Check-In Post March 9th 2021

[badly_knitted]

Hello to all members, 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: What do you do when something you're making isn't going right? Do you abandon it, start over, or what?


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've sewn up a second pair of arm warmers and prepared the next pair!

One of my WiPs is a red cabled sweater. I'd done the front before I abandoned it a few years ago, and more recently I knitted one sleeve and started the second, but I'm not happy with it. The neck at the front is too high (I can't stand anything up near my throat), the tops of the raglan sleeves are very narrow and in fact the whole sleeves are narrow, and I have serious doubts about whether my head will even fit through the neck hole once I'm done. I've spent weeks on knitting it but now I'm seriously thinking of unpicking it and starting over with a different pattern, but... over half the yarn has already been knitted up, and anyone who knits knows what unpicked yarn is like. Not sure how it would look re-knitted. *sigh*

[medievalrosalie]

Not being a knitter, may I ask if once it's unravelled, does it sort of unkink is it's washed in a skein, like they do for dyeing?

[badly_knitted]

I've tried that before and it got... less kinky, but not un-kinked. Might try that again, maybe it'll be good enough if I pick a pattern where it won't show too much. Use the yarn that hasn't been knitted yet for the front...

[annofowlshire]

Usually reknitted yarn, once the item is washed and blocked looks just fine. However, some people find that it can cause tension issues, and the final project wonky and so try to unkink the yarn first.

Reskein the yarn, soak it in very hot water (if wool, I like to wait until the water goes cold before removing it because I get paranoid about felting and shrinking, even in superwash), gently squeeze, press it in a towel, and then hang to dry. Some people like to thwack or snap the yarn before hanging it to try. Thwacking is just like it sounds—flinging it hard against a hard, water resistant surface, like a bath or shower wall. Snapping (which is what I usually do) is taking each looped end of the skein and pulling it tight (snapping) the skein a few times.

(So, basically, it’s a lot like blocking a finished item.)

To be fair, I don’t know what kind of yarn you’re working with—I’m talking about wool and other animal based fibers which is what I work with 99% of the time XD

[badly_knitted]

I never wash and block anything, never seen the point because it's time consuming and I'm horribly lazy. (I know, I'm terrible!) I knit, sew up, and wear. Might try washing the yarn and thwacking or snapping it, but I'll wait until summer when I can hang it outside to dry. Assuming we get any warm, dry weather. This is England though, so that's not guaranteed. =/

I only use acrylic yarns because they're easier to care for. The only times I've used anything else, my pure wool sweater got attacked by moths and ruined while the mohair one I made for my mum shrunk the first time it was washed despite following the washing instructions to the letter. Now it would fit a child. So, acrylic it is. May not be as nice to knit with, but I know the moths will stay away and my sweaters will stay the right size.

[smallhobbit]

Glare at it until it submits? Generally I'll adapt. I don't like wasting effort, reworking something small is fine, but otherwise I'll find a workaround.

[badly_knitted]

Wasting effort is frustrating, although I did have to start over after I dropped my yogurt on my cross stitch... Luckily I hadn't got far, just had to cut a fresh piece of fabric. and begin again.

[medievalrosalie]

oh dear!

[badly_knitted]

Yes, it was a very clumsy moment, I was not pleased with myself.

[annofowlshire]

I got an inch or so done on the cuff of my sock! I know once I get the wheel I’ll be SPIN ALL THE THINGS so I want to get this second sock done ASAP.

Whether or not I start over or rip back really depends on what it is, who it’s intended for, and how bad it is. My son (2) pulled out one of my DPNs on my early ribbing on my current sock and my pick-up was not perfect and it was only 5 rows in, I was like “oh well!”, fixed the stitch count and kept carried on XD I have a shawl (Haruni) that has a big glaring error in the showpiece front, but when I knit that again for my good friend’s wedding shawl, you can bet there’s not a single mistake allowed in that one!

So it really depends. I don’t mind “wasting” work, really. I’m a process crafter. I knit because I like the motions of knitting. I spin because I like the motions. I’m not really fussed about the final product (although I am a serial finisher—I rarely abandon projects). But I think it’s more about whether I think it’s worth the bother for that particular item XD

[medievalrosalie]

How long until the wheel arrives?

[medievalrosalie]

I hope you don't mind but I subscribed to you when I read about your move to the Uk countryside. I'm loving your gorgeous photos and would be interested to follow your projects along. I hope that's okay. (In my heart I'd like to live in the English countryside but I know I'll never have the money to make the move.)

[annofowlshire]

I don’t mind ^_^ I’ll get you added, most of my posts are automatically access locked now because of work and there’s lots more photos spam! XD

If you’d told me 10 years ago I’d now be living in the English countryside (or England at all), I’d have thought you crazy. Life is weird and mysterious, but I’m—mostly—enjoying the ride ^_^

To answer your question above, I’m not sure. She’s told me she’s shipping it Economy today, but she’s just on the other side of the Brecon Beacons, so I’m hoping I’ll have it by the weekend ^_^

[badly_knitted]

Yay for sock progress!

Oh, I know what it's like to get a new craft thing and just want to use it right away and keep using it! I've never done spinning, but the temptation of anything shiny and new...

Yes, sometimes mistakes aren't too important, especially if it's something for your self and you can live with knowing it's not perfect. But for gifts that matter errors cannot be allowed!

I'm more about the finishing. Once I start something I want it done so I can wear it! Most of the knitting I do these days is for myself.

[medievalrosalie]

What a loaded question. Sometimes pull apart and redo. There's not much which can't be salvaged and fixed. That said...

Other times I have to get extra fabric and make anew (like the time I made 2 sleeves for the same side of a kirtle and had hand sewn 30 buttonholes on each one). Usually tears are involved.

I've done no crafting today because my kitty is still sick and a heap of new books arrived in the mail and then a bog water dragon was on my deck and the kitty and I sat with it and fed it caterpillars.

Here is sick kitty with heart shaped nose and best of yet- two half hearts on her sleeves which make up a whole one. https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/medievalrosalie/86045060/72438/72438_600.jpg

[badly_knitted]

Oh, that must have been heartbreaking! All that careful work and you're left with a sleeve you can't use.

Feeding the bog water dragon sounds like an excellent use of your time.

Awww, pretty kitty! I hope she'll be better soon.

[medievalrosalie]

On the up side, I have a medieval tailor's workshop, so i was able to use the sleeves as a sample of construction and technique, but it was frustrating to waste that much time and effort on something I actually needed to be a sleeve.

[badly_knitted]

I imagine it would have been, but yay for being able to make use of the extra sleeve. At least it wasn't completely wasted.