Geek Crafts

Hello Geek Crafters! Today I’m going to be telling you about the adorable Crobots by Nelly Pailloux.

What is a Crobot you may be wondering. It’s a crocheted robot, naturally, which is an adorable idea. Of all of the cute robots, I chose Zombiebot. Because of course I did.

He only took about an evening to make and a total of maybe 20 cents. One ball of yarn would probably make you 3 zombiebots, so you could start a small army.

I thought the pen spring for the popped out eye effect was wonderful. I added barley to the bottom of his body so that he would sit up on his own.

The instructions were simple, well-written and easy to follow. To be honest, that is a huge relief. Too many times I’ve tried to follow a pattern only to find it overly-complicated. Not with this though. I never had to second guess myself.

So if you’re looking to add some cuddly robots to your life, which, why wouldn’t you, pick up Crobots by Nelly Pailloux. It’s a unique and fun book that will definitely keep you busy.

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This round up is brought to you by Charlie McComber on Etsy!

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Bright and early yesterday morning I headed off to the 2012 Stitch and Craft show in Kensington. To be honest, it was much the same as these things tend to be – the big fairs never seem to have their finger on the crafting pulse, and the embroidery area was particularly unaware of the modern craft movement. But tucked away in a corner, behind the cross-stitched Winnie-the-Poohs and past the Jo Verso samplers was a lost gem – Mr X Stitch‘s stand. Pushing my way past all the middle-englanders fighting over ”bargain” pastel shades of thread had been worth it for the chance to meet one of my crafting idols.

I got snaps of of truly awesome pieces of stitched art that I will share with you in my regular slot on Tuesday (if i can hold off that long. This stuff is gold – cyclops robots, raver tigers, QRs and Mondrian graffiti is just the start), but I just wanted to stick my head through the door and let anyone in the London area know to head down and say hello to Mr X – he’s lovely; very friendly, funny and upbeat (and rather tasty-looking).  Plus he has biscuits.

Elsewhere in the show, the quilts exhibition is well worth a browse as there are a few interesting nuggets, and the knitted village is… unexpected. Though I didn’t have time for any of the workshops there are some good ones on offer. Even if you don’t want to sign up to a proper class, lots of stalls were doing demos, or had staff more than happy to explain how particular pieces were made. It’s a good excuse to get out and about this weekend.

The works In the above image are (clockwise from top): Kanye by Crapestry, X-Stitch Robot 7 by Eliot BK, QR Code by Crapestry, Rokit by Mr X Stitch

Stitch and Craft 2012 at Kensington Olympia 2, this weekend

Mr X Stitch’s blog

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As soon as I saw these little guys, I feel in mini-robot love. Though probably not technically robots, I’m sure you’ll agree they’re quite lovable. Hand-crafted by self-proclaimed “wood butcher” Colin Johnson, these pieces are made of reclaimed cedar wood and dolls’ eyes. Would you have guessed they were made from wood?

They make me think of little Minions from Despicable Me, or even the little alien dudes from the Toy Story trilogy. What do they make you think of? How would you use or display them?

• Eyebots by Colin Johnson
• More Eyebots pics on Flickr
• More robot crafts on GeekCrafts

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There are at least a million different things a geek can do in London, and in my effort to do them all, alas, I failed. One major highlight was the current free exhibition at The British Library (for us yanks, it is like The Library of Congress), Out Of This World: Science Fiction, But Not as You Know it.

First, I am a bibliophile, so this was like Disneyland for me, except at Disneyland you can take pictures and touch things. Each section of the exhibition had a specific theme ranging from the birth of Science Fiction (in the 1600s!), Utopian societies, distopian societies, graphic novels, robots (did you know that the first “robots” in literature were actually synthetically made human slaves, and not machines?), and more. Among these were impeccable, perfect first editions, that made me drool, with some of the most beautiful, and outright cool cover art you will ever see. One major highlight was an original telegram sent from George Orwell to his publisher, lamenting that 1984 would have been “better” if it had not “been written under the influence of TB”, where he goes on to call Satre a “big bag of wind”.

I could write for days on the books on display and how amazing it was to see hand written pages of first drafts, books hundreds of years old, amazing posters (see?), but what really struck me were the interactives they had set up, for all age ranges. You (or your kid) can use an interactive touch screen to draw your own alien, and then watch it join other hand drawn aliens dancing around on the wall behind, there was a sleepy robot that was motion activated that carried on conversation about his favorite science fiction robots, a computer where you could challenge AI to the Turin’s Test, and at least five other things I didn’t have time for.

All in all, this would be an amazing stop in London (runs until September 25), even (or maybe especially) if you have kids in tow.

• Out of this World
• The British Library

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Is Yo Gabba Gabba geeky? I’m not sure, but it is on a lot in our house, and I am geeky, so I say yes. Plus there is a magic robot on the show, and who can complain about a show that takes a couple minutes here and there to teach kids how to beat box? Not me. So I scoured the web for five of the most fun Yo Gabba Gabba crafts (one for each character, excluding DJ Lance Rock).

1. Felt Muno

Muno (he’s tall and friendly!)  is perhaps the most recognized Yo Gabba Gabba character, which is why Catango, on Craftster, remembered him when left with two hours before a birthday party, and no gift! Yes, that’s right, in two hours, she went through her fabric, googled Muno, and stitched this awesome Felt Muno doll together for a friend’s child (who, of course, picked it up and danced around with joy)!

Big kudos to Catango for whipping this guy together under pressure! Procrastinators bow to you!

2. Foofa Tee Shirt

Foofa (she’s pink and happy!) is an odd little monster with a head shaped like a tear drop, and a big flower on her head, a big hit for little girl Gabba fans.

You can find this adorable Foofa Tee Shirt in the CarouselCraftsWI Etsy shop, along with all the other Yo Gabba Gabba monsters. The face is felt applique, with a machine zig zagged border–and the finished product is awesome (the model is pretty cute, too).

3. Brobee Fleece Soaker

Brobee (the little green one!) is a fuzzy, long armed monster that is best known for having a party in his tummy.

BugOnARug makes these awesome fleece soakers featuring Brobee and all your other favorite monsters and you can get them from the BugOnARug etsy shop! For those not “in the know” a fleece soaker is a type of cover for cloth diapers, and fleece shorties are a popular choice for parents using “fitted” cloth diapers.

4. Toodee Amigurumi

Toodee (she likes to have fun!) is what seems to be a cross between a cat and a dinosaur. She seems to get into lots of trouble, but manages to get along well in Gabbaland and, of course, have lots of fun!

AlieCat30, a poster on Craftster, crocheted this super cute Toodee Amigurumi as the fourth in her series of Yo Gabba Gabba amigurumis. I personally love the attention to detail on Toodee‘s eyes and whiskers.

5. Plex Cookies

Plex (a magic robot!) is the robot responsible for getting special guest stars, DJ Lance Rock, and even snacks in and out of Gabbaland.

Edeliu826 bakes and decorates these Plex Cookies that you can purchase by the 2 dozen on Etsy. You don’t have to read Geek Crafts very often to know if there are two things we love, they are robots and things we can eat. Plex Cookies fit both of these requirements!

• Felt Muno
• Foofa Tee Shirt
• Brobee Fleece Soaker
• Toodee Amigurumo
• Plex Cookies
• Craftster
• Etsy

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