Tag Archives: Geekery

Today: the rare double-review!  I was reviewing a galley of Knits for Nerds when our children's librarian purchased a copy of World of Geekcraft (I am ashamed and appalled that Geekcraft had somehow passed me by -- it was published last year!).  Like chocolate and peanut butter, it seemed like two great tastes that went great together, so here we are...

Knits for Nerds: 30 Projects for Fans of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Comic Books by a.k.a Toni Carr Joan of Dark
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What a fun book! There's so much nerd/knitter overlap, it just surprises me that it took this long for this book to be written!

Knits for Nerds has a wide variety of patterns -- ranging from the ridiculous (Hobbit Feet slippers, complete with hair) to the lovely (the Summer Queen shawl, a pretty, delicate lace number). Some of the patterns are rather costumey (the Princess Leia hair-bun hat comes to mind) but many are quite wearable even for people who aren't into wearing their nerdiness on their sleeves; in fact, some of the patterns are just good, solid basic patterns, made nerdy only by virtue of the colors used. The inspirations come from all corners of geekdom; not just things you'd expect like Doctor Who and Firefly (both of which have given rise to many a knitting project) but also from Neil Gaiman's books and Tank Girl. There are also several generically geeky patterns: a tie; an e-reader/tablet sleeve; a laptop bag that doubles as a travel chess board. And, of course, there are sweater vest patterns inspired by the Big Bang Theory.

All of the yarns used in the book are inexpensive and easy to find (Knitpicks, Lion Brand, Patons, etc.); the only ones that I, personally, cannot find at my local big-box Michaels or AC Moore are Knitpicks, Berrocco, and Cascade 220, which are all certainly easy to come by online or at yarn shops. There are patterns for all knitting levels, from the beginner to the person who enjoys a challenge. Patterns are either charted or written out, not both. There is a glossary of terms and a how-to section at the end of the book which covers all techniques necessary to complete the patterns.

My only complaint about the book was that I found the pictures to be very dark and hard to view -- but to be fair, I was viewing a PDF galley on a Nook Color, and have noticed this problem with other knitting books I am currently reviewing. I think it is a problem specific to the galley/e-reader combination; I will compare once I see a printed copy of the book.

I would recommend Knits for Nerds to all my nerdy knitter friends -- of which there are many. I look forward to seeing finished projects from the book at this year's New York ComicCon...and who knows, maybe I'll knit and wear one myself! I do love me a good sweater vest...

Reviewed galley provided by Andrews McMeel Publishing, via NetGalley. Expected publication date February 21, 2012.

World of Geekcraft: Step-by-Step Instructions for 25 Super-Cool Craft Projects by Susan Beal
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

World of Geekcraft is a delightful book. The 25 projects run the gamut of geekdom, from jewelry made from 20-sided dice, to crocheted Tribbles, to a replica of the sewing boxes from Coraline. While many of the projects are inspired by a specific world of geekery (Buffy, Star Wars), others are just generally geeky (a Morse Code quilt, a steampunk pendant, a needle-felted solar system mobile).

Patterns are arranged in order of difficulty, and run from extremely easy to rather intricate and detailed. There's something for everyone, as some projects are of the glue-gun-and-scissors variety and would require no special skills, while some require a fair bit of prior knowledge -- the aforementioned quilt, for example; some knitted items that assume you already know how to knit. This is a book to turn to for project inspiration, not one to learn new techniques.

And what projects will this geek be making from the book? First and foremost, the Oregon Trail-inspired cross stitch. It is ridiculously awesome.

View all my reviews