Tournament 3 is over! I can't wait for T4 to start!

UPDATE: I've signed up for Rangers again!

3 months gone... and tournament is over. It was lots of fun, and net result is 9 projects done :) And blast with my fellow Team Rangers. I am going to stick to the same team in the next tournament, I still have lots of ideas for Babylon 5 related project.
 We ended up in 6th place, team Tardis got the trophy :(
 So here are my medals :)

1) For Giving Geeks challenge in October, I've made pink baby hat of merino/bamboo blend - some called it berry hat - cute hat with steam and petal on the top:

I was working most of the month on my dissertation (coming in the next post), but I was more productive in November. I did 4 challenges:
1) For Giving geeks, I've donated to St. Jude's hospital - they treat kids with cancer, so I sent a check to them.
2) For Scientific challenge, we had to pick one element from Periodic Table of Elements and make something that will be connected to it. I've picked Hassium, 106, named after town of Hessen. City seal has wide red and white stripes over the lion, so it fit with my Red Star hat for my uncle:

3) For Team Spirit challenge, our team decided to follow opening lines from Season 4. I took:
 "It was a year of fire"
 "It was a year of destruction".
Those lines has to so much poignancy... I've decided to knit squares fro charity blankets for Aids orphans in South Africa - www.knitasquare.com. They accept sqares 8x8 inches and assemble them into blankets.
I did 2 for Year of Fire and 2 for Year of Destruction...

 All for:

Tournament 5 projects...

 Here are some of those projects from Tournament 5 - I've melted a cube in the last round, so lots of projects!

120 projects and counting

Yup, I have 120 FINISHED projects. Seriously.
And I did knit 4 kilometers of yarn this year only. Nerd wars helped that in a big ways.
It helps me feel better about my stash :) But I do plan to stick to the plan :) of not buying more yarn except for presents till Stitches West... February next year.

Nerd Wars again - Tournnament 6 is starting on October 1st and I am in Team Rangers! Again :) And I am excited!Again :) I sound like a Vir Cotto :) But I realized that in last tournament I missed my Rangers, so I started to watch B5 again... and got to that famous episode when Technomages are leaving and Drazi are fighting, hence ta-da:
 Here's my new Ravatar:

Off to think about dissertation - should I do Delenn socks or something for my DS...

Icelandic sweater

On vimeo - such a haunting song and cool sweater on the kid:

http://vimeo.com/27307766

and Iceland is so beautiful!

Nerd Wars

 It should be Geek Wars, but what can I do - I signed up anyways. :)

 What is Nerd Wars? It's a 3 month long crafting tournament, in knitting, crocheting, weaving and spinning on Ravelry. You sign up for a team (Team Rangers here! - from Babylon 5) and each team earns points by making something that will answer to one of 6 monthly challenges.You don't have to do all 6, or any, it's for fun and enjoyment. If you can tie your project with your team, you get extra points.
 On top of that, you can opt to do dissertation - 3 month long project that will bring lots of points if finished, and even half finished half the points...
  Here's the list of categories:
 >

Category Descriptions
The samples listed below with each of the categories are for demonstrative purposes only, to give a general idea of the type of challenges that may be issued. Actual challenges will be more detailed.
Giving Geeks
This category focuses on challenges that benefit charities, community-building, and other local outreach. This is the only challenge category that will not necessarily require a crafting project.
Past Challenges:

• Donate mittens to a mitten tree, donation center, or charity
• Finish a WIP for someone who no longer can, through age, injury, etc.
• Help the victims of the Japanese earthquake and Pacific tsunami through donation of money, FOs, or other means
• Donate a new baby item to a local organization that distributes such items to families
• Do something for an animal to make that animal’s life better
• Donate something that will bring a bit of comfort (and hopefully joy) to an older person or to a nursing home, assisted living home, similar facility or an organization local to you that accepts and distributes such items to the residents of such facilities

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Scientific
This category focuses on challenges of scientific knowledge.
Past Challenges:

• Craft something inspired by or resembling a nebula
• Craft something inspired by capillary action
• Craft something inspired by the environment and creatures of the deep sea
• Craft something inspired by lightening or electricity
• Utilize the Scientific Method to explore your craft
• Create something that incorporates waves as a mathematical model or a natural phenomenon

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Nerd Culture
This category focuses on challenges of demonstration of the culture of geekiness - what it is to be a nerd, and the shared experiences of those who consider themselves dorks.
Past Challenges:

• Craft something that would be appropriate for a convention
• Let your nerd flag fly proudly by crafting in public or yarnbombing a public place
• Craft something related to books, the calling card of the nerd.
• Craft something inspired by your favorite YouTube video.
• Craft something representing a Nerd Wars team other than your own.
• Craft something reminiscent of “the good old days” of your fandom.

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Intellectual
This category focuses on challenges of demonstration of intellectual abilities. This is where cleverness shines.
Past Challenges:

• Complete a project utilizing prime numbers
• Inspired by an Anglo-Saxon riddle, craft a literal or metaphoric shield
• Craft something inspired by or utilizing pi
• Craft something which illustrates or is inspired by a proverb or adage
• Craft something which illustrates or is inspired by a myth
• Finish your WIPs

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Technical
This category focuses on challenges of technical ability. Show off your mad skillz.
Past Challenges:

• Inspired by ionic bonding, craft something using two different fibers
• Complete a project that uses more than one craft
• Using the same pattern, create something at two different scales of size
• Craft a three dimensional item
• Seek out and find new materials to use as yarn
• Craft a project which exhibits a technique you feel is your guilty pleasure

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Team Spirit
This category focuses on challenges of showing one’s devotion to their team’s geekiness.
Past Challenges:

• Craft a valentine for a character in your nerddom
• Craft a creature from your nerddom
• Inspired by fools and tricksters in your nerddom, finish your WIPs
• Demonstrate what you love about your geekery
• Craft an item for or inspired by a villain
• Craft an item inspired by a tool or invention

Sewn Bind Off

 Good video tutorial for sewn bind off - you get stretchy bind off for socks, and it's really easy! I am starting to understand why people like Elizabeth Zimmerman so much.

Sewn Bind Off by Knitpurlhunter