It’s that time of the week again! This week’s round up is brought to you by the number 42! Here are my top picks that honour Douglas Adams!
First, it’s always important to know where your towel is. With this pattern from Pickle Lady Farm you can proudly make it for your home!
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Who doesn’t love an adorable Cthulhu? SpookyPooky created this tiny (3 inch tall) Cthulhu stuffy for the One Tiny Stuffie swap over at Craftster. Her lucky partner’s survey said she liked “cryptids, sea creatures/monsters, anything a little unusual, steampunk, Neil Gaiman inspired…She also said she loves anything with a top hat and a mustache.” So Steampunk Cthulhu was born! I love that she added a mustache! You can see more pictures in the post, including his filigree-touched wings and the mini I, Cthulhu biography “written” by Neil Gaiman SpookyPooky made to go with it.
According to the academic resource Futurama Wiki, a brain slug is “a species of space parasite that attaches its jelly-like body to the skull, presumably the brain of a human, and controls them. The specimen is green in color and consists of a translucent jelly-like body complete with two feelers and one large eyeball…The easiest way to tell if someone is infected would be the Brain Slug mass which sits atop of their head.”
Should you wish to make someone think he is infected, just perch one of these crocheted Brain Slugs on his noggin. Hilarity is sure to ensue.
This project makes me think of another amigurumi project – Baby Monsters by Allison Hoffman, aka CraftyIsCool. I made some in red for co-workers for Valentine’s Day, and called them “Love Monsters“. Naturally they were a big hit.
LINKS OF INTEREST
Makoto’s Cross-Stitch Super Collection by Makoto Oozu is, as it says on the cover, very cool! and not lame! Originally two books published in Japan (Hop, Stitch, Jump! and My Stitch Book), this is an awesome compendium of tiny, geeky patterns and projects to stitch. It’s got robots, dinosaurs, monsters, aliens, insects, sea creatures, travel, and electronics to choose from.
I love the way the book is organized. Part 1 shows you all of the designs stitched in full color. Part 2 is full of an interesting variety of projects with everything from shirts to pillows to an amazing pegboard wall panel (who needs Aida?). Part 3 goes over cross-stitch materials and tools, basic stitches, and detailed instructions for all of the projects.
As much as I would love to make the pegboard wall panel, I don’t have room for that in my house (seriously, I need to make room for this!), so I went small and stitched on a Moleskine notebook cover.
To get the holes in the right place, I was going to draw lines with a pencil, but the book had great advice–photocopy the pattern from the book and use that as a guide for punching the holes. I opted to use my Japanese screw punch with the smallest tip instead of a book awl and decided to go with the purple pterodactyl. I punched the holes and started stitching.
Since the design is so small, I was able to use threads from my loose stash and stitched with two strands. I think that the next time I stitch on a notebook, I’ll use more strands, but I’m still very happy with how my dinosaur came out.
These designs are so quick to stitch up–I think the pterodactyl took me 15 minutes–these notebooks would make great last-minute gifts.
Rad news! I’ve got one copy of Makoto’s Cross-Stitch Super Collection to give away. Leave a comment telling me your favorite dinosaur and why by Friday, June 24th at midnight ET and I’ll pick a winner at random. Respond to another reader’s comment and get an extra entry (limit one, please). [Edit – midnight ET. I can only stay up so late :)]
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!
Craftster MonstersUnderYourBed hand-sewed this tiny – 5 inches tall – Coraline doll and made an even tinier Mr. Squiddy to go with her. Browse through her posts for an extremely detailed Luna Lovegood from Harry Potter.
