Check-In Post - April 29th 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]

Another garden day. This time I was mostly scratting around where the dead shrub was, clearing the leftover twigs, dead bramble leaves, and thorny bits so I can see where the bramble roots are when I come to getting those out. I also have better access to the gooseberry bushes, so after clearing up from gardening, I grabbed an empty yogurt pot and started collecting sawfly caterpillars. I'd got a lot, 50 or 60, when I dropped the darn pot and lost most of them *headdesk* I did manage to find a clump and a couple off odd ones, so they got smooshed, but the others will probably back up the gooseberries and eating the leaves again by tomorrow.

[fadingfootsteps]

oof, rip on the caterpillars. Hopefully not too much damage is done by tomorrow, Prepwork for bramble removals good at least, makes the next part much faster and easier.

[badly_knitted]

Darn caterpillars. It'll be a daily hunt now to keep the numbers down before they eat every leaf.

Don't know about easier, brambles root deep, but at least I'll be able to see what I'm doing. Got to be careful though, there are a lot of other things rooted in the area that don't want disturbing, including the gooseberries. I would like to get some fruit this year.

[wiseheart]

Death to the caterpillars!

[badly_knitted]

I'm trying, honest! They're so hard to see though, they pretend to be the edge of the leaf they're eating.

[nagi_schwarz]

Noooo! I am so sorry all went wrong with the caterpillars. You're a champion for reals, doing battle against the elements like that.

[badly_knitted]

I retaliated this morning, smooshed over 50 of the blighters, most from around where I dropped them yesterday so a lot were probably the same ones.

[fadingfootsteps]

After my crane at the friends place I was looking at what I could do/what I'd brought to do while we were all binge watching hells kitchen and pretty much went "I could totally start making the triangles for the succulent cushion"

There's tiny, medium, and large triangles to do and I've got 2/3, 6/6, and 0/10 respectively. I'll have to put them all together via sewing and stuff them and then sew them (again, but this time into the final shape) but yknow it's honestly impressive progress for mostly laying underneath the table and zoning the fuck out (it was cooler down there, and the humidity was super high yesterday) and only speaking via putting my hand over the table + sock puppet.

"the fuck am I doing with my life" ass paragraph, lmao. It was an enjoyable night at least!

[badly_knitted]

That's great progress on the succulent cushion! And as long as you found a cooler spot, who cares where it was, providing you were comfy and happy down there =D

[fadingfootsteps]

genuinely like a solid 5 degree difference, at least.

Everyone was amused with it at least. Whenever I popped my hand over the table to speak they'd "feed" my hand random objects, to which I'd go "hmmm crunch crunch... tastes like [insert joke}" or "Pleh! Gross!"

[badly_knitted]

Heh, sounds like a fun time was had by all!

[nagi_schwarz]

Excellent progress on the cushion! Way to go! As someone who used to fight with the family dog over the cool spot on the floor to lie on, I figure wherever you're comfortable is the right place to be.

Well ...

[ysabetwordsmith]

Today I went out plant shopping and it started raining. I found plenty of new plants but I'm not sure if I'll get any more yardwork done today.

Re: Well ...

[badly_knitted]

Great to get new plants, and the rain is probably needed, but it's a shame it couldn't have waited long enough for you to get the plants planted.

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[ysabetwordsmith]

*laugh* I couldn't have finished it all today anyhow. But it looks like it's not raining now, so I may get something done.

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[badly_knitted]

That many new plants, huh? Well, you do have plenty of room for them.

Good luck with getting some planting done.

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[ysabetwordsmith]

Two full flats, two partial flats, and a separate carton of wave petunias. I didn't count them.

I did get out to plant a few herbs and the first of the Johnny jump-ups! :D I may get one more round before supper.

One thing I love about spring planting the annual flowers is the color-matching. So for instance, the barrel garden has hot sunny colors while the rain garden has cool colors. Some violas and pansies are purple to white, others yellow to orange; the Johnnies are tricolors to tie them together. I've got one pot of near-black petunias in different styles plus a deep burgundy oxalis.

I may not be able to draw worth a damn, but my eye for color and my eye for composition are in perfect working order. :D

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[badly_knitted]

That IS a lot.

I love the way you're working with colour. Also love the thought of near black petunias, very striking. I've always loved petunias anyway.

Yeah, I can't draw either, but I'm pretty good with colour. It's a trade off. Can't be good at everything, I guess.

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[ysabetwordsmith]

I got a black/yellow striped one:
https://pics.davesgarden.com/pics/2010/09/02/LarryR/738a3b.jpg

A solid black:
https://plants.wolfhillgardencenter.com/Content/Images/Squares/L058-09.jpg

A black ruffle:
https://cdn.apartmenttherapy.info/image/upload/v1723752312/at/style/2024-08/black-petunias/black-petunias-1.jpg

And a black oxalis:
https://www.gardencentermarketing.com/_ccLib/image/plantstock/WEB/WEB-041889.jpg

So green leaves, purple-black flowers touched with yellow or white, and then the purple-black leaves. :D

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[badly_knitted]

Wow, they're all stunning! I especially love the black and yellow, that's a gorgeous combination.

My favourite pansy was a black one, the petals looked like black velvet. I really need to grow more of those someday.

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[ysabetwordsmith]

>> Wow, they're all stunning! I especially love the black and yellow, that's a gorgeous combination.<<

Those are pretty popular this year, if you look around.

>>My favourite pansy was a black one, the petals looked like black velvet. I really need to grow more of those someday.<<

I've grown several varieties of red-black or purple-black pansies. They're edible and can be tossed in salads, made into syrup or jelly, etc. The black flowers created jewel-tones of deep purple to red.

https://www.food.com/recipe/black-pansy-syrup-370080

https://unrulygardening.com/black-pansy-jelly/

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[badly_knitted]

Thanks for the links, maybe I'll try those if I ever grow pansies from seed again. Although it does seem a shame to eat the pretty flowers. The one I grew was Black Beauty, so I'd say that was a purple-black.

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[ysabetwordsmith]

>> Thanks for the links, maybe I'll try those if I ever grow pansies from seed again. Although it does seem a shame to eat the pretty flowers. <<

Yeah, but the flowers only last a day or few each, and they can be made into so many beautiful things! I made a flower salad once with a box of spring greens mix, about a cup of herbs, and a cup or two of edible flowers. Spectacular.

Just grow extra if you want to eat them.

>>The one I grew was Black Beauty, so I'd say that was a purple-black. <<

Yeah, I've had that one. I love it.

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[badly_knitted]

Tasty!

Yeah, limited space here, lol! I don't have acres to play with.

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[ysabetwordsmith]

1) Pansies and violas don't take much space, can be crammed close together, and rebloom if you pick off the flowers until summer gets too hot.

2) Consider vertical gardening. I bought stackable pots to make a couple of towers this year, because I want to try that with wild strawberries.

Re: Well ...

[badly_knitted]

I have to be careful with containers because of a vine weevil infestation. It's why I had to stop growing and selling plants years ago, because I didn't want other people's gardens getting infested. The grubs killed so many of my plants by eating the roots. I still have to go through the contents of every pot I empty, checking for grubs and killing any I find. I bought a plant that had the weevil grubs in the pot, didn't know until it was too late. I know their preference if for plants with fleshy roots, but they don't restrict themselves, I've had them in everything. They're the worst garden menace I've ever come across in nearly 60 years of gardening.

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[ysabetwordsmith]

That sucks. O_O

Have you tried beneficial nematodes? They kill weevil larvae.

Another possibility, if your problem focuses strongly on pots, would be using disposable pots -- the fiber ones should be flammable or compostable in hot compost (which gets hot enough to kill pests).

Sometimes nature will step in. I used to have lots of junebugs, and for a while, Japanese beetles would eat everything in sight. But then one year some blue-winged wasps showed up, along with other parasitic wasps. They lay their eggs on the larvae of scarab beetles. Since then, the population of adult junebugs and Japanese beetles has plummeted. \o/ So I've planted more of the sedums and garlic chives that the wasps like.

Re: Well ...

[badly_knitted]

I did use nematodes a couple of times, but the blasted vine weevils had migrated out of the pots by the time I could get any - they weren't available here when the problem started - and were busy chomping on the garden plants. Lost a lot of lovely plants to them, and they're still cropping up in unexpected places. I kill any beetles and grubs I find, but with the garden in the mess it's been in for the past 15 years or so, there are a lot of places for them to hide. Maybe if I get it into a suitable condition I might be able to try nematodes again in the most likely areas. We'll see. Right now, I'm just concentrating on turning the jungle back into a garden. And dealing with the gooseberry sawfly caterpillars. I'm annoyed with the birds for not eating them, lol!

Re: Well ...

[ysabetwordsmith]

One time when the Japanese beetles were skeletonizing everything, I looked up and said, "Dear insectivores, I know these look unfamiliar, but I swear avow and affirm that they are insects and therefore food for you." I was hoping some of the birds would get a clue.

The next year I got blue-winged wasps, who greatly reduced all the scarab-type beetles. :D

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[badly_knitted]

Maybe I should make a plea to Mother Nature myself! Sounds like it worked for you!

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[ysabetwordsmith]

It's absolutely worth a try. Humans are supposed to be the mindful part of the biosphere, who can identify issues and address them at speed with precision.

Gaia and I have been gardening together for decades. It's a bit chaotic, but I enjoy it.

Anyhow, you name your pest and then tell its predators that there is a bounty of prey for them to eat, and invite them to come feast. Weevil larvae may be eaten by underground and detritivore predators such as centipedes, some spiders, and nematodes; adults are food for more spiders, predatory beetles, amphibians, lizards, and some birds.

One thing that helps with my garden is that I don't spray everything to death and I have lots of habitat. So the insects usually eat each other more than eating my fruit. I only have to deal with a few challenges. I've seen raspberry plants absolutely swarming with bugs and the berries were fine.

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[badly_knitted]

My garden is completely natural, no pesticides, no weedkillers, I put food and water out for the birds, I have a pond for frogs and newts, stacks of sticks and logs for things to hide in, especially hedgehogs which are gradually making a comeback in my are after vanishing for almost 20 years, and there are shrubs, so I'm doing the best I can. The various tits just don't seem to like the sawfly caterpillars which are my current problem. If I didn't pick them off daily, I'd have no leaves on the bushes by now. Some years there are just a lot of caterpillars. I'll see if Gaia will help me out.

The native birds in my area have changed completely since I was a kid. Species that used to be abundant have vanished, and species I never saw as a kid are now everywhere.

Re: Well ...

[ysabetwordsmith]

>>I have a pond for frogs and newts<<

Awesome.

>> especially hedgehogs which are gradually making a comeback in my are after vanishing for almost 20 years<<

Given how they like to root around, they might help against the weevils. I've seen a campaign to install hedgehog doors in fences around yards.

>>The native birds in my area have changed completely since I was a kid. Species that used to be abundant have vanished, and species I never saw as a kid are now everywhere.<<

There's been turnover here in central Illinois too. But today I saw two red-headed woodpeckers, that I haven't seen in years, although they used to be common.

Re: Well ...

[badly_knitted]

The hedgehogs could well help. It's good having them back after so long. Around here, we have hedges between gardens, but many people fence their gardens with chicken wire or whatever to keep their dogs / small children / chickens from getting out. That makes life tough for hedgehogs, but at the same time it's understandable that people want to keep their pets and kids safe.

WE used to have thrushes, but the cats finished those off. House sparrows, starlings, greenfinches... all disappeared. Getting a few starlings back now, and the odd sparrow, but we get coal tits and long tailed tits, black caps, goldfinches, the occasional goldcrest, which are so tiny, and jackdaws. There are a lot of other bird species too, those are just the relative newcomers.

Re: Well ...

[ysabetwordsmith]

>>The hedgehogs could well help. It's good having them back after so long. Around here, we have hedges between gardens, but many people fence their gardens with chicken wire or whatever to keep their dogs / small children / chickens from getting out.<<

Here is a sample hedgehog door that can be cut out of metal, wood, etc. for modifying fences or other barriers. Sized for hedgehogs, it's too small for most other creatures except maybe very young kittens or puppies -- and if you have those, you could just put a brick over it for a few weeks until they get bigger. Hedgehog doors help by making easier for them to roam across many yards in search of food and mates.

And some plans for hedgehog homes:

Above ground:
https://www.tcv.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/TCV-How-to-make-a-hedgehog-home-compressed.pdf

Buried:
https://www.hedgehogstreet.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/data/HEDGEHOGHOME_2014.pdf

An all-purpose hibernaculum can serve hedgehogs as well as reptiles and amphibians, so long as the entrance pipes and den spaces are large enough for them to enter. Just use the same dimensions that hedgehog doors have.
https://shetlandcommunitywildlife.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/scwg_hibernaculum_final.pdf

>>WE used to have thrushes, but the cats finished those off. House sparrows, starlings, greenfinches... all disappeared.<<

Interestingly, I find that signs of predation almost always indicate invasive species of birds such as house sparrows or starlings. It's rare to see the remains of native songbirds. Based on my observations, songbirds are wary creatures, whereas sparrows and starlings are bold -- it may get them more food, but it makes them more vulnerable to anything looking for a feathered meal. I suspect habitat changes may account for more of the drift in observed bird species.

I saw the two red-headed woodpeckers again today. I'm so hoping they stick around for the breeding season!

Re: Well ...

[badly_knitted]

Thanks for the links!


The problem with the thrushes were that they stay on the ground when they fledge, making them easy prey for cats despite good visual camouflage. If the young don't survive, there goes the species. The house sparrows have gone because people are having new roofs on their houses that don't leave a way in for them. The same is true for swifts. So many used to nest under the eaves of local houses, but now there's nowhere for them to nest. I haven't heard a single swift this year. They used to fill the sky throughout summer. I miss them.

Glad your woodpeckers are sticking around!

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[ysabetwordsmith]

>>The problem with the thrushes were that they stay on the ground when they fledge, making them easy prey for cats despite good visual camouflage.<<

Yeah, mourning doves here spend a lot of time on the ground and are more likely to get eaten.

>>The house sparrows have gone because people are having new roofs on their houses that don't leave a way in for them. The same is true for swifts.<<

Here are there loads of house sparrows. We used to have lots of barn owls and barn swallows, but as you said, changes in architecture have been hard on them. However, last year I saw lots of purple martins for the first time, and they're back this year. One yard had like 3 houses, all full. Before this, I would see plenty of houses but never martins. So I'm happy to see them.

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[badly_knitted]

It's a shame that certain species are so much more vulnerable to predators just because of the way they behave.

At least some species are flourishing.

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[nagi_schwarz]

At least you got the shopping done! That's what counts for sure.

[wiseheart]

One more pincushion finished. Three more to go. I was still recovering from yesterday and fairly unmotivated.

[badly_knitted]

Well done for getting one done despite tiredness and lack of motivation.

[nagi_schwarz]

Way to go! Hope you feel better soon.

[22degreehalo]

I think I may have. made a massive mistake :')))

My mum and dad recently got back from a holiday where they found some gorgeous region-themed hand-dyed wool so they bought it for me!! Except when I tried to unspool the hank (I have done this... 3 times? 2??) the cut end seemed all tangled through it... I should have stopped there and worked really hard to keep it from tangling but. I did not. And now it is. very very very tangled. :')))

I've spent the last couple of days slooooowly untangling but oh my god. one part is just so MATTED I really don't know what I'll do...... I don't understand how it got so tangled so quickly??? RIP my life. but I will PERSEVERE and repeatedly google slash ask Claude for tips (since I've found it SUPER helpful in the past for specific questions) and maybe someday I will be able to use it the way I wanted to :')))

(oh I'm a beginner-ish crocheter btw!! I have made a couple of simple things and was intending to use this yarn for a tablet case thingy :) )

[nagi_schwarz]

Oh no I am so sorry it's all tangled! That's so frustrating. But also yay crocheting! I wish you many happy stitches on your journey!

[badly_knitted]

Oh no! That sounds like a nightmare, and I normally LIKE untangling yarn (it's very satisfying to get it all sorted). You will succeed, perseverance and patience are the key, even if you can only work on it a bit at a time and put it aside when the frustration gets too much. Good luck!

Everyone has to start somewhere with each craft. Your plan for your yarn sounds great. =D

[nagi_schwarz]

Despite a migraine and serious lack of sleep today I made good progress on the circle shaw (took advantage of that lack of sleep to get in a couple of rows and I'm almost done with the current cake of yarn and that's a good stopping point to switch to a project with a deadline). I ordered thread for the tatting project for my mother's birthday (which is admittedly in December but it looks like a complicated project). I also glued the outside of the hollow book and had time to let it dry, then glued the inside. Hoping to work on some more puzzle purse letters. If I can stay awake. I have settled on baby blankets for the pending twins as my next project and I am pretty excited to get started. I also picked a new (simpler) tatted hanky edging project to work on. That'll be due in August, so I've got time!

[badly_knitted]

So sorry about the migraine and sleep deprivation, but you certainly made good use of the sleeplessness!

You're powering ahead and planning so many projects! Good luck with getting them all done by the various deadlines.