techforevil

[techforevil]

Lizzie the Corgi (The Woobles kit)

Despite first coming across Woobles on Reddit (either r/crochet or r/craftsnark idk) where they're commonly derided as overpriced ugly spawns of Satan, I've always wanted to try them. So when I got an Insta ad announcing their arrival in the UK via a royal Corgi bundle I smashed that add to cart button super fast, so that my brain did get any chance to interrupt the process.

Like, as someone who's been crocheting for over 6 months now do I think a tiny crown or cape kit for £4 is good value? Of course not. But since it was all packaged into a bundle, I managed not to think about it. 🫣

The form-factor of the corgi itself is obviously very cute already but the accessories elevate it to new planes of kitschy adorableness.

Anyway, the pitch for Woobles is that they make learning how to crochet easy with video tutorials and special non-splitting yarn.

I am fundamentally not a video tutorial person so thankfully a written pattern is available, but checking the vids with my recent beginner hat on - they seemed very clear, well shot, and presented at a good speed (not too quick, not too slow). 👍

The yarn (cotton tube with filling) is definitely more beginner friendly than TOFT's alpaca or chenille I've seen other patterns use. It reminded me of the kit that finally made some things click for me from Tricotez-moi (selling at comparable price and with tragic, half translated instructions). There was also plenty of yarn in all the kits, I think I could easily make another wee dog out of what I've got left. Contrast to TOFT beginner dog and cat kits which I felt provided very little yarn (I had to buy extra for the cat), especially considering theirs tangles and splits much more so a beginner would have considerably more wastage.

The main kit also comes with a 4mm hook. This was def a weak point and I quickly switched to my own 3.5mm Tulip hook. When I watched the Elise Rose comparison of hook surfaces using a profilometer I thought it was an exaggeration but the difference is actually REALLY stark.

Also 4mm was too big for IMO - there'd be stuffing poking out of poor Lizzy's every orifice. 😭

The only issue I had with the written pattern was how it dealt with colour changes - I miscounted way more times than I'd like to admit for a pattern this simple.

Overall - this is a nice kit, very good for a beginner thanks to the clear videos. If you have a britaboo in your life who wants to learn to crochet (or you want to crochet something for), this is a very nice option. Get them a smaller, good quality hook separately tho.

Will I buy more Woobles? Probably not, after 6 months of crocheting I feel like I am beyond things they offer (esp at the price point). I wish I had access to them back in January tho!

[techforevil]

Postal Worker Pigeon

I've spent most of the last few weeks knitting (and planning knitting) which is fun but it felt SO nice to make a proper little guy again. : )

Incredibly, this was easy and so I don't have very much to say. 🙂‍↕️

It's obviously a pattern by Bogusia, made for a friend of a friend. Grey body yarns are DK from TOFT and all colourful ones apart from yellow are Ricorumi cottons. No clue where the yellow came from, I just had a bit of scrap.

Main things I could have done better: due to change in yarn type and weight there's some gap between the colourful bits of the body and greys. It's not very visible especially with the tie on, but feels a bit sloppy. Despite adjusting and frogging twice the jacket does not feel perfectly.

This is one of the patterns that don't have an alternative fantasy costume, but a paladin seems like it would've been a popular choice:

https://www.reddit.com/r/DnD/comments/rvd5c5/what_class_would_make_for_the_best_mail_carrier/

https://www.reddit.com/r/DnD/comments/clbxms/oc_my_homebrew_paladin_mailman_subclass/

[techforevil]

Turtles and turtle accessories

Praise the Great A’Tuin!

Mine on the left, pattern from TOFT on the right.

Despite the overwhelming beigness something about this Conservationists pattern grabbed me enough to finally subscribe.

The value is relatively good for TOFT (for once it came with *loads* of spare yarn) but it’s a shame it’s in such boring neutrals. 😴

What I did not realise, and what I’m beginning to really resent about TOFT, is how much sewing it will involve. It definitely doesn’t seem impossible to make the front leggies in one piece with smart inc/dec or even short rows, and the shell did not have to be all separate bits either… Overall I can’t help but feel like they’re making things easy for themselves when I could be guided to become a more competent crafter.

Anyway, several people saw me making him, including my Spanish teacher who went crazy for him (and therefore I’ve let her adopt him), and another person who requested a green version - SO much more fun to make.

I did not give the green guy eyelids or snappy mouth and that + colour makes him look younger? 🤨

Traditional cat for scale + a preview of my third turtle-related project this month which was a cosy for a real tort. I will make a separate post when it’s tried on later in the summer, while it’s not a human wearable I’m still wary it may not fit. 💀

Obvs this was also the month where we got a lot of Gerson awesomeness, very fortuitously Bogusia’s next pattern seems to be a turtle so with minor adjustments there will be a turtle-related project #4 by the end of the year! 🐢

[techforevil]

June 2025

Keep on waddlin'

Star Treks

TNG:

Was Wesley Crusher’s main arc about getting groomed and abducted into another dimension via being told he’s a very special boy three or four times… Speechless....

Seson 7 fell off but in general I enjoyed this series a lot, it had a lot of memorable episodes and the cast was fun. Q, Lwaxana, Barclay were the highlights whenever they appeared, obviously, and I'm glad some of them reappear in DS9. 🌟

Data was such a Mary Sue [complimentary]

DS9:

I'm nearly at the end of season 2 and TBH I find the new cast difficult to warm up to. The Bajoran religious struggle plots are quite hard going. The Bajorans are obviously Polish (I will not elaborate).

Anything to do with the Ferengi is pretty engaging (Pel! Bring her back 🥺). I can see how Garak will probably be fun in later seasons (and how The Wire ep must have launched a million fanfics). It’s interesting to see in what new ways O’Brien will suffer.

I’m glad they rescued the Trill host body gender situation after the pretty abysmal ending of the TNG episode, and I am slowly getting used to the way they decided to overlay Arabic pronunciation over the polish spelling of Jadzia’s name, but it was definitely quite the shock to hear it for the first time. x_x 

Other stuff I watched

Department Q - very silly copaganda, torture is obviously fandom approved when done by an underdog immigrant with mysterious past

Indie Horror Showcase - the projector struggled big time and the organisers seemed pretty stressed but personally I did not care. Nice of `Genesis cinema to give us free tickets for something else tho.

The most memorable shorts were IMO:

Bath Bomb

first few minutes of Make Me a Pizza (then it just turns into a porno, she doesn't even make him into a pizza :( sorry 4 spoilerz)

Other entertainments (mostly gaming....)

I swung by Okinawa Day to remind myself of my visit last year. I’ll be back! Hokkaido first tho. 🙂‍↕️

Got the green yuri vol1-2 in Spanish. It's technically learning and therefore an excellent use of money.

I enjoyed a talk preview from one famous blogger, partly because once again it called our 'radical candour' for the gateway to bullying that it is.

9 Lives - cute simple game that was surprisingly engaging (getting too many points can be worse than not getting enough). Idk what to call this 'overshooting' / need for balance mechanic but Apiary (where bees get old and die) + Morsels (where upgrading your abilities too much leads to them going bust afaik) seem to share it and I quite enjoy it... might investigate more.

Speaking of game trends, did Papers Please just now start resut 'spot the imposter' mini genree or has it been going on for a while? I've watched No I'm Not a Human demo playthrough some time ago but That's Not My Neighbor came up on my feeds as well, and maybe another one...

Arcs a couple of times. I even got a playmat and I think the campaign expansions is a possibility. 👀

Spots push your luck with cute dogs, what could be better? it could be better if pushing your luck did not result in mass dog extermination when you lose I guess. T_T

Deep Sea Adventure - we did our best to make sure someone always died one step away from the submarine. 🤝

Hades II for innumerable hours cos the update came out.

Deltarune ch3+4 - this plus the Undertale concert re-awakened the Undyne / Alphyne part of my brain. Anyway, mood for the month:

Crafts

I failed to get the spots right on a prototype of my friend’s cat. It was a good try and I think I know what I’m doing with version 2! 

I have learned the basics of knitting and have been trying to put them into practice, however for three times so far I have fucked up in the exact same way and frogged the whole thing. 30 rows of 2x2 rib in the round is just a bit monotonous and I’m itching to do the colourwork tbh so maybe I will just temporarily switch to something that is…. Flat colourwork?! 

Jigglypuff 

Kangaroo + baby 

I need to properly write up those: 

It’s been turtles all the way down: 

TOFT conservationists pattern (WIP)

Same pattern turtle but in greens

Stegosaurus cozy for a friend’s turt

All this made me think if I should just make Gerson and it turns out Bogusia’s next pattern will be a turtle, if that ain’t a sign… 

A nice purple ziggy zaggy snood

6 day star blanket 

Work

We finally released the thing that’s been haunting me for months. And the bridging call only took 13 hours! I still feel like I’m in a bit of a purgatory as we’re not allowed to ‘announce’ the thing + I have teams working on two major features so I’m not moving to anything fresh for a while…. Looking forward to it eventually happening, and the firebreak tho.

The change of pace immediately after has been quite brutal, I've learned before that getting to a deadline can feel like going through a brick wall into molasses for me in the days immediately after but while I'm conscious of it I am not sure if I'll ever find a coping mechanism for it.

We're having an interesting mix of interpersonal issues, transitional period for work and teams period issues, ambiguous direction issues, and people who are needed for decisions are on leave issues... Gotta love summer in public sector.

I'm not the biggest fan of so-called 'artificial intelligence' and would gladly give way to someone who really wants to work on it (there doesn't seem to be a shortage) but it definitely opened my eyes (and my calendar) to a whole new world of governance, risks, sign-offs, cost considerations, technical requirements etc. Mayhaps it's time to stop doing things that will look great on my CV in the future tho.

I think I really need some holiday but I'm still waiting for the flat to come through (which I'd need both time off and as much money as poss for). orz

Next

I preorded The Alters!

Going to see Videodrome in cinema! Hopefully gonna catch M3GAN 2.0 as well but Picturehouse decided not to put her on in either Central or Hackney. :|  Eddington is not out till August in the UK, flop.

Seems like everything I booked is ages away? Might be a quiet July.

22 Sept - knitting socks

11-12 Oct - knitting and stitching show (two tunisian crochet workshops and one about different knitting colourwork)

26 Oct - knitting floral kerchief

[techforevil]

Jigglypuff

She's made out of 8/8 cotton. She needed a fuckton of sewing - a horrific prospect when using cotton that thick and having THREE layers of of like her eyes do. She used partial rows, for some reason, but I ignored all instructions and she is still fine. She's stuffed to the brim. If used as a projectile, she could kill a man. If she had a tune of choice, it'd be Brick House.

Pattern

To be clear I am not blaming the pattern designer for 99 of the problems (excluding maybe the partial rows), you should definitely use the pattern if you want your own Miss Jiggly. The person it was made for loves her and already asked for Bulbasaur. The issues started, predictably, when I decided to use this fucking DK cotton for it. From now on I will only use it for knitting. T_T

I might update this if my owner ever sends me pics from the new home. m(-__-)m

[techforevil]

Ralsei (Deltarune) amigurumi

Finally more pics of the boy. He is my second semi-original creation after Susie. Details of patterns used and yarns under the cut.

Hat (and the rest of the outift) is removable. I moved the heart higher up after taking the first batch of photos, in total I had to re-take the pics three times (forgot to put on scarf for the second session 🫠).

Completely naked surprisingly looks less scandalous than with the robe yanked up to demonstrate the tail! 🫣 This is the only pic I took from the back apparently, so profound was my shame about the shoddy garment sewing. 😬

Version 2.0 (if it ever happens):

robe measurements

ear / horn placement (ears should have been lower down)

some general stitch gap issues, I use a very small hook (1.8) but it still leaves me unhappy sometimes T__T

hat is a wee bit too small in the end

should have given him little toes / nails on the feet (I thought I could embroider somethign but it looked bad).

Stuff I'm happy about:

eyelashes

ears are pretty cute tbh

the white ribbon

him and Susie are but different sizes (due to different yarn used etc but also lore accurate I guess?! :p) but their clothes still fit each other

I've been in various work / boardgame / Deltarune / Hades 2 / Jigglypuff-making -induced fugue states since making and gifting him so writing this up took a while but since I deliberately aimed to use different types of yarn for him I have actual notes:

Materials

body: Wool & the Gang Sugar Baby Alpaca in Snow White. I wanted something that would make him super soft and reduce appearance of haps between stitches (my previous experience of crocheting in white being with 8/8 cotton which made me want to cut my hands off and die). This yarn did not achieve that, and is also not 'snow white' (more off white / creamy imo). It is also the only yarn I have bought so far that is kind of stinky - even in try dry state, but when wet it makes the whole house smell of wet dog for days. Real gremlins situation, can't recommend. I will try to make something wearable with it next and see if it achieves superior softness.

hat/robe: Cardiff Cashmere Classic in Swatch. Absolutely lovely to work with, quite spenny but worth it. If I fancy myself an advanced maker (thoughtful, deliberate, justifiably charging £5000 a piece etc) at any point I may switch to this yarn completely.

scarf: Knitting for Olive Merino in Pink Daisies. It's only a simple rectangle so I didn't observe much but it seemed pleasant to work with. I may try it as a primary material for something once I manage to reduce my current mountains of yarn situation.

He would NOT be complete without the glasses 🥺 - I got them off ebay from this seller.

Patterns

Much like Susie the lil fella would not exist without Bogusia!! 👏

The body construction is kind of standard for her - but Alligator is actually the closest (I used the teeth as part of the snout).

The hat is from The Wizard Crow and was my fave part to make - amazing what some decreases and increases can achieve.

I kiiiiiinda wanted to base the outfit on Druid Bear but completely failed with the sleeves. :/ Better luck next time.

Only the ears are not a Bogusia knockoff being a Rico Sadie the Sailor dog element instead. 😅

Happily, he has been saved from a life in a plastic bag in a box by @bleakoutlo and is now happily spending time surrounded by flowers and sunshine (manifesting Deltarune chapter 7 ending 🙏 )

Poster by @ferronickel

He has also been made to rotate 🫨:

Next up?

still pondering some of the Night in the Woods gang but I have 5 requests to crank out including one I already failed at and I'm ready to improve

I need to post the cursed Jigglypuff mentioned above and TOFT Conservationists turtle I made

maybe I'll actually make something wearable, wouldnt that be something

I did an intro to knitting session so I might as well knit something soon, before I forget how to again..................

Bonus delinquents:

[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)

[techforevil]

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

[techforevil]

Ralsei (Deltarune) amigurumi

I'll post more details about pattern, materials etc later like I've done for Susie

In the meantime, beast for size. She took real interest in this one I think because baby alpaca yarn = stinky. 🤨

[techforevil]

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? 🥺

[techforevil]

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)

[techforevil]

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

[techforevil]

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…

[techforevil]

Made a Susie Deltarune amigurumi.

If you want more detail/other angles, peep this.

[techforevil]

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. 🙇

[techforevil]

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. 😎

[techforevil]

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