Monday, February 07, 2005

Calling all geeks!

Oddly enough, knitting and geekiness are like chocolate and peanut butter -- what at first seems like an odd combination is very complimentary. The mathematics that underlies knitting probably helps...

I thought I would start collecting some of the great geeky patterns out there:
botanicallyhip has suggested the following: Geek Chic from the Fall 2003 back issue of Interweave Knits, and from Priscilla at Fuzzy Galore there is the Probability Sweater, which involves randomization through rolling a die, and Fibonacci Socks.

Mr. Snow (earning my undying gratitude at finally finding geologic knitting) suggested a tectonics scarf (now, 65 Ma, 190 Ma, 220 Ma, 280 Ma, and 350 Ma. Unfortunately, there is no pattern, but it does get the creative juices flowing. From the same knitter: a "Terry Dactyl" doll; the pattern is listed as 'Alan Dart.'

One of my personal favorites is the DNA scarf. This is also very popular amongst knitters, as googling "DNA scarf" brings up a multitude of scarves knit on this pattern. I also really like the moebius scarves and klein bottle hats; there are multiple patterns for these. Going back to Priscilla at Fuzzy Galore, I particularly like her Moebius Capelet, which solves the problem I had with the scarves, which is that they are too droopy. My favorite Klein Bottle Hat, at sarah-marie's mathematical knitting pages; there are lots of other interesting mathematical shapes (warning, sarah-marie's patterns are written for left-handed knitters).

Okay, this is not knitting, but there is a beautiful crocheted Lorenz manifold. Also, the AMS Special Session on Mathematics and Mathematics Education in Fiber Arts has some interesting abstracts relating to knitting and other fibers, and here is a list of articles, mostly on weaving.

1 Comments:

Blogger thomasina said...

botanicallyhip,

I actually know who knit them... I don't really want them as a scarf, a pillow is a good idea (I have two windowseats in my house I need to fill!). If I were scaling them up, it would probably just be easier to rechart the patterns at a better resolution. I would still want to talk with her before doing so, since it was her idea (and a great one it is!).

Perhaps a window seat with the geopillows and the dinos? Although I really like the sushi pillows, plus it would be instant gratification rather than infinite knitting.

2:24 PM  

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