April 24

Jayne Cobb Hat and Scarf

Jayne Cobb hatsAs my first geekcraft-sharing post, I thought I would share one of my own projects, or actually a couple. As a proud Browncoat (fan of Joss Whedon‘s TV series “Firefly“), I of course knit the requisite Jayne Cobb hat – one for my husband, and one for my son. I used Dryope’s Jayne Cobb hat pattern for the hat, though there are many variations on the pattern.

My husband says it’s the warmest snow-shoveling hat he’s ever had. In fact, after shoveling one particularly cold day, he remarked that it was too bad that there wasn’t a matching scarf pattern, to keep his neck and face warm as well. Not one to let my crafting superpowers go to waste, I began designing a scarf immediately.

I consulted with my son and fellow Browncoat, and he thought the stripes should be “random” (rather like Jayne himself), so he devised the pattern of stripes, and how wide each stripe should be. I think the resulting pattern turned out almost like a contemporary version of the Dr Who scarf, which just gives it extra geek points, in my mind.

I stuck with the traditional colors of the Jayne Cobb hat – red(ish), orange(ish), and yellow. I used Vanna’s Choice yarn in Brick, Mustard, & Rust, so it would have easy care & handling.

Here’s a rough pattern for the Jayne Cobb scarf I came up with:

cast on in desired width (multiples of 6)
knit two rows of garter stitch
then work in a 3×2 rib (K3, P2) for remainder of scarf:
row 1: K3, P2
row 2: P3, K2
end with two rows of garter stitch
Jayne Cobb scarf
pattern:
6” Brick/red
7” Rust/orange
1” Mustard/yellow
3” Rust/orange
4” Mustard/yellow
2” Brick/red
7” Rust/orange
3” Brick/red
6” Mustard/yellow
7” Rust/orange
7” Mustard/yellow
3” Brick/red
7” Rust/orange
6” Brick/red

Links of interest:

April 23

Reader Submission: Fuzzy Rubik’s Cubes

Hanging-RubiksFuzzy dice are so passé, Care at Obsessively Stitching knows this, so she went for a more avant garde look for her rear view mirror: Fuzzy Rubik’s Cubes! They look great, and definitely have what it takes to push fuzzy dice out of the number one spot for “Most ubiquitous rear view mirror ornamentation”. Check out her blog to find the tutorial, so you can have fun making your own fuzzy Rubik’s Cube crafts!

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April 22

Crochet Portal Blanket

Portal BlanketRaise your hand if you’re thrilled about the release of Portal 2 this past week!

What are you doing, raising your hand? If you were really that excited, you’d have both hands firmly glued to your controller right now. You totally don’t love Portal enough. You’ve made GLaDOS very sad.

At least, you don’t love Portal the way Doctor Moo does.  She showed her devotion by stitching up an amazing crochet blanket featuring the morbidly hilarious warning signs from the original Portal.  What have you done for GLaDOS lately, hmm? (Okay, I stop with the guilt-tripping now. I haven’t even finished the first game!)

It took her over 74 hours to crochet and measures a whopping nine feet by six feet (more than big enough to snuggle under with a Companion Cube). She’s offered it for sale on her Etsy shop, which also features some other wonderfully geeky crochet creations.

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April 21

Remembering Sarah Jane Smith

K9 searches the heavens for his Mistress Sarah Jane SmithEven greater than the excitement over the imminent start of Series Six of Doctor Who this Saturday, is the collective sadness spreading across the Whoverse: Elisabeth Sladen, who brilliantly portrayed the much loved Doctor’s companion Sarah Jane Smith, passed away on the 19th of April, far too young at only 63 years.

The universe has to move forward. Pain and loss, they define us as much as happiness or love. Whether it’s a world, or a relationship…everything has its time.  And everything ends.

— Sarah Jane Smith, “School Reunion”, Doctor Who

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