NightWolf: The Crafty Gamer

I made Dad a Kidney to go alongside his basket of goodies for Father's Day. The pattern is by KnotMonster, and for a first go, it didn't turn out too badly (although if I did it again, I think I'd change the pattern a little bit on the curved part of the kidney, as the curve doesn't quite line up).

There's no eloquent way of putting it; kidney failure sucks. Especially when you've already had numerous transplants. So I made Dad his own soft kidney to cheer him up a little.

It's been a while since I managed to post anything on here, but I'm back with a little post on a couple of projects I've managed to complete over the past few weeks.

First up is Phoebe, a gorgeous Elemental Air Dragon (pattern by CraftyIntentions). The pattern was a little bit fiddly in places, and I had a bit of a nightmare with the wire, but I'm really please with her. It was a good challenge!

Next up is this African Flower Owl (a Heidi Bears pattern). I had so much making this little guy; it was a great project for working on in the evenings as I could make a couple of motifs each day. I also learned a couple of new techniques during the course of this project (the join-as-you-go method and foundation crochet); hopefully they'll come in handy in future projects. He still needs a name though, so any suggestions, send them my way!

I haven't really touched Sophie's Universe recently, particularly with the warmer weather, but I have now got the book so hopefully it'll be a little bit more convenient to get on with. I'm currently working on a crochet banner, which I'll share with you once it's finished (if I remember, that is...).

Games wise, I'm taking a break from ACNH, but I have recently made a lot of progress in Dragon Quest 11 (?); I've just got past the mermaid bit. That's kinda been put on hold at the minute though, because I've been playing A LOT of Spiritfarer.

Exam season is coming up so I won't promise to keep on top of posting, but I hope you're all doing well!

Alrighty so I realise I haven’t been particularly active on here for a while, mostly because uni started back up and we had exams (which went fairly well, although I definitely didn’t do as well as I usually would), and also started 5 new modules alongside having a group project to contend with. But there has been a little bit of activity on the gaming front.

First off, on 11th January, I completed Hades! Or at least, I completed the main storyline of the game; there’s still a little bit left to do but I got to the credits so I think that counts. Granted, I did have God mode on, but I have now started a new game on “normal” difficulty. It’s going well so far; I think I’m on the 5th run and I’ve already got through Meg twice. So that’s good.

I’ve been playing a lot of Stardew Valley recently. I finally got back into it after a hiatus of a few months (funnily enough, I returned to it after watching the old videos of Eurogamer playing it). I’m now just starting my second year, and it’s going pretty well! I’ve got cows, goats, chickens, ducks (and a soon to hatch void egg which could be anything), as well as a horse (which honestly makes the whole game SO much better). The Community Centre is coming along nicely as well.

I haven’t been on ACNH as much these days; I did go on it for New Year and Festivale, which was fun, but I haven’t really done anything too major. Well, I say that; I have moved a few areas around on my island and I now have a little space on the island for something new.

I really want to get hold of the Mario 3D world game; I’ve watched so many people play it on YouTube and it’s really made me want to buy it. Buuuut justifying spending that much when I’ve got various people’s birthdays, anniversaries and Mothers’ Day coming up is a little hard. Hmmm... Maybe as a “hey, you passed your exams” treat?

With regards to crochet, I’ve bought another blanket kit, which I’m under strict instructions from Mum not to start until I’ve finished my Sophie’s Universe blanket. In other words, I won’t be starting it any time soon... Sophie is getting there; I’m just starting round 50, so we’re nearly halfway.

That’s about it to be honest. Haven’t even got any photos for you (sorry!)

The sixth and final present is a koala I made for my brother's gf. He looks sooo cute in his dungarees, compete with sailor themed buttons and a fully functioning pocket (to stash snack in, of course!).

Unfortunately I wasn’t able to make the whites of his ears fluffy, but overall I’m very happy with him. Oh right, and of course he’s been named Kevin. Pattern is by @diyfluffies who never fail to delight with their adorable designs!

Day 5 brings this beautiful daisy cushion I made for Mum. I absolutely love the centre of the cushion, and the petals look fantastic (even if they are a little bit wonky at the minute). Granted, I was a bit sick of them after making 48 petal shapes in total!

Pattern is again by PippaPatternsCrochet over on Etsy.

Next up is Mew! I made this gorgeous pokemon for my brother, complete with poseable tail and a bucket load of adorableness.

(Apologies for the lighting; these were taken on a very cloudy day where there was no nice lighting anywhere in the house). Its feet were an absolute nightmare to get in the right place, but with a little bit of perseverance and a lot of pins, we got there!

Pattern is from the ever brilliant 1UpCrochet, who creates amazing crochet characters from a whole host of games. One of these days I’m going to get around to making her eveelution figures (summer project maybe?).

For day 3, we have a blanket I made for my Grandad. It’s the liquorice allsorts baby blanket (available as a kit on Deramores), but it’s the perfect size for my Grandad to have on his lap in the evenings. I did change the border a bit (and omitted the tassels), but considering it’s the first blanket I’ve ever made, I don’t think it turned out too badly! I still haven’t quite got the hang of crocheting into the sides of the blanket when making the border, but hopefully that’ll come with a bit more practice.

It isn’t quite straight either, but unfortunately I didn’t have anything to block it with before Christmas. Thankfully, this won’t be a problem anymore, as my parents bought me a massive set of blocking boards for Christmas!

Day 2 of the 6 days of Christmas Crochet brings this Poppy cushion I made for my Nan! I had a lot of fun making the loops in the black section of the poppy, and I love the overall effect of the textured surface!

Pattern is available from PippaPatternsCrochet on Etsy. I had to make a few changes when making the petals as the numbers in the pattern didn't add up when I worked it out, (I basically ended up having to skip an extra stitch at each end) but thankfully it's not noticeable. Other than that, the pattern worked up really quickly and easily, and I'd recommend taking a look; there's loads of really pretty flower patterns over in her shop!

See you tomorrow for day 3!

On the first (alright, second) day of Christmas, craftygamerwolf gave to me...

This year, I decided to try and make Christmas a little bit brighter for my family by making their Christmas presents. I’m glad to say that they were all well-received, and I’m delighted to be able to share them with you all now! So first up, we have this lovely little lion I made for my Dad. I’m not gonna lie, his mane took absolutely ages, but it was well-worth it in the end! I’d been wanting to make this lion for a while, and thought Christmas was the perfect excuse; plus his mane rivals that of my Dad’s hair back in the day.

Pattern is Tyrion the Lion by ChiquiPork, and is available on etsy. It was really easy to follow and had loads of photos to aid with assembly, so I really recommend checking it out! I’ll be making their unicorn next!

Hope you all managed to have as good a Christmas as you could; we certainly did. Wherever you are, whoever you’re with, whatever you’re doing, I hope you manage to make the most out of this situation we find ourselves in, and continue to stay safe!

I decided to go with pikachu because I've finally got held of pokemon shield (and am really enjoying it so far!) and I also wanted something simple as I was short om time. The template was found on pinterest, I have absolutely no idea who originally created it (but if anyone knows, please tell me!)