd love to have you join us!

Each tournament lasts three months, and each month, we get several themes to craft to. Your task is to make something related to the theme somehow. You can also then tie it to your team's nerdery for Nerd Cred, which enters you into a drawing for PRIZES!

For an example: Say we had a challenge relating to architecture. I choose to knit a pink arch lace bookmark. I first tie it to the challenge by saying the lace in my bookmark looks like the St. Louis arch, then I get Nerd Cred by saying the pink color of my bookmark reminds me of the Aurore armor set from Final Fantasy XI, which is also pink. Since I play on Team Co-op which is related to games of all sorts, Final Fantasy XI (a video game) is part of my team’s scope.

It's a lot of fun, and some folks really enjoy figuring out how to fit what they were going to make anyway into a month's theme. You can either play as an individual player (a Rogue, we call them) or on a team. Here's a link to our group: https://www.ravelry.com/groups/nerdopolis

There's also the Ravellenic Games, in which people craft stuff during the Olympics. That doesn't have themes to craft to, just categories like Sweaters, Blankets, Hats, etc. I usually run a team for the Ravellenics in Nerdopolis' group, so folks can double-dip and get points in both Games.

[illariy]

Oooh, your Final Fantasy character is so cool! I've never played that game but one of my penpals is hugely into it and it is such a classic game, too. Fascinating that you can't draw but you can knit! The character came out so life-like and cute. I do love outfit, too, hehe.

Nerdopolis sounds like such fun! Thank you for the invitation, that is so kind! :D I learned to knit, crochet, weave and do some simple spinning with a handspindle as a child but haven't done any fibre arts in decades. I'm wanting to get back into it but I don't do well with deadlines, hehe. Partly because I already have a lot of those through studying at uni again and partly because my time for hobbies comes and goes in waves. The challenges sound very creative and nerdy, though. If I ever finish my studies and have more time, I'm going to see if you folks are still active. ;-)