Check-In Post - May 28th 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]

I think I'm on the home stretch now! Just got to fill in the rest of the centre section with the same colour, which means I don't have to keep checking the chart, and then there are a few orange-y red stitches to fill in. Probably down to the last 500 or so stitches.

[peaceful_sands]

I've not been checking in for a few days but that sounds like you've done fantastically well in the interim.

[badly_knitted]

Thanks! Fingers crossed nothing goes wrong...

[peaceful_sands]

I have faith in you!

[badly_knitted]

Thanks!

[fadingfootsteps]

Making it before the deadline (I think), let's gooo 🎉🎉🎉

[badly_knitted]

Really hoping so!

Thank you!

[darkcedars]

Oh wow! Good job

[badly_knitted]

Thank you! I was very relieved that working inwards from both sides, everything met in the right places!

[wiseheart]

Wow, you are truly on the roll!

[badly_knitted]

Hopefully I'll finish in time...

[nagi_schwarz]

Woohoo! Way to go! Though 500 stitches still sounds like a lot to me…

[badly_knitted]

That's a very rough estimate. Could be more but is probably less. Considering it was 15,680 to start with... I think I'm winning.

[nagi_schwarz]

That is definitely winning.

[badly_knitted]

That's what I thought. I'm not great at maths, but still... *grins*

[peaceful_sands]

Finished the first of the 'travelogue' scrapbook/photo albums - Only got to part way through my time in Mongolia (mostly due to the amount of photos I picked to go in - but I did write quite a bit as well which has taken another bit of a chip out of my word count goal - still a long way to go though.

There have been a few bits done on the cardigan, but still a sleeve and a half to get through (blame the time spent on the travel project and its associated clutter) along with the fact that I injured myself last Friday (by sleeping - I wasn't doing anything exciting!) and haven't been able to turn my head/lift my right (dominant) arm for almost a week now - and can't get a physio appointment until mid-next week at the earliest (and that's with a physio I've not been to before - the two physios I know can't fit me in due to holidays until at least a week after that!).

[fadingfootsteps]

It's always a bitch when you fuck up your anatomy via the crime of sleeping funny. One time a hotel pillow got me so I couldn't turn my neck much to the left for a few days.

I respect that I'm probably not helpful, but would tiger balm on the relevant vertebrea loosen the area up for movement? Or is too loose the problem? Swear to god it's how I fixed my neck, but it's a whole other ballpark ik.

[peaceful_sands]

Thanks for the suggestion - I've tried Deep Heat and heat packs but have had most success with ice packs. Still pain has gone down a notch or two and I can at least lie down/get up again which is a bit of an improvement.

[darkcedars]

The album sounds really neat, hurting yourself while sleeping does NOT. Sorry you're having to wait to get help too!

[peaceful_sands]

Thanks

[badly_knitted]

Well done! I still think that's an awesome project, and an amazing travel experience.

Good progress on the cardigan too.

So sorry you managed to hurt yourself =( Bodies are so inconvenient. I hope the physio can help.

[peaceful_sands]

It's been nice to revisit the memories of the places I went and people I met, and the experiences and things I learned. I guess it's been even more thought provoking because the world is so different today and travel not such a certainty/possibility again.

[badly_knitted]

Yeah, the world these days seems to get grimmer by the day =(

I'm glad you got to take that trip and have the memories to look back on.

[wiseheart]

Oh, that is horrible! I hope you'll get the help you need.

[peaceful_sands]

I have my fingers crossed for a cancellation and an earlier visit but I'm not counting on it. Thanks for the thoughts.

[nagi_schwarz]

Congrats on getting the first album done! Scrapbooking is more complicated than people realize. Mongolia sounds like so much fun!

Also way to go on the cardigan!

[fadingfootsteps]

Row six scales: Done
Row seven scales: Also done
Row eight scales: Guess what
Row nine lattice: Guess What, electric boogaloo.

The photos are of row 7scales/8 lattice but they're what I had around when shouwing off to friends, and now that I know how to do images on dreamwidth I really should show this one off.

[darkcedars]

Looks great! I love that stitch.

[badly_knitted]

It's looking amazing, and I love the dragon green of the scales!

[wiseheart]

Looks great! I wish I knew how to do pictures on DW, too.

[badly_knitted]

Handy dandy tutorial. First, upload you picture to your computer, obviously.

Go to your dreamwidth. Click the Home tab under your username, top left of the screen.

Go to Create (top left), and select Upload images. Click and drag the image, or click on Choose File.

Fill in a title and any descriptions you want in the appropriate areas. Click Save Descriptions.

Scroll up and select View All your Images. Beside each image, there will be two links, for Image Embed and Thumbnail Embed. Just copy the link, and paste into your comment, or your post. I use the thumbnail one for comments. People can just click on the picture to see a bigger image. Then just post your comment or post, Voila!

Hope that helps. Let me know if anything doesn't make sense.

[peaceful_sands]

Well done - looks like things are going well.

[nagi_schwarz]

It looks so good! Dragonscale can be really tedious but it looks so good in the end for reals.

[darkcedars]

Working on the last few inches of the mantle scarf. Trying to finish that tonight.

It's been cool, rainy, dark. Making it hard to get things done.

[badly_knitted]

Ugh, dreary weather!

Well done for finishing the mantle scarf! (Almost).

[wiseheart]

Weather like that really kills the ambition to do anything, doesn't it?

[peaceful_sands]

Good luck for your progress.

[nagi_schwarz]

Yay for progress on the mantle scarf but boo for lame weather.

Let's take a look

[wiseheart]

at my little sewing kits, shall we?

This is what they look in the outside, with the lids closed.

And this is the inside, with the little pincushions and the reserve buttons.

I think they turned out cute enough. Not very professional but cute. I'm content with the outcome. Now to decide which one of my unfinished WIPs to pick up next.

Re: Let's take a look

[peaceful_sands]

That look lovely - really clever idea.

Re: Let's take a look

[badly_knitted]

They look so cute, very handy and portable!

Re: Let's take a look

[nagi_schwarz]

Those are adorable and you should be so proud of them! I love them!

Re: Let's take a look

[darkcedars]

They're pretty cute!

[althea_valara]

I have reached the part of designing where I am full of self-loathing and wondering why on earth I'm doing this. Answer: because the end results will be AWESOME, that's why.

So, I'm starting with Alphi's boots. They have these flaps on them, and it took me quite a while to figure out how to do them. First I tried starting from the flaps, because I did that with a similar boot for another doll, but I could not wrap my head around whether to knit or purl after the fold. I eventually gave that up and started with the boot proper. Took most of the day, but the boot is knit, and now I have to attach flaps kinda like doing a 3NBO but without the BO and it is FIDDLY and my needles keep dropping out and the flap keeps unraveling when the needle drops out and I am cursing up a storm.

I suppose I could just sew the flaps on, but I don't think I'd be as happy that way. Will think about it overnight. I'm DONE for the day. I've been at it on and off all day and my eyes desperately need a break, plus it's getting dark here anyway so difficult to see.

And the blasted dog has been barking all day. Did I mention I'm NOT a dog person? I can be apprehensive around dogs I don't know, but I know Charms pretty well and she's okay but I will always prefer cats. Just a few more days to go, though.

[badly_knitted]

I hear you on the frustration of knowing something WILL be awesome, but actually getting there is not. You WILL do it though, I have no doubt about that. Alphi is going to look amazing. Sorry your needles keep slipping out. That's hella annoying, especially when everything unravels.

You will survive the dog-sitting too.

[malurette]

No knitting today, I mended a pajama bottom instead (again; at this point it's more holes & patches than original cloth but heh, last time I set out to buy new pajamas I couldn't find anything that I liked.)

[badly_knitted]

It can be hard to find sleepwear that appeals. Well done with your mending.

[mrs_sweetpeach]

Mending is the way to go; it is much better for the environment. Not to mention it generally saves money. As long as they still fit and are comfortable, what's not to like?