Check-In Post - October 18th 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: Have you ever made something and then had no idea what to do with it?


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]

Went into town this morning and did a bit of shopping as there were a few things I wanted to look at, bought some more wool for arm warmers, which I absolutely should NOT have done, but... retail therapy after yesterday. The real reason I wanted to go out was to get my flu shot, which I'd tried to do the last time I was out, forgetting that the pharmacy attached to my doctor's surgery isn't open on Saturdays. Anyway, it's done now. I like to be vaccinated in advance of Halloween, when I'll be around a lot of people.


This evening I managed to add 14 rows to the arm warmers. I need to get them done quickly, because their house just sold. I'll be sorry to see them go, they've been lovely, but they want to move nearer the younger daughter, so I need to get these arm warmers finished before they move!

[wiseheart]

Just how many arm warmers are you working on at the same time? ;)

[badly_knitted]

Only one pair at a time, but I want to keep making some more because they're ideal for when I'm watching Strictly. I can hardly do complicated cabling while watching people dance.

[yarnofariadne]

Well done on your progress, and best of luck finishing the arm warmers quickly!

[badly_knitted]

Thanks! I'm halfway through the first one so it shouldn't take too long.

[spiralicious]

Well done!

Good luck on the arm warmers!

[badly_knitted]

Thanks. I'm exhausted and aching today, not from the jab but from all the walking, driving, and carrying stuff. Also from getting up early.

[wiseheart]

Okay, first things first: Christmas card #24 is finished. I wanted to embed the actual picture here but clearly that is no longer possible since Pinterest has revamped their site again. Or if it is possible, I haven't found the way yet. So I'll simply have to add the link, which is here.

In theory I could upload the picture to the LJ scrapbook, but my paid account runs out in December and I still have no idea how to renew it, so I have to be very careful with my storage space. It's so frustrating!

Also, in original the background has the same colour: the one the upper half of the card has. Illumination played a trick on my phone again. *sigh*

[badly_knitted]

Your church even has a clock tower! =D

I'm not sure anyone can pay for their accounts on LJ these days unless they live in Russia. I didn't even bother trying, so I had to cut my icons way down. That's honestly the only thing I miss about having a paid account.

[wiseheart]

Since our PM is busily kissing Big Brother’s derriere I might even be able to pay for my account - if only I knew how to do it! I am so hopeless when it comes to doing such things online… :((

[badly_knitted]

I don't much like it either, but it's usually just a case of filling in credit or debit card details on a form. I pay some of my bills online too, so I guess I've grown used to doing it.

[wiseheart]

The problem is I don't dare to do anything like that without someone looking over my shoulder who could help should I have done something wrong. Yeah, I'm such a Luddite it isn't even funny!

[badly_knitted]

If any of your local friends do payments online, perhaps they could coach you. That's the only thing I can suggest.

[spiralicious]

It's so pretty! And detailed!

Even if you could pay your account, I've noticed the lj scrapbook is not playing nice with other things again for a few people right now.

[wiseheart]

Yes, it is capricious sometimes. Many, many years ago, when LJ was still owned by SixApart or some other American company, they summarily deleted half of my photos without warning and rearranged my scrapbook in a way that made absolutely no sense.

[spiralicious]

Oof

[yarnofariadne]

Row 101/123 complete on the baby blanket! I'm also looking at yarn for my next project which I'll probably order next week.

[badly_knitted]

Well done, you're nearly there!

Oooh, what are you going to make next? And what colour?

[yarnofariadne]

I'm making matching blankets using this pattern for myself and each of my partners! These are the colours I'm going with for them:



Mine will likely be dark red or purple but I haven't quite decided yet.

[badly_knitted]

Neat, it looks very cosy, and I love the colours!

[spiralicious]

They are going to look so lovely!

[wiseheart]

Go you!

[spiralicious]

You're so close!

[spiralicious]

Card making with Lynne on Monday - Once again, she had unexpected guests. Her daughter and son in law were visiting, they had originally intended to leave Friday, but were still there Monday afternoon. The shortest way to explain this kerfuffle was they were trying to order a custom shed to replace the one that burned down in April, and there were many unnecessary obstacles in that process. I spent 2 hours taking care of Lynne (like making sure she got and ate her breakfast) during this time. Lynne was also just having a really rough day: her previous house guests had gotten her ill, she decided that everything her son did meant he was mad at her (the fact that it was untrue not withstanding), not having a clue what was going on, and that I was telling her no everytime she tried to talk me into living with her to be her full-time caregiver. After all of this was taken care of, we sat down and made what is possibly the heaviest cards made out of just paper. They are pretty, but the design is 12 layers of cardstock. They cannot stand on their own, nor are they mailing friendly, but they look good. Next week, I have set myself up for potential disaster with a Halloween themed card that will require drawing a face on a candy corn.

Knitting wise, I've had 2 good knitting sessions. This month, the Saturday night Svengoolie movies are a double feature, so I knitted on the wingspan shawl during one movie and on the eclectic cable scarf during the other. I did a similar split during my Tuesday night TV drama block.

Thursday, book club was cancelled last minute due to a death in the family of the person who runs it. I went ahead and went to the bar we have it at anyway in case someone else showed up. No one did, but I had a good time working on things in my sketchbook while I had my beer.

Today, I prepped my pumpkin.

[badly_knitted]

Poor Lynne, life would be easier for her if she could settle into a routine without so many visitors and house guests. It's sort of sweet she wants you to be her carer, she obviously trusts you, but it's definitely not something you'd want to do. So much stress! I've been there, taking care of my mum, and I'd never want to do that again.

Good luck with the next card-making session!

Yay for good knitting sessions, and getting to relax over a beer.

[spiralicious]

That would be wonderful, but the interruptions in her routine just seem to be increasing. Being a carer is really not in my skill set. I've done it short term and helped my mom and my aunt when they were carers for my grandmother and my uncle. Lynne is also at the point where it is way too much for one person, as she's gotten to a stage where you need her to be in eye sight or hearing range at all times, which makes it nearly impossible to take care of the house things, even in a basic level. I am definitely staying firm on this one.

Thanks. They cancelled on me, 3 minutes after I was supposed to be there. Thankfully I was running late. Nothing bad, just her daughter decided on an impromptu visit and they went to the beach and suddenly realized, "oh, yeah, Kat is coming over." At least they actually called me this time.

Thanks :)

[badly_knitted]

Me neither, but I had no choice when nit was my mum. Sounds like Lynne needs a fully trained professional carer, maybe two.

Better late than not telling you and just leaving you hanging.

[spiralicious]

Indeed

[wiseheart]

12 layers of cardstock? And I thought my cards were thick and heavy two years ago with their 3 or 4 layers!

[spiralicious]

It is complete insanity! When you are doing layouts where you are primarily layering paper, 3 layers is considered standard, counting the base card, but it gets heavy fast.

[fred_mouse]

I'm back to sorting craft materials. But this is to make progress on the now 5 years late b'day quilt for Eldest, because I knew where the completed pieces were, but not necessarily where the necessary materials are. Today, I went through a small box of scraps (with assistance), and now I have piles of based on which project they will be useful. I've started the faff of ironing and making decisions about which bits are useful, as well as clearing out the shelf that some other bits had been dropped on, and grouping them. Pretty sure I know where I'm at for the next section, and I know where the templates are and where the pattern book is. So, here's to maybe getting a block a week done, which will have all the blocks done by the end of the year, and then maybe, just maybe, I'll have it assembled and ready to quilt in January.

Yesterday, I spent some time poking at craft books, trying to work out what it is that I want to do in a repair/revitalise project -- a tablecloth with a couple of 2cm cuts. Which is why I was going through the box in the first place! I have ideas, and I'm going to have to copy some patterns onto tracing paper, and then decide where I want them. I think that I'm going to do between three and five of the options, but simplify by dropping the shapes that are only there to make the blocks square.

I think there was something else as well, but I've forgotten.

[badly_knitted]

You sound very busy and productive! Well done gathering the quilt parts and materials together, and good luck with both quilt and tablecloth! Those projects should keep you busy for a while.