toby
home of our favorite fabric-based life form! toby has a big mouth and wild gesticulating arms. he's forever shouting in a loud british accent, much like robin leach or gerard manley hopkins (or at least, that's how i pretend to hear gerard manley hopkins' voice in my head). toby comes from a species that has four arms, so he's a freak even among freaks. but he has a heart almost as big as his armspan and he just needs "A LITTLE HELP, PLEASE!" to stand upright.you are here [x]: Scarlet Star Studios > the Scarlet Letters > toby
January 1, 2015
now we are 8
by gl. at 9:54 pm
toby is now 8! happy birthday, toby!
posted by gl. | permalink | categories: toby
December 21, 2014
toby's christmas miracle!
by gl. at 9:58 pm
A Scarlet Star Studios Christmas tradition since 2009…
The classic musical comedy which has delighted and enraptured children around the world...
Featuring the most beloved five-armed sock creature of all time: Toby!
...It's TOBY'S CHRISTMAS MIRACLE!
(Also available on YouTube.)
posted by gl. | permalink | categories: toby
December 21, 2013
toby's christmas miracle!
by sven at 7:23 pm
A Scarlet Star Studios Christmas tradition…
The classic musical comedy which has delighted and enraptured children around the world...
Featuring the most beloved five-armed sock creature of all time: Toby!
...It's TOBY'S CHRISTMAS MIRACLE!
(Also available on YouTube.)
posted by sven | permalink | categories: toby
December 24, 2012
toby's christmas miracle!
by sven at 10:00 am
A Scarlet Star Studios Christmas tradition…
The classic musical comedy which has delighted and enraptured children around the world...
Featuring the most beloved five-armed sock creature of all time: Toby!
...It's TOBY'S CHRISTMAS MIRACLE!
(Also available on YouTube.)
posted by sven | permalink | categories: toby
January 1, 2012
on the occasion of toby's fifth birthday
by gl. at 7:54 pm
toby turned five today! can you believe that loud british softie has been in our lives for five years? look at his entourage now! gregory, suzie, and, of course... PONIES! thanks to everyone who tolerates & encourages his whimsy.
posted by gl. | permalink | categories: toby
December 24, 2011
toby's christmas miracle!
by sven at 7:00 am
A Scarlet Star Studios Christmas tradition…
It's a comedy.
It's animated.
It's a MUSICAL.
Watch!
(Also available on YouTube.)
posted by sven | permalink | categories: toby
December 22, 2010
toby's christmas miracle!
by sven at 7:00 am
A Scarlet Star Studios Christmas tradition…
It's a comedy.
It's animated.
It's a MUSICAL.
Watch!
(Also available on YouTube.)
posted by sven | permalink | categories: toby
January 4, 2010
toby's christmas miracle!
by sven at 12:40 am
Toby, our mischievous softie, had an astonishing adventure this Christmas…
It's a comedy.
It's animated.
It's a MUSICAL.
Watch!
(Update: Now also available on YouTube.)
posted by sven | permalink | categories: stopmo, toby
January 3, 2010
toby's third birthday
by gl. at 7:00 am
it was toby's third "birth"day friday! yes, i made that loud british shameless bighearted sock creature on new year's day, 2007. lucky me! thanks to everyone who tolerates & encourages his whimsy.
[happy birthday!]
posted by gl. | permalink | categories: toby
November 10, 2009
spooky spooky, scary scary
by sven at 7:00 am
"GREGORY, WHAT'S A FTAGN?"
For Halloween this year, Toby and Gregory dressed up as the comedic Cthulhu cultists Chuck & Dexter. I pulled out the sewing machine and made them two little cultist robes… And, yes, each of them has their own tiny Cthulhu statue to worship.
Chuck and Dexter are characters played by Tim Uren and Joseph Scrimshaw, actors/stand-up comics based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They've attended our much beloved H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival as entertainers for the past few years, and have just published a DVD titled Spooky Spooky, Scary Scary.
Just a little fan art… Showin' the love.
"CHUCK AND DEXTER, WE'RE YOUR SMALLEST FANS!!"
posted by sven | permalink | categories: toby
September 12, 2009
toby's travels: wisconsin & back
by gl. at 3:01 pm
in july sven & i took a road trip to wisconsin. as we travelled toby & gregory insisted we create a series based on their trip! so i initially uploaded these videos to youtube via the iphone as we went along, but i was very disappointed in the quality of the final movies, so here they are again -- along with an additional, never-before-seen bonus video!
posted by gl. | permalink | categories: toby
March 14, 2009
mustache week: the grandpa
by sven at 7:00 am
HO HO HO! MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE!
(Um, Toby? It's not Christmas.)
WHY NOT?! EVERY DAY SHOULD BE CHRISTMAS! IT'S CHRISTMAS IN MY HEART! I LOVE YOU SVEN!
(Um, love you too Tobles.)
…Thus concludes mustache week 2009. Happy mustache everyone!
posted by sven | permalink | categories: miscellany, toby
March 13, 2009
mustache week: the sheriff
by sven at 7:00 am
Toby says: GIT ALONG LITTLE MOUSIES! WE'RE GOING TO CUPCAKEVILLE! SPRINKLES FOR ALL!!
posted by sven | permalink | categories: miscellany, toby
March 9, 2009
mustache week: the hero
by sven at 7:00 am
Gregory and Cleo recount their past years of elephant hunting in Africa. "Oh, good show old chap!"
posted by sven | permalink | categories: miscellany, toby
December 21, 2008
scary solstice from scarlet star studios!
by gl. at 9:23 pm
toby says, "A SCARY SOLSTICE TO ALL, AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT!"
posted by gl. | permalink | categories: miscellany, toby
March 27, 2008
greetings from tucson
by gl. at 3:50 pm
we're back from tuscon! toby & gregory were specifically invited to attend sven's brother's wedding. they had a great time: gregory, in particular, likes weddings because people say such nice things. he even blushed a couple of times. toby is the life of the party, of course, but he tried to be on his best behaviour for the special day.
here they are in a postcard moment: drinking "mockaritas" in their new easter ties (thanks, shield!).
[greetings from tucson]
posted by gl. | permalink | categories: toby
January 11, 2008
sock mending party 2008
by gl. at 5:24 pm
to get 2008 off on the right foot (ha!), last week shu-ju decided to host a sock-mending party. she set up a serger & a sewing machine and invited a bunch of people over to mend things.
it just so happened we had a huge pile of socks & pants that had been waiting patiently for such an opportunity for years, as well as a coat pocket that needed mending. we've had a pair of smittens we've been unable to use for years because the first time we tried them the seam split. plus, toby had developed a couple of indiscreet spots where his stuffing was beginning to come out.
so after an afternoon of learning new machines, eating homemade cookies & smashed fish (okay, sven didn't partake of the fish), we now have a lot less "holy" socks and a lot more frankenstein ones, several more pairs of useable pants, a reason to go for walks in the cold, and a sock creature who can do the splits on a whim. toby was delighted to get a chance to meet some blog readers in person. i've never been to a sock-mending party before, but i'm looking forward to the next one!
["ARE THESE ALL FOR ME?"]
posted by gl. | permalink | categories: miscellany, toby
January 2, 2008
toby's first birthday
by gl. at 12:16 pm
this should be the last toby post for a while, but i wanted to say that yesterday was toby's first "birthday"! yes, one year ago, on new year's day, i went to an old socks, new friends meetup. i almost didn't go because it was the day after new year's at night and i hadn't met anyone there and i can't sew, but a woman from that group had specially invited me and i thought it sounded like a grand idea. alas, i've never seen her again, but it was her socks that made toby who he is!
toby's name and personality formed almost as soon as i made him. i can hardly believe he has been such an influence at the studio. who knew i needed an irrepressible, enthusiastic alter ego with a loud british accent? thanks to everyone who tolerates and encourages our whimsy.
[make a wish]
btw, he takes remarkably delicate bites for a creature with such a big mouth. :)
posted by gl. | permalink | categories: toby
December 30, 2007
a very toby kissmas
by gl. at 10:04 pm
toby was VERY excited about his first christmas, or as he calls it, "kissmas." he was especially excited about the package sven's brother sent. then we showed him the stocking sven's mom knit for toby, and sven told him if he left cookies for santa, santa would leave him even more presents in the stocking!
[leaving cookies & milk for santa]
unfortunately, sven & i had not talked beforehand about whether we would tell toby about "santa." i would have voted against it, but it was too late to take it back: toby's eye was shining with anticipation. i was also worried that a "stocking" would prove to be problematic for someone who is made out of one, but sven explained the difference between sentient socks and non-sentient socks, and toby hardly batted an eye.
so when toby woke up the next morning, he was eager to open his present:
[toby wakes up: "IS IT TIME NOW?"]
and he was especially excited when he saw the cookies & milk were gone... did santa leave something for him?
[toby's stocking]
but before we could find out, we were interrupted by... a white christmas!
["IS THAT... SNOW?!"]
[toby catches snowflakes on his tongue]
back in from this delightfully unexpected snow, we settled in and got ourselves set up with snack plates:
[a little bit of everything]
gregory joined us, too, though he says christmas isn't really a big deal for him.
["don't mind me. halloween's more my sort of holiday."]
when toby was finally able to open his stocking, he was delighted to find a chocolate, a tiny rubber ducky, and finger puppets for him!
["LOOK AT ALL MY NEW FRIENDS!"]
but of course, that was just the prelude. he really wanted to know what was inside the present he had been carrying around for days.
[antici...]
[...pation!]
sven and i were completely surprised, but toby wasn't: he was predicting an elephant all week! we told him an elephant was probably too big to fit in a package that small, but it turns out toby was right all along. he could hardly wait to show gregory:
["AREN'T I CUTE?"]
it took a while for him to settle down, which gave us plenty of time to open our own presents. finally, we toasted the conclusion of our abundant and joyful "kissmas":
["GOD BLESS US, EVERY ONE!"]
posted by gl. | permalink | categories: toby
December 19, 2007
toby's first present
by gl. at 4:19 pm
yesterday we got a surprise package from aiyana, shield's fiancée -- and it was addressed to toby!
[*gasp* "FOR ME?!"]
this is the first package he's ever received and he almost hyperventilated with joy. but we didn't know if he could open it: what if the package was also the wrapping? fortunately, toby had a plan:
["I'LL JUST CAMP OUT UNDER HERE UNTIL CHRISTMAS! WHEN'S CHRISTMAS?"]
so we wrote shield to ask if whatever was inside was wrapped, so at least toby could open the outside. "mr. spook & co" graciously responded, indicating that the outer packaging was merely a formality that could be dispensed with posthaste. so toby gleefully tore it open...
["THIS IS SO EXCITING!"]
...and found his very own toby-sized present inside!
["I'LL NEVER LET IT GO!"]
i think toby was so excited he slept with the present under the tree last night. we told him he just has 6 more days before he can open it: we'll start the countdown tomorrow, one for each arm.
also, at the rebel rabbit craft fair this weekend we met marty, a silly sock creature who has a traveling website, too! toby didn't get to meet him, but he'll be able to read about travels with marty -- as soon as he comes out from under the christmas tree. :)
posted by gl. | permalink | categories: links, toby
October 25, 2007
gregory says 'hello'
by gl. at 12:38 pm
two sundays ago i went to church of craft: i was so excited because they were making glove monsters! diane wrote more about the event on craftypod.
i brought toby with me for moral support & squee! had to come because what could be a more perfect event for a glove-based pincushion? she definitely got a lot of attention; people were very impressed with her (thanks, shelley!).
[say hello, gregory. "um... hello."]
so this is gregory, who is quite shy and looks like he's wearing a sweater. gregory doesn't say much and is mostly content to just go with the flow, which makes him a very good foil for toby, who gets him in all sort of misadventures. i thought he was going to be a vicious halloween rabbit, but when i turned him over to stuff him, i saw his "legs" as eyestalks.
[toby says, "THIS IS MY NEW BEST FRIEND!" gregory says, "um... okay."]
i had never been to the general purpose meeting room at the central library, but it's huge! it makes a great craft room and i can see lots of other possibilities, too. definitely an underrecognized resource!
posted by gl. | permalink | categories: toby
October 16, 2007
toby's travels: greenwich, england
by gl. at 11:15 pm
i'm so glad sven & the professor have been so prolific in my absence! toby & i went to england at the beginning of october and then leapt into a week's worth of art events & announcements, which i am finally just caught up enough to be able to write about. so expect even more scarlet letters over the next week!
toby's only been on one major trip, but it turns out he loves to travel. we went to england to see the completion of expedition 360, the first circumnavigation of the world via human power. i've been involved with them since i lived in colorado! unfortunately, the event overlapped the hp lovecraft film festival, so toby decided he wanted to come and keep me company. this is the first time i've missed the festival since i moved here!
["I'M GOING TO LONDON!"]
["GOODBYE, NINA!"]
["ARE WE THERE YET?"]
["I LOVE EMAIL! LOOK, IT'S SOMETHING FROM SVEN!"]
we were only there for a few days, but we tried to do a lot in a short amount of time. we went to the british library (unfortunately, they don't issue passes to sock creatures), the london eye, the greenwich foot tunnel, an unanticipated tour of the isle of dogs, the royal naval college, greenwich park, the royal observatory, the pavilion teahouse, and greenwich market (similar to our saturday market). though i was non-plussed at the london eye, i think toby liked it because he was so high up. i had to keep a close eye on him, though; one of the first things i did was almost lose him on the Circle line. :(
["LET"S GO!"]
["OH, GOOD! YOU FOUND ME!"]
[the london eye]
["EVERYONE IS SO SMALL LIKE THIS!"]
["I LOVE COTTAGE PIE!"]
the next day jason arrived with his boat, moksha, at the place he began this journey 13 years ago, at the prime meridian in greenwich. lots of people were there to welcome him home. after the ceremony there was a big party at the river that was a lot of fun, too. i had to take toby back to the hotel before he got too tipsy, though.
["OH! THEY'RE OPENING THE GATES!"]
[toby's pointing to my name on the boat]
[whoops: time to go, toby]
[toby had to sleep in the next day]
i was proud to have the opportunity to watch history happen: congratulations, jason! and we both had a really good time in greenwich. toby thought england quite suited him: he thought everyone had funny accents, but they were kind & polite. one of the elder british ladies at the x360 ceremony said, "i like your poppet." so i think there would be a place for him there if we didn't love him so much here!
["WE CAN GOES HOME NOW PLZ?"]
["GOODBYE, LONDON!"]
posted by gl. | permalink | categories: toby
September 14, 2007
squee!
by gl. at 10:51 am
when shelley told me she was working on a pincushion for my birthday, i didn't know what to expect. even the picture she posted on the blog seemed unbelievable. but last week i received a box in the mail and there was "squee!"
[squee! waves hello]
i was stunned! i've never seen anything like it! she comes packed with everything: scissors, seam rippers, pins, needles, a decorated needle threader, thimble, buttons, rickrack & ribbon... and thread spools for curls! she stands firmly upright thanks to a weighted base.
of course, toby took to squee! right away:
[toby says, "I HAVE A NEW FRIEND!"]
thanks, shelley! what an unexpectedly thoughtful gift! SQUEEEEEEEE!
posted by gl. | permalink | categories: miscellany, toby
April 9, 2007
toby's first easter
by sven at 12:00 pm
Toby seemed to really enjoy his first Easter.
Our friends Kristen and Todd came over. They did us the honor of hiding eggs for our favorite fabric-based life form.
(We're not crazy if it's a mass hallucination... Right?)
We took Tobias to the bedroom to wait while Agent K and Sidekick Todd did the hiding...
Toby was very eager.
Egg #1: A purple one, sneakily hidden in the purple comfy chair from The Great Escape.
Egg #2: Yellow; hidden atop the butterfly kite that hangs on the livingroom wall.
(Toby has a very active imagination.)
Egg #3: Green; hidden among the Lovecraftian denizens atop the piano.
Miss Suzie, the crocheted octopus, came into our home back at Christmas -- but this was Toby's first time meeting her.
He was pretty astonished to meet someone with even more arms than him. I think they hit it off...
Egg #4: Orange; sitting atop the doorjamb of the closet by the staircase.
This one took the longest to find. It was above Toby's eye-level.
Toby's loot: Germ-shaped candies, some little mints, candy hearts, and a miniature rose (which came back with me from Halfland).
posted by sven | permalink | categories: toby
March 25, 2007
toby's travels: trip to the beach
by sven at 1:17 pm
This past week we went for a little overnight vacation at the coast. It was Toby's first time seeing the ocean!
It rained pretty much the whole time we were there. Toby wasn't big on getting wet (being pretty much a sponge) -- but he did finally venture out of Gretchin's pocket when we got down to the waves.
We had a leisurely time... Making vegetarian corned beef sandwiches (originally intended for St. Patrick's day), crepes filled with asparagus and with strawberries... Lounging on the couch, reading books aloud...
Toby shared a nice cup of tea with me.
(I think he may have been under the impression that it was his own personal hot tub.)
We played a good game of Scrabble.
Toby's not very good at Scrabble yet.
I have a fondness for Pizza Hut when we travel... So on the way home, Gretchin treated us.
Coming back from the salad bar, Toby was hiding behind the water glasses and blew straw wrappers at us.
Silly boy!
posted by sven | permalink | categories: miscellany, toby
March 3, 2007
toby's travels: tucson, los angeles
by sven at 11:59 pm
Fair warning:
For those of you averse to hyperbolic cuteness -- lookawaylookawaylookawaylookawaylookaway...
Toby had never even left Portland before -- so he leapt (literally) at the opportunity to accompany me on my road trip to Tucson.
On the way down, we slept in the back of the Svan at rest stops.
The first night out, Toby was so excited, he kept bouncing all around the car... Taking photos of him was the only thing I could think of to try to wear him out.
It's curious to me, the number of gas stations that have dinosaurs in front of them -- but aren't actually Sinclair. ...Do Sinclair gas stations actually even exist anymore?
Toby's a little unclear on the distinction between animate and inanimate objects.
My mom was charmed to meet Tobias. He seemed to have a lot of fun in her arts/crafts space.
Encountering mom's yarn collection, I finally had to explain to Toby where babies come from. "Well, you see Tobes, when an artist loves her old socks very much..."
Toby's favorite game is "hide and peep."
Mom spoiled the boy... She let him into her beading materials and helped dress him up.
After a couple days of visiting family, we got back on the road.
...And, yes, Toby does always wear his seat belt when we travel.
On the way back, the Svan was loaded down with boxes, so we stopped for the night at a hotel. (Note that by this time I'd gotten wise to wearing earplugs at night.)
Ah, but before going straight home -- a stop to visit Shelley in Los Angeles!
When Shelley and I were animating, Toby got really interested.
He really wanted to be a part of the show. (Much to Dad's exasperation.) But there's just a certain something that he lacks. Talent? ...No.
A skeleton.
We mollified the boy by giving him a "director's chair" from which to shout.
Toby did make himself useful, though. With all those arms, he was a demon with the broom.
We believe in "leave no trace" camping.
965 miles and a blizzard later, we found ourselves sitting in the driveway back home -- and paused for one last photo. A little travel weary and more than a little crazed... But glad for the adventure, and happy to come back to Gretchin.
posted by sven | permalink | categories: miscellany, toby
January 17, 2007
snow angel
by gl. at 6:20 pm
i had forgotten i've written about toby before, so i can write about what toby did during our snow day yesterday:
[toby flaps his arms & legs]
[toby gets up carefully]
[toby runs inside to get warm]
posted by gl. | permalink | categories: miscellany, toby
January 2, 2007
meet toby!
by gl. at 11:16 am
look who i met, i mean, made, monday. it's toby!
toby has a big mouth and wild gesticulating arms. he's forever shouting in a loud british accent, much like robin leach or gerard manley hopkins (or at least, that's how i pretend to hear gerard manley hopkins' voice in my head). toby comes from a species that has four arms, so he's a freak even among freaks. but he has a heart almost as big as his armspan and he just needs "a little help, please!" to stand upright.
someone in another meetup group invited me to create stupid sock creatures last night. there were a million reasons not to go (not the smallest of which is that i had to create and print 200 artist's way flyers for the next day). but i was curious because when i had saw the original stupid sock creatures site a year or two ago i began saving up my holey socks (which striped socks, especially, develop at an alarming rate). and i have a guided art night next month that will incorporate the fluffy faceless dolls from the art swap, so i wanted to see how someone else ran a fiber art event.
i've never made anything like toby before. i'm not generally good with 3d items and i've never really sewed before. i used an incredibly irregular whipstitch (?), embroidery floss and a blunt tapestry needle.
oh, look, now toby has a friend! toby's already made friends w/ arwen, too.
