>For most of us in the United States, winter and its cozy accessories are becoming a distant memory. Before we get too far away from the cooler months, I want to give a little shout-out to these super-cute fingerless gloves. Annie Watts has the pattern for sale on Ravelry, so if you are a semi-hopeless knitter, you can get started on holiday gifts now ;-)
When it comes to Doctor Who, I am an unapologetic fangirl. One of the things I find the most interesting is the language of Gallifrey. We’ve only seen bits and pieces of it throughout the series, but every time there is a new symbol or word written in Gallifreyan, I get giddy.
Which is why, when I ran across ER3 Designs Gallifreyan themed jewelry, I let out a giggle of happiness. The most common Gallifrey symbol turned craft is the Seal of Rassilon. ER3 Designs also have the symbol for Time Lord and the Seal of Omega.
These are perfect for anyone wanting to show off their inner (or rather, outer) timelord.
Developed in 1869 by the Russian chemist Dmitri Mendeleev to help illustrate commonalities in the various properties of elements, the Periodic Table has been both boon and bane to high school chemistry students around the world (my own experiences fell definitely to the “bane” side.)
Fast forward about 140 years, and we have a more modern version, and infinitely more useful, thanks to James the ComputerSherpa. In his first Visual Design class he came up with this little beauty – the Periodic Table of Storytelling.
James really did his research, turning to TVTropes.org for inspiration and information on “tropes” – which TVTropes defines as “devices and conventions that a writer can reasonably rely on as being present in the audience members’ minds and expectations.” Writers (and Hollywood types) can use these fictional elements to craft endless variations of story lines. Being a wiki, TVTropes has vast quantities of information and discussion threads, so James’ graphical version of the Periodic Table is a real timesaver.
Beyond the concept as a whole, I love the examples at the bottom, illustrating how one might describe certain shows, movies, games, etc, using formulas based on this Periodic Table. For instance, when you combine:
…and you get Star Wars. Not sure about the “Dragon” element on this one, but then, I have mentioned my chemistry is not my super power.
James very kindly put the image up for purchase as a poster – it would be fun to sit around with a bunch of geeks and work out formulas for various shows and book storylines. Maybe I’ll have to get one for my son to take to college in the fall, for he will surely find himself a gang of geeks to hand out with, and I wouldn’t want them to run out of things to talk about.
[Via: BitRebels]
Because we have the most amazing versions of the Fourth Doctor‘s scarves I’ve ever seen. She has created both These beautiful bead work creations are by Espana Sheriff as she’s known on LiveJournal and in the Crafty_Tardis Community where she posted these lovely works of Doctor Who bead craft.
Her first one is a reproduction of the more famed one we see the Fourth Doctor wear in his adventures. The second, is the red and purple variation Tom Baker wore in his last year as the Doctor.
To quote later incarnations of the Doctor, these pieces are just fantastic and brilliant!
Bright and early yesterday morning I headed off to the 2012 Stitch and Craft show in Kensington. To be honest, it was much the same as these things tend to be – the big fairs never seem to have their finger on the crafting pulse, and the embroidery area was particularly unaware of the modern craft movement. But tucked away in a corner, behind the cross-stitched Winnie-the-Poohs and past the Jo Verso samplers was a lost gem – Mr X Stitch‘s stand. Pushing my way past all the middle-englanders fighting over ”bargain” pastel shades of thread had been worth it for the chance to meet one of my crafting idols.
I got snaps of of truly awesome pieces of stitched art that I will share with you in my regular slot on Tuesday (if i can hold off that long. This stuff is gold – cyclops robots, raver tigers, QRs and Mondrian graffiti is just the start), but I just wanted to stick my head through the door and let anyone in the London area know to head down and say hello to Mr X – he’s lovely; very friendly, funny and upbeat (and rather tasty-looking). Plus he has biscuits.
Elsewhere in the show, the quilts exhibition is well worth a browse as there are a few interesting nuggets, and the knitted village is… unexpected. Though I didn’t have time for any of the workshops there are some good ones on offer. Even if you don’t want to sign up to a proper class, lots of stalls were doing demos, or had staff more than happy to explain how particular pieces were made. It’s a good excuse to get out and about this weekend.
The works In the above image are (clockwise from top): Kanye by Crapestry, X-Stitch Robot 7 by Eliot BK, QR Code by Crapestry, Rokit by Mr X Stitch
Stitch and Craft 2012 at Kensington Olympia 2, this weekend
