Check-In Post - Sept 10th 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: Share your favourite crafting tip, if you have one.


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 knitted two random non-sparkly meeces to use up the spare ears. I was one ear short so I had to crochet that. Then I sewed up, stuffed, and added ears and tails to those two, and the four sparkly meeces I knitted yesterday, and THEN I knitted another sparkly meece, crocheted ears for it and its partner, and cut the yarn for their tails. I still have to knit the other meece of that pair, and finish those two and the last two I still have waiting. Once they're done, that will be the last of the meeces for a while and I can get their faces done.

[meridian_rose]

So many pumpkins, so many meeces, and the ear problem continues (too many then too few!) you are so so committed/dedicated and I in awe :) The face in your icon looks great, I bet all the meeces will be amazing :)

[badly_knitted]

There will (I hope) be plenty of pumpkins and meeces for the kids at Halloween. At least I won't have any leftover ears once I finish the last 4 meeces in this batch!

I still have the mini meece in the picture along with its partner. They were sort of prototypes when I started trying to make smaller meeces to turn into brooches. I've made quite a few of the mini ones since then, but this pair are special.

Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

Yesterday I made tomato-basil quickbread. It's interesting, but turned out way sweeter than we expected. It should still work as an accompaniment to meatloaf, but I'm not sure it'll serve as sandwich bread.

Today's plan is checking out a farmer's market. We're also hunting for small picture frames. I've got the intention seal from the Oddities Market, and our watercolor portrait arrived. <3

>> This Week's Question: Share your favourite crafting tip, if you have one. <<

Many crafts have stages with waiting time. Instead of trying to remember things like "soak this for 10 minutes" or "allow 2 hours to dry completely," use a timer like you would for recipes. I have a kitchen timer on my desk for setting reminders of whatever. It saves mental energy for more important things. Cognitive offloading for the win!

Re: Thoughts

[badly_knitted]

That sounds tasty!

Timers are useful for so many things.

[meridian_rose]

My crafting tip is don't be afraid to try something new but begin with a small project. Too many people buy the biggest cross-stitch kit, or a ton of paints and a massive canvas, plan to needlefelt a huge item and find it more difficult/time-consuming.
My godmother - a woman of many crafting talents who'll turn her hand to anything from knitting to painting to making a sled - said her son was going to knit a jumper and purchased loads of materials, tons of wool, different knitting needles, a complex pattern. He got fed up and she had the rest of his stash for her hoard.

So start small. A knitted scarf, a crochet blanket square, a 4inch square of embroidery, etc. I like the kits you get especially around Christmas that come with all the tools and material you need, which gives you a chance to try something new without a huge monetary investment and with one or two manageable projects with instructions included.

[badly_knitted]

Very good advice. My first proper knitting project was a matinee coat for my nephew, but I picked the most complicated pattern imaginable and kept re-starting it until I figured it out, but I already knew the basics so it wasn't a problem. If I'd never done any knitting before it would have put me off.