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 π 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. π
Black yarn fortunately means no one can see stitches on Tobias' horns, not just me. π 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. π
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. :')
Messed around with some jasperite terrazzo kits today to make coasters (unpolished yet). Some obvious faults in the make but itβs all quite satisfying and I have plenty of the mix + chips leftover hehe. >:3c
Terracotta zoomorphic askos, Greek, ca. 1725β1600 B.C.
Show us your favorite crochet hangout! Is it the couch, your desk, the trainβ¦
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. π
Has Peter Strickland watched this immediately before sitting down and writing Flux Gourmet??
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? π€
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. π 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! π±π / 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 π΅π±. Plus it feels so much safer to have something to look up when things go wrong haha. π«£ 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? π΅βπ«
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. π
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. π€― So it's a 2.5 months progress post of sorts.
Patterns:
Eleanor the Labrador from TOFT:
Frenchie from StringyDingDing:
jenniferβs bodyΒ π©Έπ
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. π
[deleting the first para because i realised itβs almost identical to last month and i just swung to the dark side cos i wrote it while very tired π]
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. π
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. π«
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. π₯²
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. π
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. π«
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....
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. π₯³ 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. π
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. π
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 Β£28 extra. π
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.
Ralsei
Aimee the Sheep (pictured below being made at Nagare π)
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.
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. π 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. β
Hades II update?! Deltarune... tomorrow!! D:
the Undertale concert
Sashiko embroidery workshop
Masterful Disco Elysium gameplay: spend 8 hours having your character obsess over their own sexuality. The only in game reward is that you get your detective partner to admit he's gay. Win
i guess i forgot which blog is which so this is my main now, and the other one is for reblogs
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