So it's been quite some time since I last delved into the world of blogging, that little thing called life got in the way.

However I am back and although I may not be able to focus all of my attention on this site I'd like to have my little space on the internet to ramble about films, books and maybe share some of my latest cross stitching adventures with the people who want to read it.

So I recently finished this little 8 inch piece for a friend and it took me quite a while due to the apparent lack of orange toned colours I owned, so after spending a fortune stocking up on DMC threads (which you can purchase real cheap from my new favourite site Sew and So) I began working on this project. Sadly I don't have many progress pictures because I simply forgot to take them, eek! However I do have a before and after picture to share with you.

Black 14 count Aida

Framed with an 8 inch plastic hoop and sealed

This project in total took me around 15-20 hours, which is really quite slow for such a small project but I found working on darker Aida much tougher in low light; and I seem to only stitch when I'm in bed these days.

As for the pattern I normally either make my own or buy them on Etsy, this one is from Etsy and you can grab this one here for a mere £4.62!

Sorry about the creases!

I'm back again with another nerdy cross stitch creation, this time I was doing a belated father's day present for my Dad - this post IS super late, as it's been drafted, but I forgot to click publish...oops.

He really loves The Goonies and picked this pattern himself, anyone who knows cross stitching will know that the fabric comes in different sizes, so naturally my Dad decided he wanted a 18 count piece which has taken me AGES. (Around 2 months in total - after taking a couple of weeks away from it)






However I am really pleased with the final result and I thought I would share with you some of my process pictures, because it took me so long. On a personal level this was one of my most enjoyable pieces, seeing it come together was really satisfying.


If you would like this design, you can pick it up from this lovely Etsy seller here for just £3.60 - check out her other bits as she does some awesome nerdy patterns.

I have always been the kind of person who loves to sit down and play a game of Monopoly with my family, or delve into Magic The Gathering tournaments with a group of friends. And over the past year I've become more and more interested in board (and card) games.
The game has an RRP of £12.99 and is available form Waterstones on the high street, as well as online at Tesco, Argos and WHSmith.
Amy x

It's late, I'm sleepy and I need something to give my brain a jolt, "Spectra, READY TO PLAY" shouts my Xbox at me just as I slowly dip into my third coffee of the night. I'm instantaneously wide awake, as not only have I been waiting for this for a while, but the colours are so bright my eyes light up in an almost arcade fashion.


Hailing straight out of Gateway Interactive via the beautiful people at Mastertronic, Spectra is an 8-bit trip full of speed, twitch steering and an utterly genius soundtrack which would keep any nightclub running way into the next day. It looks like stepping back into the 80's (which I saw little of, being a tenderly 25 years old), it sounds like stepping back into the 80's (I can only imagine Bon Jovi wasn't the only thing around), and it screams nostalgia to its very core.

Spectra is simple. Race. You race to the beat of a chiptune soundtrack ever so gracefully created by Chipzel, the lovely young lady who created the soundtrack for the rage inducing Super Hexagon. Now let me tell you, the soundtrack is amazing. Simply amazing. What usually starts off as a soft induction into the track normally ends up with sweaty palms and the ever increasing need to get off the sofa and jump around (won't promise I didn't).




Spectras race tracks are procedurally generated to the music, so the faster the tune gets, the harder the track becomes, and let me tell you some of these tracks are no laughing matter at all. The game has 2 modes, a normal and a hardcore mode, which pretty much speak for themselves. The normal mode starts slow and speeds up as time goes on, however hardcore mode IS INSANE. Now caps isn't something I use often in reviews but trust me, INSANE is the only word for it. The hardcore tracks start fast and do not let up, at times feeling sightly unfair in the later sections as bumpers become back to back with boost pads in front. Twitch gameplay completely dominates these sections as split seconds can make the difference between finishing a track and screaming obscenities at the TV (in my case towards the end, sadly a lot of the latter).




Do not let this put you off. The reward for finishing a track is matched only by finishing some of the hardest challenges and games out there, the euphoric feeling of punching the air with joy becomes something that Spectra keeps you coming back for. During my time with it, Spectra has become one of my favourite indie games available to date, and I won't be putting it down any time soon.

If you're after a copy of this heart-pounding, 8-bit journey through fun, you can put it into your Xbox queue right here and if you want to tell me all about your fun, find me on Twitter here.

Hello all! As most of you know I am a bit of a bookworm and recently I set-up an online bookclub in which we could read a book on a monthly basis and then discuss it on Skype.

I decided to name the bookclub after my Twitter/YouTube handle because it is what I am most often referred too, and as this website has evolved into a solo project I would like to full integrate every piece of my online puzzle together.  [Disclaimer: This blog will soon be changing to ObvItsAmy too, just to fit the rest of my social media]

If you would like to check this bookclub out you can here on Goodreads, this page has all the information you need regarding this club and how to get involved into the skype group. There is also an option to create forums to discuss certain chapters or parts of the book, this especially helps if you can't make the call at the end of the month (just please add spoiler warnings).