At the end of the week I concluded my desperate struggle against lack of cares and finished a project. Yes, a sock came off the needles and – get this, people – I even kitchenered the toe and sewed in the ends. OOH YEAH! Look at this knitter go!
Wearing my Big Four socks today! They took me forever thanks to a knitsperation slump but I love them. pic.twitter.com/7MywPDlc8o
Yep, welcome to the world of crappy badly-lit camera photos taken in the joy of the moment. What the photo lacks in elegance it makes up for in enthusiasm.
These socks were a pleasure to knit. The pattern is Big Four, based on Poirot. Yes, the design was by a friend of mine (Maureen) but that doesn’t mean I’m completely biased. The design was intuitive past the first repeat and I barely looked back at the pattern despite how complicated they look. They are deceptively simple and when you’re not in a lover’s tiff with knitting, they go fast.
I knitted the first of these two socks in less than a week. The second took over a month. That’s the difference in my motivational skills right now.
Still, spring is coming and I have some pretty socks to wear into the breach. Things don’t completely suck.
So I’m wrapping up the Quick Knitting posts this week with one that transcends the topic. This is in line with both my knitting and my nerd interests. I’ve been poking about and finding the best quick knitting projects out there that are as geeky as possible.
I’ll warn you in advance: this post got a little out of hand.
There are so many awesome geeky quick knits out there, man. So without further ado, here we go.
I mean, COME ON. Is this not a thing of wondrous beauty? A hat! With Daleks all around it! Knit in a subtle and yet unmistakable way!
You could be wearing this and be giving Whovians sore necks from double-taking for weeks. There is nothing I don’t love about this pattern and I will be trying it just as soon as I can get it together enough to get contrasting yarn.
Anyone who knows what this hat is knows the scene. Jayne Cobb, hardman extraordinaire, dons the fabulous hat from his mother and doesn’t flinch (or understand) when his friends poke fun.
This hat is a staple for any geeky knitters out there and, should you end up knitting for someone again in the aftermath and lethargy of giftmas, this is an excellent one for any fellow Browncoats. Plus it’s knit with enormous yarn and would appear in seconds.
When I was a child I thought there was a dragon curled up and sleeping beneath the island on which I lived. Though I was sure he or she was friendly, it still frightened me occasionally.
I don’t know where I got the idea – probably from people telling me how many caves were under my feet – but if I had to have a dragon sharing my space it would be Tarragon. Not only because I put that herb on anything that stays still long enough.
Quite aside from having a fantastic name, this pattern is adorable. It’s also versatile because how many people are going to love this design? Everyone, that’s who!
Well, not quite. But the reach of retro gaming goes far beyond those who have actually had the chance to play Space Invaders. I have vague memories of it on some crappy website in my teens but missed the real thing, and I would still wear this.
I’m just going to come right out and say it: these are disturbing and creepy. That said, they would also be super warm and the construction is interesting.
They would make a great part of a costume or as a way to thoroughly creep out people who glance at you in the street for reasons they do not fully understand, but yet will carry with them all day.
So… I think we as a group should be keeping our eyes on Carissa Browning. She’s clearly some kind of evil genius.
I’m also not sure why so many fans want to stick their fandoms on their heads. I guess as a beacon to other fans? It is the most visible part of the body for most people.
This pattern is clever and most certainly will get you noticed by people. Some of them will even be fellow geeks.
Okay. Wow. I’m going to stop now because I have spent all morning going through the best patterns on Ravelry and I should probably do something more productive.
In the meantime, please share your favourite quick geek knits! I bet there is so much more out there – after all, there’s a huge overlap between knitters and geeks and I love it that way.
I don’t know about you but it seems like a lot of people are pregnant around me these days. I’m not complaining; it’s plenty of opportunity to whip up some quick knitting for the sprogs.
Of course I’m a certified aunty so I don’t have any of my own but as I’m sure a lot of you do, here are some of my favourite ridiculously adorable instant gratification baby knits I’ve found.
The owl knit trend is huge. It’s been around nearly as long as I’ve been knitting and with hats like this I can see why. Just imagine how cute this would be with little embroidered eyes! No buttons of course – that’s a choking hazard.
I don’t know what makes these slippers magic but don’t you want to find out?
These only take under 200 yards of fingering weight yarn so they would be a perfect way to use up scraps of leftover socks. And they’re magic. Gotta love magic slippers.
If you’re feeling a little more ambitious, try out this pattern. It’s adorable and yet it still only uses less than 200 yards of DK yarn. It will knit up in no time and you’ll be left with a very snuggly baby if you use plush yarn.
Okay. That’s the babies decked out in the best of hand knitted items. Feel free to share your own, I’d love to see other ideas for quick baby knits!
Welcome to the second collection of patterns for those of us burnt out by giftmas knitting. If you’re worn out and feeling the need for instant gratification in your knitting, here are some quick knitting patterns for dishcloths just for you!
Dishcloths can be good ways to try out new stitch patterns or construction. As they’re so small you can learn a lot very quickly. I learned how to knit lace from trying out some fancy dishcloths!
I don’t know if this was the one I tried a couple of years ago but it was one very similar if not. I picked it up and tried it out and fell in love with knitting lace leaves.
This is a quick and free pattern and would also make a great gift in a softer cotton – though I doubt many of you are thinking about gifts right now!
Another leaf-themed washcloths! Do you see a theme here?
This is a good way to try out some construction techniques. With increases and decreases, stockinette and garter, you’re all set to try out all sorts of things. It’s also adorable.
This washcloth comes out a bit small but aside from that it’s my favourite pattern. It’s fun to knit and seems unlikely to work until suddenly you’re set with a lovely spiky star cloth.
Hey, this pattern is nuts! Get it? Get it? Nuts? Hazelnuts?
…Never mind.
This is simple yet fun to do and it’s a chance to try out a new stitch pattern that is less common. It would grow like a growing thing and you’d be washing your dishes or your face with desperate excitement in no time at all!
There are times in any knitter’s life – like, say, immediately after giftmas – where the thought of an intricate and complicated pattern makes them want to scream. It is at that time when quick knitting takes hold.
My go-to projects when I’m bored of big things is hats. I love them. I knit hats quite often because they’re pretty, they’re pragmatic, and most importantly they’re quick. They are excellent projects when you’re in need of instant gratification. Cast on, knit a while, decrease, cast off. If you start brim-up (which, why wouldn’t you?) then you don’t even have a whole bunch of stitches to cast off. It’s fun.
So here’s a list of hats for you knitters in need of a quick fix for the post-holiday lethargy.
Shut up, I know this is the most popular hat pattern of Ravelry. That’s because it’s there for a reason. It’s quick and versatile. It would work with both plain and variegated yarn. The wedge of garter in the middle makes it less monotonous to knit than it would be if it was all stockinette.
It’s a good pattern for newbie knitters with loads of instructions available. I’ve made it and I love it.
This is hands-down my favourite hat pattern. It is in fact one of my favourite patterns of all the body parts.
Christmas 2012 was a difficult time. I had just left Canada and discovered my six-month wait would be more like a year, maybe longer (it ended up being 18 months before I could return). I was extremely upset and desperately missing my girlfriend and cats that I’d left behind in Ontario.
Thankfully I had knitting to distract me. In the course of three days – Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and Boxing Day – I made three of these hats. No sooner were they off the needles than someone in my family snapped one up.
Yes, this terrible quality picture is of me modeling one that ended up going to my big sister.
If you’re on the look-out for something even more quick-fixy, look no further. This little hat is for the tiny heads in the world. I knitted one for a friend who had a very cute baby a while ago. Most of the hat was knitted during a train ride from Newcastle to Nottingham; the scallop bit was finished in the Sheffield train station once I realised I would not have time to visit a nearby yarn store.
The hat I made was from a cashmere/merino blend which was a sheer delight to use. The hat knit up fast and easy even if the colourwork made me feel super fancy. It was a wonderful instant gratification knit.
So guys, what’s your favourite hat pattern? There are so many out there I don’t know where to start!
This weekend my girlfriend and I made another trip to the cinema to see Guardians of the Galaxy. We saw it a few weeks ago and thoroughly enjoyed it but we both agreed that it’s much better the second time around.
So is this Guardians-inspired pattern post.
The first time around there were basically no Guardians of the Galaxy themed patterns on Ravelry. Not even a Groot! Can you imagine? Life was bleak, times were hard. Then some fabulous and industrious souls began working their obsession into useful patterns for us lowly addicts. Lo, a bunch of patterns are now readily accessible. Well… a bunch of Groot patterns anyway!
Here are a few of the cutest.
As ever, these aren’t my patterns. They’re ones I have collected for fellow fans in my bored browsing of geeky patterns. Enjoy.
Look at him. LOOK. I challenge anyone not to be thoroughly in love with that last scene where baby Groot is dancing along to the Jackson Five. The only thing that would make this cute little tribute better is a soundtrack.
Looking to make your own thing and need a Groot chart to finish it up? Here you go! This would look great on a bag, wouldn’t it? Or even a blanket if you’re feeling adventurous.
This last one is a tad more complicated than the other but it’s just as doable and potentially even more adorable. Just look at all the lovely details on this. I would love to stuff wire into his arms to make him pose.
My obsession with Welcome to Night Vale is well-documented at this point. Absolutely no one is surprised that I would go casually hunting for cotton at a local yarn store and come home with a purple that almost exactly matches the logo.
I considered as a result making a dishcloth with an eye in it but since I don’t want the Secret Police staring at me while I wash our Avengers-themed cups I decided to go with a simple but elegant stitch pattern that would leave me plenty of brainspace to listen to the podcast while I made it.
The result is the above.
Since it’s a simple pattern I thought I would write it up for anyone interested. It’s suitable for beginner knitters or those who need something mindless to knit while they’re fawning over Cecil Palmer.
The latest run of Captain Marvel is written by Kelly Sue DeConnick who I met (along with her amazing husband Matt Fraction, writer of the recent Hawkeye series) last year. She’s an incredible writer and brings us Carol Danvers as a strong and interesting character full of depth and great plots.
Also… her costume is really great.
At the moment we’re not following the comics due to funding issues so since I’m starting to seriously miss my monthly binges on comics, Captain Marvel was the obvious choice for this week’s FPC.
How can we not love Captain Marvel when aesthetically her outfit is so pleasing? And for once it’s not in a yay-boobies kind of way but because it’s three primary colours looking amazing side by side. These gloves are on my to-do list for the autumn.
If you’ve read the series you’ll remember Carol’s lucky hat from #9. Here it is, crocheted in all its glory. Now the Jayne hat has nothing on this for proclaiming fearlessness.
Carol Danvers is badass. Carol Danvers doesn’t need any of this oxygen nonsense. She’s happy enough to fly out into space past the vivid colours of the setting sun and out into the black, no matter who she’s leaving behind. It’s just something she needs to do.
And now for something completely different…
Baby Groot
by Alexandra Chmiel
Baby Groot narrowly missed out on being including in the previous Rocket and Groot Guardians of the Galaxy-inspired post and he is disappointed in a very friendly, forgiving way. Which means he’s going to be tacked onto the end of this. I’m 100% sure Cpt Danvers wouldn’t mind for a second.
That’s it for this week. I hope you enjoyed my little round-up of patterns. If you have any on theme to share, please do! The more the merrier.
When I was three my aunty presented me with a choice. She put two well-wrapped gifts in front of me: one was thin and a little taller than the other, while one was plump and wider. I chose the taller one and still remember making that decision so my younger sister, then eighteen months, could have the bigger one. This turned out to be my first memory and it’s one I remember vividly.
I mention this because the tall thin gift was a Steiff raccoon who bore a tag on his belly proclaiming his name to be ‘Raggy’. I still have him in the bed right now. He began a lifelong adoration of the maligned creatures.
Rocket may not know what a raccoon is but he steals the show nonetheless. Even seeing the Guardians of the Galaxy trailer made it clear we would all love him. More surprising was Groot, the pure-hearted tree creature who is a surprisingly dazzling dancer. Between them they took our hearts and in return I give them patterns.
As ever I don’t own these patterns and all the photos come from the Ravelry project page for illustration of their loveliness. Go peruse. They’re gorgeous.
The first time Rocky sees someone wearing this he almost fell straight over onto the fugitive he just caught at the pizza place. When he saw the same item later he was flattered and a little disturbed. I mean, who does that? Really big fans of Rocket, that’s who!
Want your very own Rocket to hug? Yeah, me either; that sounds potentially painful. But maybe we could keep one of him at a safe distance. It’s easier to keep an eye on him that way. The only thing this cute little crocheted raccoon needs is a massive gun and maybe some blood stains.
Groot cares. He may not have the words to say so but he protects those who are close to him. Honour that protective nature with these socks with beautiful leaves and winding vines. Sure, Groot wouldn’t be able to wear them, but he’d like them anyway.
Considering Groot’s role in the film (trying not to be spoilery here…) he definitely deserves the title of Tree of Life. These mittens, aside from representing Groot in a very elegant way, are thoroughly gorgeous.
While typing up this post I got the mental image of Rocket sitting down to knit something using needles created from Groot’s wood. This image will stick with me.
These two characters made the movie for me so I hope you enjoyed some patterns representing them. Stay tuned next week for some Captain Marvel-eque patterns, purely because Carol Danvers is freaking amazing!
If you have been already, I won’t be surprised if you loved it. The oddball choice confused me when they announced it and yes, it annoyed me a tad when they still haven’t made any prominent female-centric Marvel movies in this run. However, Captain America 2 was basically the Black Widow, Falcon, and Fury Movie With That Steve Guy A Bit so that placated me somewhat.
Then we went to see Guardians of the Galaxy and were treated to a couple hours of hilarity, sadness, beautiful graphics and hilariously inappropriate music.
There aren’t many patterns out for the franchise on Ravelry as it’s so new. Instead I’m going to put together a collective of patterns representing each of the characters and the movie as a whole.
To accurately represent their awesomeness, Rocket and Groot will be getting their own (combined) post next Friday. Stay tuned for tree and raccoon themed hilarity.
As usual, these patterns are not my own and the photos are taken from the Ravelry pages to illustrate their awesomeness.
Of course Quill would need to make this pattern slightly larger to shove in his cassette player but that’s fine. After many long nights in space he has had plenty of time to hone his knitting skills so adapting a pattern will be nothing. On top of that, there’s something pleasingly meta about putting a cassette player in a cassette player pouch.
Above all things Gamora is practical. She does not have time for things like dancing or cold feet. Though she may be swayed (literally) on the first thing, the second is a no-go. These socks will blend in to her skin tone and are just as weirdly classy as she is.
Drax has a lot of bald head going on and let’s face it, our guys are unlikely to stick entirely to the temperate zones. Perfect for when Drax takes a trip somewhere with snowfall this hat will keep the chill off him and the subtle design will complement his tattoos nicely.
The Knitter Nerd 