c/daily-hobby-check-in

Saw a guy lose half his leather carving to a dull knife at the state fair demo last month

He was going for this intricate floral pattern and the slip just tore straight through the belly of the piece, totally wrecked two days of work, and now I sharpen my gouges before every single session, anyone else had a close call like that?

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jamie_carter87•1d ago

That lady at the yarn store told me to stop frogging my sweater and I'm glad I finally listened

I was working on a cable knit sweater for about 3 weeks and kept ripping out rows every time I saw a tiny mistake. A woman named Margie who works at Knit & Purl in Portland saw me sighing over a dropped stitch on a Saturday afternoon. She walked over and said "honey, your tension is beautiful and nobody is going to notice that one crossover being off by half a centimeter." She was right. I forced myself to keep going instead of frogging the whole thing again, and now I'm six inches past that spot and the sweater actually looks good. Has anyone else had a stranger's advice save you from your own perfectionism?

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young.kim•3d ago

Vent: Found out my cheap knitting needles were ruining my tension for 2 years

Last Sunday I was at this yarn swap in Austin and a lady named Carol picked up my scarf and said my stitches looked tight. She asked what needles I used and I told her the $5 set from a big box store. She handed me her circulars for a second and the yarn just glided through my fingers. I knitted a test swatch right there on her couch and the difference was night and day. My tension was all over the place because the cheap metal had this weird drag on the wool. I went home and ordered a pair of bamboo needles for $18, and my first project after that came out even and soft. Has anyone else had a tool swap totally change their craft game?

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milaw14•3d ago

Finally fixed that wonky leg on my old desk after 3 months

I've been avoiding fixing this desk leg since June because I thought I needed a whole new tool. Turned out a simple washer from the hardware store down the street did the trick in 10 minutes. Anyone else have a project they kept putting off that ended up being way easier than expected?

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jamesroberts•4d ago

Gouache vs watercolor for a rainy Sunday sketch session

Woke up to rain and couldn't decide which paint set to grab. Went with gouache cause I wanted that flat, solid look for the old buildings out my window. Used a size 6 round brush and a scrap of cold press paper. Messed up the roofline twice but the second fix actually looked better than my original plan. Has anyone else switched mediums mid-week and found it changes how you see your subject?

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milaw14•6d ago

The day I finally stopped buying cheap sketchbooks

Last summer I was at a little art supply shop in Portland and the owner talked me into spending $18 on a single sketchbook. I figured I'd be too scared to ruin it, but it actually made me slow down and think through each drawing instead of just scribbling.

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the_richard•6d ago

Switched from a plastic trowel to a stainless steel one and my brick joints look 10x better

I spent like 3 years using those cheap plastic trowels you get at the hardware store, thinking they were all the same. Last month I grabbed a stainless steel Marshalltown trowel for about $18, and the difference is insane. The plastic ones flex too much, so my mortar joints always came out uneven and I'd have to go back and touch them up. With the steel one, the weight and stiffness let me strike joints in one smooth pass, no more second guessing myself. I actually finished my garden wall project in 3 days instead of the usual 5 because I wasn't fighting the tool. Has anyone else had that moment where swapping one tool made a stupidly big difference?

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anthony_campbell88•7d ago

Hit 100 days straight of sketching and it's messing with my head

So I somehow managed to sketch something every day for 100 days in a row. I set out to do 30 and just kept going, but now I'm wondering if sticking to a daily goal actually helps or if it just turns into a chore after a while. On one hand, my lines are way cleaner than when I started back in March. On the flip side, I had three nights where I was doodling a coffee cup at midnight just to keep the streak alive. Do you guys think hitting a big number like this makes you better or just burns you out? I'm curious where you all land on that.

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the_anthony•7d ago

PSA: My grandpa told me to water my succulents more and I killed 3 of them in 2 weeks

My grandpa has this huge garden with tomatoes and peppers that look amazing. He came over last month and saw my succulents looking a bit wrinkly and said 'those need more water, son'. I trusted him because he grows everything perfect outside. I went from watering them every 10 days to every 4 days. By day 12 the leaves were mushy and brown. Turns out succulents hate that much water, I should have stuck to my old routine. Has anyone else gotten bad gardening advice from a well meaning family member?

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emery_black•10d ago

Disagree that more stitches per inch is always better for leatherwork

I spent 3 hours trying to hit 8 stitches per inch on a wallet edge yesterday and it looked worse than my usual 6. The thread kept bunching and I had to rip out 12 inches of work before giving up. Has anyone else found a lower SPI actually holds up better on thin veg-tan?

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craig.john•10d ago

Spent 6 months fighting with wet clay until I tried a plaster bat

My pots kept cracking at the bottom during trimming and I was about to quit. A studio mate in Denver suggested a plaster bat to pull out moisture evenly and it fixed everything on the first try. Anyone else find a simple swap that solved a months-long frustration?

3 comments