Nothing says “Holiday” like zombies and evisceration

No “It’s a Wonderful Life” for me. Resident Evil and Wolf Creek accompanied my non-gifting holiday knitting!
I hope that everyone had as happy, healthy and safe time as circumstances would allow.

Now for the good stuff (beyond the cut):

Think Global. Act Local.

Or… boring, but important.

I’ve been looking for one central place to which I can send little knitted stuff that I’ve made throughout the year. I’ve now found it! It’s called Big Knit and it’s like a distribution centre for charities both in the UK and worldwide. At the moment, their big push if for 6″ squares or 3 and 6 feet long 6″ strips to sew into blankets to send to Kashmir, but they also collect for premmie babies and the like.

Here is what I have after a half a***ed days worth of knitting:

Roll Brim hat.

Garter stitch band hat.

Top of the roll brim hat.

Just think what I could have achieved if I’d actually applied myself!

(My thanks go to my model, Mr. Orange, who valiently stepped in when my usual baby hat/short-row-heel-model, Mr. Tennis Ball, went missing).

The pattern is my “Harry Hat” pattern (available to download for the super-cheap price of only £1.00 VBG!) and each hat took me about three hours from start to finish.

I’m now working on a little waistcoat for a wee bairn (or a wee-teeny as I call them).

Magknits item:

Done and dusted! The photo for the item is shown above in mosaic, Crimewatch-style! The item itself is actually a present, and I really don’t want to give it away! I think I’ll have to make it for myself soon. That actually might be a good idea anyway, just to test the pattern and iron out any kinks.

Amble:

Good gracious, I’ve finished a sock!

Hopefully the second one (which I’ve already cast on for) won’t take me a further three months!

Geek stuff:

Found over at Boogaj’s place was the top 20 geek books (thanks to the Guardian – a.k.a the Grudian because of all teh spullink mustiks it used ot hav)

1. The HitchHiker’s Guide to the Galaxy — Douglas Adams
2. Nineteen Eighty-Four — George Orwell
3. Brave New World — Aldous Huxley
4. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? — Philip Dick
5. Neuromancer — William Gibson
6. Dune — Frank Herbert
7. I, Robot — Isaac Asimov
8. Foundation — Isaac Asimov
9. The Colour of Magic — Terry Pratchett
10. Microserfs — Douglas Coupland
11. Snow Crash — Neal Stephenson
12. Watchmen — Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons
13. Cryptonomicon — Neal Stephenson
14. Consider Phlebas — Iain M Banks
15. Stranger in a Strange Land — Robert Heinlein
16. The Man in the High Castle — Philip K Dick
17. American Gods — Neil Gaiman
18. The Diamond Age — Neal Stephenson
19. The Illuminatus! Trilogy — Robert Shea & Robert Anton Wilson
20. Trouble with Lichen – John Wyndham

Shockingly, I’ve only read one of these books (number 9, although I’ve heard all of the original radio versions of H2G2). I’m going to have to get some serious reading done, and pretty sharpish, if I want to maintain my “geek” status.

Scary!

No words are appropriate here:

Thanks go to Simplicity for being able to out-scare this wimpy little bear over at Berroco!

Next time, I’ll have some real progress to show on Arien (mum’s cardigan) and I will have hopefully picked up the gazzilion stitches for the Mystery shawl. I need to knit some wool again, the cotton/acrylic mix is killing my hands!

ADDED: apparently there is some kind of shin-dig over in the USA? I understand it involves eating a lot of some kind of dead bird, potatoes and cranberries, fighting with your cousin over who should have the remote control for the telly and drinking alcohol. Sounds a bit like my childhood Christmases (minus the cousin – I don’t have any). I would therefore like to wish you all good cheer!

Snooker Loopy

Loop-d-Loop

I’ve ordered this book from the library (no sign of it yet) but I’ve been browsing through this Yahoo Photo Album of the book and, Javede, don’t take this the wrong way, but it all looks terribly German. I don’t mean that in a negative way but, if you had a German Student exchange programme at school, you’ll know what I mean! I’m interested in the steek tank (as seen here) and I’m thinking about using the rest of the Rowan Cotton Tape left over from Ribbon ll-back.

EDIT: I should clarify what I said. I don’t mean it in an insulting way to say something looks German, it’s just the style of it reminds me of all those high school students I met during the exchanges. I actually like some of the styling – it’s very free and individual. Sorry Javede! Forgive me?

Uber/Very.

Speaking of Germany, look what I “acquired” to knit Ubernatural in:

5 honkin’ big balls of Sirdar Denim chunky in “Slate Blue”. The tension of this yarn is exactly twice that called for in the pattern so the two-times-table will come into force big time! This is, of course, after my exams and after I’ve knit Rogue, and Martha, and that lace cardigan that’s been a WIP for two years, and a ton of socks and … Or I could just cast on anyway because, erm … well I need some TV/Football knitting – don’t I?

Super Trooper.

Do you like my new profile figure?

It got it from Stor Troopers. Betcha didn’t know I wore glasses! They are only reading ones though, but since I stuck myself next to a computer I thought I’d better be factually accurate! Apart from the fact that it’s a UK size 12 and I’m well, errr… not, it’s pretty good. Although, it does seem to bear a striking resemblance to Jennifer Garner. Weird!

It’s a Mystery!?

Well, I know it’s a lace shawl, but other than that it’s a mystery!

And Finally:

Since the joke of the week went down well last time (with Peatbogfaery, anyway), here’s one more:

Top Ten Things that Never Happen on Star Trek

1. The Enterprise runs into a energy field of a type it has encountered several times before.
2. The Enterprise goes to visit a remote outpost of scientists, who are all perfectly alright.
3. Some of the crew visits the holodeck and it works properly.
4. The crew of the Enterprise discovers a totally new lifeform, which later turns out to be a rather well-known old life-form wearing a funny hat.
5. The crew of the Enterprise is afflicted by a mysterious plague, for which the only cure can be found in the well-stocked Enterprise sick bay.
6. The captain has to make a difficult decision about a less advanced people which is made a great deal easier by the Starfleet Prime Directive.
7. An enigmatic being composed of pure energy attempts to interface with the Enterprise’s computer, only to find it has forgotten to bring the right leads.
8. A power surge on the bridge is rapidly and correctly diagnosed as a faulty capacitor by the highly trained and competent engineering staff.
9. A major Starfleet emergency breaks out near the Enterprise, but fortunately some other ships in the area are able to deal with it to everyone’s satisfaction.
10. The Enterprise is involved in a bizarre time-warp experience which is in some way unconnected to the late 20th century.

From JokeTribe.

Don’t expect this to be a very regular feature, but during the northern hemisphere winter, I think we need some good jokes. So, I throw down the gaunlet to all you geeks and nerds out there: tell me your favourite geeky/nerdy joke by emailing me at ape182uk[at]yahoo[dot]co[dot]uk and if I snort coffee out of my nose, I’ll post it.

Ta, Ta.

P.S.:

Apologies to those who haven’t had the pleasure of The Two Ronnies, but today marked the passing of a true comic genius, Ronnie Barker. He’s the only person who made me laugh so hard I thought I had developed a hernia (The Hieroglyphics sketch, for those who want to know).

Just call me "Geek"

Today I give you geeky socks and a finished item.

But first: is it a bird? No! Is it a plane? No! It’s Hayfever Woman!

Today was the first day with a “high” pollen count. Woohoo!. Batten down the hatches.

I was going to keep the lettering on my Go Team! socks a secret until I’d finished both, but I surmised that would leave you waiting until mid May at the earliest (given the rate that I’m not knitting these days).

So, I give you my ultra-geeky socks (click for a bigger picture):

Yes, that does say Star Trek. Yes, I am a fan. And yes, I even liked Voyager. And gosh darn it I love Sci-Fi.

Ahhh, that feels better!

Unfortunately, the lettering hasn’t come out as clearly as I’d hoped. I managed to hit a patch of the black/white yarn just as I was nearing the top of the lettering. This meant that the contrast between the main colour and the contrast wasn’t great enough to allow the letters to “pop”. When I get to the same place in the second sock, I’ll remember to keep an eye out for that and take “necessary action”!

I’ve also finished Xback! It’s waaaay too cold to actually wear this outside (even with a t-shirt underneath), so I’m afraid all you get is a boring flat shot.

Good news! It was significantly warmer today so you get “real” pictures.

Front:

Back:

You may have noticed that it’s not so much of an X-back as a ll-back. Because I always have to wear a boulder-holder and my medieval torture device strapless bra is not always practical, I decided to alter the pattern.

Project details here.

Next Time: Nothin’ but a Shirt – modifications explained, and I might have finally cast on for Martha!

Good knitting!