althea_valara: Icon of teal colored yarn, with the words "Stand back, I have YARN!" on top. (yarn)
Althea Valara ([personal profile] althea_valara) wrote2025-07-02 02:39 pm
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Sunshine Revival #1 (aka, I like journal challenges)

Sunshine-Revival-Carnival-1.png


Challenge #1

Journaling Prompt: Light up your journal with activity this month. Talk about your goals for July or for the second half of 2025.


Creative Prompt: Shine a light on your own creativity. Create anything you want (an image, an icon, a story, a poem, or a craft) and share it with your community.. Post your answer to today’s challenge in your own space and leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.


Okay, well, I'm a fiber artist and I *love* being a fiber artist, but the craft is S-L-O-W. I could knock out another coaster or Other Brother Darryl in about an hour, but I've done +checks Ravelry+ at least 16 of the coasters and at least 8 of Other Brother Darryl. I really don't need to make any more. So instead of crafting something for this challenge, I will talk about my crafting plans for July and beyond.

...though if you want to see crafts I've made, you can check out my Crafting Update tab to see the pretties!

Gnomes

I have two nieces and four nephews, and I started a tradition of making them something for Christmas. It started with crocheted snowflakes, but last year I did small Christmas stockings. This year, I'm planning to make them gnomes, because gnomes are popular and fun. I've bought some yarn, and have a pattern picked out. I really should get started on these NOW, because last year I spent 100 hours crafting in December and it wore me out.

Incidentally, I participate in a crafting tournament on Ravelry called Nerdopolis. We get themes to craft to each round, that we can then tie to our team's Nerdery for a chance to win a prize. Well, one of the themes this month is Orchard Fruits and cherries, which are red, are orchard fruits. I was going to use red for the nieces' gnomes, so that will work nicely. Just need to sit down and do it.

iPad Mini holder

I crocheted some phone holders for me and mom a few months back, and my older sister was admiring mom's and wanted one for her iPad Mini, so I'm going to bang it out this month. It will fit nicely in the Nerdopolis challenge on Communication, as electronic devices such as iPads can be used to communicate with others.

Sophie Scarf

I started this last month for a Nerdopolis challenge but didn't finish it. I'd like to finish in the next two months. It can be submitted to Nerdopolis' Area 51 which is for completed UFOs (UnFinished Objects).

Secret Project

IT'S A SECRET! I hope to finish this month, but since I am designing it myself, there's a lot of ripping back and redoing to get it perfect. Wish me luck!

Motion Picture Mosaic Cardi

This was supposed to be my January project, but them I effed up my shoulder and couldn't really craft for a while. I did start this in January but HAHAHAHAHA NOPE DIDN'T FINISH. It's a huge project that is taking a lot of time. I mean, not only is it a large oversized long cardigan but it's also large in general as I am a large circumference type person. Getting awfully tired of rows of plain HDC... but I do desire this cardi very much, so I'll keep working on it.

The 42 WIPs (and counting)

...yeah, I have a LOT of projects I started in the past and didn't finish. I did just go through my Ravelry projects today and marked some as completed/frogged if I knew I'd never finish them, but there's still a lot that I'd really like to do someday. So how about making a goal to do, um, I think three is a good choice? by the end of the year? I mean, technically all the ones I listed above are WIPs, but let's face it, I have some that have been hibernating for ages (my oldest WIP is from 2008, yikes) so let's pick a few and get them done.
ysobel: A kitten on a piano keyboard (music)
masquerading as a man with a reason ([personal profile] ysobel) wrote2025-07-01 05:18 pm

...well, hardly ever...

So I was listening to an audiobook of Agatha Christie stories

and one character mentioned the "why and wherefore" of something

which *immediately* got "Never Mind the Why and Wherefore" from HMS Pinafore going through my head [https://youtu.be/fz00Ru9RXA8?si=_iW2jYRH-8RW_w49]

which of course meant I had no choice but to listen to the whole of HMS Pinafore [https://youtu.be/N6iNGprcxFI?si=B-vFtrypguIKurHv for example]

and now various of those songs keep popping up ... for at least week now ... only the lyrics are starting to scramble, which tends to happen when something is stuck in my head long enough.

("I am the captain of the minotaur~~" wait no)

Anyway my plan for dealing with this is to watch the 1983 film version of Pirates of Penzance, which is an extremely solid plan with no possible down sides.
althea_valara: Icon of teal colored yarn, with the words "Stand back, I have YARN!" on top. (yarn)
Althea Valara ([personal profile] althea_valara) wrote2025-07-01 10:03 am
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Crafting Update, May and June 2025

I didn't post one of these last month, because I had been working on a secret project. I intended to finish that project in June, but it was not to be, partially due to busyness but mostly due to the fact that I am designing my own thing and ran into snags. Here's hoping I can finish in July!

(Some folks around Dreamwidth know what the secret project is; I'm keeping it secret HERE though so if you comment here, please don't give it away? Thanks!)

[click pics to embiggen]

A pivot table, showing I crafted for 40 hours in May and 32 hours in June on four projects.
[Image Description: A pivot table, showing I crafted for 40 hours in May and over 32 hours in June on four projects.]

I had hoped to finish several projects in June, not only the secret one. I did manage to finish the Capybara. It's pretty big! And it was for a Nerdopolis challenge. The theme was "Rodents", and of course I chose a Capybara because there is a capybara mount in Final Fantasy XIV, so perfect nerd cred tie-in.

A crocheted capybara, done in the African Flower technique.
[Image description: a stuffed crocheted capybara, done in the African Flower technique. It is made up of different shaped motifs crocheted together. It is largely a light brown in color with creamy white on its neck, belly, and rump.]

The Mosaic Cardi is still in process. I'm on the right front now. It's kinda a weird construction, not one I have encountered before, and I can't say I'm really enjoying it because long rows of HDC are (a) LONG, (b) boring. Can't wait until I get to the mosaic part.

The Sophie Scarf was supposed to be done this month for another Nerdopolis challenge. The theme was "How do the fine folks in your Nerdery travel?" and of course I chose the chocobo, so the scarf is yellow in color. I just, you know, ran out of time. I might finish it this month, we'll see.
ysobel: Pink bunny (bunny comics), holding a sign: "jesus save / cthulhu eats"; text: choose wisely (choose wisely!)
masquerading as a man with a reason ([personal profile] ysobel) wrote2025-06-28 10:28 pm

Duo blathering

Duolingo's increasing reliance on AI at the expense of human employees bothers me a lot. It's also, not coincidentally, gotten sloppy. I've noticed things in the English that feel off -- "He didn't die because he had the operation on time" should have been "in time"; "It's possible that I start going out with Francisco" should be "I'll start" or "I might start"; "She isn't tolerant with other ideas" should either be "of" or the object should be "people" (this may be regional? but for me it's tolerant *of* things, tolerant *with* or of people); "The travelers would buy at the market" should either have a different verb like "shop" or should have a direct object (I know "buy" can be intransitive but it still feels weird in this sentence); etc. If there are things that strike me as odd about the language I'm a native speaker of, how the fuck can I trust them to be correct in the language I'm trying to learn?

I currently have a subscription, partly so I wouldn't get ads and partly because I supported their stated mission. I no longer want to support them. My renewal, set to annual, renews next month.

On the other hand I have a streak of 3839 days, several friends streaks over 300, and a ridiculous number of friends quests in a row (can't find the info but I think it's around 85-90?). Also while practicing Duo mostly makes me better at Duo, I am still learning vocab, even if some of it doesn't want to stick.

So I'm trying to decide:

Option 1: cancel subscription and delete app. Up side: cheaper and more ethical. Down side: realistically I'm not going to find an easy Spanish-practice alternative.

Option 2a: cancel subscription but keep "playing" until I reach a pretty streak number, then quit. Up side: cheaper, though ads mean they're still profiting, and I get to leave on a pretty number. Down side: ads, plus im still planning on breaking the streak.

Option 2b: cancel subscription and keep playing indefinitely. Up side: still get Spanish practice. Down: ads, blech.

Option 3: keep subscription for another year. Up: practice, no ads. Down: I'm paying money for dubious AI.

If I take one of the streak-breaking options -- either now or in 161 days (which is, uh, 5 months and change, so December? -- and then regret it, I'll have lost the chance to make the long streak longer. OTOH it literally can't go on forever anyway, and I don't like supporting AI. OTOOH one subscription isn't noticeable really, so they won't care.

...I hate making decisions...

(Side note: my phone's predictive texting really wants to decapitalize I. If I type "i wo" it of course autocaps i to I, but then doesn't suggest "would"/"wouldn't" for the next word, but instead suggests "i would" which changes the I back to lowercase. Is this inherent to autocorrect or am I doing something wrong?)
nilchance: original art from a vintage print; art of a woman being struck by lightning (Default)
Laughing Lady ([personal profile] nilchance) wrote2025-06-28 07:44 pm

(no subject)

update: I have survived the funeral. nothing terrible happened aside from some guilt-trips. nobody made a scene. huzzah!

now I'm getting a drink in the hotel bar because fuck this day. XD
nilchance: original art from a vintage print; art of a woman being struck by lightning (Default)
Laughing Lady ([personal profile] nilchance) wrote2025-06-28 08:17 am

complicated days

on the one hand, I'm in Michigan because my brother asked me to attend our father's memorial service. so I'm in emotional shutdown survival mode and probably will be until sometime next week when this is over.

on the other hand, I got a date for top surgery! (picture me trying to coordinate with the surgical scheduler on mychart while on moving walkways in the Detroit airport yesterday, which was an EXPERIENCE.) barring insurance and hospital fuckery, it'll be September 11. 75 days left to go. \o/
vass: Small turtle with green leaf in its mouth (Default)
Vass ([personal profile] vass) wrote2025-06-27 09:42 pm
Entry tags:

Things

Books
Still reading A Power Unbound.

Comics
Caught up on Order of the Stick (I was at about #1319, and the most recent one was #1328.) Welp, that was a thing that happened.

Things are also Happening in Dumbing of Age. I am looking at the title text in June 24's strip and glowering distrustfully at Willis after what happened last big finale.

Games
Playing a lot of Simon Tatham's Puzzle Games on my phone.
Slay the Spire: have now unlocked Ascension 4 on all four characters. Surprisingly (to me?) the hardest run on Ascension 3 was with the Defect.

Links


Cats
Ash is down an incisor and a canine as of last Tuesday. He was good and brave at the vet and, after he got home, patient with Dorian's mistaking him for a stranger because he smelled Wrong.

Phenology
No new kangaroo visits. It's been very cold out.
althea_valara: A party from Final Fantasy V (FFV)
Althea Valara ([personal profile] althea_valara) wrote2025-06-24 10:40 pm
Entry tags:

everyone loves a poll (FFVFJF2025)

So next Monday, I'm going to start a Four Job Fiesta run of Final Fantasy V, whee! Problem: I am really torn on what kind of run to do.

putting under a cut because slight spoilers for Final Fantasy V gameplay )
ysobel: (Default)
masquerading as a man with a reason ([personal profile] ysobel) wrote2025-06-23 06:58 pm

(no subject)

Kinda funny how mood can affect experiences as much as the other way around.

Impulse-went out to eat tonight... Black Bear Diner, a casual diner spot where I Read more... )

and I'm just really satisfied and happy, and I know good food improves my mood, but good moods make food better

I don't expect this mood to last all evening but dang it's nice

* * *

Unrelatedly, I love that the D&D DM for my group rewards roleplaying. Our group had freed a genie and were granted a wish; the guy with the highest charisma was volunteered to make our request. He didn't make any effort and was just basically "give us X", got a 19 on a persuasion check, and that failed and annoyed the genie. I used the inspiration I'd gotten (from a really good pun) to undo that attempt, then decided to take over since high-charisma dude didn't want to try again. My character has -1 to charisma, but I gave a passionate speech about the various adventures we'd been through and the various perils we were facing and how we could Defend The Innocents better if we could get some fun magic items to use... I got a 10 for the persuasion check and *passed*. (High-charisma dude is already at BEC status for me, so it was extremely amusing to win with a lower roll just because I ... erm, roleplayed, in a role play game, how novel...)