J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series inspires our imaginations by showing us our world, but with a side that we’ve never before seen. As we lead up to the end of the Harry Potter movies, I’m taking a two-part look at the crafts which make this fantasy world real in our own. This first part highlights items which have already been made and are available on Etsy. The second will share free patterns and instructions for all kinds of Potter crafting.

[Marvelous sweaters, tiny owls, and more....]

Smapte, the crochet artist who brought us crocheted Muad’Dib on a sandworm and other geeky treats, has done it again.

That is a full-sized crocheted Hypnotoad. She based her dimensions on its size relative to characters in the show. It comes out at 22” long, 21” wide, and 10” tall. It also weighs over 2 pounds. The eyes are hand-painted.

[More Futurama crocheting, including some you can make yourself...]

Weekly Who is taking a break this week so we can present to you this fun Who home project!

Make your own paper TARDIS! ...Or Dalek, or Cyberman, or Adipose, or even Doctor.

deviantARTist Cyberdrone (Chris), has created free, downloadable Doctor Who Cubee figure patterns for all eleven Doctors, many of the companions, a handful of TARIS models (even the Bad Wolf one), and a slew of enemies. He’s made more varieties of Dalek than you can shake a sonic at. And you can make any of them using nothing more than a printer, some scissors, and a sharp knife/box cutter.

[What’s a Cubee?]

Last December, I became frustrated when attempting to find an Nook-compatible eBook, free or otherwise, of the complete works of H.P. Lovecraft. Initially, I used a nearly-complete file from the Australian Project Gutenberg and turned it into a mildly useful but still incomplete and unstructured ebook. That wouldn’t do, so I did what any good librarian-in-training would—I took the time to create a proper complete works eBook and released it to the public.

The Complete Works of H.P. Lovecraft is available in two eBook formats, EPUB (for the Nook and a few others) and MOBI (for the Kindle). It contains all the original stories which Lovecraft wrote as an adult, beginning in 1917 with “The Tomb” and ending in 1935 with his last original work “The Haunter of the Dark.” The table of contents at the end of this post has a complete list, including the years in which stories were written.

[Do “eldritch” and “squamous” make the top ten?]

Were you disappointed when Ron D. Moore didn’t name you as one of the Final Five Cylons? Did you feel a little let down when you came up human again and again while playing the BSG board game? This is your lucky day. If you or someone whom you can bribe or guilt who loves you is adept with a pair of knitting needles, then you can become a warm and happy Cylon Centurion.

[The pattern and originator below the cut]

Melita Curphy, also known as Miss Monster or @missmonstermel, is a painter, leatherworker, and artisan. Her work carries strong mythological/fairy-tale tones, from her Krampus Christmas Cards to tentacle and Cthulhus designs to werewolf shirts and patches to demon masks to her Medusa logo. Recently, she finished one of her largest and most-impressive creations yet, a “demon skin” rug. (Pictured above.)

[See the progress of the demon skin rug and read an interview with Melita]

It's hard to write a proper introduction for this:

Yes, that is a crocheted Paul (Atreides) Muad'Dib in his Fremen stillsuit, riding atop a sandworm. I had only finished Dune the day before I found it and was blown away by its creativity. The duo were made by deviant Artist “Smapte” and featured there before being sold in her Etsy store.

[See more angles and characters]

Happy Smithmas! The Doctor has always celebrated and encouraged the best in humanity. In my book, one of the best things about humanity is our desire to create and to share our creations and designs. So in honor of the new Christmas episode and the 12 Doctors of Christmas, I’ve gathered together a smorgasbord of Whovian crafts, spanning both runs of the show.

[Read more...]