Pay it Forward!

So I've seen these kind of pay it forwards on facebook and such, but somehow finding it on http://www.tenpennysplendid.com/ made my mind explode with untapped potential. Long story short I signed myself up and was one of the lucky five. I have always found that even though I need to sell my stuff and make some sort of an income it's always been more fun to give things away. Especially things that I've made with my own two hands.

Here are the basic rules:

You must be one of the first five people to comment on this post (please leave name and email for further contact). I will then make something and send it to you by the end of 2011 (just as a personal request only US residents please. I'm sorry to any non US residents interested, but I just don't have the funds to ship things internationally right now.)

You need to post about Pay it Forward on your blog/facebook/twitter/or whatever media site you use and send something hand made to the first five people who comment before 2011 ends. Share the love people!

You can send ANYTHING that has been made by you! Big, small, unique, obscure...whatever you want as long as it has been hand made by yourself!

It is encouraged to post follow ups on what you've received/sent/etc to spread the word and show the world what crafty people can do! This step is, however, optional.

And so we shall infect the world with a chain of crafting wonder that expands beyond our families and friends, blogs and social media, and into new realms!

Join the fun!

Frylock with Free Pattern!

    I was requested to create a Frylock from Aqua Teen Hunger Force. I've actually only seen the show maybe twice, so I was a little worried I wouldn't be able to capture the feel of Frylock, but I've been told I did just fine.

    I've been down and out the last couple of days with the flu. Luckily I didn't have the really terrible stomach bug, but I still couldn't eat and I was all kinds of achy and dead. For the first two days I could hardly even put the next movie on. Luckily I started to feel a bit better yesterday and realized that my weekly-ish deadline was approaching for my blog. After attacking my sister for ideas she told me to make this guy. Seriously I just make whatever my sister says. Should I be worried?

    As you can see a lot of my projects really come down to the details. Without his face and jewel I could have slapped an M on there and called it McDonald's! But add on that face and you have, without a doubt, a character with his own personality.

   I was unsure about the whole jewel on his back thing. I couldn't find any pictures of it at first and didn't even know about it until my husband said something. I'm sure its not 100% accurate, but the pictures I did find were not as helpful as I would have liked. Hopefully its in the "close enough" category.

    One final side note before I give up the goods. I'm going to be out of town for a couple of weeks and I'm not sure if I'll be posting anything or not in that time. But fear not! I have a couple of new projects I want to do when I get back.

OK, here's what you've been waiting for.

Frylock Pattern

Ch - chain
Sc - single crochet
Sl st - slip stitch
= rows - sc in each stitch around
Body
Ch 7, sc twice into the 2nd chain from hook
Sc 6 down the chain, add three more sc in the 6th
Sc on the straight, inc ever other stitch on the curve of the oval. (If you are making yours larger than mine you will need to add on inc in the middle of each straight as well.)
Continue until the oval is about 2-2.5 inches at its widest point.

Choose the inner portion of the chain and sc 1=round
Sc 10, inc 1, sc 10, etc for 3 rows
2=rows
Sc 10, inc 1, sc 10, etc for 2 rows
3=rows
Sc 20, inc, sc20 for 1 row (or until you end up on the curved edge of the oval)
(now for the taller lip on the sides of his “head”)
Sc 4, turn, sc 10, turn sc to other side (about 20 sc)
Sc 10, turn, sc 9, sl st into the next stitch, turn
Sc for 1=row, tie off.
Fries
Sc 6 in a magic circle. Sc = rows until you have a long tube (around 6 inches). Fold in half and stuff about halfway in his head. Repeat until you have enough fries to fill his head.

Add facial features with felt and embroidery.

If there's any issues or if you have any questions just email me at MostlyNerdyCrochet@gmail.com thanks!

Mickey!

Hey look! It's Mickey Mouse! Sorcerer style.

Yikes this was hard. His body and appendages were pretty typical shapes and really didn't take me too long to do, however all his extra bits were a pain! In a good way of course. I made him to trade with my father-in-law who is rather skilled at woodworking.

His face took around six hours to figure out. Two spent on doing, and redoing a crochet face until I finally decided that for his size that just wasn't going to work. After all hes only about the size of my Zoidbergs. So then I decided to embroider his face. I'm not very practiced at embroidery, but I'm happy with the way it turned out.  Below is the back of one of his hands which are also embroidered.

I don't think I'd make another Mikey, at least not in this style. Of course if you offer me enough money I'll make just about anything hahaha. His cloak thing was very confusing. I had no idea where to start. I don't usually do clothing in crochet but I thought I would try it this time. It turned out alright, but it could be improved upon. Also, did I make his hat too big? Hard to tell. He looks OK in person, but now that I'm looking at the pictures I have to wonder.

Overall I'm very satisfied with the end result. There is no denying that this is, indeed, Mikey Mouse. So there you are father-in-law! I hope you like him!

"As for me I design mansions and then live in them..."

"...I'm lying! I'm an appalling failure!"

Please welcome Universe 1's Dr. Zoidberg with a FREE pattern!

 As you can see the design has been improved and for the first time I'm offering my pattern for free! Though, I do warn you, this is the first pattern that I've written out for someone other than myself, so you may have to email me for questions. MostlyNerdyCrochet@gmail.com 

Can't crochet? You can order one. $35 + S&H money order or check (allow ten days to clear). Email for details.

As promised I will be offering a special gift to my sister for her continued demands... I mean support for my crochet. She must choose the red pill or the blue pill... I mean Zoidberg.  

Leela 1: "The idiots have the box!"

Zoidberg A: "I think she means you."

By the way the box is just a blue piece of paper folded origami style. WAAAAY too lazy to crochet a box...that and I don't have the right color of yarn.

OK people who just wanted to look at the pretty pictures may stop reading. Those who want the pattern please continue:

Pattern Attempt for ZOIDBERG

Cheat sheet: sc (single crochet), dec (decrease), inc (increase), sl st (slip stitch),

Head
Row 1 Make a magic circle with 6 sc in the center. Pull tight.
Row 2 increase to 12 stitches
Row 3 sc 2, inc, sc 2, inc, repeat until end of row (use a stitch marker for working in the round)
Row 4 sc 3, inc, sc 3, inc, repeat until end of row.
Row 5 sc 4, inc, sc 10, inc, sc 4
Row 6 sc in each stitch for the row (one = row)
Row 7 sc 4, dec, sc 10, dec, sc 4
Row 8 sc 3, dec, sc 3,
Face tentacles: chain 4, sl st into second chain and continue back to row. Repeat 3 more times.
Row 8 continued sc 3, dec, until end of row.
Row 9, repeat row 8 without the face tentacles.

Body
Inc, sc, inc, sc, repeat for one row
Sc 4, inc, repeat for one row.
One = row
Sc 4, inc, sc 4, inc, repeat for one row.
Two = rows
Sc 6, inc, sc 6, inc repeat for one row
Two = rows
Sc 10, dec, sc 10, dec, for two rows
Two = rows
Begin to stuff
Sc 6, dec, sc 6, dec, repeat for 2 rows.
Sc 2, dec, sc 2, dec repeat for 1 row.
Finish stuffing
Continue to decrease(throw in a regular stitch if needed now and then) until closed.

Legs (x2)
Redo row 1 and 2 from the head instructions.
Ch 4 and make two toes just like the face tentacles were made.
Choosing the inner portion of the stitches from row 2, sc in the round for approximately 7 rounds, or until a little over an inch tall. No stuffing necessary. Attach to body. Make the other leg. Attach to body.

Arms (x2)
Ch 6. Attach the 6th stitch to the 1st and crochet around to form a tube.
Make tube about 1.5 inches long. Ch 4 and make 1 tentacle (for his claw) sc 2 in the tube. Ch 4 and make the second claw. Dec across tube to close. No stuffing necessary. Attach to body. Make second arm. Attach to body.

Eyes and clothing
Cut out felt for the eyes and clothing. Embroider pupils onto the eyes.
For the clothing cut out pant shapes and shirt shapes. Sew edges and dress him! Embroider little circles onto his jacket. Here’s hoping the rest can be figured out by looking at my pictures.

Seriously, I have no life. If you have questions just ask! You can either do so in a comment or email me at MostlyNerdyCrochet@gmail.com