My Teeny-Tiny Minions

This past month I have started playing Dungeons & Dragons with a Meetup group in Manhattan.  I've never played before, but the group has been great and very helpful teaching me the rules. There are basically two ways to play. You can be an adventurer and try to take take on the bad guys or you can be the dungeon master and lead the adventure and control the bad guys. Most of the time I am an adventurer, but the way our group works every takes a turn being a dungeon master.

I still don't have a great grasp of the rules, so when my turn to lead the group came up, I decided to play to my strengths. To set up the game board I knit all the bad guys using Anna's new book Teeny-Tiny Mochimochi. My adventurers had to face panthers, gnomes and eladrin, so I had to improvise, but I was able to get the point across.





I confess they probably were not as intimidating as teeny-tiny knits, but now the whole group knows what they are in for when they play with me. Now I need to go work out a teeny-tiny wolf.

Wintercrest Wizard

I got so excited about this that I forgot to blog.





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False Starts

I finished flock, and need a new project. I cast on a quick little toy for Hubby and got this far before I realized my yarn just wasn't going to work.



I started again with new yarn and got this far before I realized I was using the wrong needles.



 I took it as a sign and cast on for a pair of socks instead.



This is how far I got before I realized that I messed up my ribbing and it needs to be started over again. I knit, but I did not accomplish this weekend.

Follow Friday: Geek Dad & Geek Mom

Since it has been so long since I've offered up a Follow Friday and these two fit so well together, I'll give you a two for one deal.

I am not a parent, but I am a geek with a special interest in children's media. These two blogs are a perfect fit for me because they are intended for geeks who are immersed in children's media.

From Geek Dad

I discovered Geek Dad just after grad school and I've been an avid reader ever since. It is a great resource for updates and reviews of gadgets, games, comics, movies, books and Phineas and Ferb!

From Drop Box

I confess, I was leery of Geek Mom when it started. It is a spin off from Geek Dad and my initial thoughts were that separate is inherently not equal.  Women were posting on Geek Dad for as long as I had been reading, so I didn't really find Geek Mom necessary. Geek Mom seems to have some extra parenting tips, education related discussion, and healthy food ideas, but overall it is just more great information. There is a little bit of cross posting with Geek Dad, but they do a great job of organizing theme topics without having overlap redundancy.

Tangle

This is how I'm spending my evening:






How about you?


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Migrated

My flock is finally finished. Weaving in all of the ends was a daunting task

While I tackled those, Hubby sewed them onto the branches and arranged the birds. It took both of us the better part of an afternoon, but it was a lovely result.




Here is a baby's eye view!




I love it! Hubby was having trouble letting it go. He had it hanging in our living room right up until I packed it up to ship out. Eventually they migrated south (a bit late but all in one piece) to our friends and their new baby. I hope he enjoys those adorable tummy stripes as much as I do.

Bagged

After knitting dice bags for Hubby and a couple friends, I finally have a reason to make a dice bag for myself. This weekend I went to my first DnD game. Of course, I couldn't go unaccessorized! I couldn't  decide what I wanted so Hubby started one for me with the self-striping yarn that was left over from Syndey's leg warmers. Because of my impatience, I had to take over and I finished it.



I love my sparkly dice! 


Inspired by Hubby's stripes and Being Elmo, I knew exactly what I wanted for my polyhedrals.



Look familiar? You get 100 cool points from me if you immediately thought of this guy:

From Sesame Street

I did much better with my jogless stripe on this bag than my birds. I think that the stripes on the birds were just a bit too thin for the jogless technique that I was trying to use. It worked much better on the wider blue and red stripes here. These little bags are a great way to practice new techniques. I love them. I'll have to come up with an excuse to make some more. Now I just need to resist the urge to buy some primary colored dice that match my bag. Maybe I need one that looks like Bert. Vertical stripes would be a good thing to learn.

Lucky

Despite the lack of knitting, it has been a pretty great summer. It has been full of friends, games and lazy days in the park. I've discovered this summer that I am the luckiest girl. I have two bits of fun evidence to share.

First, Hubby took me to see An American Tale at Brooklyn Bridge Park. It was one of my favorite movies as a kid. I even had an amazing Fievel doll. The movie was as wonderful as I remember (which is lucky on its own) but the really fantastic part was the credits. There was a surprise fireworks show!

 Second, a couple weekends ago we went to see Being Elmo at IFC. We were in a intimate screening room and I loved the film. Again during the credits I got a big surprise. Several of the people who worked on creating the film were available for Q&A. Not only did I get to meet the director but Kevin Clash was a special guest. Here I am with Kevin and Tau



NYC loves me!

Colour

I haven't been writing very much this summer. The sad thing is that I haven't been doing much knitting either. I do have a very cute and colorful video to share.


TIJI "COLOUR" HD from AKAMA on Vimeo.

Don't you just want to hug a panda now? I love him for his snoozer-head ways.

FO: Stripe Study

I finished my Stripe Study a bit ago, but I haven't gotten a picture until this weekend. Something about this heat wave made it difficult to remember to grab my wool wrap. I would have finished it earlier, but I made the ridiculous decision to spend as much time binding off as I did knitting. I don't know when or why, but I decided that the sewn bind off is my favorite. I am here to assure you that a garter stitch shawl that binds off on the two long sides does not require a sewn bind off. It is a good technique, but I spent a full day sitting in the park pulling that long bind off end through each stitch...TWICE! It was a lovely day, but I am officially saving that bind off for lace (and maybe toe up socks.)

I decided to go as long as I could with each color to use up all of my yarn, and when I finished I was worried that it was a little small. The longest point reached just past my mid-back. It seemed to work just fine, but it wasn't at all what I was expecting based on the photos from the pattern. I was especially disappointed because I knit 2 extra stripes before I ran out of the darker yarn. Since I took it across the country and the park I gave it a bath right away. When I laid it out to dry it grew a lot more than I expected for just garter stitch. I am very happy with the final size.

I'm not certain how I feel about the asymmetry yet though. It looks fantastic, but I haven't had occasion to use my new wrap. The tallest point falls over my left shoulder instead of down the center of my back. I'm interested to find out how well it stays in place and protects my back from the giant window at work.

WIP: Growing Flock

My flock hasn't gotten much attention lately but my time table has been pushed way up. Fortunately these birds are quick little knits. I only have two more before I start the branches and leaves. I've found the best way to get work done on these is to carry all of my supplies for the project around in one bag. It really is more than I need for any bit of knitting, but these work up so quickly that it is only a bit of knitting before I am changing colors or sewing up a new piece. I feel like I'm carrying around an ridiculous amount, but I am not getting stuck with nothing to do after 10 minutes of knitting. No hangups means progress continues. Now on to the next one, with a green tail, and maybe yellow stripes.

Music Painting

Here is a beautifully executed idea with a eco-friendly message. Enjoy!


Via LikeCool

Follow Friday: Further Dispatches

From Further Dispatches

Since Lost ended Jorge Garcia has been sharing tidbits and updates from Further Dispatches. He introduced me to Plants vs. Zombies, P.J. Clark's and now he's started to talk about party games. He doesn't post frequently, but I always enjoy them.

Queued: Boyfriend Sock

From Slipped Stitch

Hubby is not a big fan of socks. He loves his pair of hand-knit socks, but they don't make up for his general dislike of socks. You'd think this would be great. If he doesn't want socks that means more socks for me right? Well, it turns out if you don't want to knit full sweaters and your man doesn't want socks, you have drastically reduced the types of things you can make him that he needs multiples of. He's got a hat and a scarf and says he doesn't need another. He has a couple pair of gloves that he doesn't wear. (Which is for the best because the velcro in his jacket is awful to them.)  Since his outer gear is set, I keep turning back to socks as something to knit for him. These Boyfriend Socks by Alice Bell would be a great pair. The cables look like they would be just enough for keeping my attention and combating the effects of whatever 'manly' color my yarn will inevitably be, and they look great on the finished sock. If Hubby is not in love with them, I'm sure Dad or Grandpa would appreciate another pair.

Comic Book Day

Today really has too much tempting stuff.

From Dark Horse

Dollhouse: Epitaphs #1
Hubby and I just finished watching Dollhouse last weekend. We enjoyed the first season so much, that I picked up the one-shot that was released before we even started season two. I read through it the same night that we finished the show, and of course it ended with the announcement of this comic coming out. Now I have to decide if I want to keep going with it. I really don't think I am going to. I liked the show, but I think that if I am going to start reading a regular comic based on a show that I enjoy I would probably have more fun with Firefly or Farscape. That is not taking into account how much I am going to love Buffy and Angel when I get around to watching them.

From DC Comics

Batgirl #23
Batgirl is one of the regulars that I've been reading for a few months. I am a big fan of Oracle and Stephanie is growing on me. I am really interested/anxious about DC's changes to Batgirl with the reboot that is coming in a couple months so I want to keep following the story until then.

From DC Comics

Flashpoint: Emperor Aquaman #2
I've been reading just a few of the Flashpoint comics and the Wonder Woman one made me consider picking up the Aquaman one. I don't think I'd get much new information from it, but rather a different viewpoint. I am a huge fan of different viewpoint stories, so I have no doubt that I'd enjoy following this story via Atlantis. This is number 2 in the series so I'd need to pick up #1 as well. I think I am going to just run into not wanting to spend that much on my comics this week. Maybe I'll pick it up later, but I think I am going to skip it for now.

From DC Comics

Birds of Prey #14
Birds of Prey is another one of my regulars. I don't know who Phantom Lady is so it will be nice to meet her, and I am looking forward to Lady Blackhawk being front and center for a bit. I haven't learned much about her since I've started these comics. Of course this is another outlet for Oracle information. I think the Birds of Prey team might be changing up a bit with the DC reboot so maybe I'll see some of that played out in these final issues.

From Marvel

Captain America #1
I've become known as Captain America Lady at my comic book store and I know that they will pull this comic for me. I haven't been following the Fear Itself story with the Captain, so i know that I've been missing some important stuff even though the guys at my store are doing their best. I think that some big changes from Fear Itself is setting up this story. If that's the case, I'll be happy to finally be getting into the flow of the story after all of my previous attempts. If this is another origin story book, then I am going to be a little disappointed. Over the past few months I went from knowing nothing to knowing the origin story and nothing current. I've got my fingers crossed for this one.

From DC Comics

Green Lantern # 67 and Green Lantern Corps #61
I want to read Green Lantern and two new comics are coming out this week. My problem is that I don't want to buy any more comics this week. Diving in here means I'll be wanting to pick these up every month. This week at least I think I can skip Green Lantern #67. It seems like a large story is wrapping up here. Since I haven't read the story I'm going to skip the wrap up. I'll keep my fingers crossed that when they start up something new it falls on a week where I don't have so much that I already want to buy. Green Lantern Corps #61 is more difficult. It sounds like they are picking up at the end of whatever is happening in #67. I just might be able to figure out #67 from #61. But really shouldn't I just get them both? That would be the way to get up to speed with the Green Lanterns.

Julia gets Yarn Bombed

"All you need in knitting is a girlfriend to get you started."

WIP: Myrtle

My sleeves are attached! I am getting really excited about this sweater being done. Look at it! I almost looks like a sweater. How could I not be getting excited? You wouldn't be able to tell how excited I am based on the time I've been devoting to it though. I've reached a point where I need to reference the full set of instructions (not just the lace repeats) pretty regularly so this project hasn't left the couch.

  I have all of my knitting patterns on my phone and it works out great for my purse project. Myrtle has exposed one weakness with this set up though. The moment I started this project I went through the pattern and highlighted my size in the PDF.* This is awesome on my laptop, but the highlights do not carry over to my phone. That takes all of the quick out of the quick referencing my phone. Even though the project in my purse gets the most attention and knitting time, it is my 'little bit here and little bit there' project. I really need to be able to look things up easily and on the go. I don't know why I don't just print out the instructions and throw them in my bag. I printed out the pages with the lace pattern and put them in my chart keeper. I use to print out all of my patterns prior to being shown the joys of iBooks. Now, I just don't want to. I really like not having it printed, and I need a couch project anyway so it is staying electronic. My quick referencing sure is slowing down my progress though.



*P.S. Adobe, I'd love to have multiple highlighting colors in your basic functionality for both knitting and work.

Renegade Craft Fair

It is only a month over due, but I still want to share with you some of the wonderful artists and crafters that I saw at Renegade. It was a rainy day , so my girlfriends and I left our cameras in our bags. Most of these pictures are from the creators' websites. So, in no particular order (because we wandered around in no particular order)

The Sweatshop of Love

From The Sweatshop Of Love

Phil Barbato

From Phil Barbato

Spiderbite Boutique

From Drop Box

Sweater Toys

From Sweater Toys

COATT

From COATT

danmade

From danmade

Moira K. Lime Jewelry

From Moira K. Lime Jewelry

Seriously Cute Crochet

From Seriously Cute Crochet

Little Hero Capes

From Drop Box

From Drop Box

Pansy Maiden Cruelty-Free

From Pansy Maiden

Zooguu

From Zooguu

King Popcorn

From King Popcorn

Diane Koss

From Diane Koss

From Diane Koss

Nervous System

From Drop Box

Unfortunately I do have some disappointment from one of the vendors. I bought myself a purse from Holly Hue and after just two weeks it fell apart. Other than that issue I was really impressed with what I saw I am going to have to head back next year. I'll also be coming back to this list to do some of my own shopping in the near future. 

Out and about

And loving my city.




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Queued: BYOB

From Knitty

Who doesn't need more bags? When I lived in Arkansas reusable bags weren't too hard because I could just keep them in my trunk. Since moving to NYC they have become a bit harder to remember to bring along but also vital. I don't need to tell you all the green and eco-friendly reasons why reusable bags are great. the reason I love think they are vital is because of pain of plastic. I walk home from the grocery store, but even those of you who just walk to the parking lot know how quickly that plastic bag starts cutting into your hand. It becomes miserable really fast. Hand knit or not, reusable bags are so much nicer to carry.

Knitty, in its infinite awesomeness, has this great BYOB pattern by Moira Ravenscroft. I think this bag is cute. I can see it being great for both shopping and the beach. A couple times I've even considered making it as a gift for the loved ones in my life who don't appreciate actually wearing my knit goods.

Comic Book Day!

From Marvel

X-23 #12
I have a severe lack of Marvel Comics in my regular reading list. I've been told that DC is more my style, and it seems to have just worked out that way. I read the X-23 comics because I like the X-Men but they intimidate me. I don't know who any of the current X-Men are and I don't know the differences between the Uncanny and the Ultimate. I don't know who the X-Force is or who's side Wolverine is on. With X-23 I feel like I've got a handle on things. I just need to know who she is and everyone else gets some sort of little introduction (or isn't going to be around long enough to worry about.) Right now I get to follow X-23, Jubilee, Wolverine and Gambit. If I want to learn about what is going on with everyone else I could just pick up a book and dive in. I just don't feel ready for it, and I like X-23.

From Marvel

Osma of Oz #8
I think I am going to skip this one this week. These comics are  a retelling of Baum's stories. I confess that I've had a couple creepy flashbacks to Return to Oz scenes that I had suppressed. They are still great stories and I love the art in these comics so it is going to be really hard to resist this one. This is number 8 of 8 and so far, I've only read 2 others. I think that if I wait a little bit I can just buy the full trade that includes all of them instead trying to hunt down the first 5. I am really looking forward to reading this, but I am going to try to hold out.

From DC Comics

Flashpoint: Abin Sur - The Green Lantern #2
I talked last week about how much I liked the Green Lantern Corps. Hal Jordan didn't really give me what I was looking for. Abin Sur has a lot of promise, but if I #2, I am going to have to pick up #1. I don't know much about the Green Lanterns, but what I do know is that Abin Sur is dead. I won't be able to just jump in here without figuring out what's going on. I am also kind of worried that picking up another Flashpoint title will pull me deeper into the event. I'm sure that will make DC happy, but so far I've only gotten a couple of them (Wonder Woman and Lois Lane) The stories were related, and as intended they make me want to buy Aquaman. Abin Sur hasn't been in any of the Flaspoint stories I've read so far, so I'm guessing he's been caught up in some others. If I get this, is it going to make me want to buy bunch more? Probably. If that is the case, it will be that much longer that I put off reading the X-Men.