Check-In Post - February 3rd 2025

[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 a Valentine gift or card?


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]

Not feeling great today so I still haven't managed to get going on my knitting, only had the energy and concentration for essential tasks.

[wiseheart]

Oh dear, what's the problem? Headache, or have you caught some bug?

[badly_knitted]

Hopefully nothing much, just lack of appetite and general tiredness.

[wiseheart]

I started on the third elephant and even finished it to about 80 per cent. She's very... floral, and I think I'll call her Ellie (very original, I know). I've got more of the same fabric (Granny's old gown) to make a similar one. Then I'll probably declare the elephant herd complete. So far we have Fanny and Fleur finished, and the fourth one will probably be called Fluffy, unless I come up with a better name. I might even take a group photo when they are all finished. *g*

As to the question: no, I never have. Valentine's Day doesn't really have a tradition over here, even though the shops have been trying to push it upon us in the last decade or so.

[badly_knitted]

Yay for Ellie! How about Lola for the fourth one?

Valentine's day is so very commercial, which I dislike, the shops use any excuse to persuade people to but more chocolates or things they don't need.

[wiseheart]

Lola sound good. I’ll reserve Fluffy for a future elephant made of some really fluffy fabric.👌

[badly_knitted]

Yay! I mean calling a non-fluffy elephant Fluffy can be an ironic use of the name, but it fits better for the genuinely fluffy.

[matsushima]

I love elephants! Do you have any photos of the herd-in-progress?

[wiseheart]

There is a pic from the first one a couple of entries back, but I intend to post more, soon.

[yarnofariadne]

Finished row 108 on the blanket!

[badly_knitted]

Yay! Go you!

[matsushima]

My first year as a first grade teacher's assistant (my first full time education job), I made chocolates for every single student in my class. I didn't have an oven or a microwave at home so I did it all in the staff room after work. They came out so ugly but the kids loved them. (Those same kids graduated from high school last year! I am a decrepit mummy.)

I've been working on a very simple/boring continuous granny square cushion cover during work meetings. I'm going to start my next project - joined hexagons - over the weekend so I can work on the motifs during our in-service day (all meetings, all day) next week.

The first graders are doing a unit on "materials" so I'm going to go through my stash for stuff I'm never going to use and give it to them for their exploration/makerspace.

[badly_knitted]

With chocolates, it's how they taste that matters! That was a lovely gesture.

Well done with project progress, and good luck with your new project. A full day of meetings sounds awful.

Hopefully you will inspire the first graders with whatever you find for them.

[wiseheart]

Compared with me you are a teenager. 😉 I have retired five years ago, after four decades in the education business.

I bet those chocolates were yummy, though. And in the end that is what counts.

[yarnandglue]

Aww, I'm sure the kids were so thrilled!

[alexcat]

Still not able to do my crocheting but I am starting a niotebook or twio - one for writing and one for weight stuff and health stuff. I thought I'd do stickers, washi tape and little drawings and printed stuff for fun and motivation.

I am doing PT for the shoulder/arm and it is improving.

I'm not sure I've made a card since I made my mom one in first grade!

[badly_knitted]

The books sound like they will be fun to decorate!

Glad the PT is helping, I hope it won't be long before you can get back to crochet!

I still have some of the very wonky cards I made for my mum when I was in infants school over 55 years ago. *grins*

[yarnandglue]

There is something so joyful about covering things with stickers and washi tape :)

[nagi_schwarz]

Managed to get in a few rows on my crochet placemat while the kiddos did their daily round of karaoke. Had plans to do more after they were in bed but was struck by a migraine.

[badly_knitted]

Well done for managing the crochet. So sorry about the migraine though, that sucks!

[fred_mouse]

I have finished the dog blanket - a couple of days later than planned, but used up the last of the allocated dodgy balls of yarn on it. Lots of interesting texture for the dog, and he won't care that it is an interesting and somewhat eyewatering combination of colours. Also that the last two rounds are done with higher ply yarn and thus it is a bit lumpy, which was a deliberate choice.

[badly_knitted]

Well done! Your dog will just be happy to have a cosy blanket, I'm sure dog won't care about lumpy edges, might even like them better than way.

[fred_mouse]

With the current weather, I imagine the dog will give me the dog equivalent of a WTAF look, because plenty warm enough. Dog is not mine, but my partner's, and I get to see it once or twice a week. But I make a blanket for each new family dog :)

[badly_knitted]

LOL! Well it's still good to lie on.

I'm sure all family dogs appreciate your efforts.

[tielan]

I cut a piece of fabric twice. That is all.

[badly_knitted]

It might not seem like much, but it is still progress!

[malurette]

OK I'm done with the yoke, the future armholes are snuggly stored on two big safety pin-shaped stitch-gathering thingies and I'm on my merry way knitting the torso. (However I seem to have misplaced one ball of navy blue yarn but that's a problem for later and I can always buy more one this one if needed.)

[badly_knitted]

I hate when I lose yarn that I KNOW I have somewhere and have to get more.

You're making great progress with your jumper though!

[malurette]

And if I end up buying more then it reappears I'll do a béret with the surplus yarn but... it feels so stupid not to be able to keep track of my stuff!

[badly_knitted]

The yarn gremlins hid it *nods*

A matching beret would be cool though...