Check-In Post - July 20th 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: What do you like to listen to / watch while crafting?


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 finished the third hearts and flowers design, and started the fourth. Another grimly grey day. At one point I thought I might have to put the light on.

[wiseheart]

Not the ideal weather for stitching, for sure. And yet you've made great progress. Go you!

[badly_knitted]

It would be easier if I was stitching on white fabric, the rustico can make it more difficult to see what I'm doing, but progress is progress.

[peaceful_sands]

Well done on the hearts & flowers progress. You are racing through the designs.

[badly_knitted]

They're smaller than the last set so they're stitching up a bit quicker. I'm already wanting to start something else though!

[wiseheart]

Sorry for the absence, but the sad truth is, I didn't do any crafting for the last three days. To many other things to do and too hot a weather. The next two days don't promise to be any better, I just thought I'd check in to show I'm still alive... more or less.

As for the weekly question, I used to like having the telly run in the background - back in the Stone Age when the living room was arranged differently and I actually had a table in front of me while watching telly. Now I mostly do my crafting in my study/workroom/whatever, where I don't have a telly. I could listen to some music on my desktop PC, but to be honest I do enjoy my peace and quiet after 40 years in the education business.

[badly_knitted]

*hugs* Sorry you're overwhelmed with non-crafting tasks.

Listening to the TV can be good, but sometimes peace is better.

[peaceful_sands]

Wishing you well in dealing with all your other life tasks and managing in the heat.

Sometimes it's nice to have some time away from the noise of TV etc and just be in the moment and enjoy what you're doing.

[peaceful_sands]

So the butterfly is coming on apace and I've finished one layer of the wings and started on the second (the pattern says to make two the same and then sew them together - I'm thinking this is to give it the stability to not fold/crumple/curl too much. As I haven't been using the colours etc in the actual pattern, but rather using this as a way to use up leftover yarn, I'm making the second layer in a different colour which means the inside and outside of the wings will contrast. I'm hoping it works well and looks alright - so far the body of the butterfly is a sort of turquoise green, one layer of wings is pale blue and the other is going to be a pale mint green (the kind of pastel colour used for baby clothes). I think while there wasn't enough pale blue for a full layer of wing, there may be enough for the spots to go on the green side, so I might be able to put green ones on the blue side. I'm surprised how well it's gone so far! The pattern just says to sew the two wing layers together, but I'm contemplating putting just a little layer of toy stuffing inside to give them a slightly more padded feel - I might experiment with that and see how it feels/looks. I hope to have the butterfly finished by the end of next week, if energy levels last out after work each evening.

[badly_knitted]

Sounds like it will be a really pretty butterfly, whether the wings can have spots or not. Good luck with finishing it! You'll figure out what works best when you're putting it together.

[fadingfootsteps]

not dead! i am making a doily :)

[badly_knitted]

Oooh, do tell! What colour?

[fadingfootsteps]

It's a vegerated yarn so teeeechnically multi color, but all the variations are pretty close together on "kinds of blue". There's some lavender in it too though!

[badly_knitted]

That sounds so pretty! Variegated yarns are great for doilies.

[yarnandglue]

Ooh, doilies are fun!

[althea_valara]

Finished Alphi's pants today and they look great! Well, I do still have to darn in ends. Was too lazy to do that. I worked on them while watching his voice actor stream. :D

I've cast on for a new attempt at a boot for him, but haven't gotten far. But at least I did SOMETHING today!

[badly_knitted]

Well done! Awesome that the pants have turned out how you want. Good luck with the boots!

Done!

[ysabetwordsmith]

I have made a thing, and it is a glorious thing:

Recipe: "Dark Chocolate Brownies with Raspberry Spread"

I've also been gardening, but it's been raining a lot so that's catch as catch can.

Re: Done!

[badly_knitted]

Ooh, those sound heavenly!

Raining a lot here too.