Robot Crochet

I love robots, and I love to crochet, so it just makes sense that I'm crocheting robots. I began by following a pattern for a robot, and then I branched out and created my own. And holy cow, it appears I've got quite a knack for this whole robot-crochet-design thing!

Here are some pictures of the robots I've designed, and links to where you can purchase the patterns! If you do purchase a pattern and find anything confusing or wrong in it, please contact me here or via etsy or ravelry and let me know!! And I would *LOVE* to see pictures of your finished products!

The Happy Little Robot

This was the first little guy I created on my own... and by little I mean 20" from foot to antenna. He is just so stinkin' cute! You can find him here on Etsy, or you can find him here on Ravelry.

The Kyra-bot

This was designed for my friend's granddaughter, Kyra. She's one of my fav's, for sure! She's got a skirt and everything! I love this robot. I should probably make her again for my little girl. You can find the Kyra-bot here on Etsy, or here on Ravelry.

Caleb's Robot

I couldn't think of a name for this guy, and I made him for my cousin's baby boy (Caleb), so Caleb's Robot seemed fitting. :-) He's got a pretty sweet antenna on his noggin', and the sides of his head were crazy awesome to make. I'm pretty proud of it! Caleb loves him, too. You can find Caleb's Robot here on Etsy, or here on Ravelry.

 Mr. Banks

This is Mr. Banks. I was inspired by my little girl's "piggy" bank, which is actually a robot, and naturally we call him Mr. Banks when we say goodnight to him. I'm writing a children's book about Mr. Banks as well! You can get the pattern for him here on Etsy, or here on Ravelry.

Robot Pacifier/Toy Holder

OK this little fella doesn't have a name, but he is pretty useful! He's got a loop on his head, as well as a loop on each hand, and you mom's and dad's can attach toys and such to the loops. Or you could attach this guy to your baby's play yard, stroller, or carseat. You can get the pattern here on Etsy, or here on Ravelry.

Robot Toddler Tunic

Gah! Check this out!! I had just finished making a custom Tardigrade for a customer in the reddish color, and I had a bunch of yarn left. I wanted to use it up (I didn't even come close) and I had this idea for a darling little tunic for my little lady. So this is what I came up with! Seriously, who says robots are just for boys? Pshhhhht. You can get the pattern for this here on Etsy, or here on Ravelry. This is my latest and so-far-last robot creation, but I've got ideas for others!

Cute Crochet Robot, Mr. Banks!

I've done it again... I've crocheted a handsome fellow all by myself. I mean, I always do it all by myself, but what I mean is that I created him and the pattern literally all by myself!

I did have inspiration, though! My little lady's nursery is all decorated in robots. When I see stuff with robots, like shirts or tights or "piggy" banks, I just can't help myself--it winds up in our little robot shrine. It's really cute in there, honestly.

Ramona likes to say goodnight to her robots. We say goodnight to "Stan," and "Lois," and "Boris," (framed prints on the wall), then Mr. Banks, and Gregory! (Gregory is a *reallyreally* awesome lamp that my husband's BFF, Greg, gave us after she was born. It just seemed like the right name to give it.)

So, sometimes I find myself sitting there in her room, rocking her or just sitting while she destroys the order of everything *ahem*, and I think to myself "hey, self, you should make a crochet robot similar to that one!" And so, I bring you... Mr. Banks!!

I've also written a children's book about Mr. Banks... hopefully to be published in the near future. :-)


Follow this link to buy the pattern and make your very own Mr. Banks!
https://www.etsy.com/listing/254193183/crochet-pattern-robot-mr-banks

Tonight's dinner shall be divine!

Tonight's dinner is going to rock!! My husband was just saying he wants to make "Hawaiian style steak like Local Boyz" but that he has been unable to find a recipe. So I worked my Internet magic and found a copycat recipe conjured by an OSU alumni. The recipe for the marinade is here:

http://mirlandraskitchen.com/recipe/teriyaki-sauce-marinade/

I just finished cooking it. Once it cools, and once my steaks thaw, I can get them combined in the fridge for a few hours. 

While reading that recipe I saw a link to the Hawaiian mac n cheese, but I paid it no mind. Then I mentioned to my husband that I could make Hawaiian sweet rolls (using my bread machine) to go with our steak and he said no, he wants the amazing mac n cheese that you also find at Local Boyz. He said "it's basically just noodles and mayo." That's gross, but I went and looked at the recipe. That recipe is here:

http://mirlandraskitchen.com/hawaiian_macaroni_salad/

We're out of mayo... so guess who just hopped in the car to make a mad dash to the store to get some? Haha... I'm pretty excited to have dinner tonight! I've never eaten at Local Boyz. And brown sugar in my macaroni salad???? Sounds pretty intriguing!

On a side note, my husband has also gotten me to make Shoyu Chicken from a Local Boyz copycat recipe. That stuff is pretty good, too! It's made in "Da Sauce" as well. Yummmm...

That recipe can be found here: http://www.heatherlikesfood.com/hawaiian-shoyu-chicken/ 

Cute Crochet Robots!

I'm a maniac. I crochet like nobody's business. (Does that make me a crocheniac?) For years and years I followed patterns. Simple patterns, complex patterns, you name it. I made all kinds of stuff, but I wouldn't venture out and make stuffed animals. Well along came December 13th of 2011. A coworker asked me if I could crochet a reindeer hat for her, with stuffed antlers and sewn-on button eyes, and she needed it by Dec 15th. Not one to let people down, I spent my birthday (the 14th) crocheting this hat and branching out with my skills. This single project really transformed my life, and I will forever be grateful for that challenge.

Fast forward to 2015.... I now create and sell my own patterns for crocheted robots! OK let me explain my love for robots. Back in 2012, while my then-fiance and I were simply talking about maybe having a baby, I one day got this inspiration in my mind to decorate the future nursery in robots--no matter the flavor of the baby! Boy or girl, we would have robots galore! And that's what happened when our sweet little baby girl was born in 2014. We have a robot nursery. She has tons of robot shirts and tights and sweatshirts. Robots have grown quite dear to my heart. And, naturally, I wanted to crochet her a stuffed robot. I found a pattern on etsy.com for a pretty basic little robot. I used huge yarn and a huge hook to make it really big. This was the very first stuffed animal(robot, obviously) I'd ever made!

A good friend of mine saw this robot and she eyed it with admiration. She then had a massive outcropping of grandchildren (FIVE, suddenly, crazy huh?) and she presented me with a proposition in January of 2015. She asked me to make 5 crochet robot hats, plus 5 crochet stuffed robots by Christmas of 2015. Challenge accepted!

When it came time to start, which I believe I did in September of this year, I went on a hunt for more crocheted robot patterns. I found a few but they weren't all that fantastic. I made three of them from patterns and then I just knew I was going to have to make up my own. So I did, and I wrote down the patterns, and they are so brilliant! Here is little Robbie Robot:

And this here is his good friend, Kyra-bot. (She was made for a little girl named Kyra.) 

My friends and family are pretty excited about my unique robot designs and I'm already getting orders! But for each request I'm making an additional brand new unique one-of-a-kind robot, writing the patterns as I go! This is so fun! I've literally lost sleep over this because I am just so excited.

Currently I'm working on a robot called Mr. Banks. I'll post a blog about him as soon as he's finished!

You can snag the pattern for Robbie Robot at the following link:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/250030864/happy-little-robot-crochet-pattern?ref=shop_home_active_3

And Kyra-bot can be found here:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/250613547/kyra-bot-the-pretty-little-robot?ref=shop_home_active_2

Happy hooking! :-)

It's a revolution!

They are rising against me, I know it.

Seriously, my husband even says that he has never seen as many of them as he has since he's known me. They seek me out. It truly is an Evil Ninja Spider Network.

This morning I had to use the restroom. I was on my way in when I saw a very large, menacing foe dangling right there in the middle of the doorway. His web took up the whole upper left corner of the doorway, and he sat on it. I saw him in profile view, each nasty lanky leg. There were more than 8, though! There were 10! Oh, wait, nevermind. Those are fangs. Huge gangly fangs that are probably a third of the size of his legs. This spider is frightening and he means business.

I used a different bathroom, but not before posting to Facebook:
"There I was, minding my own business, about to walk into the bathroom, and suddenly there's a huge 8-legged creeper hanging in front of me. His fangs are huge. Like a third of the length of his legs! I won't be going in there for a while...."

I went about my business, getting ready for my day. I told my husband he was welcome to kill the spider. Much to my dismay, he hadn't done so when I finished with my shower (in a DIFFERENT bathroom). I needed something out of that bathroom, however, so I decided very begrudgingly to get the vacuum and suck this spider to obliteration myself.

I got him. I felt him thud against my hand as he whizzed through the vacuum hose. It made me feel sick to my stomach. I practically had this beast in my HAND. There was just a thin layer of plastic between us. It's terrifying, but I did what I had to do. I grabbed my hair straightener from the bathroom, and on my way out (with it, to the living room) I noticed ANOTHER spider on the wall. It was heading back behind the open bathroom door. I vowed to return to get him with the vacuum when I finished with my hair.

Fast forward... hair looks amazing... Taking the straightener back to the bathroom. Not only do I need to vacuum my enemy, but I also need to vacuum cat litter off of the floor of the shower. (I have the litter box sitting in there, because it's the guest bathroom and its out of the way. Cat litter gets all around the floor around the box, so it's in the bottom of the shower. Are you following all of this?)

So I walk into the bathroom and check the wall to find that spider. I don't see it. I get closer to the wall, so I can lean and look in the space behind the open bathroom door. I don't see it. Then I look up and it's--BAM--right in front of my face! GAH! So I have a bit of a panic moment, I turn on the vacuum, and I suck up the little bugger. PHEW! Glad that's over, yeah? Right?

So I turn around to start vacuuming up the cat litter from around the litter box and OH NOOOOOOO PLEASE MAKE IT STOP there is a big spider on the edge of the litter box, running at me.

That's it. I can't take it. I've surpassed my threshold already. I'm above and beyond high alert. My instincts are telling me to RUN RUN RUN for my very LIFE!!!!

I try to vacuum this guy but it's on the edge and he keeps side stepping. And I'm also doing some stepping, back and forth, foot to foot, because OMG SPIDERS. And I'm whimpering like a fool because OMG DEATH BY SPIDER OBVIOUSLY! After the third attempt, I got him. And then I threw the hose and ran down the hall, bare feet pounding on the floor, breathing rapidly, feeling like I might pass out, hopping from foot to foot, scratching the invisible spiders off my legs. Thank goodness I didn't cry this time! But my brain was mush because all I could think was survival!

"KEVIN omg and there was this OMG and this spider was OMG RIGHT THERE and then BAM omgomgomgomg KEVIN it was on the ummm the ummm the THING THAT THE CAT POOPS IN!"

Yeah that's how functional I am when spiders viciously come after me. Those jerks. They know it, too. They do it on purpose.

Kevin laughed. Pshht. *As if* this is funny.

I had only one option...

Hello! Here I have for you another story of survival. (That's how I can make it sound positive, anyway.) You remember my Grand Adventure with the spider on the interstate, right? Well then there was another spider in the car on my way to the bank a few months ago. I pulled into the Franz Bread Outlet parking lot and got an employee to get it out of the car for me… and yes, there were tears… But wait until you hear what happened two nights ago! I'm still scared of the kitchen!!!

My poor sweet baby girl started vomiting Monday evening around 8:30. It was so sad… After we got her cleaned up, I decided I'd go lay down with her and put her to bed. I was down to my undies and a T-shirt, and I was barefoot. Then, she threw up again! Poor sweet angel… So I called the on-call doctor who advised us to get some Pedialite to give her so she wouldn't get dehydrated. My darling husband left for the store. I changed a diaper, then I went to the kitchen with my wee lass… I was still in my undies and T-shirt, and still barefoot.

While waiting for my husband to return, I opened the dishwasher and decided to start putting away the dishes. I was still holding my poor sick baby. I got a few cups out of the dishwasher, and then suddenly a gargantuan 8-legged vessel of death came running out from under the open dishwasher door. Luckily it was running away from me, but unfortunately it stopped right at the entryway (or exit) to the kitchen!!!

It was almost as large as the palm of my hand. I don't have miniature hands, either. They're totally average sized hands for an average sized woman. This monster is what nightmares are made of!!!

So of course I screamed and threw myself backward. I was as far as humanly possible from this creature. One of my cats--the feistier, braver, much smaller one--came running. She locked eyes with the enemy. Of course my mind was racing. She could kill it, right? But you know how cats are… They don't just kill their prey. They play with it. They make it run around and dance. They chase it from here to there and back again!!! So I saw in my mind's eye Matilda batting the spider (that was almost as big as her) (ok not really) and it running in my direction. Oh no, no, this would not do. So, I yelled at her to leave.

The spider stood there, right next to the exit, and I was trapped. You recall the Radius of Fear and Death (RoFaD), right? Where I stood, I was barely, BARELY outside of it. If I were to try to run past and get my infant and myself to safety, I would have to enter the RoFaD! I tried to will myself to do it. Of course blubbering unintelligible noises all the while. My mind's eye showed me two possible scenarios if I attempted to escape.

1) I run as fast as I can. This scares my foe and he runs, possible at my bare feet and legs.
2) I walk slowly, requiring a longer stay in the RoFaD, and being an easier target for him to run at my bare feet and legs.

…I couldn't do it. I could not physically make myself enter the RoFaD at any speed! In fact, the thought of it gave me goosebumps all over my legs! So, I had only one option.

One.

I had to climb.

With infant in hand, I closed the dishwasher, and I closed a cupboard door so I wouldn't hit my head. The noise from the cupboard door made the spider JUMP, which is almost enough to make me pass out…. Nice try, spider. Nice try. I shoved some stuff out of the way, got one foot up on the counter and hoisted myself up.

And there I sat, blubbering, chanting "please come home please come home please come home" in hopes that the universe would send my hubby (a.k.a. Spider Slayer) home as fast as possible! To my great relief, he came home about 30 seconds after I got onto the counter. THANK YOU, UNIVERSE!!!!

So he walks in and he sees his half-naked wife and ill baby perched up on the counter quite awkwardly. I immediately say to him "THERE IS A HUUUUGE SPIDER RIGHT THERE!!!" He rolls his eyes, assuming my version of huge is his version of barely-there. He walks into the spider's line of site and simply says, "Damn!"

I told you it was huge!!!!!!!!

I just got the chills remembering! Gah!

He grabbed a file folder off of the table and thew it down on top of the spider. First the spider ran to the side and escaped the attempt. Of course that makes me freak out more… (No worries, the baby was silent through this entire ordeal!) He was able to cover the spider the second time, then squish it. And then he picked it all up, because spider guts make me gag.

…and then I cried. I don't like this new crying thing. This started with the interstate episode and has continued. Lame.

Anyway, I have not been barefoot since!

I looked it up, and this was a Giant House Spider, most likely male. The website said "they are sometimes seen wandering around the house looking for a mate…" That's even WORSE! Giant House Spider babies…!?!?!?! Sick and wrong!

OK, make it positive… I didn't fall off the counter. I'm alive. Phew! :-)

"Pale Green Pants", by Dr. Seuss

It's been a while since I've posted. I have had my little baby girl and all that awesome stuff. She is just about 8 weeks old. We didn't get a lot of 0-3 month size clothes, so we went to Fred Meyer the other day to get some new duds. One outfit had a pink top and some pale green pants with pink bicycles on them. My adorable husband stood them up on their own (with nobody inside them) and left them there in the middle of the living room. They reminded me of a Dr. Seuss story that I had read a long time ago. I just looked it up and realized how very perfect those pants fit that story! Here are the pants, standing on their own, and below is the story by Dr. Seuss. :-)

Well…

I was walking in the night

And I saw nothing scary.

For I have never been afraid

Of anything. Not very.

Then I was deep within the woods

When, suddenly, I spied them.

I saw a pair of pale green pants

With nobody inside them!

I wasn’t scared. But, yet, I stopped

What could those pants be there for?

What could a pair of pants at night

Be standing in the air for?

And then they moved? Those empty pants!

They kind of started jumping.

And then my heart, I must admit,

It kind of started thumping.

So I got out. I got out fast

As fast as I could go, sir.

I wasn’t scared. But pants like that

I did not care for. No, sir.

After that a week went by.

Then one dark night in Grin-itch

(I had to do an errand there

And fetch some Grin-itch spinach)……

Well, I had fetched the spinach.

I was starting back through town

When those pants raced around a corner

And they almost knocked me down!

I lost my Grin-itch spinach

But I didn’t even care.

I ran for home! Believe me,

I had really had a scare!

Now, bicycles were never made

For pale green pants to ride ‘em,

Especially spooky pale green pants

With nobody inside ‘em!

And the NEXT night, I was fishing

For Doubt-trout on Roover River

When those pants came rowing toward me!

Well, I started in to shiver.

And by now I was SO frightened

That, I’ll tell you, but I hate to….

I screamed and rowed away and lost

my hook and line and bait, too!

I ran and found a Brickle bush

I hid myself away.

I got brickles in my britches

But I stayed there anyway.

I stayed all night. The next night, too

I’d be there still, no doubt,

But I had to do an errand

So, the next night, I went out.

I had to do an errand,

Had to pick a peck of Snide

In a dark and gloomy Snide-field

That was almost nine miles wide.

I said, “I do not fear those pants

With nobody inside them.”

I said, and said, and said those words.

I said them. But I lied them.

Then I reached inside a Snide bush

And the next thing that I knew,

I felt my hand touch someone!

And I’ll bet that you know who.

And there I was! Caught in the Snide!

And in that dreadful place

Those spooky, empty pants and I

were standing face to face!

I yelled for help. I screamed. I shrieked.

I howled. I yowled. I cried,

“OH, SAVE ME FROM THESE PALE

GREEN PANTS WITH NOBODY INSIDE!”

But then a strange thing happened.

Why, those pants began to cry!

Those pants began to tremble.

They were just as scared as I!

I never heard such whimpering

And I began to see

That I was just as strange to them

As they were strange to me!

So…

I put my arm around their waist

And sat right down beside them.

I calmed them down.

Poor empty pants

With nobody inside them.

And now, we meet quite often,

Those empty pants and I,

And we never shake or tremble,

We both smile and we say…”Hi!”