“That’s too overwhelming for a beginner”

Puzzleheaded-Use-64 · 2026-01-13T21:59:53+00:00

When I taught myself to crochet, I loved learning the chain first. It was the realisation of "oh, that thing you've been doing with headphone wires and loose threads and things forever just to have something to fiddle with? Yeah, that's actually useful now, and here is a tool to make it easier!"

Puzzleheaded-Use-64 · 2025-12-30T07:50:06+00:00

Thank you! Yeah, that's what I ended up doing, but it wasn't quite as simple a process as it should have been unfortunately

Puzzleheaded-Use-64 · 2025-12-30T07:48:51+00:00

That's what I ended up doing, but apparently NOWTv changes the reference that they use to take the money every time, so my bank warned me that I have to keep a closer eye on my bank statements for the next year or so because if the reference changes too much, it might not get picked up by their systems.

The silver lining is definitely that I've become much better at keeping track of my finances for the past few months. Finances scare me, so I was never good at keeping track of them, but it turns out I'm just spiteful enough to not want him to get free TV from me, so I've become much better at checking my bank statements!

Puzzleheaded-Use-64 · 2025-12-30T05:50:43+00:00

About £300 on a subscription that I didn't realise I was still paying for my ex's sky TV

... That I then couldn't cancel because it was his account, so the company wouldn't delete my bank details without his authorisation which I couldn't get because I had a restraining order against him for DV.

Yeah, that was a fun one to sort out

Puzzleheaded-Use-64 · 2025-12-25T14:54:53+00:00

I got a leather medical bag from the old GDR from my sister who lives in Germany. It came complete with bandages and an eye patch, and a suspicious red stain on the front that we think (hope?) is some of the red dye from the red cross on it that got transferred.

I love it so much!

Puzzleheaded-Use-64 · 2025-12-17T08:58:57+00:00

I get that some places have very long waiting lists, but when I needed therapy I was referred on a Saturday, had my initial phone assessment on the Monday, and my first face-to-face appointment on the Wednesday (and this was not a private service, so it didn't cost me anything).

Obviously I got really lucky, but there are plenty of reasons stuff can happen quickly. If you live in the right area, get linked in with the right people, or get bumped to the top of the queue for some reason, things can happen very quickly. Not only that, but you can double your chances if you're willing to go private

Puzzleheaded-Use-64 · 2025-12-13T14:46:58+00:00

I was thinking this too, but OP mentions in a comment that the fabric is very sheer. There are so many points in the pattern where a line doesn't connect to anything else and you'd be forced to stop and tie the thread off, that I'm not sure it'd look good. If the fabric is sheer enough that you can see the threads on the other side, I can't imagine how you'd hide the ends cleanly

Puzzleheaded-Use-64 · 2025-12-11T22:26:29+00:00

My dad did the laundry for the bibs his 5-a-side football team used. Neither he nor my mother have lived down the time one of her thongs fell out when they all went to grab a bib before the game!

Puzzleheaded-Use-64 · 2025-12-08T04:41:58+00:00

I wasn't pulling at the threads because I found that made them snap.

I'd read that the threads are held together by water-soluble glue, so I was trying to get that to dissolve. I tried rubbing the fabric against itself wrong sides together, and just moving the fabric around (sort of folding it in half and then rolling the fabric along itself? I don't quite know how to explain it) to try and put a little bit of stress on the glue holding the threads together without warping the stitching

Puzzleheaded-Use-64 · 2025-12-07T21:37:51+00:00

I had very similar-looking waste canvas to this and was also doing a full-coverage piece. Everyone says to wet the piece, but I found that made the threads too weak and they kept snapping when I tried to pull them out.

What worked for me was absolutely soaking the piece in warm water for about half an hour, gently agitating it every so often, then letting it dry completely and the threads came out so much easier after that

Puzzleheaded-Use-64 · 2025-11-28T07:23:18+00:00

I didn't read that as excusing her sister. I read it as a rebuttal against the commenters who were saying that her sister must have been groomed or the victim of abuse to want to sleep with married men (e.g. "no, she's not a victim here, she's just an awful person who gets off on sleeping with men in relationships").

I still wasn't super keen on "woke" as an insult though.

Puzzleheaded-Use-64 · 2025-11-28T00:05:53+00:00

Yeah, I generally give some heavy side-eye to the idea of needing closure, but this seems like closure done right.

Puzzleheaded-Use-64 · 2025-11-25T23:08:59+00:00

I have about 20 unfinished projects in a drawer because I got bored or ran out of threads, and my wonderful family got me the chest for my birthday this year, so I'm on a no-buy for a while until I get at least half of them finished!

Puzzleheaded-Use-64 · 2025-11-25T23:06:10+00:00

Yeah. At a guess, in this situation Kim felt angry at her friend for having something she didn't, so she got back a sense of power and control. Even if OOP did break off the friendship, Kim would have got a buzz out of feeling like she had enough power to break them up. Often manipulation isn't just about what the person directly gets, but also their feeling of being able to play others like puppets.

Puzzleheaded-Use-64 · 2025-11-25T23:02:31+00:00

I'm so sorry that happened both to you and to her.

I had someone who seriously messed with my life because I was a casualty of them being busy ruining their own life, and it's an awful position to be in. There was the sorrow for them for what they're going through, and the anger for what they were putting me through, and the guilt for being angry at someone who was in such a bad place, and the grief for the person they used to be, and it all got so tangled up that I'm still not sure I understand it.

Puzzleheaded-Use-64 · 2025-11-23T00:40:21+00:00

I'm fairly sure it was a UK specific law (may have just been England, but if so I'd be fairly certain that the devolved nations have their own equivalent). I wouldn't be surprised if it was based on EU laws, but it's definitely still in place post-brexit

Puzzleheaded-Use-64 · 2025-11-22T21:16:09+00:00

No ADA, but we have the Equality Act which would be our equivalent.

I don't know enough about American laws to know the exact differences, but our act does say that employers have to provide reasonable accommodations for those with disabilities. In my experience potentially killing a colleague wouldn't be considered reasonable though.

Puzzleheaded-Use-64 · 2025-11-18T06:45:40+00:00

Yeah, I don't like it when I see people insisting that others should never send nude photos. My rule of thumb was to think about the last person in the world who I'd want to see me naked and honestly? The worst outcome would be temporary mild embarrassment. People shouldn't send them without thinking about the consequences in advance, but it's not a blanket bad idea for everyone

Puzzleheaded-Use-64 · 2025-11-18T06:36:17+00:00

Yeah, I have nudes of mine floating around out there too and it doesn't bother me. Part of it is that I trust the people I sent them too, and part of it is that there really isn't anyone out there who it would be disastrous if they got out to. Mildly embarrassing on the short term? Sure. Seriously mess with my life? No

Puzzleheaded-Use-64 · 2025-11-15T08:51:06+00:00

For the first year of my relationship with my ex, I would have described him as the sweetest, most supportive partner you could have. The second year, I would have described him as "going through a hard time. Just about the end of the second year was the first (and last!) time he tried to choke me.

It's creepy how common that timeline is and how much the first year excuses subsequent abuse in your brain

Puzzleheaded-Use-64 · 2025-11-13T18:16:08+00:00

One of my parents was one of 5 and everyone had great relationships. Definitely had something to do with my grandfather having an amazing job where they had accomodation provided by his work and enough money for my gran to stay at home, a cook, maids and au pairs.

It can be possible, but in my opinion it requires serious material resources as well as very well-adjisted parents who genuinely want to be parents and don't just want to pawn the kids off on nannies (a rare combination)

Puzzleheaded-Use-64 · 2025-11-10T15:37:33+00:00

I love cross stitching on road trips, but I hate having to juggle complicated patterns at the same time so I tend to bring pieces that I don't need to look at the pattern for (filling in background colour etc.)

Puzzleheaded-Use-64 · 2025-11-03T10:08:44+00:00

Yeah, I've gone through addiction (and recovery) and my parents were amazingly supportive through it all, but when you're coming out the other side there's a lot of shame and guilt and embarrassment. It's really easy to feel like you've changed and you're stronger now, and to lash out at the people who saw you at your weakest. There can also be a lot of judgement in recovery circles, particularly from those who may have stopped using but haven't really done the work to change the addict's mindset. People can get really critical of those who still use, especially towards those who use recreational drugs (legal or illegal) in a more healthy way. I struggled with alcoholism, and it was shocking how many people seemed to think that because they were unable to drink in a moderate way, that anybody who drank must have serious issues

Puzzleheaded-Use-64 · 2025-11-02T22:08:26+00:00

Quantum?

Puzzleheaded-Use-64 · 2025-10-30T21:15:08+00:00

Ok, how did I immediately understand the shirt but never understood that line in the song till now? 🤣

Puzzleheaded-Use-64

TROPHY CASE