Check-In Post - March 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: Do you remember the first thing you made in school?


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 have done the increase row and completed the first 8 rows of the second sleeve. I didn't have time for more.


The first thing I can vaguely remember making was a wonky clay ashtray I made when I was 4 or 5, I painted it purple and I think the teacher varnished it. I still have it somewhere, my mum kept it. It is, of course, quite terrible, and wasn't usable even when smoking was popular.

[nagi_schwarz]

Progress is progress!

And I am impressed at your first craft.

[spiralicious]

Well done!

That is sweet your mom kept it :)

I'm starting to think small children making ashtrays in school is universal. We did them too, though I was slightly older (6 or 7). We were required to do clay coils to make them and they were not varnished. Very unusable.

Could they have not just tried to teach us to make little bowls? Those might have been useful.

[wiseheart]

For some reason children of all countries seem to have made ashtrays. Mine was made of aluminium in 5th grade, I think, and it was as useless as it was ugly. It wasn't my fault, though, it was the design. *g*

[badly_knitted]

Ashtrays used to be a big thing. Yours was probably still better than mine, which is a misshapen lump.

[nagi_schwarz]

Wow! Out of aluminum. That’s intense!

[wiseheart]

Just small things today. I've finished lavender sachet #12, considered future craft projects and bought some modest craft supplies: felt, small candles and little bells. The small candles will get decorated with stickers for Easter, the little bells will go to pretty up my elephants (who still haven't gone to their new homes) and the felt is for the next big project: a Hello Kitty-themed folding book. Or rather two of those, for the granddaughters of a friend who are almost exactly the same age. Folding books have the advantage that one doesn't have to bind them, which is definitely a win.

I'm also planning to make pincushions out of felt and textile scraps and put them into decorated handcreme pots (after the creme has been used up, of course) for the next fair. So yeah, plans upon plans...

Oh, and I almost forgot H.'s (the ex-wife of my cousin) 70th birthday gift: I'm planning to transcribe Grandma's old recipes to the computer, print them out and place them into a decorated ring book. Fortunately, some already are on my hard drive, and I've got time till the end of October.

[badly_knitted]

Lots of interesting plans for future projects! Not having to bind the books is definitely a good things.

I'm sure the recipe collection will be appreciated.
.

[peaceful_sands]

You are keeping very busy.

[nagi_schwarz]

That recipe book sounds like a lovely gift! Way to go on sachet progress. I am intrigued by a Hello Kitty-themed folding book and look forward to the final product! Yay for more crafting supplies.

[spiralicious]

Lots of wonderful plans!

The not having to bind the books will be nice.

That is a very thoughtful gift.

[marinarusalka]

I knitted obsessively all weekend, and was very happy to reach row 30 on my blanket -- and then this morning I realized that I've messed up a bunch of repeats, and now have to tink back two full rows and do over. Argh. It's taking forever.

[badly_knitted]

Oof, that is so annoying! And with the complexity of what you're knitting, that makes the undoing even more difficult. Good luck!

[peaceful_sands]

So sorry to hear things went wrong and you're having to work back and redo some of your hard work.

[nagi_schwarz]

Nooooooo on having to frog and redo but yay for progress!

[spiralicious]

That is unfortunate. I hope the redo goes well.

[wiseheart]

Oh no, how annoying!

[peaceful_sands]

I've reached the two-third mark on the rug.

I remember making a whole bunch of things when I was at school over the years - one of the first was a gingham table mat decorated with different stitches, I followed it up at home with a gingham apron for my gran. As mentioned above there was a pot much like an ashtray - I think that came shortly after the gingham apron. My first efforts at school with a sewing machine was supposed to be a simple cotton top - the teacher kept making me adjust it so it was smaller - when I finished it ... it fitted my younger sister (she is almost 7 years younger than me!), after that I made a skirt, then a dress and then some nightshirts - they were the biggest success and I made a bunch more of them at home out of brushed cotton - they were lovely for winter!

[nagi_schwarz]

Congrats on excellent progress on the rug! That table mat honestly sounds really cute!

[spiralicious]

Congrats on the rug progress! You are doing great.

Those sound like fun projects :)

[badly_knitted]

Yay, congratulations!


Sounds pretty!

Your teacher sounds like an idiot if she couldn't tell the top would be too small for you.

The first thing I had to make at school with the sewing machines was an apron (more of a tabard) for cookery classes. It was well beyond halfway through the year before I has a wearable apron, because every time I touched a sewing machine, it stopped working. They hated me. I think I was the last to finish my apron, in fact I think mum finished it for me at home. She was great at sewing, used to make me nighties out of brushed nylon, very cosy, and full of static electricity in bed. Fun, lol!

[wiseheart]

Wow, you are making great progress on that rug!

We made pillow cases at school, and aprons and nightshirts, too, actually. There were two different sorts of craft lessons: one for girly stuff like sewing and knitting and stitching, and then the other one where we made the dratted ashtray, the cast iron candlestick (which I managed to break in two while working on it) and other such things that I hated.

[althea_valara]

New month, which means I have start-itis. I have started the first gnome for the nieces & nephews, which I intend to get done WAAAAY before Christmas so my December is not a repeat of last year. I also started a Leprechaun, who is also gnome-like.

I am so sad that Joann is closing. I went there today to get yarn for the Leprechaun, and while I did find what I needed, the yarn was mostly gone, and the going out of business "sale" wasn't much of a sale (I spent way more than I expected, though part of that was impulse buying a crochet magazine.) I really adored that big box store. I can shop at Michaels instead, but the one nearer to me doesn't have a big yarn selection. Will have to check out the further one.

Still need to do last month's round-up post. Eh, maybe tomorrow. Tonight, I stream.

This Week's Question: Do you remember the first thing you made in school?

Hmm. I don't remember crafts much in school, although for third grade when making our first Communion (Catholic school, you know) we painted and glazed ceramic chalices. I still have mine nestled in a box somewhere. But I think this was done outside of school time. We did do drawing/coloring/painting in school sometimes, but crafts? Not so much.

Now, Brownies (girl scouts) was another thing. We made Gods' Eyes (wrapping yarn around crossed popsicle sticks), painted a photo frame, did some sewing, etc. Very crafty stuff!

[nagi_schwarz]

That gnome sounds super cute!

And I feel you on the Joann’s sales. The yarn was pretty picked over when I got there. But I did find some cute stuff so I am glad.

[nagi_schwarz]

I managed a single chain on my tatted bookmark, but progress is progress! I prepped the paper for four more cube pop up books, and tomorrow I can start glueing two of them.

[spiralicious]

Well done!

[spiralicious]

Card Making with Lynne day. Lynne was in a good mood and very chatty, which is also good. Card making went okay. I've noticed the simpler a card is, the more trouble Lynne has with it. This one had a red floral base with a bird sticker on a green patterned matt in the middle. Then we added squiggles in gold pen. (1 down each side, 1 across the top, and 1 across the bottom) Lynne did great with the sticker and the adhesive (our normal problem areas), but struggled with the distress ink on the edges (which she normally does well with) and drawing the squiggles with the pen. I'm still not sure what her issue with the pen was, but we got it done. I was also able to design the St. Patrick's Day cards for a couple weeks from now.

At home, I knitted a few more rows on the cable throw. I'm 4 from finishing the border.

[badly_knitted]

Glad the cardmaking mostly went well, and you were able to prep another kit.

I'll be fascinated to see the cable blanket when it's finished!