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Droids & Fries For The Guys

Crochet & Needle Felted BB8 (by Laura Cameron)
My unintentionally shambolic approach to work and life means I don't manage to make presents for family and friends as often as I'd like to. It always seems a little indulgent when there are looming deadlines on the horizon and not enough back-stock of work, to go about crazily making things which aren't for sale. Occasionally though, I can still get my act together in time to make a special birthday or Christmas present. Here's a little bit about my recent two efforts.

This week my marvellous friend Paul had this birthday surprise droid delivery. While I'm pretty sure he would have preferred a real, full sized, fully functioning one, to help with all those dull household tasks and to set off on intrepid adventures with, he heroically hid his disappointment. Previously the recipient of one splendid but decidedly wobbly crocheted Tardis (not life sized), Paul once more warmly welcomed a sci-fi themed crocheted item into his home. I felt I was on safe ground with a BB8, not least because she's the most adorable droid around. I'd seen a few clever crocheters publishing patterns for BB8 (and indeed, the whole Star Wars crew, past and present) but thought I'd mostly go it alone on this. I was very much inspired however by a fab blog I found: Ms Premise-Conclusion, a blog dedicated to 'Musings on crochet, amigurmis and geekery'. Her 26th December 2015 post shows off her brilliant BB8 and she got me with the statement 'I used my sphere pattern generator for the body...'. A sphere pattern generator? Oh my! I was too intrigued not to pursue this. Ms Premise-Conclusion has now achieved a feat only Professor Brian Cox, Jim Al-Khalili and Dara O'Brien (on 'School of Hard Sums'- maths made fun, especially when Susan Calman or Josie Long were assisting) have so far managed. That of me accepting a bit of physicsy/mathy stuff may not only be important but fascinating too.

Crochet & Needle Felted BB8, doing a twirl
Her talk of  hyperbolic planes, constant curvatures and algorithms, leading to the notion that people can calculate their own, individualised, crochet sphere patterns reeled me in. Slightly giddy with the prospect, I downloaded her free, easily understandable pdf sphere patterns. If you've ever struggled with round things that go a bit wonky, or made multiple attempts to create the size you need, you'll appreciate the delight this potentially brings! I'm pretty sure I used the '22 Row Sphere' pattern for the body and I think just over half of the 16 Row Sphere for the head, then tapered the underneath flat by working into the back loops only of each stitch, gradually decreasing. I then swapped to needle felting for all of the details, a creatively artful step, or a bit of a cheat, depending on your point of view. She's not perfect but I'm pleased she should stand up proudly with the rest of the BB8 soft sculptures that are currently orbiting around the internet. I won't be making anymore (unless emotionally blackmailed by one or two  friends) so if you fancy making your own, be inspired by the Ms Premise-Conclusion blog or if you'd like fuller instructions, check out Crafty Is Cool's free BB8 pattern Otherwise, ask a crafty friend to crochet one up for you (but not me).

'Pisser Dans Ses Frites'
My other bespoke gift was a Christmas present to my writer brother-in-law. It was inspired by a chapter in his most recent book, about the quirks of family sayings in a mixed nationality family and the linguistic curios it creates. 'Other People's Countries' by Patrick McGuinness won Wales Book Of The Year 2015 (English language). It's a reflective read exploring the fractured, unreliable nature of memories, laced with humour in a series of short vignettes. There's a chapter entitled 'Pissing In Your Chips', a Geordie phrase which mutated into 'Pisser Dans Ses Frites' for a short time in his childhood town of Bouillon, Belgium. A bemusing but frequently used phrase for a few glorious years (now sadly extinct, except when Patrick is in town). This framed portion of crocheted chips was my homage to this fondly remembered phrase. He seemed surprised and delighted with it. Crocheting chips/ fries is a satisfyingly simple thing. Just chain stitch to your required length then half-treble (UK) back along the chain. Chain 1, then work back along the other side of the chain. Fold along 'spine' and slipstitich along the length.  Viola! one completed chip. And repeat. Thanks for reading.

Crocheted Chips, Yum
Pisser Dans Ses Frites / Pissing In Your Chips
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