December 8

Visions of Sugarplums (& Electric Sheep)

With the holidays fast approaching, it’s understandable that we might all be getting a little excited, girls and bots alike. (Come on—you can’t tell me Data didn’t want to put Spot in a kitty-sized Santa hat.)

So here’s one for the robots in the crowd—or at least the robot aficionados—who want to deck the halls in a suitably festive fashion for this human holiday known as Christmas.

First up is a binary stocking, appreciated by androids and the technologically inclined alike. Oh, and if you’re multi-talented, you can knit one yourself with n2 Imaginations Design‘s pattern.

Next we’ve got a stocking by AnimationsDesigns that may outshine even Rudolph’s nose. Robots? Check. LEDs? Check. Awesome? Definitely check. And look at all the detail—each little robot is different.

If you want something a bit more understated than an illuminated stocking, My Imaginary Boyfriend has a slightly more traditional, rather rustic design (as rustic as robots get, I suppose).

And finally, I had to include this adorable stocking stuffer robot ornament from Sleepy Robot 13. I know, it’s not a stocking per se, but he’s holding one, so it kinda counts, right?

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December 6

Senior Citizens Day! Every Saturday!

Well, maybe not with discounts but I’m definitely the Senior Citizen of this crew at 57!

I’m Mary, usually known online as Lady Dragonsinger. Currently, I reside in the eastern side of Oklahoma with my pastor husband, who I refer to on line as ‘Sir Dragon Preacher’, and our two dogs, Rowan (a german shepherd who thinks she’s a norfolk terrier) and Piper (a norfolk terrier who thinks she’s a german shepherd). Together, we share a geeky fondness for the medieval period, all things celtic, Renaissance Faires, reading and exploring various places including but not limited to museums, used bookshops and ops shops (aka thrift shops). Most of my time, I have my crochet in hand which is something that was taught to me by my grandmother when I was nine. Knitting is one of the crafts I’ve learned with some assistance with  from talented friends and have been doing that for about six years. Over the years, I have also worked with counted cross stitch, needlepoint and a few other crafts.

My first geeky fandom was the Dragonriders of Pern series by the late Anne McCaffrey. Dragons have always fascinated me and it only took seeing the word in the title of her book to result it in being checked out and read as fast as I could. From there, it was a neverending love of her work, with the Dragonriders always holding the top of the list. It’s no surprise, that eventually, I would start to read the Harry Potter series and never leave it. Thanks to that series, I have made some amazing friendships both online and off. I’ve also really come to know my geek crafting. The first true geek oriented item I ever made was the Molly Sweater from a pattern available here.

When not working or crafting, you can find me writing drabbles for The Petulant Poetess or character rp for Wizards Without Boundaries.

Hopefully, when we meet up each Saturday, I can share some of the wonderful geek crafting that led me to join in!

Category: Craft, Geek | 1 Comment on Senior Citizens Day! Every Saturday!
August 4

Race from Fleece to Foot at Sock Summit

I wrote about Sock Summit coming to town last weekend, and there was a pretty amazing element this year: a live-action race to card and spin a batch of freshly shorn wool and knit socks from it!

From the article:

Three lambs huddle in a makeshift corral inside Portland’s Convention Center Sunday morning. In a few hours, Heel Flap, Gusset and Instep will submit to the first shearing of their lives, and the Sock Summit‘s Fleece to Foot competition will be under way. For Sunday’s competition, six teams – five  members each – will rush to card the freshly shorn fleece, spin it into thread, ply two strands together into yarn and knit the first pair of socks by 3:30 p.m.

Worldwide Mash-Up, an international team from Canada, California, Washington and Iowa, won with the most knitting completed, earning $300 for Doctors Without Borders! Very cool.

Category: Craft, Geek | 3 Comments on Race from Fleece to Foot at Sock Summit
July 27

Sock Summit 2011: From a Galaxy Far, Far Away

Sock Summit 2011 returns to Portland this weekend with tons of classes, events, and even a sock history museum (“a real-live exhibit of historically important and accurate sock replicas from the oldest pattern we can find, right up to the current time, all knit by people like you.”).

I went in 2009 and it was epic – there are a million vendors selling interesting yarn and knitting books and tools, and the museum is pretty cool too! Highly recommended, and not just for the excellent Star Wars subtitle…

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