The Doctor is in.

This was a Christmas gift I made for my husband's niece, a Whovian of massive proportions. Meet the Eleventh Doctor, complete with fez (Fezzes are cool!) and his most constant companion, the TARDIS.

This was Utilitarian crochet at its finest and they were a blast to make. I used patterns exclusively, but did have to spend a little time making revisions to get the coat to fit the doll properly. Other than that, you reads the pattern, you gets the Doctor. Nice. Oh, the hair was a little different. But the instructions are actually quite good and if you just do what they say, you will get good hair. Peasy!

Matt Smith Big and Cuddly Doctor Who by Nyss Parkes
Various acrylic scraps, size US D hook

The TARDIS was ultimately just a box, but it really benefitted from plastic canvas reinforcement to keep the edges sharp when stuffed. I cut four pieces, tacked them together at the corners so they wouldn't bulge, then affixed them to the top of the sides before I attached the roof. The roof was a simple square, which naturally peaked (with a little tug of the top "light") once the stuffing was complete.

TARDIS amigurumi by Army of Owls
Red Heart Super Saver and a size US G hook

We were out of town at my sister's on Christmas Day and didn't get to see our niece open it. A phone call and her post about it to Facebook were all the evidence we needed to know that it was a huge hit and that I apparently still have the fangirl touch. :)

And speaking of being a fangirl, she inspired me to give Doctor Who a try last fall and I have totally succumbed. I've watched all of the "new" Who (2005 - present) via Netflix and Amazon streaming at least twice per episode and some of them I think I've seen four or five times. Such good handwork watching. And I don't have any indication yet that The X-files are getting jealous.

Yes, it's a sickness.

Oh my, I just might need a Doctor...

Hehe.

Festival farewell

It was another uneventful week in the lab (except for that annoying yeast infection in all my cell cultures, but I really hope I have that under control) and another fun and busy weekend -- thus insuring that I will not become a dull girl because of all work and no play.

Friday night I went with Veronica, Rachel, and Rachel's family to the Lakefront Brewery tour and then for a fish fry. Rachel's son brought a date for me -- a giant stuffed alligator to stand in for Gator, my DH. He was quite the star of the tour, too! He loved posing with me:


We had a ball. Rachel's kids have taken to calling V, Anne and I their "Crazy Aunts", which I absolutely adore. I try to live up to this as much as I can!! Plus, there's nothing like chasing 8- and 11-year-old boys down the street so you can hug them good-bye and give them cooties! Hee!!

Saturday was Party On The Pavement and Art Walk in Racine, WI. I went down with my neighbor and we had a great time. First we walked around part of the residential area down by the lakefront. At Gateway Technical College there stands the first statue erected of Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln portrayed together:


We strolled past the Hardy House, a Frank Lloyd Wright original:


This crazy pink Victorian explosion was the second house in as many blocks to have a sawed-off classic Milwaukee Harp Street Lamp in the front yard. I love these lamps. Apparently there is a way I can get my own one day. That is good to know.


I love the cool facades found on many Masonic Temples:


It was a gorgeous day for October -- the sky and the lake were clear and beautiful!


Soon, we headed to the festival. There was awesome Spanish food and tasty beverages and quite a crowd down at Monument Square:


Most importantly, this crowd included Chewbacca!!! And he spoke Shyriiwook fairly well!


Yes, that was pretty much the highlight of this dork's day! :)

We only got to enjoy a little bit of the festival nightlife before we had to catch the last bus back to Beer Town:


Back home, I listened to the Brewers beat Philly only to listen to them lose today and end their season. It was sad, but I'm glad we didn't get swept in the series and at least had one post-season win. At least that's something.

After the Brewers lost I watched the play-by-play internet coverage of the Broncos game, which they won. Apparently the Brewers and Broncos are not allowed to win on the same day. I hope this means smooth sailing for the Broncos here on out.

It's been cool but pretty up here lately, but today it's been nothing but rain all day. I'm glad I got my partying in when I did. I fear it's the last festival of the year. :(

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This is not unexpected

Your result for The X Files Dork Test...

Phile Dork

You love The X Files. And you know your shit. And you are obsessed. But not scarily so. You still have a firm grasp on reality. Or maybe you just started watching the show too late or stopped watching too soon to know all of the answers. Either way your knowledge is still impressive and you are a true Phile. Message me, we should talk.

Take The X Files Dork Test at HelloQuizzy

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Got you on my mi-hind

Happy Anniversary, Baby. It's been seventeen wonderful years and even though there have been downs as well as ups, I wouldn't trade a day. You are my best friend, my soulmate, and my truest love.

And I'm really sorry your gift isn't done yet. You deserve to be showered with love (and material goods) on the actual day of celebration. But I have failed you, and can only send psychic love-waves over the distance and hope that my inabilities serve to draw out the celebration for another week or so, sharpening the anticipation. I hope you think it's worth the wait.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for understanding and accepting my geeky self and knowing that, while others might prefer flowers or jewelry, I am beside myself with giddiness over the receipt of my most awesome anniversary gift (outside of more years with you, of course -- the greatest gift of all!):


Thank you for making me the proud owner of The Complete X-Files DVD box set! I love it! I broke it open immediately and watched an episode while working on a little special something...


Nine seasons of episodes and the movie, special features, deleted scenes, synopsis book, collectors' cards, a comic book -- all in a pretty coolio box. It's like Christmas around here. Only better because it's all only about my Boy and me.

We're the center of our universe. That's pretty cool.

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Other people's stuff (Big Ol' Geek Edition)

Have you ever taken chemistry? Had to learn/become familiar with the periodic table of the elements? Didn't you think it would be so much easier if you could relate the periodic table to something "cool"? Look no further! If you're a geek, but not that kind of geek, then you will thrill to the mere existence of The Periodic Table of Comic Books! Now you can easily reference a frightening number of elements as they appear in the text of a whole bunch of comic books (most of which you've never heard of)! An invaluable reference for everyone!

Crafters often take for granted things that cooks cannot. While it's very simple to run to JoAnn and pick up some googly eyes to perfectly complete a crafting project, what is the intrepid kitchen warrior to do when his/her latest creation is rendered plain and overly static by plain ol' frosting or candy eyes? Fear not! Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories has posted the solution! Now everyone can add the magic of completely edible googly eyes to all their recipes! I can't wait to make my next batch of lamb stew able to look back at me! (Also, dig on the awesomocity of the Flying Spaghetti Monster cookies!)

The webcomic XKCD is well known and loved in Big Ol' Geeky Circles and it often makes me laugh. But earlier this week I wanted creator Randall Munroe (nephew of one of my professors, actually) to get out of my head:


On the other hand, Randall is looking out for us -- we can be ever more confident that knitting is a nice, reasonable, sane hobby:


I have chosen *wisely*. (okay geeks -- name the movie reference!)

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