- It really is faster after a while.
- Having such a radically different gauge is going to throw off my default sock pattern (i.e. making it up as I go).
- People seem REAL interested in Portuguese knitting in the comments of my last post on this matter. Must investigate.
- Knitting 150g of light fingering in plain stockinette is even less fun that I expected, but at least I’m getting the hang of Continental.
- I hope I don’t end up twisting my purls for another two years.
Tag: nerdy knits
Vintage baby cardigan: the construction
This weekend my partner and I spent the day in Toronto. We had a great time wandering around some places we’ve been meaning to go since we lived here and went for dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe. Unexpectedly, we also went clothes shopping.
Now, my partner and I… we’re not clothes shopping people. It’s tedious. Most of my clothes are second hand or jeans from American Eagle; I’m easy. Yet we found ourselves in the Eaton Centre on the hunt for garments and both came away with a new shirt. I also got myself a Roots hoody at last.
I am aware that to most that’s a pathetic excuse for clothes shopping, but we did look in quite a few stores. We just ended up buying nerdy shirts. She got a Marvel tank top and I got a Doctor Who t-shirt. It was hard to decide which one; I was tempted to get a Deadpool shirt or the Doctor Who one that had the bad knock-knock joke on it, but this one was way prettier.
When I got home my vintage baby cardigan finally found its way onto the blocking mat. The sight of it amused me. Looking at it pinned down made it seem ridiculous; it’s such an odd shape. Yet it curled like no one’s business so I needed to block it quite aggressively.
The yarn is Botany Lace and it knits up beautifully. It’s so much fun to play with and it comes out soft and light, almost like cotton.
I changed the collar as you will see in the finished picture once I sew it together (and this time it isn’t going to take me a year to do that, I swear).
Now if I could only find blocking mats that don’t clash with everything I knit…
Timey Wimey Knits: Part The Last
Doctor Who is one of my favourite shows. It’s been a part of my life for a long time: the first joke I heard on the playground as a British kid was a sign of how deeply the show is embedded in the national psyche:
Knock knock.
Who’s there?
Doctor.
Doctor Who?
Yes!
Groan.
At the time I had no idea what the joke meant or who The Doctor was beyond a vague impression of time travel, blue boxes, and daleks, yet I laughed at that joke and hummed to the theme tune if I heard it. This was the 90s, bereft of any steady Doctor, and they were dark times indeed.
We are lucky as geeks today to have so many shows to choose from and though I love so many others, it’s Doctor Who that nestles closest to my heart. I may have abandoned ship from the UK but there are things I miss: one thing (aside from the Indian takeaway near my sister’s house) is the buzz of excitement whenever something happened on the show, i.e. a new Doctor or a new showrunner. I can absorb some of that glee from the internet but it’s nothing like sitting on the bus and seeing two blue-haired old ladies discussing Matt Smith’s potential as a Doctor.
All that to say… I love Doctor Who. It means a lot to me. Going through all the Doctor Who patterns on Ravelry has been a joy and I will be revisting this compendium one day. Next month I’m moving on to book-related knits, but Doctor Who is never far from my mind. You’ll be seeing this again.
In the final week I’m sharing the random bits and bobs I’ve seen that don’t fit in any of the other sections. Enjoy.
Doctor Who Ribbed Cowl
by holynarf (Lindsay)
Dalekanium Socks
by Dena Stelly
Doctor Ewe
by Susan Claudino
TARDIS Cup Cozy
by Kendra Ann
Timey Wimey Knits: Part Three
You know what the problem with socks is? No one sees them. Especially in a Canadian winter; I have never once taken my boot off in the -15 Celcius weather to show someone my fancy handknit socks, and it’s a damn shame. Solution? Mittens.
Mittens aren’t very good when worn on your tootsies but they’re great for keeping your fingers warm while simultaneously being much easier for people to see. With that in mind, let’s fly our TARDIS geek flag high and have a look at these wondrous Doctor Who mittens in the latest of this series of Timey Wimey Knits posts.
There’s some fabulous patterns out there, people. If you do any of these, let me know! I love them all.
Dalek Mitts
by Kat Lewinski
Wibbly Wobbly Mittley Wittley
by Therese Sharp
Warmer on the Inside
by Maire Martin
Bow Ties are Cool
by SpillyJane
That’s it for today, but pop by next Wednesday for a jammy dodger and the last of this series of posts.
As an aside for those who got this far: I just finished Amy and Rory’s run of the show and I miss them terribly, but my sorrow is somewhat lessened by the lovely Clara Oswald. I had forgotten how much I like her.
The Best of Quick Knitting: Geek Edition
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.
INSULATE
by Amy van de Laar
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.
Cunning Jayne Hat
by Renee Peterson
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.
Near enough.
Tarragon the Dragon
by Knit-a-Zoo
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.
TARDIS Beanie
by Morgan Kenia Andrews
Before TARDISes and Daleks, what on Earth did people knit into hats? That’s what I want to know.
I think this hat would also look amazing with a black yarn. Except I have a white cat, so maybe not.
Invading Your Earspace
by Catherine Paul
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.
Lego Man Mitts
by Carissa Browning
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.
R2D2 Beanie
by Carissa Browning
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.
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.
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 1
Who’s been to see Guardians of the Galaxy yet?
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.
Star-Lord
by owlinstitches on Ravelry
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.
Gamora
by Nancy Whitman
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
by Justyna Lorkowska
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 