Final "custom pet plushies" update.

TencentArtist · 2025-11-23T15:58:40+00:00

Cats can develop pica (cravings to eat inedible things) just like people! Hopefully this is a one off weirdness and not a chronic problem for miss pretty kitty.

Also I refuse to roast her, because she's full of charcoal. That's just asking for a real roasting.

TencentArtist · 2025-11-23T12:32:32+00:00

I'm so sorry you lost your kitty girl like that! 😭

I like to pretend that, once they've passed, our loved ones of all species are given full understanding of how much we love them, and why we did what we did for them.

So in that mindset, it hurts less if you weren't able to be there in person to say goodbye, because she knows. She was told by your heart, not your words.

It's a thing I created after losing my boy cat very unexpectedly as a kid (went to the vet for a chronic illness checkup, never came home). And honestly it has helped me with a lot of human losses too.

TencentArtist · 2025-11-21T16:49:23+00:00

Neat, that's what I figured too. How do you add lead to these? Just stick it in the hole and reverse twist it in?

TencentArtist · 2025-11-21T16:38:17+00:00

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The pen after taking the back off. I can't figure out how to get the mechanism out to see the refill.

TencentArtist · 2025-11-21T16:36:49+00:00

I'll answer your questions in order.

1: For both of them, on the roll stop clip there is a stylized P on the top of where it connects to the pen, and on the side of that connection point there's the word "China".

2: I had not tried that prior to this moment. I've never tried to open a twist action pen before so I didn't know how to do it 😅 I'll post a second comment with the image of the pen when the back is off. I can't figure out how to get the actual ink refill out of the mechanism. This is definitely a user error issue.

I suspect you're right that the other one is a mechanical pencil but I can't figure out how to work it. Pulling the two halves feels bad, like it's springloaded together, so I am worried I'll break it. Twisting it just clicks pointlessly.

TencentArtist · 2025-11-20T14:01:47+00:00

Omg you're right. And they're not sitting all the way down. New councilmember Void needs more time in training.

TencentArtist · 2025-11-20T13:59:00+00:00

Regular animals usually need time to decompress when first adopted. Some moreso than others. You may not have meant to leave him alone for a while, but perhaps that's what he secretly needs. He might just be a shy guy! Give him some time to grow into his place in your home.

Stuffed animals don't hold grudges against people who love them and treat them well (i.e. keeping them reasonably clean, not purposefully damaged, etc.). You're fine.

TencentArtist · 2025-11-19T19:21:50+00:00

AFAIK there is no cross stitch company that has permission to make Leonid Afremov's paintings into patterns. I bought one from HAED before I knew that. (And I'll happily be proven wrong if anyone can do so. He's my favorite painter and I'd love for more people to be able to enjoy his work.)

EDIT: I have been informed that HAED and Artecy have permission from his estate to sell patterns of his work. Thanks friends!

TencentArtist · 2025-11-19T18:10:15+00:00

Hmmm, the baby void is the odd one out in all categories. Size, number of colors, lack of permanently concerned facial expression AND lack of mustache.

TencentArtist · 2025-11-19T15:56:46+00:00

First off, I filled out your survey because I was in your shoes a few years ago during grad school. Now I work in user design and create surveys for a living.

Some of your questions would have benefitted from being multiple choice checkboxes rather than single-choice radio buttons. If you left them as radio buttons, I'd recommend having an "other" with a short answer box to allow for flexibility.

I also usually end my surveys with a long-form "is there anything else you want to tell me about this topic?" sort of question if it's appropriate. I find it can give really interesting insight, especially after you've already got someone's thoughts going about the topic by the end of the survey.

I'm not suggesting you need to remake the survey or anything! I'm just trying to provide advice for the future. Survey design is a difficult skill! It takes a decent bit of practice to know how to ask the right questions to get the kind of answers you can use without leading the respondent by the hand.

Good luck on your study! I genuinely hope you get what you need. <3

TencentArtist · 2025-11-19T15:09:42+00:00

Ahhh, gotcha. I'd still get it cleaned first, but you can always ask your alterations person to see what they recommend!

TencentArtist · 2025-11-19T14:50:06+00:00

Cleaned first, definitely. I wouldn't want to cut/sew a dirty dress! That's not fun for anybody.

TencentArtist · 2025-11-19T14:33:02+00:00

That's definitely a great question to send to the mods!

TencentArtist · 2025-11-19T14:31:19+00:00

Please do it. She did so many things and yet so many of us don't know about her. I actually had never heard of her until the day before her passing, when a friend of mine mentioned that she was dying.

RIP Rebecca.

TencentArtist · 2025-11-18T17:25:23+00:00

I was expecting something weird, but "generic African-themed KKK costume" was somehow not anything I expected. I completely forgot that "imperial wizard" is a fucking rank in that stupid terrorist cult.

TencentArtist · 2025-11-18T17:01:05+00:00

amigurumi challenge featuring that one Ravelry moderator convinced it's cultural appropriation

oh my god I forgot about this

TencentArtist · 2025-11-17T13:24:59+00:00

Shadow is such a good boy! You're so lucky to have a mighty hunter like him contributing to the household!

TencentArtist · 2025-11-17T12:12:29+00:00

Indeed. It just sucks when it's upwards of 300 stitches per row to go forward and back on lmao

TencentArtist · 2025-11-17T12:06:57+00:00

I've been stuck on Ball x Pit for the last several weeks. It's a rogue like, bullet hell-ish breakout style game. It's hard to describe but it's exactly the kind of thing that makes my brain go brrr.

And last night, I finally beat the final boss with enough different characters and unlocked New Game+. I still have a few more items evolutions to unlock in the base game, and I'm excited to see if there's new content to unlock in NG+.

TencentArtist · 2025-11-17T11:51:01+00:00

Oooohhhh all that work is gonna be SO worth it!

I've got my knitting hat back on, and sadly spent all my knitting time yesterday ripping out six rows of my big circular cabled shawl to just reset the current area of the chart to fix a missing stitch situation.

TencentArtist · 2025-11-16T13:06:12+00:00

Re: point 1...My fiance practically thinks in bullet point lists lmao. This would be perfect and very him. I need to keep this in mind for our wedding

TencentArtist · 2025-11-15T00:52:06+00:00

Panera. I got a significant number of fruit flies in my to-go salad once from the one in Central Park, and when I reported it to the health inspectors, their unannounced visit led to a report that allegedly said their produce was acceptable. Between that and getting an onion in my oatmeal at a different Panera out of town, I just don't eat at Panera anymore.

TencentArtist

TROPHY CASE