Plan on looking for a critter? Here’s what you need to know: 2023 edition

COMIC-CON IS NEXT WEEK!! Which means the hunt will be starting soon! If you’re new here, welcome! Since 2011 I’ve been crocheting little characters to bring to San Diego Comic Con and leave them behind for strangers to find by posting clues to social media, which later expanded to occasionally dropping them during my travels as well! I’m back for SDCC 2023, and I’ve got 10 drops that I’ll be doing, plus another 3 guest critters by Gina! Here are the critters that I’ll be bringing with me:

Say hello to the class of 2023!

And 3 guest critters by Gina! She also takes commissions, so if you don’t snag one of her cuties at SDCC you can order one from her Etsy! Don’t forget to tag her as well if you find one of her critters! She’s @moon_catcher on Twitter and @disconnected_child on Instagram!

Here’s the general rules and guidelines for my drops:

1. Follow me on twitter and Instagram. Clues will be posted to both platforms, with the drops being posted to stories on Instagram (not feed posts). Keep tabs on both, if you exceed your tweet viewing limit you’ll still be able to track the drops on Instagram!
2. Search for the hashtag #CRITTERDROP to filter for critterdrop-related updates. Most of you will be following lots of other people/organizations on various social media venues during Comic-Con, so hopefully the tag will help sort things out. (Note: the hashtag only applies to Twitter, not Instagram stories)
3. Set up a mobile alert on your phone! This isn’t required, but it’ll help! This way your phone will notify you every time I make a post, so you won’t miss a single drop! Instructions on how to set this up can be found here for Twitter and here for Instagram.
4. If you find a critter, let me know that you found it! Please check in if you find a critter! Each one is tagged with a card with my contact info, I just ask for two things if you find one: 1) Send me a photo of your new friend, and 2) Let me know where the critter’s new home will be so I can add it to my map! I do this knowing that there’s a potential that anyone could swipe the critter and never get back to me, but it doesn’t make it any less disheartening when one goes missing.
5. Critters will be dropped one at a time. No pairs/groups of critters with the exception of Baymax and Mochi.
6. Limit of 2 critters per finder please! I know there’s some power hunters out there (which is AMAZING that I even have to ask for this new rule), if you’ve already found one, keep it to one more and leave the rest for others to find!

As for WHERE the critters might be:

1. No drops in the convention center. WAY too crowded, and I feel like the critters would get lost in the shuffle. So no worries about trying to fish for one in the mad sea of geekiness.
2. No badge? No problem! I actually make it a point to drop a large majority of my critters out in the Gaslamp Quarter! I’ve left little dudes in trees, in random flowerbeds outside of restaurants, etc. etc.
3. No drops at night.

Drops will happen from Wednesday-Saturday. No drops on Sunday. Otherwise I try to evenly distribute how many are dropped per day throughout the course of the con, and I just drop ’em whenever it’s convenient and if I happen to spot a good drop location. Pick your social media poison and start following me to join the hunt!

• Twitter
• Instagram

Also, I’m not the only one doing drops at SDCC this year! Here’s a list of other kind souls to follow to find more cool stuff! So many drops, so little time. Get ready for the hunt, and HAVE FUN. It’s Comic-Con, for pete’s sake. There’s always something awesome going on, so enjoy yourself. And while sleeping is optional, don’t forget to bathe. Comic-Con stank is a very real thing. Happy hunting!

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Baymax returns!

Ask and ye shall receive. I posted on Twitter a little while back asking if there were any throwbacks that people were interested in seeing at SDCC 2023, and a good number of people showed interest in seeing Baymax again! I’ve recreated everyone’s favorite healthcare robot, but this time he’s got a little friend with him:

Yep, it’s a hairy baby. And by hairy baby I mean Mochi.

Don’t say I never did anything for you guys. 😉 Baymax and Mochi will be dropped as a pair at SDCC, you the know the drill! Find them and they’re yours to keep!

If you want to join my hunt for crocheted critters at San Diego Comic-Con this year, here’s what you need to know:

1. Follow me on Instagram or twitter for updates on new critters!
2. When the time comes, follow me on twitter to track the drops. I’ll post photo hints on where I’ve dropped a critter for a people to find!
3. Follow the hashtag #CRITTERDROP to filter out my tweets if you want to see the ones pertaining to the drops only.
4. If you find a critter, let me know that you found it! Please check in if you find a critter. Each one is tagged with a card with my contact info, I just ask for two things if you find one: 1) Send me a photo of your new friend, and 2) Let me know where the critter’s new home will be so I can add it to my map! I do this knowing that there’s a potential that anyone could swipe the critter and never get back to me on it, but it doesn’t make it any less disheartening when one goes missing.

San Francisco: The recap

I’m back from San Francisco where I ate, I saw…and probably still didn’t eat or see enough. Here’s a slice of how the weekend went:

Highlights:

• I did the touristy thing and took a trolley! It was actually pretty fun and it’s a great way to see some good views of the city from the streets.

• I got drinks at Tonga Room & Hurricane Bar, which was basically Rainforest Cafe for adults. SUPER gimmicky and cheezy, but the drinks are strong (*ahem*) and it was definitely something fun to see once.
• I did the other touristy thing and got a photo at the Golden Gate Bridge!

• THIS SANDWICH. OH MAH GAWD, THIS PORCHETTA SANDWICH. Got it from Roli Roti at the Ferry Building Farmer’s Market, and holy hell, it’s everything good in this world between bread. Savory, unctuous pork belly, peppery arugula, and crispy cracklings sprinkled throughout to add a crunch. SO EFFING GOOD.

• THESE EGG TARTS. (@#*&$@(*#&$ THESE EGG TARTS. Best egg tarts of my LIFE. Perfectly flakey crust, and somehow they managed to get an AMAZINGLY creamy custard that’s just set in without making that delicate crust soggy. Got them from Golden Gate Bakery, they’re even better than ones that I’ve had in Asia. I thought about getting some to bring home, but I knew they wouldn’t be the same if I tried to reheat them. I love that there’s two little pissed off Cantonese ladies working at the counter…they were merciless if you didn’t speak Chinese, but they were merciless if you DID speak Chinese as well. No discrimination here. The egg tart nazis fed me well.

• I found Yoda! The Lucasfilms lobby was closed though, so my husband and I ended up peering through the windows like a bunch of creepy stalkers to see all the cool stuff inside.

I ate and drank plenty more than what I’ve got posted, but other food highlights include ridiculously good handmade mochi at Benkyodo (little pillows of happiness, I tell you), lots of good coffee from Philz and Blue Bottle, and kouign amanns from b. patisserie. Oof. Bottom line is that San Francisco fed me well and I came back happy and a wee bit heavier. 😀

Things that I’ll have to come back for:

• Oysters at Swan Depot
• Visiting Alcatraz
• Seeing the Painted Ladies
• Visit the “Full House” house?
• Seeing the sealions
• Sushirrito?? Funny how I had no qualms over eating a roasted guinea pig in Peru, but I’m skeptical about this thing.

And of course the icing on the cake during my trip is that all three of my critters were found! And I got some fantastic pictures sent to me by all the adopters! 🙂

Baymax's adopter just sent me a pic of him with his new roommate. HAIRY BABY! pic.twitter.com/vTBCyUnBJN

— Geeky Hooker (@GeekyHooker) November 7, 2015

I suspect @GeekyHooker’s Anger was secretly feeling joy when he got to ride the @SF_CableCar #critterdrop pic.twitter.com/Ya0zyDp4dT

— Cyndy Poon 🐲 (@cyndypoon) November 8, 2015

https://twitter.com/SheEnBeanHonest/status/663499562611380224

Three successful adoptions out in NorCal! Thanks to everyone who picked up a critter, and thanks to everyone who joined the hunt and gave me recommendations on where to go! One thing that I’m still shocked about is how my goofy little hunt got picked up by the local press. I’m extremely grateful for them spreading the word (many of them asked if it was okay to share first, so I greatly appreciate that they gave that courtesy!), and I’m sure it’s a huge part of why my three drops were successful this past weekend. I’m just an idiot on vacation, so admittedly it’s still puzzling to me that it’d be featured in the news when there seems to be SO MUCH going on in a lively city like San Francisco, but I guess there are worse things they could be reporting on! There could be better things, but there could be worse. 🙂 And because of the attention I got from the local press, I now have this AMAZING clip from ABC7 News where I get to hear the word “hooker” read aloud in that perfect news anchor cadence. It still cracks me up every time. I love it. LOVE IT.

"Crochet ninja" @GeekyHooker is dropping these #Disney #Pixar guys around SF this weekend: https://t.co/LO1sR7mIbH pic.twitter.com/7U8tjrpO1a

— ABC7 News (@abc7newsbayarea) November 6, 2015

Thank you San Francisco, for your food, your hospitality, and for allowing this hooker to leave a few sacks of yarn behind. I’ll have to come back someday, if not to eat more, then to bring some more critters to take over!

Return of the cuddly robot!

Critter #2 for my upcoming weekend trip to San Francisco! So I know this is kind of stretching the whole San Francisco theme a bit…San Fransokyo isn’t exactly San Francisco, and it’s not exactly Tokyo, but dammit, I like Baymax, other people seem to like Baymax, so Baymax is coming with me one way or another.

Hopefully he’ll be providing the best care for someone out there! Again, I’ll be in town from 11/6-11/9, but I’ll only be doing drops from 11/6-11/8. Just a quick warning that drops will most likely happen at touristy spots (stuff that locals probably don’t give a crap about) because well, I AM visiting as a tourist. 🙂 I’ll only have a small handful of critters, probably just one a day, so keep an eye out!

If you want to join my hunt for crocheted critters in San Francisco this weekend,  follow me on either twitter or facebook to track my drops! I just ask for two things if you find a critter: 1) Send me a photo of your new friend! 2) Let me know where the little buddy’s new home will be! Good luck, and happy hunting!

Follow @GeekyHooker

The Geeky Hooker

Balalalala!

Whew, there’s been some radio silence, but Comic-Con is coming up in a few months, and it’s time for me to make new critters! For those of you who are new here, every year I make a bunch of little crocheted superheroes, and then I scatter them around San Diego Comic-Con (and sometimes other geek-cons!) for people to find by posting clues to twitter and facebook. More critters will be on this blog as Comic-Con approaches, and I’ll be writing up a more comprehensive “what you need to know” post shortly before the convention starts. Pick your social media poison and join the fun!

And with that, it’s the first critter of the year! Say hello to Baymax!

“Hello, I am Baymax, your personal healthcare companion.”

It has been said that soup may help with your ailments. But always wait one hour after eating before swimming.

Flowers may also sometimes help with emotional distress.

I am also equipped to assist with physical injuries.

Are you satisfied with your care? I cannot deactivate until you say that you are satisfied with your care.

Oh, Baymax. Who’d want to deactivate a cuddly bot like you? Hooray for a new critter! I’ll be out of the country for the next two weeks (finally going on my honeymoon!), but stay tuned and more critters will be rolling out as San Diego Comic-Con approaches! 🙂 SDCC 2015 critters have commenced!

“Ohana.”

Aloha, Stitch!

Stitch has been hanging around here, but he doesn’t quite have an ohana yet. I know we don’t have the crystal-clear beaches of Hawaii, and the weather here in Houston has been pretty dreary…

But worry not, my friend. You’ll be back to your sandy beaches soon enough!

My fiance’s cousin asked me to make a little Stitch. He’s been kind of lonely around here, but he’ll have a new ohana soon enough, in sunnier climates in California. 🙂 It’s still not Hawaii, but there’s sunny skies, blue beaches, and one way or another he’ll find himself a new home as long as he’s got a good family to take care of this little troublemaker! 🙂