Check-In Post November 17th 2020

[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 was your most recent crafty purchase?


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]

You're going to have very pretty repairs!

Yes, we say ironing too here in England, and yet on knitting patterns it always says to block and press, no idea why! Most of my patterns say that, but I'm lazy so I never do. I also never knit tension swatches, I can usually judge from the yarn and if it's a thinner DK I just knit the next size up if I think it might turn out a bit small.

Here's a tip if you don't already do it (but don't switch to this in the middle of a project). Slip the first stitch of each row knitwise (in other words don't actually knit it) and knit the last stitch, even on purl rows. Sometimes this might mean adding two extra stitches when you cast on so you have edge stitches that aren't pattern stitches, but it results in a much neater edge and makes sewing up really easy to do, sewn up from the right side and resulting in practically invisible seams. I learned this technique when I was just getting started with knitting and I think it's the main reason I've never found it neccesary to block anything. Pieces hold their shape a lot better.