December 10

Knitting and Crocheting for Good

knitted-knockers

So today’s entry is a little different and comes to us because of a letter in a recent Dear Abby column: The Knitted Knockers Support Foundation. How many of us know someone who’s had, or continues to have, breast cancer?

Knitted Knockers are special handmade breast prosthesis for women who have undergone mastectomies or other procedures to the breast. Traditional breast prosthetics are usually expensive, heavy, sweaty and uncomfortable. They typically require special bras or camisoles with pockets and can’t be worn for weeks after surgery. Knitted Knockers on the other hand are soft, comfortable, beautiful and when placed in a regular bra they take the shape and feel of a real breast. Their special volunteer knitters provide these free to those requesting them. Knitted knockers can be adjusted to fill the gap for breasts that are uneven and easily adapted for those going through reconstruction by simply removing some of the stuffing.

Their website provides patterns to knit or crochet knockers. Women can also come and request a knocker in the size and color they want. In addition, they provide a how to guide on how to choose approved yarns, how to start your own Knitted Knocker group in your area, or how to find existing groups.

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January 12

Geeky Winter Hat Patterns and DIYs

YetiHat

I don’t know about you, but it’s cold where I’m at.  Cold, grey, dead . . . Can you tell I hate winter? To combat my own winter doldrums I love using fun and ridiculous winter hats.  It’s hard not to laugh at a Yeti hat, no? (I bought this one at my local grocery store, but you can find one here.)

PoliceBoxHatCrochetPattern

There are plenty of great patterns and DIYs for geeky winter hats on the intarwebz, so I’ve rounded up a few to help you with your own winter blues.  The first is this great, free crochet pattern on Ravelry, by SnappyTots, for a Police Box earflap hat. This would be a fantastic gift for the Whovians in your life.

TMNTHatDIY

This hat would be perfect for my 2-year-old nephew.  He loves the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles as only a two-year-old can, with a deep and abiding wuv.  As much as he loves Turtles, he hates wearing winter gear no matter how cold it gets outside.  This hat, though, he might never take off.  And you could probably find the fleece you need in the scrap/remnant bins at your local fabric store (or in your own stash).  You can find the pattern and instructions, all by PiePopper, here on Instructables.

 

SharkAttackHatDIY

I’m a huge fan of Sharknado, and I absolutely fell in love with this Shark Attack Hat DIY on Instructables (also by PiePopper). It’s not technically Sharknado inspired, but it’s definitely shark-tastic.

YodaHatKnittingPattern

Last, but not least, he is: Yoda! I don’t knit, but this hat pattern with giant Yoda ears makes me want to learn.  The pattern is free on Craftsy, and it’s by Kaira Anne Designs.  The pattern is sized for a child, but she’s got a link (http://aknitica.com/2010/10/01/how-to-knit-a-hat/ ) in her description to a tutorial on how to knit a basic hat, and the tutorial has some tips on sizing.

More Links of Interest

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October 26

The “Wendy” Hat from “The Shining”

wendy
Heather Boggs of Madison, WI, might be better known as “Stitch Boom Bang,” from her blog of the same name. And if you read through her blog, you’ll learn she is a knitting fiend and possibly a huge fan of the movie, “The Shining.” So much so, that she has created a series of hats, based on patterns in the movie.

My favorite: the Wendy. Made of wool, it matches the shirt and jumper Shelly Duvall wore in one particular scene.

Heather said, that typically, she doesn’t believe in pompoms because they are a waste of yarn and a pain in the ass to make. And I have to admit, I thought this was a pretty good crafting quote if there ever was one: “However, Shelley Duvall deserves a pompom. According to Wikipedia, which is the goddamn gospel of the internet, Kubrick made Shelley Duvall and Jack Nicholson do 127 takes of the baseball bat scene. For that, she deserves more than a few stiff drinks, but all I can offer is a pompom.”

And if you need your very own Wendy-themed hat, it can be purchased from Heather’s Etsy shop, for $27.

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September 20

Sherlock 221B Knit Beanie

The beanie had it coming…

Are you a fan of the BBC’s Sherlock? Tired of waiting for series 3 to finally come out? Then do I have a project for you!

Sherlock 221B Knit Beanie

“Bored! Bored! I don’t know what’s gotten into the criminal classes. Good job I’m not one of them.”

“So you take it out on the wall?”

“Ah, the wall had it coming.”

Sami Brooker of Knitty.com created a wonderful knit pattern of the wallpaper design found in Sherlock Holmes’ flat at 221B Baker Street, complete with yellow smiley face. She used a circular size US 8 needle to knit the ribbed, bottom-up beanie, perfect for any Sherlock fan, or an unsuspecting friend. Her pattern can also be found on Ravelry.com.

 

 

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April 13

Fox Is Cracking Down On Anyone Making And Selling Homemade Firefly Jayne Hats

f108_jaynes_hatAccording to Geek Girl Diva over at Fashionably Geek, “Apparently, fans who have been making and selling their versions of the Jayne hat for roughly the last 10 years are being sent “cease and desist” notices from Fox. It seems Ripple Junction now has an official license to make the Jayne hat (shown at right, the one sold through ThinkGeek for $24.99) and that means independent Browncoats who might be making and selling them are now infringing on the license for a simple patterned hat.” BTW, as of 04/13/13, there were 60 handmade Jayne hats for sale.

The Browncoats of the world did not approve and ThinkGeek took action:

“Browncoats, we hear your concerns about the cease and desist on Etsy Jayne Hat sellers!

“We weren’t involved in that process, but we have reached out to FOX and we’ve heard what you’ve had to say. As a result, we’ve decided to donate the profits from all Jayne Hat sales on our site to Can’t Stop the Serenity, a Browncoat charity dear to ThinkGeek’s heart that raises funds and awareness in support of Equality Now. We’ll continue making that donation until we run out of stock.

“We hope the Hero of Canton himself would approve.”

janye-hatThis was Think Geek’s udpated on 04/11/13: “So, we got Fillioned. Nathan Fillion tweeted a link to our blog post about our Jayne Hat donation to Can’t Stop the Serenity (thank you, Nathan!) and our blog couldn’t handle the traffic, taking the whole site down with it (thank you, Nathan?).”

 

April 10

Cthulhu Mittens

Cthulhu MittensIf your Winter wasn’t quite creepy enough, or all that snow has driven you to madness, perhaps you should reflect it, with a pair of these fabulously tentacled Cthulhu mittens! This pair was knitted by knittitude as part of Nerd Wars on Ravelry and made it to the finals of the best in round two.

This free pattern was written by Diana Stafford (you may remember we shared her One Ring scarf pattern earlier this year) – truly a great, all-round, geeky knitter!