2014 Geek-A-Long: Star Trek

Welcome to week 30 of the 2014 Geek-A-Long, a mystery blanket knit-along (or crochet-along for you rebels out there)! If you’re new to the GAL craziness, check out the Geek-A-Long FAQ page for more details and information. Then, meet us back here when you’re ready. For the seasoned pros, let’s talk about Star Trek.

I’ve been a Trekkie for a long time, and I come by it honestly. My uncles were super into sci-fi when I was little and they passed on their love of the USS Enterprise to me at an early age. I was always into The Next Generation, which may or may not be connected to my deep and abiding pubescent love of Wesley Crusher.

And who could blame me?! When you rock out in sexy sweaters like that, there’s nothing a young girl can do but swoon. Mr. Llama quietly tolerates my Wesley crush, and even bought me this for Valentine’s Day a few years ago:

It now hangs proudly in our bedroom, but that’s only because we were forced to move it from the dining room due to complaints of “creepiness.” Haters gonna hate, I suppose. Anyhow, next week Wil Wheaton will be celebrating his birthday, and to honor the man who was the boy that I had so badly wanted to go to the school dance with, I bring you the USS Enterprise:

I opted not to differentiate between Enterprises. I’m a TNG girl, but I have nothing but respect for my TOS peers. Not only that, I’ve got an alternate square for you this week. The original design for Trek was based on the federation emblem, and you can download that chart by clicking here.  Download the chart for the official square below.

Enterprise

© Megan-Anne of Lattes & Llamas, 2014

Needles: Size US6

Yarn: Cascade 220 in 2 sharply contrasting colors.

Gauge: 10 sts over 13 rows = 2″ x 2″ square. Final square is 45 sts by 57 rows.  Please note that in the written pattern I instruct you to knit the rows above and below the active color chart.  These rows are shown on the chart as solid color rows above and below the design.

Download PDF of the color chart Star Trek. Cast on 45 sts for each side of knitting (with two strands held together CO 45, for a total of 90 sts on needle).

Work 3 rows of double-sided knitting (knit the facing sts and purl the back sts across).  You may choose to work the opposite color for the first stitch of each row (I do this), which will keep the edges closed. Alternately, you may choose to knit them without doing this and seam the sides when putting the blanket together. There is no “right” way to do this. It is really just what you are more comfortable with.

Follow color chart over next 51 rows in double-sided knitting.

Work 3 rows of double-sided knitting. BO.

Don’t forget to tweet or instagram them at me, @Doctor_Llama, with the hashtag geekalong, so we can all oooh and ah together. We even have a fancy new GAL Participation Button you can put on your blog or your Geek-A-Long posts. You can grab the html out of the side bar or find it here.

If you’re having trouble with double-sided knitting, we have a how-to video here and you can find moral support in the Geek-A-Long group on Ravelry here. We’re even raffling off some sweet prizes for our members at the end of the year! You can learn more about it in the group or on the GAL Benefactors page.

~ Megan-Anne
“My very first friend was a warp coil.”

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