Stitch UFOs

Round Heart Stitch
Originally uploaded by tikistitch

Got a bounty of Stitchie UFO catchers from my friend Steven in Singapore.

Funny thing this time was one package was opened by customs. Wonder what they thought when they opened it up looking for contraband and found instead giant plushie Stitches???

Recursiveness!!!!

Crane machine figure
Originally uploaded by tikistitch

So, what's awesome about this piece (which features a tiny figure of Stitch hanging in a UFO catcher claw) is that it was actually a UFO CATCHER PRIZE! That's right, you had to grab Stitch-in-a-claw inside another claw! O, the recursiveness!!!

BTW, this claw doesn't look much like the UFO claw's we usually encounter in Japan when I have Mr. Tikistitch win Stitches for me. Those claws, for that sized toys, usually do look a lot more like a flying saucer with a claw.

More UFO catchers than you could shake a stick at!!!

Crying Stitch plush
Originally uploaded by tikistitch

Seriously, what's up with that expression? I mean, I have a pile of Stitch plushies that's threatening to take over my entire attic bedroom, and I am still quite capable of shaking a stick at them, even a quite small stick.

Ah, the English language.

Anywho, just loaded a few more UFO catcher pix to the ol' Flickr. A special fave is the guy pictured above, a Stitch with a single, shiny tear! See, that's what happens when you shake a stick at your poor plushies! Aw!!!

Stitch folding box

Stitch folding box
Originally uploaded by tikistitch

Is this the cutest box in the entire world?

Well, maybe. I mean, it's got not just happy Stitch faces, but Pleakley and Jumba as well. Cool beans.

The clever thing: if you have too many UFO prizes lying around, then you can catch these boxes, and OMG instant storage!

BTW, these are more UFO catcher items (yes, really!) from Singapore and the marvelous Steven.

Stitch ceramic bowls

Stitch ceramic bowls
Originally uploaded by tikistitch

If you've spent your entire life inside the United States, then it's probably difficult to imagine that claw machine prizes (with the exception of those available in the Toy Story universe) can be AWESOME.

In some cases, even after many years of collecting these items, I am still actually impressed with the quality. Like this set of ceramic bowls my buddy Steven (who is like a UFO catcher god or something) collected over in Singapore.

And, yes, these are indeed from a claw machine, but they are ceramic. Each has a unique, very cute design. They kind of remind me of the cereal bowls you'd see as a kid that were supposed to encourage you to finish your breakfast, because then you'd get to see a colorful picture of your favorite cartoon character at the bottom.

Stitch bunnies

Stitch bunnies
Originally uploaded by tikistitch

Spent the morning at my dentist's office getting various parts of my head replaced with porcelain. Brain a bit scramble after spending hours in such close proximity to dental drills, so I've been kicking back watching a Law & Order: Criminal Intent marathon and snapping pix of some new UFO plushies who just arrived from Singapore. (Mr. Tikistitch brought them home IN THE RAIN yesterday - thank you Mr. Tikistitch, you're my favorite enabler!!!)

Skulls!

Stitch Mickey Skulls Plush
Originally uploaded by tikistitch

There's a lot of folks in Japan who are quite partial to goth culture, thus, it's no surprise Stitch has started decking himself out with some more macabre accessories.

Look closely at the Stitch plushie above (which was probably a UFO prize) - see anything interesting about those skulls?

I believe the Stitch wearing the Russian-style winter hat is just generic, at least, I don't know of any cultural reference he may be parodying. But, is that skull on his hat winking at me?

Stitch tiger plush

Stitch tiger plush
Originally uploaded by tikistitch

Not sure how to attribute the trend of "Stitch with stuff on his head" in UFO catcher plushies.

Maybe they've just tried everything else already?

The tiger was probably for New Years. Not sure what the froggies were for.

Gothic!

So, one of the unexpected keen things about visiting Japan is occasionally spying an actual Japanese schoolgirl with a Stitch mascot hanging from her backpack. For one thing, it's reassuring to find out I'm not the only one buying all this stuff. (I often wonder. I mean, really, a Stitch toilet brush? Are they ever gonna sell more than 1 of those puppies?)



Now, given that little Japanese girls like Stitch, and certain of them have also been known to favor that newfangled Lolita stylin', it's maybe not surprising that we're starting to see Stitchies sporting eyepatches & plaid prints and teensy purple roses.

But the best?


Teensy wings, dude.

Beanie weenies

Here's some little beanie sized UFO plush from Singapore. (And, just so we're clear, "UFO catchers" specifically refer to toys that are prizes in some Asian claw machines. The actual claws in these rigs look like little flying saucers. Stitch is an alien, but it's really not related.) Anyways, above, here's a pale pastel set, all wearing little knit caps. That's a little fuzzy trio below (yes, all three are different, I checked). The Scrump, Stitch and Angel set is labelled "Noconoco," but it's universally referred to as "Cutie Boron." The other guys are singles from bigger sets.

Just wanted to add, here's a piccie of an honest to god UFO catcher machine, from Japan.