Check-In Post - December 17th 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]

No crafting again today, but I finished wrapping presents for the neighbours and all but one house has been delivered to. They weren't at home when I went. I'll try again tomorrow.

[wiseheart]

That is one task out of your hair. Good job!

[badly_knitted]

Thanks. I'm glad to have got that far. There is one other neighbour, but she's currently in hospital so I don't know what to do with her gift and card. I don't have her daughter's contact info, even though we grew up together and went to school together. I really should have got her info from her mum years ago. I'll correct that as soon as I can.

[sister_raphael]

That's great! Nice and early too!

[badly_knitted]

Miracles will never cease. Usually I'm delivering on Christmas Eve.

[sister_raphael]

I had some circlet making supplies arrive this week, two types of gold flowers and some garnets so I need to get organised and put some together!

[badly_knitted]

Oooh, those are going to be lovely! I love garnets. Hope we'll get to see pictures!

[sister_raphael]

Sure will!

[badly_knitted]

Yay!

[jasleh]

ooooh, that sounds exciting +_+

[althea_valara]

Alternating "clean ALL the things?" with crafting. I did another petal for mom's poinsettia, and finished the lace cuff on a third stocking. Plus my room is starting to recover from being the Pit of Despair.

Part of the cleaning is trying new organizing tools. I'm undiagnosed but strongly suspect I'm ADHD (inattentive) for many reasons, including the fact that I tend to literally drop things when I'm done with them. That leads to a bunch of yarn projects right underneath my computer chair, and that is no bueno. I'm constantly having to untangle or throw out good yarn, and keeping track of my hooks is a lost cause.

So over the past few days, I've bought some things that I hope will help. I repurposed the top drawer of my nightstand (which is between my desk and bed, so easy to reach from both) from being a general disorganized "catch all" drawer to having drawer organizers. The organizers were from the dollar store, and they left just enough room for the cardboard box that I use to store my hooks/DPNs. NICE! The organizers themselves are holding pens and scissors.

I also bought a good-sized plastic basket for next to my desk, so when I drop things, I can drop them in the basket and hopefully keep the floor near the desk tidy. It's already holding several in-progress projects.

As for Christmas crafting: my spreadsheet is starting to look scary. I think I'll be able to finish mom's poinsettia and the kidlets' stockings on time, but I really wanted to do some wall hangings too and I just don't see having the time to do so. We'll see how the next few days go.

[badly_knitted]

The new storage sounds like a great idea. Hopefully you'll be able to keep your crafting a bit more organised.

As for the Christmas crafting, you can only do what you can do, so try not to stress if things don't get finished. Maybe if you keep working on them when you have the time and motivation they'll be done for next Christmas.

[althea_valara]

LOL, as if I don't already have plans for NEXT Christmas! Because I totally do. And actually, they were started a while back but I never finished them, so am hoping to get to them over the next year so I can finally give them.

(But yeah, if I don't finish, it's not a big deal. I just really want to finish the poinsettia for mom because I promised that to her LAST Christmas. I don't know if she remembers about it, so it might be a nice surprise for her this year.)

[badly_knitted]

There are always so many things to MAKE. You'll get there eventually. Good luck with your mum's poinsettia!

[sister_raphael]

See how you go. The storage sounds good!

[jasleh]

now that I've finished up my gift cross stitches, I've returned to my Forever Project cross stitch while avoiding eye contact with the double knit scarf I have on needles *cough* which is... honestly an awful pattern that I bought before I knew better but am too stubborn to give up on lol. someone just... charted a jpeg photo and called it good. it has way too many colors

but! I must admit that it's nice to return to... I think this is 18-count canvas after doing 3 projects on 20-count

as this isn't a gift I need to be careful about posting, here's the last progress pic I took of it: https://i.gyazo.com/b12c64ffa65ec0bd6fe1429e1edabad6.jpg

six colors done, seventh in progress, and... I don't even know how many to go, I'm afraid to count them lol

I'll finish it someday

[badly_knitted]

Good luck with the project (and the scarf when you get back to it).

Do you use one or two strands when working on the higher counts? I must admit I love working on 18 and 20 count, but I only use one strand of thread for them. My stitching is much neater that way.

It's looking great so far, but yes, having a lot of colours can get very fiddly. Relax and enjoy working on it. You can always set it aside again if it starts to feel tedious.

[jasleh]

I use two strands even for 20 count because I hate trying to anchor a thread at both ends >.>; with an even number of strands I can fold it in half, go through the looped end on the first stitch, and only have to anchor it at the end, makes it much easier for me

[badly_knitted]

Yes, I use the loop method when working with two strands, it's nice and easy, but anchoring the ends has never really bothered me. Anything higher than 16 count though, I have trouble getting so many strands through the same hole. Is there a trick to it that I don't know? I even have some difficulty with 16 count when there are 8 strands through the same hole, and then I have to add backstitch... *grins*

(I can never get two strands to lie smoothly anyway. Even when they start out the same length, I always wind up with one that's shorter.)

[jasleh]

hm, idk that there's a trick to it? it looks a bit crowded on 20 count but I've never had a problem with 2 strands on 18

and they do end up a bit uneven towards the end, but for me that's a small price to pay to only anchor it once lol

[badly_knitted]

Like we've said before, we all stitch however works best for us!

I get snarly when one strand gets too short to work with and I still have three inches on the other. Feels like I'm wasting thread. That's just me being weird though o_O

I've stitched on 22 count before, I think that would defeat your uncanny ability to use two strands! *grins*

[jasleh]

yeah 22 would force me down to one strand for sure XD also damn I never get 3 inches of difference, I get like 3/4 of an inch difference by the time I'm running out of thread at most

[badly_knitted]

You are clearly much better at cross stitch than I am! I suspect I'm too impatient.

[readera]

I finished mending my oven mitt today. Yesterday I made a patch out of denim scraps. Today I sewed it onto the oven mitt. I'm fairly happy with how it came out.

[badly_knitted]

Yay, well done!