Check-In Post - June 9th 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]

More progress on the rooster's body. It's the largest of the 4 designs though, so there's still a lot to stitch. I'm about halfway up, the widest part is done, but the rest will take at least another 2 days just for the cross stitch, probably more like three. Unless I find more time to work on it.

[wiseheart]

That sounds like a really big and fat rooster. ;)

[badly_knitted]

Well, certainly fat at the bottom... helps it to balance, I suppose *grins*

[fadingfootsteps]

slowly but surely!

[badly_knitted]

Yep! He'll look good once he's finished. Just doesn't look like anything much at the moment.

[yarnofariadne]

Great progress! Sounds like a delightful thing to be working on :D

[badly_knitted]

It is. It's the third in a set of cute farm animals. The cow and pony are finished, and I have a pig still to stitch.

[yarnandglue]

Sounds cute!

[badly_knitted]

Thank you. It should be, when it's finished.

[nagi_schwarz]

Still so much progress even if it'll take three more days. Way to go!

[badly_knitted]

The lower section of the body and one tail feather are stitched, so it's taking shape.

[yarnofariadne]

3 more blanket rows completed, for a total of 28!

[wiseheart]

Yay! Go you!

[badly_knitted]

Woohoo! Well done!

[fadingfootsteps]

Good progress! How many rows does the pattern need/do you think you need?

[yarnofariadne]

I think it's 151 rows - I've made it once before, and I'll make one more after this one. I'm afraid I'll have no idea what to do with myself once I'm done with these blankets!

[nagi_schwarz]

Woohoo! That's awesome! Blanket rows are long rows.

More baskets

[wiseheart]

Two more, to be accurate. (Photos later; I'm still thinking about further decoration.) First I tried to make one as it was in the video. It turned out well enough, but when it was done I realized I liked my first (presumably faulty) version better. So I made the third one that way again and am fairly pleased with it. I regret that I don't have these paper stripes in the really Christmassy colours - pale green, yellow and pink don't make me associate with Christmas - but they are there, they are pre-cut, so that they are all the same width, which is a blessing.

I hoped I'd be able to use the beautiful, translucent pink, purple and green stripes as well, but they don't look good interwoven with each other. Perhaps I'll give monocoloured (is that a word???) baskets a try. We'll see.

Re: More baskets

[badly_knitted]

I'm sure no one will mind them not being traditional Christmas colours.

Not sure if it's considered a proper word or not, but it looks fine to me.

Re: More baskets

[fadingfootsteps]

monochromatic is at least adjacent the word you are looking for, in which the art/object/craft is of any color, but only that color and its tints and shades.

Though unless the stripes are in different shades to each other like light/middle/dark, even all still being like "green", idk that it applies

Re: More baskets

[nagi_schwarz]

The baskets sound super cute! Sorry the translucent ones didn't work out. I don't think anyone will mind the colors the baskets are in during the Christmas holidays.

Well ...

[ysabetwordsmith]

Today I am setting up two different versions of comfrey liquid fertilizer. I have the first jug done, which is a handful of torn comfrey leaves in water. I still need to fill the second, which will be entirely stuffed with torn comfrey leaves.

Re: Well ...

[badly_knitted]

Good luck with the fertiliser, may it make your plants flourish!

Re: Well ...

[ysabetwordsmith]

Thank you! It will be an interesting experiment. I want to try feeding plants with both versions. But I also want to see if undiluted liquid fertilizer will work as a weedkiller. After all, it says dilute so you don't burn your plants. <3 mad science in the garden.

Re: Well ...

[badly_knitted]

Please, keep us informed on the results. It sounds a fascinating experiment!

Re: Well ...

[ysabetwordsmith]

I'm hoping to take periodic pictures and share results, like I have with the paint pen project.

Re: Well ...

[badly_knitted]

Great!

Re: Well ...

[nagi_schwarz]

Good luck with the fertilizer! I am unfamiliar with this kind but definitely intrigued. All that's happening in my garden right now is that the local chipmunks are getting fat off my strawberries.

Re: Well ...

[ysabetwordsmith]

>> Good luck with the fertilizer! I am unfamiliar with this kind but definitely intrigued.<<

You can make liquid fertilizer from various plant or animal parts that are high in nutrients. Comfrey is what permaculture calls a "miner" plant, which means it sinks deep roots into subsoil and drags up minerals and trace elements to deposit in its leaves. So you can compost the leaves to get the nutrients, or in this case, rot them down to make liquid fertilizer.

>> All that's happening in my garden right now is that the local chipmunks are getting fat off my strawberries.<<

I've gotten a few strawberries, but the birds are getting some too.

[fadingfootsteps]

still working on i-cord one of two. they just take a while, being fiddly little bastards and all. The rhythm is clicking better but I still hate this <3

[badly_knitted]

You can do it! And when they're done you can go back to the fun part of making your dice bag.

[yarnofariadne]

I'm sorry it isn't more enjoyable, but finding a rhythm must be a relief!

[yarnandglue]

I-cords are a bummer! Are you using dpns/circulars or the spool?

[fadingfootsteps]

Crochet =)

[fadingfootsteps]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjXsRkr1oWo&pp=0gcJCdgAo7VqN5tD croceht I-cord
The gist: You can do it. It extra sucks compared to knitting because this really isn't meant to be done as crochet tbh but it's doable if you have infinite patience (I do. I have equal wrath and spite as well).

[yarnandglue]

Interesting, I haven't seen that technique before!

[nagi_schwarz]

Kudos to you for doing the fiddly bit!

[nagi_schwarz]

Big plan tonight is to crochet some before I sleep. On to one of the puff stitch rounds, so I'll listen to an audiobook or podfic for extra enjoyment.

[fadingfootsteps]

some nice and relaxing (assumedly) crochet before beds always nice

I keep telling myself I need to find me some podcasts to space out on when I work but it keeps not happening...

[badly_knitted]

Sounds like an excellent plan!