I'm still alive, still stitching. I took a break, or more like World of Warcraft dragged me away. I lost my character after 50 hours of playtime and I uninstalled windows. My mental health dramatically improved when screen time went down. Especially because I started stitching again.

So here is my needlepoint project that I started earlier this year. Doesn't look like much but it'll become lovely once I develop it further. It's huge so the FO post's ETA is somewhere in 20XX.

By Ksenia Levchenko. Link to pattern on Etsy.

I really like how much of a difference backstitching makes. Here's a before picture.

I haven't been on Lemmy too much lately for reasons. But here's my WIP for this Wednesday. It still doesn't have a head but even then, when the backstitch time comes, is when it will really ✨ pop ✨

I've been on a roll and stitched in the dark hours of the morning before work. It's a fun pattern to work on, but sadly the most colourful (and fun) part is in the center, and I'm done with it.

How has your week been? Anything exciting to show off?

With the big project finished, I embarked on something smaller a month ago...but I put it on hold. Now I'm at it again.

The grid is one square off on one column so the whole thing is off. Any better ways to make an accurate grid? I know pre-gridded is a thing but I have a couple of meters of that plain 14ct fabric that I want to use up.

How has your week been, did you work on anything exciting?

So proud of this. My biggest project yet! It was fun watching it unravel with every planting.

Pattern by Lola Crow

Doing some more work on the greenhouse. I have a page and a half left before it's finished. I think it's going to be done at least for Halloween. Frame might take longer.

How has your week been? Anything to show off?

Sorry I missed last week's post. I'm having a busy week but it's time for a week off and some rest and relaxation. I'm in a bit of a predicament. I finished my project on Tuesday, and I haven't worked at all on my other WIP for about 3 weeks. I prepared a new WIP that I intend on doing while on a spa trip but if I post it now, it's going to be just a white canvas.

How was your week? Did you work on your projects?

The book title backstitch was done by my SO.

This one is getting framed and hung right next to the bathroom door!

After more than an hour of painful attempts at french knots with slippery polyester on polyester, I did the little black dots on the snout with half stitches and a couple of extra strands. Do I recommend polyester cheap kits? Yeah, they're fun. Would I do it again? Probably, but only because I bought two, and that one is left in the backburner for now.

Of course iced coffee and cold brew have a very different taste profile but it can still get hot in the northern hemisphere so here it is:

• 86g coffee, coarsely ground (32 on my 1zpresso JX). Works great with store-bought beans, in my case Kaufland's medium roast Brazil beans (haven't tried it with specialty coffee, not sure if you're going to get your money's worth that way)
• 750g filtered water, room temperature or cold
• patience (I found that 16 hour brew works best but anywhere between 12 and 18 hours is fine)

I use a french press with the filter off. Mine is 1L hence the weird proportions, that's accounting for the coffee grounds volume too. What you get with this recipe is about 500ml of concentrate

• Add 2/3rds of the water and let bloom for 10 minutes then add the remaining water(500g->250g)
• Pop it in the fridge for at least 12 hours, 16 is best
• Filter with a metal filter. I just screw the French press filter, press to just about under the surface.
• Dilute with ice cold water for a refreshing drink or 92°C if you want it warm. I do a 1:1 ratio but that's up to personal taste.

Link to original Reddit comment from 3 years ago. Credit to /u/theboyinthemoon

This happened on all android devices I've owned. Once they turn about 3 years old, they start slowing down out of a sudden. Yes, software gets heavier, you need more processing power, etc. But it happens out of a sudden.

I dug out an old lebovo tablet, about 6 years old. It ran surprisingly quickly. As soon as I turned the WiFi on to install the app I needed, things slowed down to the point where the device was barely usable. I somehow installed it. The app didn't require internet access so it was fine. Battery life was still amazing, about 5 days of casual use (internet access drains a lot of battery on this fella).

I thought it was a one time thing. Until I was handed another old Alcatel tablet that was ditched due to slowdown after 3 years. Same thing, no internet access leads to a snappy phone. Once you turn the WiFi on, boom slowdown.

I see the same thing happening to my Nokia 3.4 phone (now HMD Global, made in China). I don't think the architecture allows for swapping the os to a degoogled one everyone is raving about. The reparibility of this phone is near zero so once it goes bust, it's really hard to open it as well. I obviously don't need a brick with no internet access (otherwise I would just carry a dumb phone).

Also once this buddy dies or becomes unusable, is there a brand you would recommend. I'm so done with Nokia and Samsung.