techforevil
i guess i forgot which blog is which so this is my main now, and the other one is for reblogs
63 posts
Latest Posts by techforevil
Kangaroo (with a baby!)
A super quick one, simple to crochet but with A LOT of sewing (see here for WIP parts).
From a free pattern by StringyDingDing:
the pouch was ending up way too small and I had to improvise
I didn't do the face shaping bit (might do later, got a turtle to sew up first x__x)
May 2025
This month was about 3 years long, work has put me through the wringer and I'm in my feelings about it so much that I thought I've done nothing else but apparently my spare time is endless. 💀
Work
[deleting the first para because i realised it’s almost identical to last month and i just swung to the dark side cos i wrote it while very tired 😌]
I'm still not failing as badly as whoever is managing those AI summaries on top of Google tho. Whoever you are, you're making millions of people's life worse several times a day and burning down the planet. 💖
Anyway, the deadline got moved by a week and the world did not stop spinning. Not even when some people took holidays. Figures!
Did not make it to Delivercon because of the above shenaningans. One day I will be a dependable unconference co-organiser. :(
I'm personally quite disappointed in some of the decisions being made lately but at least they resulted in seeing how many people genuinely do value working in the open etc. It's heartening to see that this stuff genuinely does matter to other people and I'm not the only one upset by it.
I keep thinking about a conversation I had few months ago now about bullyign and what to do when you witness it but are not personally affected. TBH my own experience of reporting things was so disastrously bad I'd be cross if someone reported a thing on my behalf haha. It's not helpful that a lot of the guidance assumes the line manager is a safe person to report things to, like they're never a problem themselves... The most pragmatic thing is sadly to help the bullied person get another job. 🫠
I genuinely dread every time when I need to buy something (people, software, outcome), might be a thing to fix if we shouldn't be doing everything from the ground up....
Professionally one of the worst months of my life, several things were late, not done, or not escalated in time for a big deadline on the 3rd June and no matter what anyone says they were squarely within my remit. 🥲
I'm still not failing as badly as whoever is managing those AI summaries on top of Google tho. Whoever you are, you're making millions of people's life worse several times a day and burning down the planet. 💖
Anyway, the deadline got moved by a week and the world did not stop spinning. Not even when some people took holidays. Figures!
Did not make it to Delivercon because of the above shenaningans. One day I will be a dependable unconference co-organiser. :(
It's been so nice to see how many people in my organisation genuinely value working in the open etc. It's heartening to see that this stuff genuinely does matter to other people and I'm not the only one upset by the direction things have gone recently.
I keep thinking about a conversation I had few months ago now about bullyign and what to do when you witness it but are not personally affected. TBH my own experience of reporting things was so disastrously bad I'd be cross if someone reported a thing on my behalf haha. It's not helpful that a lot of the guidance assumes the line manager is a safe person to report things to, like they're never a problem themselves... The most pragmatic thing is sadly to help the bullied person get another job. 🫠
I genuinely dread every time when I need to buy something (people, software, outcome), might be a thing to fix if we shouldn't be doing everything from the ground up....
Various
I had a good time at UK Games Expo, even though it was initially super overwhelming. I met up with some friends, bought way too many games, and went to a game design workshop where my group made something quite abstract but that actually worked as a fun game! :o Making it my goal to prototype at least 1-2 small things by end of year.
UKGE bonus win: I convinced someone to buy Arcs and we're playing this weekend. 🥳 Ideally we'd find a regular 4th but fingers crossed it works with three. I can't wait for the Fangs & Fortune expansion to Ahoy to come out as well, both the factions seem super fun to play. 👏
STILL WAITING FOR THE COMPLETION DATE but at least my mortgage rate went down by 0.5% since the initial calculation. It'll offset the stamp duty a bit I suppose. 🙃
I (re)discovered Baikal seals and I'm now convinced petting one would fix me.
I enjoyed this personal video by PushingUpRoses where she talks about how therapeutic ceramics have been to here. Personally throwing makes me feel like I'm on the brink of madness (can't fucking center), but as someone with fairly powerful 'could a depressed person make THIS' energy I appreciate her being open about it. Something to relate to innit.
Moved Ghent trip to October from this weekend and it only cost me £28 extra. 😌
I went to Java Whiskers' crochet with cats evening and like anythign else cat cafe related it was terrible value for money.. worth doing once tho. The cats were cute but I was not willing to compromise my yarn integrity for their amusement so I was not the most popular person there. ;(
The Grayson Perry exhibit at Wallace Collection was fantastic, just a really fun concept done so well. His ceramics were probably the least interesting piece which speaks to the quality of everything else.
Arts & crafts
Ralsei
Aimee the Sheep (pictured below being made at Nagare 👌)
Fox and a Cat
a very easy hat
I got started on the potter's blanket pattern from Toft, but adding pinks as well (since I had a lot of 8/8 cotton in whites, pinks, and blues)
Hello Kitty (waiting for a friend she was gifted to finish making an outfit before I can post)
two floral pairs of earrings at a workshop by Rosa Pietsch
I have a crochet backlog of gifts only, starting with Jigglypuff in 8/8 cotton that is making my hands cramp up something awful. I'm never buying that weight again, it works fine for the granny squares but otherwise it's bloody murder.
Watched and played
Kathy Rain 2: too direct of a sequel IMO, and the supernatural elements were the weakest part of 1. The Whedonian tone got really old since then too. Some gorgeous pixel art and more traditional investigation were fun, but a solid 6/10 for me at most.
Star Trek TNG. I am almost done, in the middle of the 7th season which is loaded to the brim with everyone's extended families for some odd reason. The grandma-loving ghost is probably the most fun of the bunch. Overall, a very enjoyable series and I can see myself returning to some episodes (not the non-binary planet one). I wish K'Ehleyr wasnt't killed off, I wish Ro Laren's biggest role after her intro wasn't fucking Riker, I wish Geordi's captain mom existed as a character before dying, I wish ManWithNoName!Troi was just how she always was. And most of all I wish there was and ep with Q *and* Lwaxana because I love to see Picard suffer. 😌 But I guess I'll have to make do with a book.
Final Destination 6. So many deaths that were just... splats. The flashback intro was amazing tho and some kills were fun - but nothing will top The Monkey for that this year and possibly many to come.
Phoenician Scheme. Very pretty, very aesthetic, that was all that I needed from it.
Tornado. Scottish samurai western sounds cool as hell but the characters made stupid unrealistic decisions all of the time (NOT in a fun way) and I ended up more exasperated that entertained.
Evangelion: Death (True). Weird af recap, to be honest, just made me feel like I should rewatch the series. ✋
Next up
Hades II update?! Deltarune... tomorrow!! D:
the Undertale concert
Sashiko embroidery workshop
Aimée the Sheep
Made using a kit from TOFT.
It's limited edition but if you're familiar with their body construction you can probably very easily recreate it. The only 'special ingredient' is La Bien Aimee Confetti Cake yarn - it's also the main reason for the kit being on the expensive side I guess. The yarn came in hank and I was dreading it based on my previous experience but it turned out that DK weight yarn was significantly easier to untangle than sock weight. 😌
You can also still get the Sheep magazine with patterns (including previously featured Seth and Tobias) if you do want/need a pattern.
I've not got super much to say about this one to be honest... I forgot to put in the safety eyes so it's a bit of blue sparkly Rico yarn which I think suits her. I made bulk of the body in a queue waiting for a sample sale and I thought it was quite solid but upon inspection later the holes between stitches were once again HUMONGOUS. Thank sheep god for the fleece on top, and a note to self to pay more attention and keep my tension *tight* (but then relax it for granny squares, I started one and it's a wrinkly mess 🫠).
The project helped me overcome my hate on hanks and the yarn seemed like a qualitt product, it's a serious contender if I ever need to make a Quality gift. 👌
Anywho, here's a pic of all three existing sheep I made (Seth and Tobias post). No denying that Seth is still the most bombastic.
Why do they make me think of Will and Hannibal with Abigail? 🥺
AmiguruMay Day 6 - WIP: work in progress
ngl i fell off with this challenge but it's never too late to catch up?? 🙃
dilly dallied around London at minumum efficiency today and made a good start at a new lil guy
i've decided to try and crochet with more things things that are not cotton so this is baby alpaca. feels pleasant to work with but does not end up as soft as you'd think and i think will require some gentle blocking (not sure how to pull it all off with stuffing, sewing things together etc)
Fox and grey cat
Random little projects made this week.
I've had the cat kit for a while (bought instead of another book I will never finish at Waterstones), and the fox is my attempt at actually making stuff I find on Tumblr. It's a free pattern.
Honestly I expected the kit to be worse, the yarn was clearly some kind of a synthetic and the hook was just a chunk of metal but the instructions were pretty clear and it worked up quick. I have yarn spare as well. Shape-wise it's similar to TOFT kits but obviously less 'quality', at £10.
I placed the eyes wonkily hence the side eye 'fix'. 💀
---
The fox is made with Rico pure cotton. It's incredible how much more pleasant it was to make than my last thing, also in cotton but from Hobbii. Maybe that was stiffer cos it was bleached? :s
A quick hat from a kit - attempting to break the April curse. Unfortunately as the cover implies it is only big enough for a child and I think I don’t know any more of those so my fine hound mascot will be looking very fashion.
I think Sirdar kits are pretty good for beginners (I made a fucking massive scarf before) but the colour selection is always at least a bit questionable imo. 🤨 Like what in the lesbian + pan flag mix is this… at least the yarn from the scarf came in handy for the Raccoon’s hi viz jacket…
Note to self to get a bobble maker and a granny square blocking board…
Made a Susie Deltarune amigurumi.
If you want more detail/other angles, peep this.
April 2025
ngl it's been a rough month
Work / general
This doesn't really hit when you already know the next week is gonna be even worse fwiw. 💖
A long weekend is nice but it'd be better if things did not just get squished into four days.... The post-easter was particularly tough including being told of a quite challening meeting the same day on Tues, a few people around me struggling with physical and mental health, still dealing with reporting and actions after downtime at the end of the previous week, some organisational wobbles caused by work straddling several portfolios, someone falling foul of a pretty major policy which I had to deal with and more.
I guess I mostly feel guilty instead of tired. I can recognise it's not _entirely_ rational and I still recognised when someone was trying to unjustly guilt trip me so it can't be that bad?? 🫠
I enjoyed this blogpost about stand-ups. The tendency to make them a report to manager is my number one pet peeve I think. I had a lot of fun with them during my last gig at GDS especially, I wish I could exhume that energy again...
The mortgage offer paperwork I'd have to do is stopping me from doing some really dumb stuff to the point that I'm in two minds whenever I think of chasing solicitors.
Let's not forget it was also a very big month for some really stupid and evil people. : )
I did have a fantastic swim on Easter Sunday and beat most of my best times?? The pool was nearly empty which helped a lot and the sunshine was glorious. 🙌
Caught up with a friend who finally secured a new (long!) contract after a couple of months of unemployment. We could not get into Miga at short notice but Calong was absolutely fab. 👌
Filipino food is kinda booming? Or maybe I just started paying attention. Anyway both Donia and the new Panadera branch are very fine additions to central.
Crochet etc
The fact that I SOMEHOW REPEATEDLY kept fucking up SOMETHING about the Hello Kitty gift/request I'm making did not exactly boost my mood. It's done now at least but ehhhh (handing over for someone else to embroider face and sew clothes).
Apparently I only finished Susie this month, why does it feel like it's been ages? More detailed post.
Needle felted a bunny for a friend and a cotton blanket/shawl/uhh? for their baby.
Used chenille yarn for the first time to make a mahoosive catnana.
Visited a couple new yarn shops, McCulloch & Willis (where the sheep displays below come from) is def the biggest and best stocked but I liked how cozy Wild & Wooly was (my local once I move!?). Fabrications seemed more sewing oriented, very small selection of yarn. Knit With Attitude was sadly closed when I walked past but Ultimate Fabrics and Craft near it is neat!
I am sooooo tempted by this https://javawhiskers.co.uk/crochet-with-cats/
Watched
The Residence - just a bit of murder mystery fun. Not without tedious bits but Giancarlo Esposito stuns as always and Uzo Aduba's defective detective is super fun and hot. My birding era beckons. 🐥
Hourglass Sanatorium (Has, 1973) - platonic ideal of an European art movie, fever dream-like plot, incredible sets, WWII/Holocaust undercurrents, and most crucially bare breasts every 5 minutes. 10/10 no notes.
Sinners (Coogler, 2025) - it's as good as everyone is saying but I could not stop get the phrase 'whimsical skedaddlers' from bouncing around my brain the entire runtime like so.
Star Trek: TNG - I finished the third season and still no cat? Hello??? I had to find the track above in the middle of the episode, quite stunning. Ranking general enjoyment by plots: Q >>>>> Data / Worf >> Picard > Geordi > various artists > Riker (how many of those are about him maybe leaving? pack your bags and go you basic bitch) > Troi (her mum is fun but The Price made me wanna hurl. Sorry girl but based on this abomination alone you will never recover). RIP Yar, a bicon taken away from us too soon.
Some would say Q is best in small doses but personally I'd watch 28 seasons of a thing where he just ruins someone else's day every episode. 💅
Conclave (Berger, 2024) - I missed this the first time round but thankfully it's back in cinemas cos not only I have caught the papal fever. JP Brammer said it best:
Gayming
I picked up Blue Prince which I don't vibe with and I'm trying to pacifist run Undertale and dying all the fucking time. Do not talk to me about fucking video games, which have become just another aspect of my struggle this month. 🙄
First Delta Green: Music from a Darkened Room session went well, my character is new and I'm struggling a little bit how to fit them into the setting. Can't not love a system that has in-depth genuine role for someone to play a Program Manager. 💞
Finally boardgamed, a couple of smaller things + Apiary. Very cool setting (space bees! bee-shaped mini to represent a space bee spaceship!!!!!!!) but it felt like the space exploration quadrant should be more exciting instead of so much focus on resource collection and trading...
May
So far I've been eating tonnes of noodles between Yori Banjum, Murger Han and Biang Biang?? Gotta diversify my carb intake. :Y
It's my birtday month so everything better turn out well and everyone be nice to me or I'm gonna scream and explode. That is all. 🙇
AmiguruMay day 2 - My Crochet Place
Show us your favorite crochet hangout! Is it the couch, your desk, the train…
My most _common_ crochet spot is my sofa but as long as the weather holds and Picturehouse Central rooftop bar actually has seating available thanks to no film ticket = no entry policy, I will be spending most of my weekends there. 😎
AmiguruMay day 1 - Hello!
This is catching me a bit by surprise (just saw someone else post!) and I don't have anything new to show but it finally made me attempt to make these two wear each others' clothes. 🫡
Susie court-mandated community service AU I guess?? The raccoon is sans pants due to the truly voluptous tail....
I posted more detail on both before:
Raccoon
Susie
Catnana (alien phase + placeholder face, the future owner’s mum is doing me a solid and embroidering properly and stitching on legs herself, I will edit once I get a pic).
My first time using chenille - pretty horrid to work with tbh??? It was almost impossible to see the stitches so I had to feel my way around. Surprisingly decent outcome all things considered. Better than trying to do the same pattern in a pure wool anyway which was NOT soft and pleasant…. 😬
I ran out of yellow before the end despite using up two skeins instead of the one recipe called for anyway. :|
Pattern: https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/1187577726/pattern-jumbo-catnana-crochet-pdf-only
Kinda took off as a meme at work so I may make some minis to throw at people hehe
Susie (Deltarune)
Following up as promised.
Like I mentioned everything is removable:
Fun fact about this one is that I can't show it to Bella the cat cos she gets spooked. I'm guessing it's the eyes?
Just various angles. Is her hair made of pants or are her pants made of hair? 🤔
I'm clearly very confident in her aboility to stand unupoorted becuse pic 1 in this row is faces to a 2m ravine of unkempt plants and bugs. 💀 The boots help the stability.
Pic 2 - I wanted to make hair that'd work with both Hometown and Dark World outfits so I've not glued it like I think some people do. Colours are DW based, both because I started with something I already I had (I originally actually wanted to make Bea but I did not have yarn for body in the right colour... now I'm not too sure how I will make Bea without them looking like twins haha).
Pic 3 - Included purely because I like how the hair looks and you can actually see that the belt buckle IS heart shaped. IGNORE THE MESS IN THE BACKGROUND IT'S NOT MY ROOM (my room is worse).
a tail! *gasp* (it's hideable thanks to the poofiness of the trousers)
Patterns referenced:
body: a mix of Dino and Alligator / yarn: Sirdar Parade
jacket: sanitation worker Raccoon / yarn: Hobbii Friends 8/4 Mercerized Black and Cotton 8/6 Dark Magenta
boots: beekeeper Bear / yarn: Hobbii Friends: 8/4 Mercerized Black and Sunflower
top: rogue Raccoon / yarn: Hobbii Friends 8/4 Mercerized Nightshade
belt: rogue Raccoon / yarn: Hobbii Friends 8/4 Mercerized Black and Sunflower
pants: freehanded! 😱🎉 / yarn: Hobbii Friends 8/6 Dark Magenta
hair: I started with a stitch based on Seth but it looked kinda weird (see below) AND used a fuckton of yarn (it's just chains and slip stitch traverse now) / yarn: Hobbii Friends 8/6 Dark Magenta
Yes the yars are different weight and the body is a different manufacturer. Yes it was a nightmare. I am a Beginner and I did not understand the implications of any of this when I started but now I am smarter.
Also yes, Bogusia's patterns are quite pricy. I like them, I can afford them, and I will never begdrudge giving cash to a fellow 🇵🇱. Plus it feels so much safer to have something to look up when things go wrong haha. 🫣 If you wanna make your own Susie and are a fairly advanced maker you probably don't need to buy all of the above, and if you've got a question about any specific but I'm happy to try to help - but I will not be posting or sending you a full pattern. :)
To do:
Hometown outfit
drummer outfit
sewing the mouth a bit less wonkily
re-do the top? you can't really see it in the pics but the back is blah and the cowl could be nicer
darker brows?? I tried a couple of shades but it just didn't look _right_, maybe after stepping away from it for a wee bit I'll try again
Bonus:
WIP: onion head and little orphan Annie looking ass
What's next?
I have a backlog of gifts, requests, and a massive blanket that's supposed to teach me 30 diffrerent stitches. x__x
DR/UT wise I *really* want to make Undyne but the design is a wee bit complex, plus I've not made anything more on a humanoid side before...
I'll probably make Ralsei at some point (white ver, not black - crocheting with black yarn is a nightmare :') )
Since Bea would feel a bit same-y... GREGG RULZ OK? Or Witchdagger Mae? Or I do basically have a bear pattern for Angus? 😵💫
This has now been finished and gifted so it’s rebloggable on main! 🎉
I am mystified about quite a few aspects of this, mostly the wonkiness given that I don’t _think_ I missed any stitches while turning and even blocked it. 🤨
Anyway, the recipient seemed very happy with it, and it’s only for a baby so the most important aspect is washability haha.
am i fast enough to bash out half a 🏳️🌈 blanket on a train to + from Manchester? not quite yet (purple missing + edges) but pretty good progress anyway
pattern: https://hobbii.co.uk/rainbow-baby-blanket
Easter Bunny (needle felted + some crocheted flowers)
The great things about needle felting is that the work is never done - this little guy could have been much less fuzzy if I stabbed him for a few more hours but the owners should be quite capable of continuing to shape him if they choose to do so. : )
Unfortunately despite trying A LOT the flowers were not turning out very well so I crocheted them yesterday. 🫣
I'm particularly happy with the face, I think it's very sweet. `
The kit itself is not particularly easter themed (link: https://www.berginandbath.co.uk/product-page/needle-felting-kit-easter-bunny) but adding a bag with eggs helped. The bag and the flower are also removable if they want to add new accessories...
The pic to the right is from Stitch Fest where I bought the kit. I could not get to IKEA to get the dome they put theirs in but a pasta container from John Lewis did just as well.
Made a Susie Deltarune amigurumi.
If you want more detail/other angles, peep this.
March 2025
We're having AN ACTUAL SPRING? Whoever planted all the cherry trees (and other blossoms) around London - thank u.
For the first month this year, no one I know has died. As far as I'm aware. 🎉🥲
I've been doing Spanish on Duolingo for three full years as of this month, and taking classes for two (with some of the same people! so cool : )). It really feels like my life is just Spanish on Wednesdays sometimes, but if my count is correct I should be at the end of B1 by next summer!! :o
Went to the Stitch Festival, bought a load of stuff. I keep buying more and more yarn from Hobbii because I run out of one specific colour or have An Idea. Goal - don't buy any more in April?! I appreciate having a yarn shop 10 minutes from my house and I try to buy stuff from them whenever poss but to be completely honest the yarn selection is ass, they did not even have blue cotton. :[
Work is mostly stable, new Delivery Manager is settling in fast but I'm hanging around for a bit cos someone is going away for a month so a team needs cover. Still not sure what next, I've had chats about agile coaching. Hopefully not something that's a technology in search of an application - you know what I mean. 🙄
I made it to Data Bites (great talk about waste! all the girls love talking about incineration plants and waste tracking!!! 💖 ) and Product for the People where the vibe was honestly so nice, I really enjoyed myself even though I basically had to work throughout tee day. Also I met someone I've not seen for YEARS there cos they just came back in the UK and are doing something interesting again in one of my old depts. \o/
The OpenAI Ghibli stuff is so fucking gross.
What is up with the Majima Grayson Perry Everywhere campaign? I saw Grayson Perry books, Grayson Perry cross-stitch set, Grayson Perry jewellery, not even gonna mention the massive Grayson Perry poster that's just part of the landscape now. I like the guy a lot but it's funny how he's suddenly wherever I look. 😵💫
I had an eye test and my sight got better?!
House purchase has not moved from what I can see, it's gonna be another summer of hauling ass to the lido for an hour each way instead of having it round the corner at this rate. 🥲
I felt crap on the weekend when my friends started playing Delta Green, boo. :(
Whoever came up with Java Whiskers queer dating should get a raise. Not for me due to my commitment to dying alone but I appreciate marketing genius when I see it. 🫡
Earworm: Fever Ray - I'm not done (live at the Troxy). I was there and it was so fucking good, the recording almost captures it.
Less puerile street art IS available in London, but who cares. 😎
Makes
Raccoon (crochet)
Whales (crochet/needle felted)
Mouse (needle felted)
French bulldog (crochet)
Cat bed (crochet) + a necklace from the same yarn I've not managed to take a decent pic of
I picked up needle felting again after a workshop at Stitch Festival and I'm enjoying how easy it is to shape something recognisable. ~__~ It scratches the ceramics itch a bit, which is helpful since the only non-throwing course is on Saturdays in the prime morning swimming hours and I'm not sacrificing this over the summer haha.
While looking for Deltarune amigurumi patterns I found this amazing Seam plushie tutorial so putting that craft on my backlog...
I also got some cards from Pacific Knit Co, my knitting era may be approaching.
Currently I'm making something for a friend for Easter and trying to customise a pattern into a specific character... sneak peek:
Also pictured my first attempt at untangling a hank. What an absolute disaster. 🙃
Watched
a lot of KBash stuff - thank you youtube algorithm gods for sending me those fun, thorough videos from interesting perspective.
finished Star Trek TOS (due to this post, heh). Boy, did I feel like bobo the fool when I enjoyed the last episode and saw it's the most hated and panned one. 🧍🏻 You can quickly dismiss the premise as misogynistic (whatever the interpretation some aspects are deeply sus) but it's actually easy to find some nuance - and the idea that it's because of the writers' incompetence is delicious. 👹 Like the writer of that article I thought the performances were very fun. Anyway, I just started TNG and it kicked off strong with one of the divas of all time so my hopes are high. Maybe fewer aliens will be just blonde bombshells with funky hairdos this time (would it kill you to pledge your eternal devotion to a sentient pile of rocks that can revive Genghis Khan at least ONCE McCoy you coward! >:( ).
Next
Somehow I ended up buying fuckton of tickets for the future this month, so:
Kinoteka festival (Saragossa Manuscript, Hourglass Sanatorium)
UK Games Expo
A weekend in Ghent (I booked the Eurostar and the next day Switch 2 and Deltarune 3+4 were announced for the same weekend, I am fuming/you are WELCOME Lancer Fan Club)
Neon Genesis Evangelion screenings at the PCC
Deltarune concert for the 10 year anniversary (I was on the fence, I opened the seating chart and there was only one front row circle seat avaialble so my poor impulse control took over....)
Gotta make it to that Leigh Bowery exhibit
This is so true, thank you Pokemon News UK 😌
Whales (crochet and needle felted)
My flatmate requested a 'whale in a top hat'. I originally wanted to do something in trans flag colours but the light pink yarn I started with felt a bit meh... I already had an order coming with some Hobbii Universe, so I went to my local yarn shop to try and find something suitable for the belly and Schwedenrot sock in Over the Rainbow* seemed to more or less fit the bill.
I think the yarns go decently well together and again, I have more luck than reason in that they ended up being similar (very fine for me!) weight and I could sew them up without the wee guy being horrifically misshapen haha. Doesn't really read trans in the end due to more green-ish elements than blue tho...
As I finally gifted him around St Patrick's Day the 'top hat' (the top of which likes to pop up making it not look like a top hat...) element is green, so his name is Wally O'Whaley! 🐋🍀🏳️⚧️
The needle felted guy is really just a cleanup, I must have started him 4-5 years ago, probably from a kit? I like the shape of the fins a lot!
Pattern:
Baby Humpback Whale: https://www.1dogwoof.com/humpback-whale-crochet-pattern/
*the sock yarn came in a hank - I've never had one before and it was a FUCKIGN NIGHTMARE to unravel and get into a workable state. I'd say never again but I already bought another nice hand dyed hank at stitch fest so I will just continue suffering?? 🥲
I enjoy needle felting A LOT. There's just something about stabbing things into shape that is very satisfying, and I think it's the closest fibre art to pottery in that I can just fuck around and find out, add a bit of stuff it things feel off etc. 😗
Kit link: https://www.themakerss.co.uk/products/sewing-mouse-small-needle-felt-kit
Anyway, I started this fella at a Stitch Festival last week. Not gonna lie, the little sewing machine was a major factor why I signed up. 😂 And the glasses!?
The workshop was a bit rushed but the instructions were pretty clear and I'm happy with the end result of course. : )
Progress pics:
My mum would not stop asking me to make her a Frenchie amigurumi and I wanted something where I could relax a bit about the pattern/quality after the raccoon, work with a bit bigger hook etc haha. 💀
TBF I wouldn't even post it but I think it's neat to see how far I've come in terms of sheer speed- I think making both took roughly the same amount of time. 🤯 So it's a 2.5 months progress post of sorts.
Patterns:
Eleanor the Labrador from TOFT:
Frenchie from StringyDingDing:
Racoon Sanitation Worker
Made using a pattern by Bogusia.
The most complex thing I've attempted yet, given the number of accessories. I'm pretty happy with her overall, but issues are obvious:
NO CLUE what is happening with the face. I think I may have lost count when joining up the legs and never recovered (but the body is fine??) or maybe just lost the round end? I've restarted the face several times and it was just not having it so I just powered through it instead of abandoning the project but the wonkiness is obvious.
Colour changes themselves ended up looking pretty sus most of the time, and seemingly every 'improvement' ended up looking worse and worse. 🤷🏻
I'd like to try this pattern again (so she can hang out with the Rogue version) and I think I'd either try to reverse it (starting from the top) or do the head separately and then join the two parts.
On the plus side, I made this with a very small hook (1.8mm) so there's virtually no perceptible gaps. 🎉
This is also the first time I've been conscious about the 'right' and 'wrong' side.. yes it took me a while. But also, no one I showed my previous stuff to cared or knew the difference - you can't really count on amateurs to provide constructive feedback esp if they like you. From now on showing WIPs to my enemies *only*.
Not directly related to the pattern but I finally learned how to do a magic circle - goodbye 2 chain butthole looking centres. 🫠
According to the pattern the bin should be closed but I left mine open and the bin bag can be put into it.
The bin bag was surprisingly tricky, and the banana surprisingly straightforward.
The project uses a real mix of different yarns - fortunately everything is sort of in proportion but variation in textures does stand out a bit. I'm undecided if this makes it more interesting or looking a bit sloppy haha.
How cute are the little claws? And the gloves??? Oh my goodness!! >.<
This is my first thing that can stand by herself sort of confidently, thanks to the mahoosive tail. : )
It took me about 2 weeks to finish everything (mostly because of the face pattern but I think working with teensy hook was also a factor). I made simpler 4 things in the week since, but I really want to make the crow wizard and penguin pirate too \m/
February 2025
I was mentally incapable of moving on from Feb until the sheep was done.
Anyway
Holiday
Cruising is weird and not for me but I was not _for_ me so fine I guess. The polish tour leader was surprisingly competent (esp compared to the LatAm fiasco) and mum had a good time so probably more 🛳️ in my future at some point. It's a good way to recon places worth going back to on my own ig (first Istanbul because that pomegranate juice was to die for, then probs HK).
If there's one thing I know for sure it's that I never need to see another waterfall again in my life. ✋
Work and things
I really don't want to feature an obit in each one of those so can my friends and colleagues stop dying? RIP Charlotte.
Since I cunningly avoided the big thing we've been working towards (migration from GOV.UK PaaS) by being on holiday, a new big thing to work towards that everyone is very stressed about has appeared. 😑
Then I guess I will be moving to a different portfolio since a replacement for my role has been recruited! I get bored easily and I've been here for over a year now so I'm quite happy.
I'm increasingly of the opinion that creating any live service team / BAU capability should probably start with a solid process and roadmap for retiring services.
Sisyphus had it easy compared to people who try to write down processes at work and put them all in one place, I can cheer them on but I have mentally checked out from the attempts and will continue to solve my problems by asking groupchats.
My mortgage got approved, survey happened and has nothing dramatic in it, and my seller has found something they want to buy (with no chain) so it's all happening.
Fool's spring was nice and I am now ready to just delude myself into thinking it's spring for two months no matter how bad the weather gets. At least the lido will continue to be half empty. : )
Got a new tattoo and this was THE shortest time between getting one and wanting the next (as in - while I was still getting tattooed 😑). Love it even more than I expected tbh and definitely getting it extended if the artist comes back to the UK!
I'm helping with the next Delivercon and department's DM get together.
Watched
The Monkey - great fun, true to trailer (yes I'm still pissed about Presence), just a good ass film
The Last Showgirl - 100% of respondents* agree that this could be a double bill with The Substance
*(me and my friend with who I also watched The Substance)
fuckton of b-roll and why the HELL does the photographer girl never have a camera? bizarro. Jamie Lee Curtis just has fun as always. I have a lot to say about this for some reason hah
Mickey 17 - bizarrely bad in an incompetent way (characters introduced for no reason that go nowhere, plotholes, fuckton of expository voiceover, thematic blunt force trauma). Stinks of studio interference frankly, give us the Bong Joon-Ho cut!!!! 🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️
Played
Hades 2 - major update dropped so that accounts for several dozen hours of my life in this time period. We got Ares, we got the good shade... My only remaining wish is for the game to let me pet the goodest three-headed boy. 🥺
The Roottrees are Dead - is it possible to go wrong with an Obra Dinn-like (that is not actually Obra Dinn, that was too hard for me and my eyes hurt thx).
Reignbreaker demo - Hades-like releasing in the spring which seems REALLY GOOD but the studio already announced they're getting shuttered after release. So glad this billion pound industry I'd love to work in is a garbage fire both working culture and career prospects-wise. :|
Fiasco - I guess our DM wanted more people to try making funny voices... ALAS. TTRPGs are hardly my thing and improv definitely isn't. How do I convince these people to just play a fucking boardgame again. orz
Makes
2 x Sheep (Toft) - https://techforevil.tumblr.com/post/777113383117914112/tldr-i-finished-two-sheep-from-toft-seth-the
Sadie the Sailor Dog (Ricorumi) - https://techforevil.tumblr.com/post/777114285980729344/sadie-the-sailor-dog-from-ricorumi-two-main
Started the Sanitation Worker Raccoon (I have the raccoon herself done, now just the accessories).
I also succeeded getting someone else into amigurumi and she’s onto her 2nd project (having started with a toft cat), counting that as mine. 😎
Next up
Got my Yakuza in Hawaii import from Japan ages ago (how could I live without Majima pop-up pirate toy...) just gotta find 30hrs spare to play it.
Golden Idol has a new DLC 👀
Got a ticket for Stitch Festival, inc a needle felting (aka best craft 🗡️) workshop
Maybe try making a human character amigurumi. :T
Sadie the Sailor Dog from Ricorumi
Two main things from this one I'd like to improve on are:
colour changes - I managed to hide the worst of the jumper and life ring stripes at the back or inside but for the future, making them a bit tidier wouldn't hurt. 😬
making pom poms. It looks horrid and falls apart when looked at.
I liked this one much more than Toft patterns! Very little sewing but what I did do (ears) turned nicer than expected. I didn't have suitable safety eyes when I made this but actually it doesn't look too bad.
I took it to my Spanish class to show to someone who also crochets (mostly flat things) and everyone loved her. 😌
(Shit lighting but I could not be bothered to retake pics. : ))
tl;dr i finished two sheep from TOFT (Seth the Wensleydale and Tobias the Hebridean) and this is what they look like
Things that went well:
I think they are very cute and I 💖 them, I guess that's the most important : )
I'm glad I changed the colour palette for Tobias, crocheting so much in a dark yarn would have been hell even with my new neck light
Safety eyes, look much cuter than the pattern. I wish the toft patterns had more instructions on where to place the eyes, I go through A LOT of trial and error. :|
I added a second coat of sligtly longer chains to Tobias' fleece and I think it was a good decision, he looked hella flat otherwise (and it wasn't actually that much more work).
Seth has very fun texture! Reading the pattern I could not imagine how a chain you work back down can become fleece but in the end it's even more extreme than the picture. Leading to:
Things that did not go so well:
Holy fuck did I use A LOT of yarn on Seth. Obviously I misinterpreted something in the instructions about curliness or density but if I only used the 50g provided I think he would have looked patchy AF? In the end I think I used 50g just on the head, and about 125g in total - needing not one but TWO deliveries (since I thought extra 50g would do... idiot). I could tell early on it looks different but obviously was too stubborn to undo what's already been done. I'd like to say I'm gonna learn something from this but I'm not gonna sit here and lie. 😑
Black yarn fortunately means no one can see stitches on Tobias' horns, not just me. 🙄 I felt like I followed all instructions and even made 3 of each just to test if I fucked up by accident but all of them ended up looking a bit off.
Future improvements
I want to learn different ways to do a decrease (sc2tog), or maybe figure out how I'm doing it wrong - it always stands out and looks like shit. The fleece helped hide it in this instance but I won't always be so lucky...
I need more patience when sewing things together, or I'll never make anything that looks straight ahead. 💀
Fortunately I found both a crochet class from end of March and a stitch circle in my local library that just started mid-Jan so I should be able to bother some people irl for advice when a pattern does not make sense to me and just as a second pair of eyes. :')
January 2025 | monthnote
Is it even a new year if I don't make some doomed attempt at weeknotes?
Random notes inc work stuff
Vicky dying still does not feel real. I feel privileged I got to spend some siginifcant time with her when she came along to Conferencia Agile Spain (like most people I primarily knew her from her writing and online presence, altho we met briefly a few times when we overlapped at GDS) and was hoping to follow up on a few things we talked about at GovCamp but equally it means I can't just indulge in my full-on denial mode...
Worked through xmas-ny break like usual. It's usually a chill time unless I am in this department, where apart from the ongoing time-sensitive work lots of random emergencies happened. So glad I'm off for a couple of weeks now, I've not had a proper break since Japan in March/April and I'm shattered.
Overall so much random and weird shit was going down at the end of Dec / start of Jan (including both me and my flatmate having very strange dreams) I was beginning to suspect a gas leak... 🙃
Got extended till Feb 2026 in my current contract. 🎉 It should make getting a mortgage easier, now just fingers crossed that the property does not get down valued like the last one and my sellers find something they want to purchase soon.
Quite a lot of change at work, lots of it quite neatly coinciding with my leave. The migration from GOV.UK PaaS my team was prepping for for the last year got delayed last minute and now I'll be missing it but I'm sure it will all go fine.
Booked in with Keemee for a tatoo just after the holiday. 🌺
Govcamp happened and I was mostly helping our rather than going to sessions. :o Good times as usual, felt particularly busy this year for a 'normal edition'. I really like that we finally have a bit of a Teacamp return with TransformGov Talks and also sort of DataBites! \o/
Spanish classes are back. I've not signed up for Korean yet, there's probably a fair bit I can do to brush up close to my former level by myself if I just find the motivation. :s
Watched
Lots of Taskmaster, the perfect crocheting accompaniment (see below)
Nosferatu - the scene in castle 100% played like something from What We Do in the Shadows, I'm not even sorry for giggling throughout. 😔 Needed more Dafoe hamming it up. I was shocked the cat was not named in the credits - breaking a sacred tradition of cinema. 4 stars.
Presence - not a horror, not my kinda thing otherwise (family drama). The central gimmick could be fun in an actual horror movie tho. Another one they kind of employ ('not being bound by time') is sort of redundant because the progression is linear (I suppose otherwise the twist would be ruined). The marketing vs movie kind of fell in place for me when I realised it's the same distributor as Longlegs which was also underwhelming.
Late Feb / March seems staked with releases I want to see: The Monkey, The Last Showgirl, Mickey 17, Death of Unicorn... probably more. Those are just the trailers I saw before Presence lol.
Played
This is probably between Dec-Jan rather than strictly Jan.
Fledgling Manor - Stefan's route only, basically not sure how the other ones can top it so I lost interest but it seems all need to be played to resolve some plot points so maybe in the future...
Sorry We're Closed - I thought this would be a VN but it's a survival horror and I find the shooting stressful haha. You can say I hould have read the description before buying but I was blinded by the art. -_-
bits of Arco (love the mechanics and the story is good but I got stuck at an encounter I can't pass but I'm too stubborn to back out and return at higher level), Animal Well, Stanley Parable (at very long last - yes, it's as good as I thought it would be), I Was a Teenage Exocolonist (tbh the mechanics were more interesting to me in a more down to earth setting of Growing Up), Cryptmaster (Steamdeck does not work well for this).
Waiting for Yakuza in Hawaii, more Hades 2 patches, next Deltarune chapters, and Ghost of Tsushima sequel + Assassins Creed Japan (open world map marker slop > therapy, don't @ me).
Makes
Decima is still closed so no pottery. I've probably forgotten 100% of what little I could do. I'll probably do a course at Mudgang when I'm back to return to some working level and then get either a studio space subscription from them or Turning Earth near Haggerston, depending on how the flat buying is coming along.
In the meantime I have finally sort of learned how to crochet. I got a kit from TOFT to make a black and white cat, resembling Bella a bit. I tried crocheting before a few times (I learned very basic knitting during lockdown and have half a pride blanket from Wool & the Gang somewhere) but it always ended up with me crying, once in public. 🥲 The kit said it's level 2 so I got another level 1 one (labrador)
TBF they are not that different, cat requires changing colours which is actually not hard if you get over the initial barrier to entry of crocheting anything at all. 😬 The cat is also bigger which makes the process much less fiddly.
TOFT instructions are quite barebones and don't have any interim 'this is what it should look like by now' pics which as a complete beginner is quite rough, but I think I managed to make decent approximations of the cover images. I made some changes to the cat on purpose.
Belly disagrees.
The biggest issue I have with TOFT kits so far is that the amount of yarn provided leaves no room for errors or even leaving longer tails. With both patterns I made mistakes (crocheting with dark yarn is particularly hard going if you don't know wtf you're doing) and the yarn started fraying real bad so I had to chop it. I actually had to buy more yarn (which doesn't exactly match...) to finish the cat at all. :(
I got yarn and patterns for two sheep (Seth and Tobias) from them to keep busy on the upcoming flights so we'll see how consistent this minimalism is. 😬
Anyway then I went crazy at John Lewis sales so I have lots of materials now, just need patterns and ideas. The first one is not going particularly well and I'm losing my patience sligtly, might swap to something else.
またね! ✌️😗
Vessel in the shape of a killer whale, Early Nasca, American Museum of Natural History.
Source
limpiando mi casa la toda dia pero todavía no terminado. 🫠 porqué tengo tantas ropas?? de todas formas, muchos no son mi talla pero las gustan y no quiero las tirar. :(
