Check-In Post - May 27th 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: We all probably have multiple WiPs, but which of yours has been hanging around longest, waiting to be finished?


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]

Oops, sorry, brain elsewhere listening to music.


Made more good progress on the cross stitch. Both top corners finished, which are a bit fiddly to access due to the way I've got it taped to a frame to work on. Still working inwards from both sides.

[wiseheart]

Congratulations! Good luck with the rest!

[fadingfootsteps]

Onwards you march! Got the annoying access part out of the way, so homefree here on (hypothetically)

[althea_valara]

Well done!

[nagi_schwarz]

Way to go! Excellent progress. And I feel you about being distracted listening to music.

[wiseheart]

*drumrolls* I've finished the sewing kits. There will be photos tomorrow - probably only linked, because of Pinterest's newest policy that won't allow to embed photos from the site to LJ entries, but there will be.

I might add the one or other little detail to the one or other kit later on, but for the time being they'll be boxed and put away. Theoretically that could go to the fair the way they are right now.

[badly_knitted]

Well done! I'm sure they will get snapped up eagerly at the fair when the time comes.

[fadingfootsteps]

Hell yeah! good to hear

[althea_valara]

YAY! Congrats on finishing!

[nagi_schwarz]

Woohoo! Look at you go! Congratulations! Looking forward to photos.

[sister_raphael]

Congratulations!

[fadingfootsteps]

finished the rest of the scales on row 5 and did the lattice for row 6.

At maybe a fifth in (+ the bottom) I think I'm about halfway through my 350m ball... Send help (and more thread)

[badly_knitted]

That's terrific progress! Hope you can get more thread though...

[nagi_schwarz]

Hope yon can find the thread you need. Way to go on progress!

[sister_raphael]

Ooo scales! I need to scroll back because I've missed this project!

[althea_valara]

Yesterday: (cast on, knit a bit, ripped out) x3. I was attempting to make boots for Alphi, but first I made them too big, then I made them too small, then I got disgruntled with the yarn, which is a DK cotton.

Today: Go to *shudders* Hobby Lobby and buy a ball of fingering acrylic. Cast on, knit a bit, attempt something fancy but it didn't work. Ripped back some, but I think I'm going to completely frog and start over, taking a different approach.

Part of the reason this is giving me fits is because I'm using thinner yarn for his clothes than his body. If I was using the same weight of yarn, I could just go off the doll pattern itself, which is what I usually do. But I wanted more drape/more ability for details, hence thinner yarn. I don't normally knit with DK or fingering so have no clue what my gauge is. Since the pieces are small, I'm just guessimating and casting on for the piece itself rather than eff about with gauge swatches.

The fingering acrylic is more fun to work with, but I think I might go back to the cotton anyway. This acrylic is supposedly white but has a strong yellowish cast that I think will clash with the blue I'm going to use for his jacket. The cotton is more of a pure white, and if it has a cast to it, it's blue-ish, so yeah, will work better, I think. Sucks that I had to run out to buy a ball of yarn that I'm not going to use from a store I do not like patronizing, but it was pretty cheap.

[badly_knitted]

Designing from scratch as you go is bound to be hit and miss as you try to get the gauge right, I can only imagine how frustrating it is, but I also know you'll persevere, I have every confidence that you'll figure it out,

[nagi_schwarz]

Good luck with the pattern engineering. You can do it! Sounds super frustrating though…

[sister_raphael]

This sounds very tricky

[matsushima]

I'm teaching myself to cross stitch! So far, I'm sticking to very simple patterns but I have a couple more ambitious projects planned.

We all probably have multiple WiPs, but which of yours has been hanging around longest, waiting to be finished?
I bought an unpainted BJD in 2009 and my bestie and I just put him together last week… His wig is in the mail and we're planning to paint him this summer.

[badly_knitted]

Good luck, cross stitch is a very rewarding hobby! When I started I jumped in at the deep end with a large kit because I'm crazy like that. I'm sure you'll do great!

I had no idea ball jointed dolls came in pieces you had to put together and paint! Never mind ghat you had to get the hair separate. I lean something new every day! Good luck with getting him painted the way you want.

Done!

[ysabetwordsmith]

Today I'm planting pots of winter-sown seedlings. The Ozark coneflower is among the most successful: out of 6 pots, all had at least one seedling and 4 had 2. \o/

Also some of last year's yellow coreopsis and pink sweet William are blooming in the prairie garden. It's so fun to go out there and find colorful surprises. :D

Another iris from last fall's planting is blooming under the maple tree, a vivid primary yellow. <3

Re: Done!

[badly_knitted]

Yellow is my favourite flower colour. A yellow iris would be stunning.

Sounds like the winter sowing produced a fair number of plants!

[nagi_schwarz]

Had crafting group today so I managed a row and a half on the blanket. Discovered I’d muffed up the maths on a row…after I finished it. Luckily it’s not a major error so I can just correct on the next row instead of having to frog the entire thing.

[sister_raphael]

Bother.

[sister_raphael]

Still sewing on the mauve linen gowne for my niece, but one side is done and the other heading for half way.

[badly_knitted]

Yay! You'll get it done.

[malurette]

Finished my scarf yesterday; I'll try to take and post pictures later this week?

[badly_knitted]

Woohoo! Looking forward to seeing it!