Check-In Post - September 9th 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: What piece of advice would you give someone interested in trying your favourite craft?


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]

Another day where I was planning to work on my cross stitch but didn't. It was raining all morning, but then it stopped, the sun came out, the sky cleared, and it was beautiful, so I shifted more coal, did some clearing near the coal house so I could put a large plastic bin under the canopy (I'm going to fill that with coal too), then did a bit more cutting back of brambles and ivy. Maybe I'll cross stitch tomorrow...

[wiseheart]

One has to adapt to the weather conditions in these days...

[badly_knitted]

So very true. I wasn't going to waste a bright, sunny afternoon by staying indoors. Who knows when I'll see the sun again? Could be tomorrow, next week, or not until the end of the month.

[illariy]

Yeah, gotta use the good weather while it lasts! Best wishes for your cross stitch tomorrow, I am keeping my fingers crossed for you.

[badly_knitted]

I will stitch if it rains, otherwise... I'll be outside again. Now we're heading into autumn, days good enough for gardening are likely to be few and far between.

[wiseheart]

Despite the rain, I didn't give up my original plan of going to the craft supply discounter and did some comfort shopping, spending way more money than originally intended. Now I have chenille wires in the most lovely, striped hues, and lots of wooden beads that will serve as heads and hands of various handmade puppets. I think I've covered my needs for years in that area. No actual crafting got done, but arranging one's supplies is important, too, right? Besides, I did a lot of writing, so there's that.

[yarnofariadne]

Getting fun new supplies and writing are excellent uses of your day!

[badly_knitted]

Sounds like you stocked up on useful items! Securing supplies is very important, we can't craft if we don't have the necessary materials. Writing is also very important for those of us who write =D

[illariy]

Word on the street is that buying supplies and actually crafting are two separate hobbies *cough* But it is a fact that without supplies, we can't craft and the chenille wires and beads sound wonderful. I bet you are going to make many beautiful handmade puppets with them. And I must say it is for sure fun to go craft supply shopping. :D

Congratulations on also getting some writing done, and a lot of it at that, yay! Hope that this is the start of a great crafting week for you.

[wiseheart]

Word on the street is that buying supplies and actually crafting are two separate hobbies *cough*

Ain't that the truth! I so love my beautiful, beautiful craft supplies, especially craft paper of all sorts. Sometimes I think it's a good thing I have so little storage space (even though I keep complaining about it), or else we'd be swamped over with these things.

[illariy]

OMG, hard same! I still live in a flatshare and love it even though most people my age live in their own flats or even bought a house. I do think if I lived in a bigger place, I would just fill it with even more stuff and feel the silent to do list even more of stuff kind of whispering "craft with me, when are you going to craft with me???". So far, craft paper and stationery have been my weakness but I want to get back into textiles, too. Been mending my clothes so far, it's been fun and hardly any space but I want to make something to wear again.

[yarnofariadne]

Two more rows on the baby blanket - 61/119 rows completed!

[badly_knitted]

And into the second half! You're doing great =D

[illariy]

Wow, more than half already, yayyy! I don't know how it is for you but for me, with most of my projects, somehow the second half goes by faster. I hope that it'll be that way for your baby blanket, too. :D Many cheers!

[yarnofariadne]

The second half always moves faster for me, too!

[wiseheart]

Oh, great!

[illariy]

This is a belated update from sometime last week. That day's post wasn't up yet by the time I finished and then it took me some time to get back to DW.

Anyway, I have completed one of my most long-awaited goals for this uni free time: I handmade 4 envelopes from scratch, yay! Can't wait to use them for my penpal letters.

At the moment, I am still researching for my next project and have a question for you all, specifically any fibre crafters who are reading. I want to get back into crocheting, did some as a kid but not as an adult and I miss it. Decided on a cardigan, pattern is free-handing it with some Youtube videos on doing it without a set pattern. I found two kinds of yarn. My fave is teal coloured 100% cotton, a bit more expensive than option 2, which is curry coloured 100% recycled cotton, it's quite cheap especially as it's on sale. It could be that they're discontinuing that colour? Not sure. Anyway, the question is: should I buy only my fave or both since option 2 is on sale and might get discontinued? I could use two cardigans but no idea how long it would take me. And I am aware that this is how someone ends up with a SABLE. What do you say? My local friends are 50:50 on the options, haha.

[badly_knitted]

I know if it was me, and I could afford it, I'd get both since one is on sale, but that's partly why I have a room full of yarn, so I might not be the best person to ask *grins*

Well done for making your envelopes!

[illariy]

Oooh, thank you for contributing your opinion! I have a ton of craft paper and stationery supplies already but there is space in the wardrobe and the budget for getting both yarns, hehe.

There is now an ongoing conversation in another reply to my initial comment about the suitability of 100% cotton yarn for cardigans. As both yarns are 100% cotton, in fact. So if you have any opinion or experience with crocheting clothes with 100% cotton, I would love to know *waves*

[badly_knitted]

I've never worked with cotton yarn because I find it stiff, cold, and heavy, so I don't think I'm the best person to advise on whether or not it would be suitable. I'd listen to those who have experience, they'll know best.

[althea_valara]

I'm gonna ask what weight it is. If it's 100% cotton, that might not be a good choice because cotton is HEAVY and may stretch. You absolutely want to work that at a tighter gauge, and if it's larger than, say, a DK weight, I would choose a different yarn, like a cotton/acrylic mix.

I've made a top in 100% cotton but it was a mercerized DK weight that I split into two threads, so about fingering weight when split. It turned out really nice! I would wear it more often but alas, I've gained weight and it probably wouldn't fit me anymore :(

[illariy]

You bring up a valid point. I asked a knitter today and she said the same about 100% cotton (which both the teal and the curry are) stretching out. Would you say DK weight is appropriately described in your crochet hook size here in this chart?

The teal yarn is recommended for no. 3.5-4.5 crochet hooks in European size and the curry yarn is 5 in European size but described as a "light" yarn and recommended for tops and jackets/cardigans. I used to tend toward tighter crocheting and knitting when I last did it and usually landed on the smaller sizes of hooks mentioned on yarn bands. - Darn, I just see that the teal yarn is literally named "xyz home" so I guess maybe it is not good for clothes after all? There is another teal (let's say teal no. 2) that is 60% cotton, 40% acrylic and hook size 3-4. I like the teal no. 1 colour better and am worried about microplastics from the acrylic yarn. That is why I looked for 100 % cotton in the first place as that is machine washable. So you would recommend the partly acrylic yarn over 100% cotton for a cardigan?

Very sad about the 100% cotton top you made. It sounds amazing! I feel you on the weight gain and not fitting into fave clothes anymore. I almost doubled myself in size due to various factors and am working on slowly reversing the process. Find it hard to let go of smaller clothes.

[althea_valara]

Speaking only on physical weight: I checked two popular yarns on Ravelry:

https://www.ravelry.com/yarns/library/knit-picks-palette
Knit Picks Palette (100% wool, often used for colorwork)
Weight: Fingering (14 wpi) ?
Yardage: 231 yards (211 meters)
Unit weight: 50 grams (1.76 ounces)

https://www.ravelry.com/yarns/library/scheepjes-catona
Scheepjes Catona (100% cotton)
Weight: Fingering (14 wpi) ?
Yardage: 138 yards (126 meters)
Unit weight: 50 grams (1.76 ounces)

So you can see, the wool yarn has nearly 100 more yards per 50 grams than the cotton yarn. That means the cotton yard weighs more than the wool.

Just because a yarn is labeled "home" doesn't mean it's not good for garments. People have been making garments from 100% cotton yarn for ages. Just be aware that cotton that is not mercerized tends to fade in the wash.

Mercerizing is a treatment for cotton yarn that makes it more color-fast, stronger, and adds a sheen to it. I'd feel more confident about your yarn choice if it was mercerized. If it IS mercerized, it should definitely say so on the label, or you can look it up in either the Ravelry yarn database, or on YarnSub (I think that site is still around...)

The teal yarn is recommended for no. 3.5-4.5 crochet hooks in European size

Is that in millimeters? That should be okay then. I did a project search on Ravelry for crochet projects done with DK cotton yarn; most were done with a 4.0 mm (G) hook, with 3.5 mm (E) being the next popular.

This is a search on Ravelry for cotton crocheted cardigans:



So lots of people have done Worsted weight cardigans with cotton! I myself would be cautious but it might turn out fine.

If you're a Ravelry member and want to see the results of the above search, here's the link to it: https://ravel.me/4si16f

You can browse the projects people have made using that link and see how you like how they've come out.

Good luck with your project!

And thanks for your kind words about my cotton top. Here's my Ravelry project page for it: https://ravel.me/xnera/ot2

[yarnofariadne]

Congrats on the envelopes, that's very cool!

Personally I would get both, if affordable. I'd be worried about it being discontinued, too.

[illariy]

Thank you for chiming in, much appreciated!

Yeah, I asked two more textile crafters today and they both said get both yarns, hehe. The vote is now heavily in favour of getting both.

But there is now an ongoing conversation in another reply to my initial comment about both yarns being 100% cotton and whether they are even suitable for a cardigan. If you have an opinion on that, I would love to know *waves*

[yarnofariadne]

I'm honestly such a beginner I have no knowledge or opinions on the subject to impart! I've been trying to avoid acrylic yarn for microplastics but maybe going 100% cotton on my beach cover-up was part of the reason it didn't work out. Personally I'd still pick up both yarns and see if I can't find another use for them if not the cardigan. But this is how stashes start, lol.

[althea_valara]

Slowly working on a redo of easy fingerless mitts. My first pair came out pretty sloppy. Which HEY! is a good visual aid for my knitting class (starting this week! *vibrates*) - am going to tell them that this is what happens when you don't measure your hand in the right area OR get gauge. I am almost on gauge for the second pair, close enough that it's coming out much nicer. Finished the first mitt the other day, am hoping to finish second tonight or tomorrow.

I desperately need to do more crafting, but... life is doing its thing. I picked up a second part-time job last week AND a family member is in the hospital, so I've been busy and not much to show for it. I managed to sneak four rows of the mitt in between appointments today, but I need to get back to nephew's blanket and the Santa Stockings, and just the thought of it is making me sleepy.

[yarnofariadne]

Good luck finishing the mitts!

I'm sorry life is stressful at the moment. Hoping for good news for you soon.

[badly_knitted]

You sound so busy! Good luck with the projects you need to get finished.

And yay, knitting class! Hope it goes well as you impart your knitting wisdom. You're gonna do great!

[malurette]

Wavy scarf 2.0 is already as long as the now-frogged first take got, and the slightly-flattened down waves do indeed look better; yay!

[badly_knitted]

Yay! You're working so fast! Glad version two is working for you!

[readera]

I finished sticking the 2nd sole for my slippers. I made them out of 4 layers of old jeans. Note these are American lady jeans so they are fairly thin. Men's jeans I would do 2 layers.

Now I have to figure out how to attach them to the knit slippers.

[badly_knitted]

That sounds like tricky work, but yay for having soles now! Let us know how you get on with attaching them.