Pinchy on the Road

My friend Scott apparently got to see Machu Picchu recently and took these freakin' awesome, nay, downright bitchin' photos of Pinchy the scorpion visiting one of the world's great archaeological sites.

Pinchy is becoming quite the traveller. I'm hoping he at least defends Scott's luggage from intrusion in exchange for transport.

Really delayed gifts involving scorpions

Late one night in Sudan I was getting ready to go to bed. I headed off to the latrine with my trusty headlamp turned on, pulled the plastic tarp nailed to some boards that we euphemistically referred to as a "door" open and had my heart stop for a few seconds. Camped out right next to the toilet paper (on the ground) was a scorpion. A big one. Probably of the deathstalker variety.  It was late and I had been and continued to be sick and weak, so I went in search of someone with sufficient upper body strength and testicular fortitude to kill the nasty thing with a shovel.

Eventually most of the team wound up hanging around the latrine to peek at the scorpion.  Finally Tom wanders by along with another male member of the team - Scott.  A debate ensues regarding whether we should kill the scorpion, chase it off, or catch it and release it somewhere else.  Mostly, I really need to pee and I was almost asleep on my feet so I finally snarled something to the effect of "get it the hell out of there so I can pee, dammit."

Scott went off to fetch a tin can and somehow got the scorpion into it.  I got Tom to stand guard outside the latrine while I used it as though that would somehow protect me from scorpions.  Then I went to bed. 
Meanwhile, Scott was showing off his new friend, "Pinchy."

Image by shovelingtom via Flickr

After a while, Scott took Pinchy off into the desert and let him go.  The villagers were less than pleased by Pinchy's reprieve - scorpions are serious business.  While a scorpion sting usually kills only the very young, old, or sick, the pain is supposed to be horrific and nearly maddening and often there isn't much that can be done but wait it out.  Thus, they kill the little bastards on sight. 



Anyway, several months later after we'd all come home and Tom and I wound up moving to a different apartment, Scott sent us a lovely housewarming gift and I decided he needed to have a memento to remind him of Pinchy and his 2 months in the Sudanese desert with a bunch of crazy people.
So, I crocheted a scorpion.  I think I borrowed the claw pattern from a free lobster pattern and made up the rest as I went along.  And found a can to put it in.  And then let it sit on my desk for a year because procrastination is cool or something.

So, after staring at it and thinking "hrm, I should put together the package of stuff for Scott and mail it" for the thousandth time today, I decided to actually, you know, do it.  Yay!
I made sure to document Pinchy too.

Re-enactment of discovering Pinchy in the latrine

Recreation of Pinchy's temporary home.

Pinchy, hanging out where he blends in like the sneaky little bastard he is.

Close-up.  He can smell your fear.

Happi amigurumi kokeshi

Happi amigurumi kokeshi
Originally uploaded by dustymom

I haven't featured an amigurumi in a while, but Happi caught my eye. She's part of a beautiful series of dolls with some really lovely detailing with beads and embroidery.

Be sure to check out dustymom's Etsy shop for her amigurumi.

Finished Pug

Last night I finished making a pug amigurumi using a pattern from the wonderful June at Planet June. Despite her wonderful pattern instructions and equally wonderful on-line tutorials, I think the color changes in the eye-mask area turned out a little wonky, but she's still a cute little pug baby. I'm hoping she'll be loved by her recipient. As it is, I think I may have blisters on my fingers from all that crocheting. :P
I'm ashamed to admit I've barely used my zafu since finishing it. It seems every time I'm about to move from the couch to it Oreo decides he wants to climb in my lap and I can't resist doggie cuddle time.

Actual Crafting Content!

Ha, suck it doubters!  I do finish a project every now and then.  It's almost never something for myself, but hey...
Anyway, I made a little fairy that resembles my niece for Xmas/Birthday/Your-Aunt-Fails-at-Time-Management Day.  Ahem.  We gave her a book as well.  I made an attempt at jewelry but need to figure out how to work with tiny little bits of wire when I have arthritis in my hands.  Heh.

I finally finished her while we were down visiting - her constituent parts had been made, but she needed putting together.  She's from the pattern/recipe by NeedleNoodles, who is also the author of the very awesome Creepy Cute Crochet.

Tom was kind enough to take some photos:

Those of you who are squeamish should avert your eyes for the next one, which made me do a spit-take:

I made a little scrubby bath toy to go with a bath book for our baby nephew.

And before we left I frantically raced to finish my crocheted tote bag and sew a lining into it.  It didn't turn out quite how I'd hoped, but it's somewhat functional.  No photo of it.

I cast on, frogged, and cast on again a beginner pattern for a lace washcloth about 10 times during the trip.  It think it's finally going well.

And I've cast on, frogged, and cast on again for a gift due soon-like that is making me ever so slightly grumpy and forcing me to admit that I should probably review a video of knitting in the round with circular needles because I'm clearly screwing up somewhere.

Merrick, The Elephant Man

Merrick, The Elephant Man
Originally uploaded by MrFoxyy

Very cool amigurumi of John Merrick. Interesting topic, and another example of the very interesting mouth technique that Mr Fox has demonstrated with other pieces, like Mr. Bunnyford, one of the ultimate marriages of cute and nightmarish I've seen.

Patterns and finished items available at Mr. Foxy's Toy Emporium.

Crochet Mercury Redstone and Atlas

Crochet Mercury Redstone and Atlas
Originally uploaded by Ms Premise-Conclusion

Ms Premise-Conclusion has done it again! I featured her earlier crocheted rocketry a while back.  Now there is more early NASA awesomeness - this time the Redstone and Atlas rockets used for the Mercury launches - the first manned launches in the US. The Redstones managed to heave the Mercury capsules into sub-orbital flights (Shepard and Grissom) and the Atlas managed orbital flights for all the remaining men of the 7 chosen as astronauts except for Slayton who was grounded for health reasons.
The also sent up chimps. Supposedly because they could be trained to perform some tasks in the capsule and thus give an idea about action and function during spaceflight, but I rather like the theory that it was just because someone at NASA hated chimps.

Bluebird

Bluebird
Originally uploaded by simplypeaceable

This sweet little bluebird caught my eye today. Isn't it nifty? Even more awesome - it's simplypeaceable's first time designing her own amigurumi pattern. Very cool!

Golden Dragonet

Golden Dragonet
Originally uploaded by Angry Angel

This Pern inspired dragonet (or fire-lizard) by Angry Angel is amazing. The detail with the eyes is great and now has me wondering if all the nifty new tech for making interactive and/or light-up soft-form toys and objects would make it possible to get eyes to whirl and change color like they do in the books.

Angry Angel notes that she wanted a fire-lizard as a child. Theoretically, I'm a grown up and I still want one. Seriously. If I ever get stupidly rich, I do believe I will endow a research project to create them. Of course, when the abominations unto the Lord that inadvertently are created and released and proceed to wreak havoc on the world at large, I'll be a villain. But it will totally be worth it. :P
Ahem.
I hope the recipient appreciates her, because she's absolutely wonderful.

Hermione Granger Doll

Hermione Granger Doll
Originally uploaded by makelifeadorable

Check out makelifeadorable's awesome Hermione amigurumi. I love the details - hair, Gryffindor scarf, robe. She's fabulous!
Makelifeadorable has also made a Snape, for you Potter fans, along with some other adorable creations available in her Etsy shop.

(Also, I love her Flickr name)

Mommy mouse and Baby mouse Amigurumi Crochet Pattern.

Mommy mouse and Baby mouse Amigurumi Crochet Pattern.
Originally uploaded by Handmadekittypics

I love this cute little mousey momma and baby in sling. The little bow on the tail is adorable too. Nice Christmas-y colors, too - for those who celebrate these could be great little decorations or gifts.

Pattern available in Handmadekitty's Etsy shop (check out some other adorable patterns there, too).

Animal!!!

animal muppets drummer
Originally uploaded by out of the frame

I'd contemplated trying an Animal amigurumi (he's one of my favorite Muppets) but out of the frame beat me to it. Which is fine, because this is awesome! Great use of fun-fur/eyelash yarn, too.

He even has ickle drumsticks.

Warning: Little known threat to farmers and yarn aficionados

Dracullama
Originally uploaded by Tapir Girl

The dracullama. Wings. Fangs. Fear.

angry teddybear

angry teddybear
Originally uploaded by Speckerna

If the bloody stump, cast, and victoriously raised firearm weren't enough, the excellent addition of the angry eyebrows should tell you that this bear means business.

Excellent. /Monty Burns

Frankenstein

100_4457
Originally uploaded by Waikikidragonfly808

He's so excellent! Perfect with Halloween coming up!

Zombies! Bunnies! Zombie-bunny!

zombiebunnybaby
Originally uploaded by tinyowlknits *

Check out the adorable zombie bunny made by tinyowlknits. This is another example of less-is-more - I like the simple shapes - arms and legs can be fussy sometimes.

Anyway, the details here are adorable - the pink yarn under the eyes and the scar across the face are great zombie details.

Available from tinyowlknits' Etsy shop.

Amazon Amigurumi

Now that it's been delivered, I can post about the Amazon from Creepy Cute Crochet: Zombies, Ninjas, Robots, and More!
Top photo shows her bald and nakey! Oooh, amigurumi pornography (this should get some interesting Google hits).

Once I figured out how to get the hair going, with the help of tutorials by the author of Creepy Cute and aided by finally breaking down and getting some tiny steel crochet hooks - it worked out very well.

I decided that an Amazon needed a bow as well as a spear, so she wound up with both. It's a recurve bow, because I am that much of an archaeological nerd. If I'd had appropriate stone or some broken glass handy, I may well have tried knapping a tiny spear-point, too. As it is, I made a bunch of little notches on the edges to make it look as though it had been re-touched.

I used an ombre yarn for a more "natural" looking bikini. The stupid thing was too big, even after I remade the amigurumi using a larger hook, so I did some alterations, making decorative loops in the bands of the top and skirt.

The whole thing is made of various acrylic or acrylic-wool blend worsted weight yarns. I know that the patterns call for cottons, but they can be a bit harder to find in a variety of colors and I have tons of acrylics handy. Yes, baby-melting acrylics. Suck-it, yarn snobs.

I think it all turned out pretty well.

Schnauzer Puppy

Schnauzer Puppy
Originally uploaded by Jaravee

I love these adorable schnauzer amigurumis by Jaravee. Her other puppy patterns are equally adorable. The eyebrows for the schnauzers are a wonderful touch.
Schnauzers, though, have a special place in my heart - my mom loves them and currently has two - a white male named Oliver and tiny salt-and-pepper female named Lily. Dad grumbles about them, but he loves them too. I'm rather fond of them myself, but, of course, no doggie could replace Oreo in my heart.
Oliver, actually, was indirectly responsible for my adopting Oreo. I had spent a week or so at my parents before moving up to Chicago and Oliver would sleep in my bed. I realized that I really, really liked having a doggie around and thus wound up going to look at doggies for adoption in Chicago and found Oreo.

Gahhhhh!

My latest amigurumi is driving me batty.  And I can't even complain about it properly here because it will ruin the surprise for the recipient.  Suffice to say I'm having troubles even though I've been following the directions.  Clothing is too big.  Other details are challenging to make.  I feel like crap and my brain is extra foggy, so that adds extra fun.  It's probably a good thing you can't really stab anything with a crochet hook or there would be even more trouble.

On the brighter side, I'm really enjoying Remember the Milk so far.  I'll try to remember to write up a more detailed review later on when I've used it a bit longer, but so far, so good.  I especially like the ease of setting up recurring tasks without having to assign a time.  This might not seems such a big deal, but for me, with a very fluid schedule based on health and sleep cycle, it is very, very handy.  And it really has helped me in remembering chores.

:P

Mr Bunnyford

Mr Bunnyford
Originally uploaded by MrFoxyy

ZOMG he will eat your soul!!!!! Isn't he adorable? Check out more of MrFoxyy's work in the Flickr stream or check the Etsy shop where you may also obtain Mr. Bunnyford.