Late to the game

Though I’ve had Instagram for a while, I haven’t used it much. This is mostly because I have been using a Blackberry; very good for writing notes and articles while I’m out and about, but terrible for taking and sharing photographs.

Thankfully I finally won an iPod touch at my last work auction, which means I have much more time to play around with photographs without needing to find and charge my real camera (something I never remember to do). It’s a fairly decent quality so I’ve been addicted to Instagram since the moment I took my iPod out of its shmancy case.

In celebration of my launch into modern life, take a selection of photos from the last week. If you want to add me I am, to no-one’s surprise, knitternerd.

Luna gives Sean a hug, or possibly attempts felicide.

Nari (Iron Man) and I (Deadpool) get our faces painted, because we are 100% excelling at adulting.

Van attempts to make an escape from his cell (he was only in there about an hour until he got to play with the other pups). And yes, he does eat blankets. Sigh.

Our apartment says a lot about us. (His name is Eddie.)

Last week’s comic haul. For those not in the know, Wednesday is New Comic Book Day. It’s the second best day of the week (after knitting night).

I bought this when I should not have, and I regret nothing. It is stunning. I can’t wait to colour it.

Why I Like Reading Old Avengers Comics

So of course this weekend I went to see Avengers: Age of Ultron, because I would not be true to my geek roots if I did not. It has made me remember how much I love Scarlet Witch and the Vision in the comics and I’m back to reading my old Avengers comics.

I started on the first one with the Vision which was published near the end of the 1960s and it’s hilarious. Comedy genius, though not deliberately.

Case in point:

I’m enjoying putting together an article for the Vision’s first appearance in the comic book Avengers. HOLY CATS! pic.twitter.com/RLgB3KLnJM

— Polo Lonergan (@PoloLonergan) May 3, 2015

Then we have some great scenes with Hawkeye and Black Widow who were cohabiting at the time, or at least hanging out in a rather intimate way. Uh. Upside down.

This scene in Avengers #57 (1968) cracks me up. Upside down Black Widow! pic.twitter.com/hK0AMXfs1I

— Polo Lonergan (@PoloLonergan) May 3, 2015

There’s so much to love about these old comics. I’ve also found an old 4 part series where Wanda and Vision are moving in together after getting married, and believe me I’m going to enjoy that as soon as I get around to it.

Comics are my next love after knitting so I’m delving into my obsession. That doesn’t mean I’m not knitting as well. I bought some gorgeous cotton to make a top with and there will be pictures of that soon enough – I’m not using a pattern because I’m an idiot, so I’d like to document the process.

What else have I been writing?

Guys, you should check out Nerd Underground if you are even slightly a geek. I’ve been writing there for a few months and now I’m part of the core admin team it’s even more fun. The other writers are fabulous and we’re really working hard on making something decent of the site.

Most of my articles lately have been reviews of TV shows or comics; the lack of anything more substantial is due to some stupid health problems that leave me with no energy or concentration lately. Still, I’m on a lot of meds and should be back to my fighting self again any day now, writing as much as ever in my compulsive ways.

You can find my most recent articles here.

Other than that I have an article about knitting and mental health being published in an actual real life magazine. I’ll update on that as it progresses.

If you can check out N.U., let me know what you think!

Captain Marvel Gets A Movie

So in a break from the knitting news, I’m going to squeal a while about the Carol Danvers movie that’s coming out. In an announcement made yesterday Marvel gave us a date (6th July 2018) for the Captain Marvel movie and I am SO EXCITED.

It’s not a secret that Captain Marvel is one of my favourite characters of all time. She is resilient, hilarious, and deserves a lot of attention. Thanks to the marvelous (pun intended) write Kelly Sue Deconnick the new Captain Marvel series has become one of my most cherished.

And now there’s going to be a movie.

The only thing that would be better is a joint movie with Ms. Marvel tagging along as her feisty side-kick.

Click picture for source!

Anyone else as excited as me for the new run of Marvel movies?

Not long until Avengers 2!

FPC: Captain Marvel

 

Welcome to the Friday Pattern Collective where I gather up a few patterns from around the net (well, Ravelry mostly) to present them to you.

See previous weeks.

This week we’re going for Captain Marvel who, as every good Marvel fan knows, is about fifty million different types of awesome.

Glorious art by Pryce14

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.

Captain Marvel Gloves

By Maratini Knits

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.

Captain Marvel’s Lucky Hat

by What The Hell Am I Writing

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.

Stars in the Evening Sky Socks

by Cindy Craft

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.

 

 

Friday Pattern Collective: GotG-Inspired, part 2

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.

Raccoon Scarf Crochet Pattern

by Bees Knees Knitting

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!

Rocky Raccoon

by Sweet N’ Cute Creations

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.

Magischer Baum

by Regina Satta

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.

Tree of Life Mittens

by Janel Laidman

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!

Enter the Geek

It always amuses me when people are surprised by my geekiness. I guess somehow, despite my best efforts, I come off as normal to people who aren’t looking very hard. It’s the same kind of amusement as when people don’t realise I’m gay, often even after a conversation about my decidedly female partner (I talk about her a lot).

That said, people seem a lot less surprised when they realise I’m a knitter. I don’t know what that says about me.

I’m not the most brain-active of people today so I’m going to write a little about a few things that are making me happy right now.

Ms. Marvel

This morning I went to town for a cuppa and an apricot croissant to accompany me in catching up on a few comics. Ms. Marvel is a WONDER. It’s garnered a lot of attention for being about a Muslim teenager (the letters page in #2 are lovely) but even aside from that awesomeness, it’s well-written with gorgeous art and I can’t get enough of it. Can’t wait for #3.

My Nintendo 3DS

I bought it from work second-hand and haven’t really stopped since. I’ve played lots of Pokemon Black then moved on to Zoo Tycoon and now I’m having a good go at Super Mario Brothers. There’s a reason I won’t let myself get seriously into gaming; I know I’d lose years of my life to it and I need to knit!

Speaking of which…

Knitting Sweaters

I’m currently knitting a very nice sweater/jumper for someone close to me and it’s making me happy. Of course I can’t actually tell you what pattern or show you photos in case said person visits my blog but that will be coming soon. There’s something very satisfying about making something so substantial and useful. I’m also going to start a mini-one for someone else soon.

My New Laptop

It’s nothing flashy but I’ve needed one for a long time. I got it super cheap but it has a full keyboard which means I don’t have to copy/paste the V into my words. Which, considering ctrl+v is paste, was especially annoying. Plus it has a webcam!

A (Nerdy) Day in Durham

It’s one thing to meet someone with one similar interest to you; it’s quite another to meet someone with lots. That’s how I feel about quite a few people I’ve met in Newcastle since I moved up here a year and a bit ago. I never expected to meet people who share both my love of comics and my love of knitting/fibre in general but I have multiple yarn/nerd friends up here and they’re all wonderful.

One of these friends is Rachael. We met at my first or second trip to the Knit Studio for the Saturday knitting group (currently suspended) and hit it off, eventually deciding that we needed to hang out outside of the knit group.

A couple of weeks ago we decided to go to Durham to see the new yarn store (The Woolly Workshop) and to go the comic book cafe (Dark Matter Cafe). SUCH A GOOD IDEA. I bought some lovely Cashmerino from the yarn store – yes, the one that made the baby hat/booties – and marvelled over the sheep model outside it. We went TWICE to Dark Matter Cafe because their peanut butter hot chocolate is utterly divine and we could not resist going back for more.

As Rachael said, THE FACE(s) OF PURE JOY!

Rachael is the one with the blue mask and fabulous hair; I’m the one with the rather dashing jawline and sparkling whites.

It’s so refreshing to go to a place where you feel comfortable and like you’re in the majority rather than the minority. People were sitting playing Pokemon and making awful Pokemon/Doctor Who puns. The walls were filled with posters and interesting comic art. These were our people. I wish I’d had somewhere like that to go as a teenager; I woulda been much happier.

Plus it’s super pretty.

Of course we got a little knitting done whilst enjoying our drinks. Rachael is making her first socks; they’re amazing because she is an over-acheiver when it comes to knitting new things, seriously. And I knitted some more of a scarf I’m making out of some beautiful blue silk.

Left: Fishnet lace scarf. Right: FABULOUS first sock.

All this in the beautiful surroundings of Durham which is one of my favourite places in the world. Sure, you go home with super sore muscles from walking up and down all the ridiculous hills but it’s gorgeous and full of interesting things as well as the famous Cathedral which is older than my brain can compute and drenched in history.

Just look at that. So cool.

It’s days like these that fill me up with happiness and inspiration. I’m lucky to have such interesting and awesome people in life. Since today I’m going to eat lunch with another fellow knitter/nerd (hello Jen!) I’m feeling especially pleased with my lot in life.

Except for that part where I’m still waiting to hear back from the Canadian Embassy. Hurry up, guys.

At least I have fun things to do and nice people to see while I wait to go home!