16 Knits For Geeks

Hey everyone,

So being sick last week caused me to neglect writing, but I'm excited to be feeling better (finally!)  And to make up for it I'm going to be sharing an extra post with you all this week, in which I'll be doing an unboxing comparison of October's beauty and lifestyle subscription boxes.  My new format for reviewing them will be all together in one post, in a more simplified form.  That way if you like hearing about beauty it'll be together in one place, and if it's not your thing it'll be easier to avoid.

Announcement!

Another more exciting development this week, that you may have already noticed, is that my blog now has it's own domain!  So you can find me just by typing in LydiaDickson.com into your toolbar!  I'm very excited for this development because it will open new doors for partnerships, since it's seen as a signifier of a serious blogger versus someone who blogs as a hobby.  I hope you all will enjoy the journey with me as I make Lydia's Designs, soon to be Love, Lydia Dickson my full time job.  If you're wondering what to expect, know that it will be more of the same great content with graphics and overall quality that I'm dedicating to constantly improving.  Now, on to today's subject:

16 Knits For Geeks

I've picked 8 categories and and am sharing both an easy and a hard pattern in each.  For those of you thinking ahead, you should be able to complete any of these knits in time for Christmas!  There're no blankets or other huge projects in this post, though if you're set on one scroll all the way down.

Hats

1. Jayne Hat

image from Firefly Wiki

Everyone who loves Firefly knows and loves this iconic hat.  And what's great is it's a fairly easy one to knit.  What you need to know: knitting in the round, basic colorwork
Find the pattern here on Ravelry.

2. Lord of the Rings & The Hobbit - Gimli Inspired Dwarven Helmet and Beard

This hearty dwarven covering will make your look battle ready, or just keep your face warm during the winter.  Either way you'll look awesome.  This pattern isn't free, but it's too beautifully detailed for me not to include.  It's a little more complex requiring: knitting in the round, snap closures, tapestry crochet, and what looks like either color work or double knitting.
You can see more information here on Ravelry.

Stuffed Animals Creations

3. Pocket Sized BMO

This guy is adorable.  This pattern only costs $3, or if you feel adventurous you could even try making your own pattern since BMO is essentially a box with noodle limbs.  Techniques required: i-cord, seaming, cutting and gluing felt, and maybe a touch of colorwork.
Found here on Ravelry.

4. Little Cthulhu

This little guy is crocheted, so it's perfect for branching out from knitting to something new.  He's adorably scary and while complex, not that difficult overall.  Making him requires: crocheting in the round, single crochet stitch, increasing single crochet stitch, decreasing single crochet stitch, double crochet stitch, and chain stitch.
Found here on Ravelry.

Scarves

5. Doctor Who

Another great iconic piece of knitwear, and one that's perfect for the beginner with a bit of patience.  The scarf manages to keep a tediously long strip on knitting interesting with changing colors and widths as you work each stripe.  Requires: changing colors, fringe.
Find it here on Ravelry.

6. Katniss' Cowl

I've been eyeballing this beautiful cowl for a long time, but I think I need to practice more before I'm ready to tackle it.  It's not terribly hard though, and could be modified for a beginner fairly easily so long as close attention is paid to the various sections.  Requires: crochet details, learning interesting stitches like herringbone, and seaming.
Here's a link to the Ravelry page.

Cosplay Items

7. Companion Cube

This little companion cube is perfect for cosplay or your desk.  You could easily size it up too.  The pattern is very simple, but does take: some sewing and seaming by hand to finish.
Find it here on Ravelry.

8. Walking Dead Inspired Zombie Head

I know this pattern isn't intended to be specific to The Walking Dead, but is would work great as a decapitated zombie head, just make the skin green and add blood.  There are lots of different versions of this shown on the pattern page including one modeled after Jack Sparrow.  And the head doubles as a bag, so it's perfect for conventions.  To make this you'll want to know: knitting in the round, i-cord, a bit of hand sewing, and felting.
Take a peek at the pictures here on Ravelry.

Bags

9.  D4 Dice Bag

If you play tabletop games or card games like Magic the Gathering having dice is essential.  This bag is the perfect storage solution that's easy to make.  It requires: hand sewing, seaming, and recommends a zipper closure.
Details here on Ravelry.

10.  Space Invaders Tote

This fun bag takes you back to arcade fun.  You could even alter the pattern a bit to make the bag wider so it could be used for groceries.  Requires: colorwork, reading a chart, and stranding.
It's here on Ravelry.

Kids Items

11. Ninja Turtle Mittens

Wear your favorite Ninja Turtles on your hands, or make them for your friend's kids.  Either way they're perfect for cold weather!  Requires: shaping, hand sewing, and knitting in the round.
Pattern found on Ravelry.

12. Star Wars Knitsabers

These lightsabers are perfect for kids (or grownups) who love to swordfight, but don't want to get in trouble for getting too rough about it.  I love how detailed this pattern is, showing you how to make 4 different authentic lightsabers.  The pattern as written makes 10" lightsabers but you could easily make a longer version to suit your tastes.  Requires: knitting in the round, sewn details, and decreasing.
Find it on Ravelry.

Accessories

13. Iron Man Gauntlets

I love these gauntlets, I'm sure if I had a pair I'd be pretending I could fly all the time!  Perfect for a Tony Stark or Pepper Potts cosplay, or just cooler weather.  Requires: stranding, embroidered details, and seaming.
Find it here on Ravelry.

14. Star Trek Socks

These socks are a more complex project, but perfect for keeping your toes toasty.  It looks like the creator has put a lot of love into making sure everyone can understand their pattern too.  Requires: shaping, stranding, and probably working in the round.
Found on Ravelry.

Sweaters

15. Weasley Monogram Sweater

After reading Harry Potter if you were like me you wanted to wake up to one of these sweaters at the foot of your bed Christmas morning.  It may be a bit more work, but if you get started now you can make this dream a reality for someone you love.  It's not too hard either, I promise!  Requires: intarsia, seaming, duplicate stitch, taking body measurements.
Find it on Ravelry.

16. Wonder Woman Sweater

This pattern takes some dedication to chartwork, but the end product is beautiful.  If you want to feel like an Amazonian warrior just put on this sweater.  Requires: taking body measurements, seaming, colorwork, stranding, and reading charts.
Found here on Ravelry.

Honorary Mention

Afghan Squares

So you really want to make a blanket?  Ok then try this Geek-A-Long with science, math, and many more fandom themed squares too.  Requires: seaming and colorwork.
Science patterns can be found through Ravelry, click through for other patterns.

If you read through this post and don't know what Ravelry is, it's a site to keep track of your past, current, and future knitting projects.  It's been around for quite a while and had built up a great database of patterns found on the internet as well as from books.  They also allow you to give feedback if a project was difficult and in some cases you can even get help from a pattern's creator if you get stumped.  It's a great resource for a beginning or advanced knitter.

If you have a hankering for projects that are less involved or need to get rid of some small bits of yarn you may want to check out my post from last year featuring 70 different no knit/crochet yarn crafts.  There are some great little gifts plus ideas for holiday decor!

That's all for this post, I'll see you again soon.

Love,
Lydia

Book Reviews and Geekyloot

Hi folks,

Today I've got two book reviews for you plus a great featured store.  Let's get started!

Book Reviews

Top 12 Places to Visit in Texas by Jody Rookstool

I was given this book to review by the author after seeking some guidance to planning the Texas trip I thought I'd be going on.  I've also been writing a series on travel planning that started around the same time, which you can find here.  Texas is an amazing place that as Rookstool says, has a lot more diversity that people often assume beyond just cowboys.  I loved my last visit as I helped my friend Holly move there a couple years back, and am sad I won't be able to make it there for her wedding.  But, I was excited about all the possibilities the state could offer for a visit.  Rookstool's book highlights some of the best, and while the book is small she gives a great overview of both big name destinations such us the Space Center in Houston to less well known gems like Enchanted Rock.  I'm just sorry I didn't get to explore some of them.  But if you're planning a trip to Texas and want to choose a couple great spots this little guide is a great way to pick a few out.  You can find it here and visit the author's site here.

Battling Boy: The Rise of Aurora West

The Rise of Aurora West◊ by Paul Pope, JT Petty, and David Rubin is a great read that can be approached by kids or adults easily.  It's a graphic novel that follows a coming of age type story, and is a prequel to Battling Boy, though you needn't read them in order.  This is the first book in the series I've picked up, and I just happened to spot it at my local comic books store.  In some ways Aurora's family reminds me of Jonny Quest and the Venture brothers, which I love.  Finally we get a girl adventurer in a similar situation!  She helps her dad fight monsters each night, and is tutored in fighting each day.  She begins to find clues that explain some parts of her past she wondered about for years, and as events unfold she takes initiative to investigating exactly what happened in her past.  This is a great little read, I just wish it had color.  The art is great though, and I look forward to reading other books in the series.

The Master of Formalities

The Master of Formalities◊ by Scott Meyer is a book that came up in my Amazon recommendations a while back and intrigued me.  At the time I hadn't yet read any of Meyer's other books (which you can find some of my reviews of here and here) and I just thought the premise sounded good.  About a week ago it went on sale as a Kindle daily deal and I snapped it up.  I feel like this is where Meyer shines, sure his other books were good, but this one is great.  The characters have of depth, and there are many fantastic females in the cast.  The premise involves a large cast in the home of the royal family of the planet Apios.  They're at war with the Hahn of the Hahn Homeworld and through each step of the way have their master of formalities, Wollard, to smooth everything and keep them from losing face.  He advises them in every situation and when things change in the house he begins losing the respect of the royal family as things don't go as smoothly as usual.  Who knew a grumpy, adopted Hahn teenager would be such a problem?  But even Wollard isn't perfect, and there are surprises in store for him as he performs his job as the master of formalities.

Geekyloot

Now it's time for a bit of a review.  You may remember the guest post from last week (Dean Winchester - A Pumpkin Pie Kinda Guy), which was penned Geekyloot's owner Christina Clawson.  Her site is host to a blog, but it's also a great deal destination site too!  Each week the site has 3 deals that are only good for a week, similar to sites like Groupon and Pick Your Plum.  The great part about Geekyloot is it has all kinds of fandom friendly items that are picked with female geeks in mind!

Geekyloot was kind enough to send me a sampler pack with some of the recent deals they've had when I made my first order from them, so I can share it with you all.

Fun stuff, there's the two Baymax keychains from Disney's Big Hero 6, a Hobbit Locket(!!!!), a Marauder's Map (Harry Potter) necklace, a Mockingjay necklace (Hunger games), plus some Simpsons inspired socks.  Bryan was happy to receive the white Baymax keychain, and honestly who doesn't love Baymax!  The Hobbit locket was what made me order from them, I love things that open up have secret compartments and such.

Here's a closer look at the necklaces fronts, and below a second shot of the ones with more detail to them.  They're all costume quality, which is great for everyday wear and cosplay on a budget.

The socks are super comfy, and though I've personally never been a huge fan of the Simpsons I loooove donuts!  And I collect socks too!  I put them on to take a picture while we had Scarlet out for exercise and she came over and starting investigating them and finally marking them.  (Rabbits mark items similarly to cats by rubbing their face against them.)  So these socks have the bunny seal of approval.

A big thanks goes out to Geekyloot for providing me with some awesome items to review.  If you like these go check out the store at www.geekyloot.com/store!  This week they've got the Simpsons socks, a beautiful little Game of Thrones Pin, and a Black Widow necklace.  But hurry, new items will be up Saturday!  Thanks for reading, I'll see you all again soon.

Love,
Lydia