Check-In Post September 20th 2021

[badly_knitted]

Hello to all members, 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.


Today's Question: No question today.


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]

In today's news, I was almost mown down by a speeding rat! I was clearing out the last small shed, which was crammed floor to ceiling with everything under the sun, when the rat exploded from the box I was moving, ricocheted off my welly, and shot out of the shed so fast I didn't see what it was until I turned around. I tried to chase it towards the street, but it made a U-turn, shot past me again, dashed past the back door, which is always kept closed, and scrabbled away in the direction of next door's garden. I wasn't too surprised, I knew there was one about earlier in the year and had to stop feeding the birds because of it, but I'm happy to evict it. It needn't bother coming back.

The shed is now empty and the door removed. It can be dismantled tomorrow.

I did eventually get 12 rows done on my sweater sleeve. Only 4 more pattern repeats to go.

[smallhobbit]

Clearly the rat didn't fancy being dismantled.

This sleeve is doing well, despite all the contretemps elsewhere.

[badly_knitted]

Who would? Can't say I'd fancy that myself. It's a good thing my friend wasn't here. Spiders he can handle, but his phobia is rats and mice. I may not be happy there's a rat about, but they don't scare me.

Thanks, it is, surprisingly, although my hands are reluctant to cooperate at present. Not painful, just tired and a bit clumsy.

[peaceful_sands]

Well done on your progress. You’re not alone in having to stop feeding birds because of it attracting rats. Although funnily enough my neighbour has a squirrel feeding box next door that he had to stop filling when the crows worked out how to prop it open so they could eat all of the contents!

[badly_knitted]

Thank you!

Rats are menaces. I don't mind squirrels eating some of the bird food, but I draw the line at feeding rats.

Viva the crows! They're among my favourire birds, so intelligent and surprisingly playful.

[peaceful_sands]

Crows are definitely very intelligent - I actually watched them over a period of days work out how the feeding box opened and what the issue with the way the squirrels fed from it was (the squirrel would let the lid drop gently onto its back so that it could use both front paws inside which obviously wasn't going to work for the crows), so a couple of them spent quite a bit of time working how to lift the lid far enough to be able to prop it back so it didn't drop on them! The problem was that once they'd done it, their friends also turned up to dine and boy are crows noisy! I do admire their tenacity though.

Personally I love watching the red squirrels outside. We live just outside a conservation area and they have encouraged people to make their areas squirrel friendly for their benefit. I love watching the squirrels play in the trees outside - one actually came down and looked in my window while I was working the other day before racing away. I can't put up a box myself because my tree has branches that are too thin to support a box (not that I'd be any good up and down a ladder to the box to refill it either) and I can't put it nearer the ground because the cats from next door would just see that as me providing them with red squirrel for lunch! When I used to put out bird food it was on the other side of the house where the cats don't go.

[badly_knitted]

They're among the brainiest birds there are, but yes, they can be noisy. I don't mind that though.

You're so lucky to have red squirrels! Sadly where I am there are only greys. I've seen reds in the wild when on holiday many years ago, and they're the most charming creatures imaginable.

Perhaps you you rig a feeded that you can raise and lower, like raising a flag up a flagpole. Then you could lower it for filling and then raise it back to a safe height.

[peaceful_sands]

We only have red squirrels and know how fortunate we are. I love watching them but at times they are quite elusive.

[badly_knitted]

It must be wonderful to live somewhere that you get to see them, even if they're good at keeping out of sight.

[wiseheart]

Ugh, rats! Hopefully you've got rid of the critter dor good. It's impressive that you can keep your daily schedule, despite the extra work.

[badly_knitted]

Domesticated pet rats are one thing, but the wild ones are not wanted, I would like to think it's gone for good, but there are almost always rats, no matter where you are.

Thanks. The knitting is my little bit of relaxing each day.

[medievalrosalie]

I don't mind mice and rats, but I love a good shed!

And still you managed to get knitting done! Well done!

[badly_knitted]

I don't mind the wood mice, but I resent the rat. They can be a gigantic pain.

Now I just need to find a suitable new shed. So many these days are flimsy things.

Thanks!

[wiseheart]

I've finished the floral-patterned mittens and started on the star-patterned batch. Current count: 15 finished, 5 half-done, 5 more to go.

[badly_knitted]

Yay! Well done, you'll be finished before you know it!

[wiseheart]

The last batch promises to be a tiny bit more complicated. The first 4 batches all have a common motif: a snowflake, a heart, a start, two flowers. 5 different ground colours in every batch. The last one will be put together from rests - I don't have all the colours for that one, and neither the motifs. But a bit of avant-garde never hurts, or so Jack Harkness would say. ;)

[badly_knitted]

I'm sure you'll find something that works for them. It's good to do something a bit different, maybe even unique.

[wiseheart]

Actually, I've managed to find a common design: another ribbon found in my stash, one that consists of interlinked little Christmas trees. So it will be very fitting.

[badly_knitted]

That sounds lovely!

[peaceful_sands]

You're positively racing through them!

[wiseheart]

Sewing small objects has the advantage that one can use little slots of free time - even ten minutes - to make some progress between two completely unrelated chores.

[medievalrosalie]

That's great!

[nagi_schwarz]

I am making very slow progress on both a crocheted baby afghan and also a small knitted dress. It's my first time knitting a dress and I'm worried it won't turn out well but I figured it was worth a try.

[peaceful_sands]

I'm sure the dress will be fine. It's good to try something new and it's most definitely worth trying things out. Well done on working on the afghan as well.

[nagi_schwarz]

Thank you!

[badly_knitted]

Oooh, two projects! Good luck with those. Is the dress for your daughter? I've knitted baby dresses but nothing toddler sized.

[nagi_schwarz]

Thank you! Yes, the dress will hopefully fit Boo when I'm finished with it. If not, she has a play date friend who's younger who it'll fit. Or maybe she'll have to grow into it...

[badly_knitted]

Ah, the mysteries of knitting... Who will it fit? As long as someone gets use from it, that's the important thing.

[peaceful_sands]

More work on the cross-stitch - Eeyore now has enough body to also have a tail (or at least part of one - the bow and the fluff at the end still need to be done) and I've started on the first colour of ground around Winnie the Pooh. Lots of counting not just of stitches but of gaps - should get easier as I go along when I reach the point of filling in the gaps rather than creating them from one big empty space which is what I'm doing right now.

I can't believe that I've come across a half done tapestry that I had forgotten all about. Something else to do!

[badly_knitted]

Eeyore is definitely taking shape! Sounds like you've made a lot of progress.

What's the tapestry of?

[peaceful_sands]

I can’t see the full picture but from what I remember it’s a woman in a straw hat holding flowers. It’s a long time since I last saw it!

[badly_knitted]

It sounds pretty anyway.

[wiseheart]

I admire people who can do tapestry.

[medievalrosalie]

I really love Eeyore! You're really making progress!

[medievalrosalie]

No sewing today, but my sister visited on Monday and we discussed the Rocking horse saddle sticking out and she agrees that putting the high density foam cut in shape UNDER the bottom layer of the saddle instead of under the seat should work. I'm about finished looking at the little bridle clamped together and ready to glue it.

I have been eyeing off the sleeves to the wool gowne that I've finally finished hemming and I really need to get a wriggle on with them. I'm in the middle of doing a bunch of website things, so I'll see if I get time/enthusiasm to do anything on that.

[badly_knitted]

Good to hear that progress is being made on the rocking horse's tack!

Good luck with the gowne, hope you can find the time and enthusiasm to work on it.