Halloween SAL – Update 4
stargrace 
In the end this will look like a book cover, but for now it’s just a bunch of lines and squares, hehe. I can’t wait to see what little scene is revealed each day of the SAL in October.
September 2021
Storybook Halloween SAL
I signed up to join in my very first ‘SAL’ – also known as stitch a long. It’s a Halloween cross stitch, where each day you get a little square to fill in and at the end of the month you have a completed piece. I’ve done a few cross stitch pieces before, but I’ve never participated in a SAL, and I’m really excited about it. The piece is also framed with cross stitch squares, which is what I’m working on in the screenshot above. We got the pattern early so that we’re ready to go when the SAL begins. I decided to splurge and I purchased a kit for this one that came with all sorts of little treats and goodies, but you can also just sign up and do it with your own items, too. It’s all about the community of crafters coming together, and that’s what I love to see.
Nomadic Once Again
I have a lifetime account to Lord of the Rings Online – and I played not too long ago, with Arkenor and a few other Combat Wombats. Problem is I’m a nomadic gamer, and I tend to move on before too long. Sometimes sooner than not. I wasn’t always a gamer who bounced from game to game, but as my allotted time has changed, and my gaming desires have changed, so have the games themselves. Taking a look at LotRO in specific it’s pretty easy to see what the problem in my case is.
My highest character ever was level 44. I was playing last year, but only reached level 20-22 or so. I had a house, but it expired (you have to keep paying upkeep on those). None of that is the problem though. The problem, is that the current cap to the game is 130. That’s a huge daunting number, especially when you’re only level 20. It felt like I could never catch up, could never make sense of the mechanics that were utilized in the game. Chat was basically an entire other language that I couldn’t make sense of, and my bags were overflowing with items that I had no idea how to use or what they were for.
Returning to a game that you haven’t played in a while is an incredibly daunting task. There are few games that I go back to where it actually sticks, and I am sad to say that no matter how many times I try to get back into LotRO – I just never quite succeed.
Time to continue wandering.
Crafts? Crafts!
I have an obsessive love of miniatures. I’m not sure why, but I could spend hours looking at others creations and wandering through miniature towns – anything to do with miniatures, I love. It’s only natural that I want to combine my love of miniatures with my love of crafts. Sadly, my eyes and my MS tend to decide otherwise for me, but that doesn’t mean I won’t still give it a try!
We were recently in the city for a few days on an impromptu holiday, and I stopped in to Michaels to pick up some items to begin my miniatures journey. I have a few shadow boxes, and I wanted to make a miniature fairy village scene using the small leaf mould pictured above and clay, along with some acrylic paints. I also picked up some miniature canvas so I could do some miniature painting. What exactly do I want to paint you might ask – I have no idea. I was thinking some seasonal paintings that I could some how swap out. I have 6 miniature canvas, so maybe three Halloween and three Christmas scenes that join together to create a larger image. I might sketch out some ideas and go from there. I do know for my second shadow box I’d like to create a library with floor to ceiling bookshelves, and then print out books for those shelves. For now it’s all just ideas in my head, and I am hoping before too long to transfer some of those ideas to actual creations.
Relaxation
The family decided on an impromptu vacation to the city for a few days, so we’re tucked into our amazing hotel suite and I’m relaxing with one of my favourite drinks ever. EVER. I love clamato in all of its renditions.
Be safe and happy gaming! I’ll be back in a few days.