Check-In Post - March 16th 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]

No crafting got done today. I went out in the garden to tackle the pile of rose clipping and suckers my friend left. I had hoped to clear that lot but I only got the thirds of the way through it. So many thorns, I had to keep detaching my gloves from it. Hopefully I can finish that lot tomorrow and then start tackling the piles of buddleia branches.

[wiseheart]

It sounds as if you could use help from Sam Gamgee. Good luck!

[badly_knitted]

I'm supposed to be doing it myself though, for the exercise, which I need to strengthen my arms and back, hopefully meaning I'll be in less pain. I keep having to remind myself that I LIKE gardening. It was really cold again today, even with a thick coat on. I was glad to come in and wash a huge pile of dishes.

[peaceful_sands]

Thorns - yuck! Hope you didn't get too damaged in the process!

[badly_knitted]

A bit scratched. I wore the wrong gloves for working around thorns, I'll have to dig out a better pair.

[nagi_schwarz]

Still, lots of progress on the garden! Way to go!

[badly_knitted]

Thank you! Tons still to do though, brambles to clear, shrubs to get under control, hedge to reduce in height... *sigh* We might get three or four dry days, but then it's forecast to rain for a week.

The creative use of supplies

[wiseheart]

Remember my failed attempt at the pincusions? Because the fabric was too soft and too threadbare for the design I had in mind? And that I've tried it again, with thin but fairly hard felt? Well, that didn't work, either - it turned out a drum-shaped box rather than a drum-shaped pincushion. So I thought, why not make it into a gift box? And so I did. It isn't finished yet; I'll post a pic when it is.

Also, half a year or so ago I bought some decorative stiff ribbon because I thought it would look great on the spine of a paper journal or a quiet book. Well, that was a failure, too. The ribbon is so stiff it curls unto itself and can thus not be used on flat surfaces. But it works like a charm on the side of my drum-shaped felt gift box, yay! Of course, sewing it on was a real pain, as I had to hit the tiny, tiny little holes along the edge, but in the end I've managed it, and it looks now really pretty.

Nothing goes to waste in our household!

Re: The creative use of supplies

[badly_knitted]

Well done for repurposing the pincushion that wasn't! Also for finding a use for the ribbon, even if it was fiddly to sew in place. The gift box sounds lovely!

Re: The creative use of supplies

[peaceful_sands]

Well done for finding a way to use your supplies that works - your perseverance has paid off!

Re: The creative use of supplies

[nagi_schwarz]

Glad you worked out a use for all your supplies despite your many setbacks! Way to go!

[peaceful_sands]

I did a bit of cross-stitch (and long stitch for the feathers) today and then finished the painting. I have taken a load of photos of recent projects and so will try to make a post about what's been finished and link tomorrow :)

[nagi_schwarz]

Way to go finishing the painting! And working on some cross stitch!

[badly_knitted]

Well done! I'll look forward to seeing your post, whenever you have the time and energy to put it up.

[nagi_schwarz]

Managed a few rows on the sweater scarf while the kids played, and also an iteration on the hanky edging. As it turned out, three holes is not the ideal spacing either, but alternating twos and threes, so I had to unpick a chain, but that's much faster than unpicking a ring, so progress was made!

[badly_knitted]

Well done on the sweater scarf. At least now you know the best spacing on the edging, so hopefully the rest of it will go more smoothly.

[malurette]

*screams* I realized a few centimeters into the collar that I somehow managed to misplace the stitch-markers along the way and was doing the raglan all wonky. So I had to frog everything--thankfully not much--and start over again. And also unspool quite a bit of yarn because I have one those multi-coloured balls that have stripes built-in and I wanted to start the jumper on a precise shade of purple.

[badly_knitted]

Argh! You have my sympathy, that must have been a horrible discovery. Good luck with getting the stripes to come out right.