Oh the Cuteness!

Meet Emo the sad sheep. No one really knows why he's sad. He has plenty of friends and a bitchin' sweater, plus all the tissues he could ever need. And yet there he is, always in a bad mood. Maybe he just needs a hug? I love this little guy! I actually finished him quite a while ago but dragged my feet on his little tissue box, which is actually a box from a Japanese tissue-themed eraser (they make toilet paper ones too lol), that I filled with a folded up tissue instead. He didn't take a super long time to crochet, but seaming him together was a nightmare! He only sits about 5 inches tall, and I love the way his face is sculpted. He's made from acrylic yarns, mostly good old Red Heart, plus some button eyes and a single glass teardrop. He's pretty true to the original from this Japanese craft book, ISBN4-309-26572-3: See him hiding in the background on the upper right corner of the table? Poor Emo. Maybe he's sad because I want to sell him, ...

So I mentioned in this post that I got to spend the weekend at Maker Faire in San Mateo with my new employers, Woodcut Maps . You know I'm a total nerd for craft fairs, and this was my first time at this particular fair. But it was unlike anything I've ever been to before. The sheer size of it was the first thing that really struck me on Friday when we were setting up - it literally covered the entire fair ground. It was just like the state fair we had back home when I was a kid, but instead of rides there were giant flaming robotic sculptures. Instead of a rodeo or a beauty pageant there was the robot petting zoo and talks given by nerd celebrities like Adam Savage of Mythbusters and the guys from Eepybird, famous for their Diet Coke and Mentos stunts. And instead of exhibition halls filled with flower arranging, cattle, and guys trying to sell you hot tubs (anyone?), there was pure and utter handmade artisan awesomeness with a high-tech overtone. I was in heaven, and so wa...