(these have been on my list forever, so glad to have finally got to them!!)

hello hello! 👋😊

this past month I got not one, but two sweaters completed!! 🙌 as has become my pattern each summer when it's far too hot to actually wear them, lol.

I had -just- enough yarn in the correct colors to complete these both--which was extremely lucky, as I didn't realize until I was pretty far along that the 'woolike' yarn I was using had been discontinued 😅 it worked out perfectly tho!

for both I followed the extremely-easy-to-follow tutorial by Sirin's Crochet (with slight alterations for the dual stripes in the Frisk sweater).

the media pages have gotten another little update + refresh. Queen of the Damned has been linked again (which I am appreciating anew after the clusterfuck that was this past season of IWTV/The Vampire Lestat... ☠️).

that is all for now! :) for anyone else currently suffering through daily 100F+ heat this summer: good luck & may you find ways to stay cool!! 🙏

(will need to keep an eye out for more heart buttons, they're so fun!!)

another quick update! I keep chugging along making crochet keychains--this current batch will be to sell at a market booth! 🙌

I'm steadily working my way through my pre-existing yarn stash, & I believe (though I feel like I've said this multiple times before lol) that I am very close to depleting my current hoard! 🥳

this current batch is incidentally very pink+purple, owed to the giant variegated yarn I finally finished up.

(the army grows...!!)

depending on how well this batch sells, I may have to actually look into acquiring some more yarn for future batches! 😅 for now though, I'm just super pleased with what I've made so far ( & how much yarn I've successfully used up OTL )

other quick site updates: I've finally updated the 'song of the week' on the homepage (Sade returns 🙂‍↕️), as well as updated some broken links on the media rec pages.

for the updated 'Perfect Blue' link, I was able to find another UK VHS upload on Archive.org--the pre-film commercials & anti-piracy skit on this one gave me a good chuckle.

until next time! ✌️😊

(desperately need to steam the wrinkles out, but I've lost track of my steamer 😭)

just a quick update today before I leave the house! :)

I was dealing with a double ear infection at the start of this month (ugh!!), but while I was recovering from that I finally got around to completing the Windows 95 Glitch pattern by ArtByRomShop!

this pattern was a lot of fun to make, & I was glad to use up some of my excessive embroidery floss stash. the framed sunflower cross-stitch above is an older project of mine that I'm gifting to a friend later today 🤗

(gasp, homestuck...!!)

something I also completed during my Yucky Ear Convelescence was my first read of House of Leaves! I absolutely loved it (& definitely almost cried at several points 🥲), although I definitely want to do a reread further down the line when I'm not near-delusional from ear pain lol. it certainly added to the experience, but I'm sure I'd be able to pick up a lot more on a 2nd go-around!

& that is all for now! I do know there are a few media rec links that need to be updated again, but I shall return to fix those later 😊👍

(Dreamsicle says hi!! 😺)

updating a mere month after the previous entry, instead of several! huzzah!!

what I've been working on since the last update:

(the loopy frogs above were just my 1st 4 testers... I went on to make 22 total 🫣)

the wormy apple guy is an altered version of koobiie's apple brothers pattern over on tumblr, & the leggy frogs were made following Anita Louise's pattern on youtube.

keeping the rotten apple for meself (he turned out too cute 😝), but all of the frogs were made for a fundraiser! I made a similar batch of them for the same organization last autumn, & they sold fairly quickly—hoping they do just as well this go around bc, well, I sure made a lot lol.

did a quick update to the media pages, as usual. planning on immediately making & chugging a coffee after posting this (was up all night with the cat going crazy-bananas over the weather. girl I can't blame you, I'm crazy too!!)

& that's all for now! we'll see when I remember to post an update next, hehe 😅

a little over 2 months since my last update... but I've finished reading 2 books during that time! 💪

I picked these both up on a whim from a discount store shortly after my previous entry (so... 2 months ago lol), purely based on how pretty I found the coverart + the fact that they were both ~$5 each for a hardcover. I am very superficial in that way 😅

some brief thoughts on both, starting w/ A Song to Drown Rivers by Ann Liang!

(I'm not even going to call these reviews lol. I will instead just be thinking in terms of 1] did I have fun reading it? & 2] will I be keeping the book or donating it after completion?)

I was literally in the checkout line when I saw this one discarded on top of a bunch of candy boxes. the way it was laying had the decorated page edges facing me & I thought don't mind if I do!!!

honestly the dustjacket cover looks very YA to me (which makes sense, as Liang is typically a YA author & this was supposedly her 1st 'adult' novel), BUT when I got home & looked beneath the dustjacket I was very happily surprised to see that the actual front&back covers had embossed illustrations. a very, very pretty book!

unfortunately, I just didn't like it that much 😬 the prose itself was nice & plot seemed like something that I would typically be interested in, but the way things played out ended up feeling frustrating less in a 'for the sake of the plot' way & more of a 'it feels nonsensical for these character to act this way' kind-of-way.

I won't spoil things, but I will say that after a pretty lackluster reading experience, the ending of this one left me gobsmacked. I don't know anything of the original story this was based on, but I genuinely respect the author for going the direction that she did lol.

did I enjoy it? well, I finished it! despite the frustration I felt, it did compel me to keep reading until the end 👍

will I keep it? despite how pretty I find the book itself, nope! I'll be donating this to the used books store on my next visit.

the 2nd book, Delicate Condition by Danielle Valentine, I also chose for the cool cover. but not just the cover! also the front cover blurb 🙂‍↕️

I've never read the original Rosemary's Baby book, but I did enjoy the Rosemary's Baby film w/ Mia Farrow. so I thought I'd also enjoy this! which, overall, I did.

Delicate Condition & A Song to Drown Rivers were interesting to read back-to-back bc 1) according to their author's blurbs, both were written by primarily-YA authors as their 1st adult novel, & 2) both are Very Frustrating reads (I oversimplify, but hopefully you get what I mean). the big difference I think in my enjoyment was that the frustration in Delicate Condition felt more purposeful in terms of the plot, while AStDR was frustrating largely bc of all of the missed opportunities I sensed while reading.

it's also very possible I enjoyed Delicate Condition more bc I was a little more familiar w/ the source material it was referencing... idk!

(a total aside, but after finishing this book I was looking up the Rosemary's Baby film for a rewatch & found out there is also a 2-part miniseries starring Zoe Saldaña??? hello??????)

did I enjoy it? I did! there were a few parts that I thought were a bit of a slog, but overall I did enjoy it.

will I keep it? unsure actually! though the cover is pretty (my 1st consideration always lol) & I enjoyed reading it, idk if I'll plan to reread anytime soon. I'll have to make more of a dent in my unread pile & reconsider then I think 🤔

popping back in after (another) lengthy absence, to make some quick site updates! 🫡

the media pages have been refreshed once more, with some new titles added!

I have continued to crochet... a lot! I made an Eraserhead Baby Labubu (what a mouthful... pictured below lol), as well as several crochet garments I still need to muster the motivation&energy to photograph properly. sharing those will be my goal for the next journal entry (whenever that ends up being!) 😅

(my beautifully ugly son 🥰 I am SO pleased with this little guy. friends & coworkers seemed to really like him as well!)

I've since promised 3 people that I'd make them their own custom crochet Labubus for the upcoming holidays... & I'm going to be real, I'm a little filled w/ regerts 😬 but I'm sure it'll all turn out!

hmmm what else recently... I just last night watched Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein! I generally enjoyed it, but to be entirely honest, I didn't enjoy it quite as much as some of his other films :') I'm not even entirely sure what exactly was 'missing', but it just didn't seem to work as well as it seems it could have.

I am also (slowly) making my way through a series called Key: The Metal Idol! the screencap at the top of this entry is actually from it (& I thought what a coincidence, lmao). I'm enjoying this one a lot so far, but my focus as always is extremely short 🙈 still making slow progress however!

& that's pretty much it for now! until next time! 👋😄

a new month, with another media rec pages refresh! :)

a short update about how I've been occupying myself recently: I've been slowly making my way through the Vampire Princess Miyu series while I work on... yet another sweater (will it even be THAT cold come autumn this year is the question 🤦‍♀️). I've been enjoying the series so far tho! the 90s artstyle & monster-of-the-week formula has been pretty fun.

I've also been spending a lot of time recently playing through different Yume Nikki fangames on the Yume Nikki Online Project site! my favorite that I've explored so far has been Yume Tsushin (pictured above!). the art & general atmosphere are so good, & wandering around in the dream world has felt like the perfect thing to do these past few evenings 😴

I was a little surprised over how many fangames are available on the site, including ones I hadn't ever even heard of before. I've got a lot more to explore! I wish I had known about this project earlier, because it's been so much fun (& easy!!) being able to play the different games in-browser.

I return after... 3 months (😱) with thrilling news: yesterday I visited my very first cat cafe!!! 🎉

(these were a few of the sleepy kitties I got to hang out with—but there were many more up & about playing w/ their toys & other guests! 🫶)

what a lovely experience!! I will definitely want to go back sometime (not only to see the kitties, but also help support the cafe's foster & adoption endeavors! 😊)

as far as other news: I finally am starting to get back into crochet after a long break! or rather... I was hit w/ very sudden inspiration, & rapidly made a sweater + tanktop back-to-back after acquiring some really cool ombre yarn 😅

(I used ~6 skeins of the Lion Brand Ferris Wheel yarn in the color 'Imaginary Garden' to make both of these! such a fun yarn—I definitely want to play around w/ more ombre yarns in the future!)

I've been filled w/ so many ideas of other garments that I'd like to make next! 💪 although, to be fair, that may need to wait until after summer is over (I adore the sweater I made, but I obviously won't be able to wear it out for several more months!! 🤦‍♀️)