Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Updates

Hey!
So, it's been pointed out to me that I haven't updated this for quite a while now - this doesn't mean that I've forgotten about this, just that I haven't finished any geeky knitting for a little while. Since I'm going away for christmas and won't be internetting much, it seemed like a idea to write some project updates, a kind of "geeky things you'll be seeing in the new year" :o)

So first exciting project - a few weeks ago I gave a talk to the maths department about the relationships between geometry and knitting, specifically focussing on how you might construct a knitting pattern for a Riemannian surface. I'm planning to post the slides and pass them around to people who I think might be interested, but first I want to make a few modifications. For copyright reasons I'll need to re-do some of the images, and I'll see if I can change some of the language to make it more accesible to a slighlty less mathematical audience.

The feminist torus is making good progress too - I've got all the maths sorted out, and I know how it's all going to work. It's on hold just at the minute awaiting more yarn. It's all shaping all quite well, and I'm very much looking forward to seeing how it'll turn out.
Slight problem is that I'm really going to need to make a second version before I'm clear enough on what I did to actually write down a pattern for it. And I'd really like to write it out, I'm hoping quite a few people would be keen to make one. So, I need to find a second person who would appreciate the idea of cute cuddly feminism to make the second one for...?

The cheshire cat scarf is well under way - the first cat is done, and I'm working away on the middle section, which is just plain stripes. This is a good project to do while watching tv or reading, so I think I'll get a lot of it done over christmas. Hopefully that means I'll be good and warm once I get back to the frozen north :o)

Maxwell's cardigan is making rapid progress too. I currently have the two front pieces and half a sleeve done. Since this is also mostly nice and simple, with only a little shaping of edges to contend with it's coming along pretty fast. It helps that the yarn is absolutely lovely to feel, so I'm extra keen to knit it :o)
The equation part is still to come, so I guess it'll slow down a little then, but I tend to find stranding quite addictive, so I doubt that'll be much of a problem. Since I'm planning on knitting this on the train, I'm hoping to get a lot of it done on the trip.

And finally, one finished item. This isn't really geeky, it's a baby cardigan which is on it's way to my soon-to-be-nephew/nieceling:



But I like to think awful, awful jokes are a kind of geekery of their own, so here goes:

What kind of a key cannot open a lock?
A monkey in an enormous cardigan.
(courtesy of Bob)

Happy christmas, everyone!
Hugh.