I opened up a new blank post page thinking ‘what on earth do I write about this week’? I’ve got a few thoughts written down for post ideas but nothing properly planned. I’ve had a bit of a CFS flare over the last week or two which for me means enforced downtime. Reflecting on it I’ve actually been fairly productive, so here’s to a Fresh February!

Gaming

If you read last week’s post you’ll know I’ve played a LOT of Assassin’s Creed recently. I’ve got a huge Ubisoft-size gap in my life now so I thought I’d fill it with the next game! I really want to invest time in my new consoles and if I’m honest, out of the two, I personally prefer the PS5. I love how the XBOX series X looks and I did notice some slight stuttering with autosave on maps on PS5 that I didn’t get on XBOX… but for me PS5 ‘wins’ even though I dislike how it looks so much I’ve hidden it behind my monitors! I think the main thing for me is the comfort with the controller. My fibromyalgia affects me most in my hands and I can accidentally cripple myself for a few days really easily holding things the wrong way or that are too heavy (voice of experience here, but I never actually learn!). For me the PS5 controller is just that bit more comfortable for me and fits my hands better. My back catalogue of shame and un-played games for PS4 is also huge compared to my XBOX One collection so it makes sense that for me that I lean towards Playstation.

So, games. Well, having established that PS5 is more than likely going to be my primary console, it was between Godfall and Immortals Fenyx Rising. There wasn’t much in it if I’m honest, but it made sense having read some reviews about gameplay that I chose Immortals Fenyx Rising. So many people likened it to Assassin’s Creed crossed with Zelda, it seemed a shame not to put my 200+ hours of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla honed skills back into play! I didn’t buy Immortals on launch as I wasn’t quite sure about the art-style; but it’s honestly a great game and the terrible jokes are second to none! Another reason I thought I’d start this rather than Godfall was that it would be less arduous. I was looking for something a bit less grindy than Assassin’s Creed (I know playing it twice back to back won’t have helped the grind feeling!). Oh I was so wrong when I thought this would be the better of the two for that! It’s a good job I’m well versed in game grinds from my Vanilla World of Warcraft days and I actually enjoy collecting everything. My heart did sink a bit initially though as I started uncovering the map and points of interest/collectables!

I started playing on February 3rd but had a few ‘sofa days’ not playing. My current save is just under 10 hours so and I’m trying to clear as much of an area as possible before I move onto the next. I’m enjoying the retelling of the Greek myths and interpretation of the gods and characters. It takes me back to my days studying classics, so I think it’s going to be an enjoyable ride!

A screen snip from my profile on the PSN Profiles website. It shows 14 trophies out of 57 earned for Immortals Fenyx Rising.
Feeling good about progress 10 hours in – PSN Profiles

Projects/Crafting

So this week I finally finished Marv. He’s the hedgehog cross stitch that’s taken me far too long to do because I’ve been sat playing Assassin’s Creed! He was a lovely project to be honest, not really my taste but he’s a gift so he doesn’t have to be. He’ll need a wash and iron before he goes to his new home. I finished Marv on the sofa days where I couldn’t really function to do much else apart from binge watch TV.

A photo of Marv my latest completed cross stitch. It's a hedgehog on a white background with black flecks. The hedgehog is in a flower bed with purple flowers and leaves.
Marv in all his glory! AKA ‘New Beginnings’ by Bothy Threads/Wrendale Designs

So a crafting finish means a new start, or in this case maybe a couple. I’ve posted over on Instagram that I think I’m going to go for two projects on the go at once. One ‘big’ project to keep downstairs and a smaller project for upstairs in the games room/office for lunchtime ‘at work’ or really long game cutscenes!

My ‘planned projects’ pattern stash is almost as bad as my gaming back catalogue of shame. I resisted the urge to purchase something new and settled on the ‘Demodog’ as my games room/office project. Stranger Things has found a special place in my heart and this pattern was just too geeky yet adorable not to buy when I saw it:

A photo mockup of my small pattern. It's a cartoony interpretation of a Demogorgon from Stranger Things made to look like a puppy. It's sitting upright in a cardboard box with the text 'Adopt a Demodog' underneath.
Pattern Design: White Raven Patterns on Etsy

I thought I’d decided on my big project too but I saw PixStitch on Instagram had just posted details about their gaming themed stitchalong. If you’re not familiar with the concept of a stitchalong, a designer creates a themed pattern and releases it part by part over time. You usually don’t know what the pattern is in advance and sometimes they have a storytelling element where you get confronted with decisions to choose your own pattern elements – Stewart at Cunning Cross Stitch does some great themed stitchalongs.

Anyway, as a child of the 80s gamer kid I couldn’t resist signing up to the walk down memory lane for the price of a small charity donation. My memory is terrible thanks to fibro so who knows what I’ll remember from way back then! Just looking at the stitchalong logo my head went “Sega” in the old school janky logo tune style and I’m really looking forward to getting more details and getting started. I’ve embedded the Instagram post to the end of this blog, the YouTube video explains everything and gives a sneak preview of the first part of the pattern.

So I guess if this week’s post had a moral (not that any of my other posts do!) it would be don’t discount what feels like a crappy week as an unproductive one. If you sit and think back you might have achieved more than you thought and started/signed yourself up to a whole new lot of new stuff too!

If you’re crafty-minded and a gaming themed stitchalong sounds like it might be your thing, the details are all here: