Check-In Post - April 23rd 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 change crafts with the season or stick to the same crafts year round?


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]

It rained last night so everything was wet this morning. I could gave worked outside this afternoon, but decided to stitch instead so I've finished the large rose in this design and now I'm back to stitching leaves and stems. Then I'll have a smaller rose and a rosebud to stitch, followed by the backstitch.

[wiseheart]

Yay for more roses!

[badly_knitted]

It looks pretty so far, but will be even better once the backstitch is done to outline the petals.

[nagi_schwarz]

Excellent progress on the stitching! I also would not want to work in a wet and muddy yard...

[badly_knitted]

I think it dried out pretty well - all the paths were dry and nowhere looked muddy - but I still took a break, watched - or rather listened - to a couple more Babylon 5 episodes while stitching so I could write some more drabbles for the ffw amnesty.

[fadingfootsteps]

I lied about doing cranes apparently, I'm making little sushi rolls from a kit I've had kicking around for a couple of months now. I also frogged a #10 weight thread doily i was doing back to the last finish-able edge and conceded I wasn't going to keep doing it.

Hardly an issue in either case, I'm making things for fun and maybe some day they'll be gifts to others but not for now.

Though if my focus could let me sew the head onto one of my toy attempts that'd be nice!

[badly_knitted]

Are they crocheted sushi? I've seen some of those, I think.

Well done on the doily. It might be smaller than planned, but that's okay.

Sewing things together is the worst part. I have a sweater from the year before last that I really ought to finish, plus a pile of arm warmers, sop you're not alone in that respect.

[fadingfootsteps]

yep, crochet sushi!

And for sewing idk, as long as it's not outright embroidering the details I don't mind it in works. Often it makes things *less* complicated than they'd otherwise be to do it in one piece with crochet

[badly_knitted]

Yay, they will be cute!

I mainly knit and I've noticed a lot of people these days knit sweaters in the round so there's less sewing up, but they don't hold their shape as well. I just find the sewing up part rather tedious. I ptrefer the knitting part *grins*

[nagi_schwarz]

Crochet sushi rolls around adorable!

Also hey, a small doily is still a finished doily. Knowing when to continue a project or not is an important skill.

Yes ...

[ysabetwordsmith]

Today I have planted up the barrel garden! It still has room for more things around the edges, but at least there are flowers in it now. \o/

I started a new cookie jar terrarium but got interrupted before I could actually get anything into it.

Re: Yes ...

[badly_knitted]

Always good to have flowers!

That's going to be an interesting terrarium. The wide neck should make planting it up easier.

Re: Yes ...

[ysabetwordsmith]

The plan is just the one fern surrounded by moss, so it's pretty simple. Yes, a largemouth terrarium is much easier to build. But I still love my new long-handled tools. <3

Re: Yes ...

[badly_knitted]

The long-handled tools do look useful.

Re: Yes ...

[ysabetwordsmith]

I highly recommend them for any kind of terrarium, aquarium, etc. They're very useful.

Re: Yes ...

[wiseheart]

The terrarium sounds like an interesting project. I'm looking forward to the finished piece; I'm sure it will be lovely.

Re: Yes ...

[ysabetwordsmith]

Thank you! It's a fun concept. It'll have to wait until after I plant some other stuff outside, though.

Re: Yes ...

[nagi_schwarz]

Kudos to you on planting the barrel garden! Also thank you for sharing terrarium info. I continue to hoard jars and dream...

Re: Yes ...

[ysabetwordsmith]

Gathering jars is a good place to start. You can look at them and think what would be good to put inside. :D Terrarium building is fun, and it doesn't have to be complicated or expensive.

[wiseheart]

I finished sewing together the remaining pincushions-to-be and even stuffed and finished one of them. It appears that I will have to seam them with blanket stitch, after all, to give them an overall shape, which will add roughly two weeks to the project, but again, they won't be due before December, so it's not so bad.

[badly_knitted]

That's excellent progress, even though you need to add another stage to the process.

[wiseheart]

Fortunately, I really like to do blanket stitch. :)

[badly_knitted]

It's definitely one if the more enjoyable stitches.

[nagi_schwarz]

Wow! So much progress! Way to go! And way to give yourself a lot of lead time on when the project is due.

[nagi_schwarz]

I finished the hanky! I still need to wash and block it. But I finished it! I actually made most of the progress last night. I won my game of thread chicken and didn't have to refill the bobbin right before the end, so that was nice. I made it all the way a final ring and final chain last night and quit, and then tonight when I sat down to do it I did one ring...and realized I was supposed to join it to the first ring. I must have spent half an hour working the ring back open. It was frustrating and there was a lot of squinting and cursing involved, but I did it! I think my technique at reopening rings has gotten a lot better, so that's super helpful. But the hanky is done! I need to decide what my next project will be. I still have the sweater scarf and circle shawl, but those are pretty good mindless patterns to work on whenever I need a brain break. But I need to pick my next more demanding project. Maybe baby blankets for my friend who is expecting twins...but also I really, really want to try to make a parasol in time for summer...

[badly_knitted]

Congratulations on hanky success! That's been quite the project.

Relax with your mindless projects for a day or two while you decide on the next one. I'm sure your friend would appreciate the blankets, but the parasol project sounds exciting.

[tielan]

Another block for the teal stars.

[badly_knitted]

Well done! You'll get there!