My most recent pattern design attempt used the theme of one of my favorite sci-fi shows, Star Trek.

I am an unconventional Trekkie. I did not watch any of the series while growing up and didn’t actually attempt it until I saw previews for the first J.J. Abrams reboot movie.  I thought it looked interested but knew I needed to see the original first. Time was against me, however, and I knew I wouldn’t be able to watch the entire Original series in time so I opted for the movies…. all ten of the movies (TOS and TNG).

Some were obviously better than others 🙂 And I cried buckets at the end of “Wrath of Khan” even though it was only my second Star Trek experience.  I definitely seemed to have found a kindred-spirit show.

After the J.J. Abrams movie, I went back and watched all 3 seasons of Star Trek: the Original Series. A while after that I watched all of Star Trek: the Next Generation. I love them both immensely. I think ultimately I love the original series slightly more because of the deep philosophical questions that they constantly delved into, as well as Spock, played by my celebrity soul mate, Leonard Nimoy.  But I also love the atmosphere and the characters in Next Generation, particularly Picard. I think I agree with the answer to the Roommate Questionnaire that Sheldon quizzes Leonard with on the Big Bang Theory: Original Series -or- Next Gen? Answer: Original Series over Next Generation, but Picard over Kirk 🙂

Emotional interlude: I really did adore Leonard Nimoy. When I started getting into Star Trek I read about him as a person and was incredibly moved and impressed. He was a wonderful actor, filmmaker, a talented photographer (Shekina is an amazing photography book) and, more than that, a truly thoughtful human being. No one is perfect and Mr. Nimoy had his faults and his own demons, but he also seemed to always be trying to infuse the world around him with purpose and meaning. I remember seeing him with William Shatner at the Dragon*con convention one year and a guest asked Leonard to talk about about how much his portrayal of a character that doesn’t really belong anywhere  really spoke to people and how it helped many who felt isolated and labeled as “other”. Leonard answered thoughtfully and then turned it to Bill Shatner who jokingly dismissed the possibility of anyone looking up to his Kirk character. Rather than letting it go or laughing it off, Leonard immediately told him not to put himself down and proceeded to list wonderful, noble qualities that James T. Kirk exhibited that were worthy of praise- searching for truth, loyalty to his crew, always trying to do what’s right, bravery and compassion. Even in such a potentially “throw-away” moment, Leonard Nimoy chose to find something beautiful and worthwhile. That’s always how I will remember him.

So I of course wanted to attempt a Star Trek design.  This time I went for subtlety. The “Captain’s Log…. Supplemental” Cowl is based on the computer screen designs in Star Trek: The Next Generation.

I couldn’t find the exact color combination that I wanted so I actually requested a custom dye job from the wonderful Honey Girl Farms. While she did a nice job getting all the colors represented, after knitting it I think, if I were ever to knit it again (not likely at this point!), I would try to lighten the contrasting color so that it showed up a little bit stronger against the black background.  But hey, it’s classy and subtle right?

So now I shall be warm and toasty as I sit on the bridge of my Starship and sign the many, MANY clipboards that apparently exist in future star ship maintenance 😉  ….. yes yes yes, I know I’ve been mixing Original Series and Next Gen references throughout this entire post… calm down, it’s all in the family 🙂