Catnana (alien Phase + Placeholder Face, The Future Owner’s Mum Is Doing Me A Solid And Embroidering

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:

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)

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:

toftuk.com

Beginner Crochet Labrador Dog Pattern | TOFT

Beginner Crochet Labrador Dog Pattern | TOFT

Frenchie from StringyDingDing:

StringyDingDing

French Bulldog & Boston Terrier Amigurumi PDF - StringyDingDing

Crochet a Boston Terrier and French Bulldog with this printable amigurumi PDF crochet pattern! Visit our site to get it now.

I have no pottery this weekend but my jesmonite & terrazzo kits should be arriving today! Exciting!!

Witcher time!!!! (Let’s not talk about how I thought I’ll be actually good at it this time but so much time has passed that I fucking suck again lmao)

Bella is helping me test one of my Xmas gifts (an apron for pottering).

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. 🙇