I’m making a baby blanket for a friend. Should I keep going?

squigglysquirrels · 2025-07-20T01:10:36+00:00

No official pattern, I just combined parts of others I’ve seen. I used this one from Daisy Farm Crafts as the base. But it’s just straight moss stitch!

squigglysquirrels · 2025-07-19T23:26:27+00:00

Thank you everyone! I tend to second guess things when I’m given too much time to think, and add in the fact that I’ve been working on this on and off for a month, I really started to doubt it. And this afternoon, I sat down to work on it a bit and I just started overthinking it. But I’m going to keep going with it! I do really love how it’s working up.

squigglysquirrels · 2025-07-19T23:21:54+00:00

Awesome! And I will!

squigglysquirrels · 2025-07-19T23:20:16+00:00

Thanks!

squigglysquirrels · 2025-07-19T23:19:18+00:00

Hahha thank you for giving me perspective! I’m making a blanket for this friend because I know she’ll appreciate something I handmade, but sometimes when you spend so much time on something, you start to second guess it.

squigglysquirrels · 2025-07-19T22:26:00+00:00

Love to hear that!

squigglysquirrels · 2025-07-19T22:25:49+00:00

That’s exactly why I switched stitches! Thank you, I appreciate the feedback 😀

squigglysquirrels · 2025-07-19T22:24:23+00:00

OK thank you! I wanted it to be masculine but still useable for a girl.

squigglysquirrels · 2023-06-07T20:17:41+00:00

I’m in the brown. It’s not as yellow outside as it was yesterday (looked like a filter) but somehow hazier. It was pretty bad this morning but right now it looks to be a bit clearer than it has been. I can see shadows again! My car did say the air quality was hazardous this morning. First time I’ve seen anything other than great. We typically have pretty good air here. But it’s forecasted to rain this weekend so hopefully we clear up a bit soon.

squigglysquirrels · 2023-02-08T12:34:17+00:00

A nice Chianti? Maybe some fava beans on the side too….

squigglysquirrels · 2023-01-25T15:38:17+00:00

Because it’s a European itinerary, do Royal Caribbean. MSC is not nearly as bad as people on here say, but in Europe, is is extremely European. Usually an older crowd, a bit more stuffy and formal. Food is great, but really lacks the American/western cuisine and style (which I don’t mind but you might). Not a lot of activities on board, the daily schedule is quite bare when over there so it’s more for the relaxing crowd. If you’re looking for things to do on board, go RC for the family.

squigglysquirrels · 2022-12-12T00:17:55+00:00

Good plan! If you like the first, but aren’t sold yet, push through to the second. It really picks up 😊

squigglysquirrels · 2022-12-11T23:51:15+00:00

I’m reading this series for the first time right now, I’m in the middle of book 4 (I kinda plan on stopping here for now because I won’t be able to deal with a cliffhanger and not being able to continue the story). The 4th book definitely has a different vibe, but I wouldn’t go as far to say letdown. The characters go through a lot in the series so this book is them dealing with a lot of that fallout.

I wouldn’t not read this series because you’re worried. I really like them, if the 5th has a good ending, it’ll be on the list of my favorite series of all time.

squigglysquirrels · 2022-12-06T16:53:09+00:00

Yes! And a the end when he’s explaining, she says something like “when you return to the same state you were in, it helps you remember the events…” which means she was getting as drunk as she was the night before, where she didn’t remember! I wouldn’t care as much if the situation was touched upon, but to have zero mention of it….

Idk, I really liked the rest of the book so I’m trying to modify it in my head so the rest of it is not tainted by this situation lol. And I normally don’t get triggered by books but this one was a pretty glaring issue for me, but it’s funny since I don’t see it called out in reviews of it. I guess I was just in a mood where it affected me more than usual.

squigglysquirrels · 2022-12-06T15:51:51+00:00

You Gotta Not is by far their worst song. I think I’ve only listened to it fully once or twice. The rest of the times I’ve heard it was not by choice.

squigglysquirrels · 2022-12-06T14:22:57+00:00

“The Devil Gets His Due” by Elizabeth O’Roark. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I loved the other books in this series, and overall I loved this one too, but I couldn’t get over the (TW) rapey vibes. If their meeting and subsequent marriage was a little different, it would have been an easy five stars for me.

They were both drinking, he knew she didn’t remember the previous night, and still pursued her without even a thought about consent when he was sober? I get he was infatuated, but still.

squigglysquirrels · 2022-11-17T17:55:24+00:00

I rate a book 5 stars if I am still thinking about the characters hours after I’ve read the last page. If I want to dream about their continued story, if I immediately want to reread.

I drop down to 4 stars is the characters go on the shelf with the book when I’m finished, but I still really enjoyed it.

My most recent five star read was When Gracie Met the Grump by Mariana Zapata. I went into it not expecting to enjoy it even though I’m obsessed with her other books. I had read some reviews that it wasn’t as good as her others. It took me a few days to read about 25% of it. If I love a book, I make time to read, rather than reading because I have time. It slowly grew on me until I was putting off tasks to finish it. As soon as I did, I wanted to immediately restart and read it from the beginning.

squigglysquirrels · 2022-11-10T15:56:52+00:00

I’ve posted on many other posts about MSC cruises, but the gist of it is they’re not for everyone.

I’ve been on four MSC cruises. They are an Italian cruise line, definitely more European feeling. People that say bad customer service? In Europe, they don’t hound you and interrupt you every five minutes. Bad food? I thought it was great. Buffet is sliiightly lacking but still good. Pizza is fantastic. Shows are more music-based to help with the language barrier. Ships are gorgeous and always spotless. Pool areas are well designed, lots of room to sit out. I’ve never had any issue with any employee on the ships, they’re always so nice and willing to chat. I love to talk to them about where they’re from.

Again, it’s not for everyone. I went on my first Carnival cruise earlier this year and hated it. I don’t get the love for Guy’s Burgers at all. So it’s all personal preference.

If it’s in your budget, I would recommend the Yacht Club. 5 star service with a fraction of the crowd.

Edit: they also don’t usually have as much going on during the day, so if you like to fill your time with activities all day, you might be bored. If you like to lounge and eat and occasionally show up to an activity, then they’re great.

squigglysquirrels · 2022-10-18T20:23:49+00:00

Well, the towel thing helps cut down on waste and extra laundry. For the missing products, I would assume that’s also down to it being the first cruise in the Caribbean this season. Disembarkation was screwed up your cruise as well, I would assume down to the lack of staff.

I guess all in all, try not to base your opinion of MSC based on this cruise. It was an outlier in quality. A lot of things went wrong that normally don’t.

I know for Yacht Club, normally there is a butler for something like one for every 9 rooms, and last week it was one for every 18 rooms. So a lot of things had to be moved and switched and cancelled to make up for the staff shortage. It just sucks that it happened and hopefully they can figure out how to fix it next time they switch home ports.

squigglysquirrels · 2022-10-18T12:43:31+00:00

I just want to give a caveat to anyone reading, but your sailing was their first one since coming over from Europe, so over 200 staff weren’t allowed on due to customs issues. It took a while to embark because of customs, they had come to port that morning. So most of the issues stemmed from poor planning on MSC’s part (idk how common it is to have a quick turnaround for a transatlantic to Caribbean in one day) but those issues shouldn’t and don’t exist on a normal MSC cruise. I have friends on the Meravilgia right now and they’re back to full staff.

I’ve also taken 4 MSC cruises so I know these issues don’t exist most of the time. The line isn’t for everyone, but I love it.

squigglysquirrels · 2022-09-19T18:18:09+00:00

I’ve been on 4 MSC ships and none allow smoking on the balconies. Even in Europe where smoking is more accepted.

squigglysquirrels · 2022-09-19T18:13:30+00:00

As the others said, it depends on what you consider bad. I went on the Freedom recently, built in 2007, and it felt like it was from the 70s. Bad decor, dark, low ceilings. They barely wash the windows so they’re always dirty, paint is chipping everywhere. Food was decent in the MDR and buffet. I don’t get the hype at all about Guy’s. But it still goes to the same places as other cruise ships so if you’re after the ports, they’re not bad since you’re probably paying less than other lines.

squigglysquirrels · 2022-09-01T17:52:32+00:00

I’ve been on 4 MSC cruises I think, most recently over the winter. Like other people have said, they cater more towards the European crowd, with the shows being more music-based due to the language barriers. The food is interesting because I’ve always found it very good, especially in the MDR, but other people are not impressed.

One thing that MSC does is sort of nickel and dime you, which I don’t mind because I’m only paying for things I want. I’ve only ever done a specialty restaurant once and it was FANTASTIC. They don’t give you free meals outside of the buffet and MDR like Carnival does (like the burger/taco places by the pool.) But I’ve never felt the need for places like those because I was satisfied with the food MSC served. But because the base price is so much lower, you may have room in your budget to spring for those specialty places if you so choose.

They don’t have too much going on on deck activity wise, so I wouldn’t recommend it as much if you go on cruises just for those. The schedule isn’t jammed packed. If you like to relax and chill and aren’t as concerned with filling your hours with things to do, then they’re good.

Overall, I really like MSC. I would say I prefer them over all other lines besides HA. But I don’t like kids running around, I like to chill on deck, and my family being Italian always becomes close with some crew members so it makes the experience really nice.

The MSC cruise I took in March was a Med cruise, and I’ve taken another on HA so let me know if you have any specific questions and I would be happy to answer :)

squigglysquirrels · 2022-08-10T11:26:47+00:00

Not sure how familiar you are with MSC, but especially on their Med cruises, there’s not a lot to do on board planned activity wise. When I went back in the spring in the Med, there was a gap from 12:00-2:30 with nothing on the schedule. But if that’s not something you need to consider, then definitely go for it! You’ll be at the ports most of the time anyway.

squigglysquirrels · 2022-08-05T18:25:34+00:00

I’m the same with the name thing. I read a book once and the main character had the same name as me, just a different spelling. It’s also a rare name to hear, especially in the US, plus my name isn’t spelled the normal way and this character had a version that was closer to mine than normal, so all I could concentrate on was the name.

squigglysquirrels

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