Check-In Post - December 10th 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's on your holiday wish list this year?


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'm a little late posting tonight because I decided I should make a start writing this year's Christmas cards that have to be posted, even though I don't have any stamps yet...


Also got my cuttlebug out briefly to have a go at cutting the card to go behind the card toppers on the cards I'm hoping to make. It didn't go well. I tried using some silver glitter card I got when the craft shop went out of business last year and I had to put it through the machine six times before I could coax the cur piece to detach from the rest of the sheet. Might need to use thinner card, if I can find suitable colours.


And I got 20 rows done on what will be the last pair of Royal Blue arm warmers.

[pastelpom]

hooray for the armwarmers! I'm getting tempted to make a pair myself, lol

I hope future card making goes a bit smoother >~<" those machines can be all kinds of frustrating sometimes!

[badly_knitted]

They can be very useful in cold weather. I often wear mine in the morning when I'm working on my computer because they leave the fingers free for typing.

This is the first time I've really had trouble cutting through card, I guess the glitter stuff is a bit thicker than usual, although it's not the kind that loose glitter falls off, so I thought it would work well enough. Apparently I was wrong, which is disappointing. I'll have to see what other card I can find that will be good for Christmas.

[wiseheart]

Yay for Christmas cards. Boo to the card for not cooperating...

[badly_knitted]

I need to find some other card, and hope I can make it work.

[spiralicious]

You have reminded me that I haven't started my cards yet... I don't even have a list started...

Sorry about the cuttlebug kerfuffle. It sucks when a paper doesn't end up working.

Well done on the arm warmers!

[badly_knitted]

I have a list that I use every year, with columns for each year so I can tick them off as I write them. Actually it's two lists, the ones I have to post, and the local ones I hand deliver, so I get the postal ones done first.

I love my cuttlebug, but some card does NOT cooperate.

Thank you!

[pastelpom]

finally, finally picked up this tapestry again after thoroughly missing my deadline - in my defense, I decided that prioritizing all the tedious adult things breathing down my neck was a bit more important for the month of November, lol - reframing my thought process from "I'm giving up on this," to "I'm saving it for a better time" has actually helped me a lot in seeing through big projects like this. my 150 row Jaws tapestry sat in my drawer for 2 months before I actually got through to picking it back up and finishing it, after all



only 62 rows left! now if only this guy would stop sitting on it...

[badly_knitted]

Adulting is tedious, but sadly necessary.

It's really looking brilliant! Cats are so unhelpful, but at least yours approves of the tapestry!

Is there a photo of the Jaws one you could share? I'd love to see it!

[althea_valara]

Oh, that tapestry is GLORIOUS. Is it based on something? Because it strongly reminds me of Final Fantasy II. I think I see the snowcraft? (If it IS from a Final Fantasy game, you are now my favorite person. If it's not... you're still hella cool for making such an awesome piece.)

[pastelpom]

thank you!!
this pattern is based off a common design in porcelain called Willow Blue, but it's cool that it can be interpreted in other ways! I've never played the Final Fantasy games before - not too big of a gamer lol

[spiralicious]

I may have to borrow your thought reframing process. It sounds helpful.

Your tapestry looks amazing. I thought I was looking at part of an oddly large piece of porcelain at first.

Aw, it's his job. He'll have his cat card taken away if he doesn't sit on it.

[pastelpom]

thank you! he certainly loves adding his own touch to my tapestries by getting his fur embedded in them, lol

here's the Jaws tapestry! it was also my first time trying intarsia crochet... a mistake on such a large scale, to be sure >_>" but I'm super happy with how it turned out still

[badly_knitted]

That's fabulous! Thanks for sharing the picture!

[wiseheart]

Impressive!

[spiralicious]

It's glorious! (Please imagine a sparkle eye emoji here)

[althea_valara]

ONE COMMISSIONED STOCKING COMPLETE, ONE TO GO. I do have to do a bit of crochet still for the second one (Santa is missing the fluff on his hat) but really what's left is a bunch of finishing work. I *could* finish today but think I'm going to aim for tomorrow. I'm both lucky and unlucky that I have no work this week... lucky, because I can work on other projects then, unlucky because it means no money coming in.

(I'll share pics of the stockings when they are both done.)

Remember those poinsettias I was making last Christmas? I dug out mom's again. I used 26 gauge wire on the first plant, and that just didn't cut it. petals would NOT stay up, without jury-rigging things. Well, I happened to be at a craft store for other reasons, so I looked for more wire, and found RED 20 gauge wire!! It's working like a *dream*. Stiff enough to hold the petals upright without drooping, but pliable enough to shape the petals. YAY!

I did a LOT of work today so far, finishing the first stocking. I've taken a video game and mochi break, and am ready to do more work on something, but I am le tired of stockings, so I think I'll work on something else. It's only 4:18pm here, so time to get at least another hour in.

[wiseheart]

That is a lot of work indeed. Go you!

[spiralicious]

Woohoo! That is great!

Congrats on the red wire! That's awesome.

[badly_knitted]

Yay for finishing the first stocking!

Also yay for finding a good wire for the poinsettias.

Sounds like it's been a very productive day!

[wiseheart]

I've almost finished Christmas card #39. It was a very easy-looking pattern yet turned out to be anything but. I'm sure I've made a lot of mistakes, but the really hard parts are done, all I'll have to add tomorrow are a few little details and the card body, which is a relief. I'll try to make a 40th one, just because I've got this thing for round numbers, but if I don't manage, then I don't manage.

[spiralicious]

You are doing great

[badly_knitted]

Well done for the progress you've made!

Maybe do a really easy one for the 40th if you decide to do another.

[jasleh]

fifth color done on my cross stitch! only three to go now, and they're all in pretty small amounts so I'm starting to feel quite close to done :D

[spiralicious]

Well done!

[badly_knitted]

Woohooo! Great progress!

[spiralicious]

I knitted 15 rows on the eclectic cable scarf.

[badly_knitted]

Excellent progress!