One Geek to Craft Them All

So I have compiled a list of prompts to be talked about in January. A lot of them are from the 30 days of knitting that can be found on Tumblr I combined a lot of items or removed some I didn’t think I could talk much about. And added other categories from recommendations from friends online and off.

The prompts are grouped by category and do not have dates listed on them. I may list on Sunday the Seven questions I will answer that week. Or I may go wild. There are even with the combinations and deletions more than thirty one prompts. So some will likely not get answered. Others may get combined further, ie stashing and favorite yarn stores. Some will make sense to talk about around certain dates. Knitting/Fiber events will likely be spoken about during/after VKL for example. FOs and WIPs post will depend on what I am working on and progress made.

Yarn

- What fiber or yarn do you love working with? /Do you have a favorite pattern or designer?
- Where do you keep your stash? How do you track it?
- Yarn list: some of your favorites /brand/weight/ etc
- What comes first the Yarn or the Project?
- Does any of your yarn have a story? How it was made? Bought? Entered your stash?

Projects

- What was your first finished project? /How did you learn how to knit? /How long did it take from the time your learned how to knit, to finish your first project?
- What is currently on your needles?
- What is your favorite piece that you’ve knit? /Your least favorite?
- What’s your most challenging project?
- Have you ever made your own pattern or dyed your own yarn? How did it turn out
- 2011 Projects In review
- Current WIP
-Most recent finished Object
- Current WIP
-Most recent finished Object

Knitting

- Do you watch movies and/or listen to podcasts while knitting? What are your favorite things to knit to?
- Do you knit in public? Was anyone offended/incredibly happy/curious that you were doing so?
- Do you knit gifts for friends and family for the holidays or birthdays? Have you ever stricken someone off your to-knit-for list because they didn’t appreciate/take care of your last knitted gift to them?
- How do you acquire most of yarn? Online retailers, local yarn shops, swaps, or large chain craft stores? What’s your favorite?
- Knitting Magazines/Books – Favorites/ Shelf
- Knitting Events – Rhinebeck, VKL, TNNA, Maryland Sheep & Wool, etc
-Christmas Knitting

Goals/Achievement

- 2012 Year goals dreams etc
- 2011 accomplishments
-11 shawls in 2011
- New Skills in Craft

Geekery

- How did it start?
-Why are you a geek?
- Favorite Books
- Favorite Movies
- Comic book favorites
- Let’s talk about writing

Vs
- Books vs. movies
- Reboots vs. Sequels
- Marvel Vs. DC
- Circulars vs. DPNs vs Straight Needles
- Mittens vs Gloves vs arm warmers
- Charts vs written instructions

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Knitting, Lists, writing 31posts, plans, prompts

“From the west she appeared sunlight and stars in her hair
In her eyes an undying memory of home a land that is magical and fair
Where her feet came to rest deep in a canopied  glade
 She lifted her face and there as she danced 
The realm of Lothlorien she made”

~ Lothlorien

If you know where that came from I have to say weren’t the Orcs amazing? If you are wondering what on earth I am talking about, that was the opening of the song Lothlorien from the Lord of the Rings Musical.  A show I was able to catch during the end of its run in West End way back in the summer of 2008.  I was able to get 3 or  4 tickets for £99 and treated my hosts who were also LoTR fans and willing to see what was easily going to be a silly but still fun show.  Galadriel was by far my favorite part of the show.  Golden and  regal despite the fact that  the elves of Lothlorien were all flailing around like  Circe de Soleil.

Why am I bringing this up? Well over at Sunflower Designs there is  a 12 days of Christmas gifting happening. I’ve been following the blog since I discovered there was a knitter, making LotR themed patterns.  I actually got  to the post in my RSS feed at a decent time. Just an hour after posting and it was a gift of 1 free pattern to the first 30 respondents. Crossing my fingers (which is quite the difficult way to type) I shot off a message hoping others had not beat me to the 30 cap.   The yarn my friend got for me at Rhinebeck is just under the yardage for Lothlorien so I jumped on it. This morning I opened my email and was pleased to see a pattern!

Yes I’m living a bit dangerously starting a pattern 100 yards short  with no way to get more; but what’s life without some tightrope walking? And I mean really look at this cape. Perhaps I will remove a pattern repeat….

How could I not? Well I could of chosen Argonath or Galadriel’s mirror or Balrog. I’ll just have to buy those once I get the yarn for them.  Perhaps at VKL in January.

By the power of  Greysk- youtube watch the staged  performance of Lothlorien  and/or  hear the full version of the song here  part of Legolas’ intro and the section in elvish seem cut out in the stage video.

I leave you with a bit of the end of the song, sung by Galadriel accompanied by the Elves of Lorien (the opening is sung by Legolas).

“Although storms may descend
Mountains and valley may quake
For the days that remain
This is the promise that I make
No Shadow fall across this land
Before the wind and fire I stand
And you my child will know no harm
Enfolded in My Arms
Lothlorien” 

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Knitting christmas, gift, lothlorien, lotr, pattern

I’m sure  I’ve complained  explained about my small hands and long fingers making glove patterns,  difficult to adhere to without swatching, math and usually lots of cursing and burying glove projects at the bottom of the bag as dpns come loose and swimming around for  a few weeks before I give up and frog.

So imagine my surprise when I left work yesterday with this and arrived at work today with this.

That right there is a mutant glove shaped to my dimensions missing about 3/4′s of the index finger. I wanted it extra long, did I mention most of my coats seem to have a chilly gap, not always covered by my sweater.

Another motivator for these gloves besides my freezing fingers at the bus stop was being able to use the iPod and iPhone while waiting for the bus.  So to that end I got some conductive thread.

That was the middle finger of the glove knit with conductive thread.  I’ve since pulled it out as I realized I had a lot less thread than I thought and would never be able to cover six fingers in this style. So a little frogging is in order. But I may have a full pair of gloves by Thursday.

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Knitting conductive thread, gloves, WIP

I’ve gotten some fun feedback on the month of posting on Twitter and on Ravelry.  To the point where I think the hardship will be narrowing it down to 31 posts. But of all the problems to have I think that is a good one. I hope this means there will be interesting things to talk about all January.

This weekend we put up our Christmas tree, and we had long since decided a home with two knitters should not have a pipe cleaner star thrown together when you realize you don’t have a topper.

This year I knit an angel free hand I had a notion on what I wanted from looking at other patterns, available in books, that would not appear in my hand or in my kindle right that minute.

Now that was done I knit some wings out of yellow yarn and then I just had to stiffen them. I soaked them in a Mod Podge mix.  I would say it was a 50/50 mix but I just thew in water and podge until it was the color of the podge but the consistency of water.

You can see the wings blocking as well.

Knit presents have pretty much been a no go this year. And I have to say other than a few moments of twitching when I read on the train and bus instead of knit, then remembered I had no obscene deadlines I’m okay with that. Now I just need to remedy the lack of Christmas cards.

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craft, Etsy, Knitting angel, christmas, pattern

I’ve decided to give NaBloPoMo another go in January.  Work plans on being completely insane and I need something I I will be able to escape to for a while daily.

But that means, that I’d like to have topics or ideas to talk about. So I turn to you fellow readers, writers, bloggers, knitters, all of the abovers. What kind of questions do you want to see asked/answered, and do you want to join me.

I have some ideas, from the silly to the serious.

- Marvel vs. DC – Movies, books, Comics, cartoons, knitting, clothes, etc.  (that may turn out to be a very long post, because the answer is not the same in all categories)
- An overview of what it was like knitting 11 shawls in 2011
- The usual WIP and FO posts.
- The life and times of yarn Hoarder

You know things.  But I need 31 posts, or 22 if I skip the weekends.  Hoping it all comes together the master list of prompts would be posted on 12/26.  Or if you want to point me to where such a list already exists I’ll take that.

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Knitting, writing NaBloPoMo, NaBloPoMo take 2

I just got home from the Annual Desperation Libation and there were many cheers of victory tonight. Another year another 50K or (50,225) making this my fifth win.

Congrats to my fellow winners and participants!

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writing NaNoWriMo