2017 Geek-A-Long: Kitty Pryde

There’s this cliche in X-Men comics that whenever a new character joins the team the cover says “Welcome to the X-Men, hope you survive the experience!” The first person to get that message was Kitty Pryde, a young teenage Jewish girl who could phase through solid matter and disrupt electronics. She is the point of view character for generations of fans and one of the most well known X-Men. In the comics anyways, she only had a very small role in the movies.

She started out as everyone’s younger sister. She went through code names and costumes until a trip to Japan with Wolverine gave her the name Shadowcat, and some bonus ninja training. She also learned to sword fight from Night Crawler while part of Excalibur. She is an expert hacker, swordsman, fighter, thinker, and teacher. She started as the youngest X-Man, but now leads the team and is the Headmaster at the Jean Grey School for Higher Learning.

Kitty Pryde is also everyone’s love interest. I blame this on writers who grew up having a crush on her. Like, I get it to some degree; I was basically the poster child for falling in love with fictional characters, but it’s kinda weird that they always have her with someone. Maybe she needs a few issues to just spend some time with herself! She has dated Colossus, Iceman, Pete Wisdom, Ultimate Spider-Man, and Star-Lord. Some people would add Illyana Rasputin and Rachel Summers to this list. Jay and Miles sometimes joke that her secondary mutation is subtext. If you haven’t heard me Xplain Jay and Miles Xplaining the Xmen before, it’s a weirdly addictive podcast about all things Xmen. If you need something to listen to while knitting this square, I highly recommend you start there. 

I don’t know that I’m qualified to say what the best Kitty Pryde story is, like, I love the Xmen, but there’s so much of it, that I haven’t come close to reading it all. But my favorite Kitty Pryde is Astonishing X-Men written by Joss Whedon and illustrated by John Cassiday. Kitty comes back to the Xavier Institute to teach and to keep an eye on Emma Frost who is now in charge of the school. 

Whether you’re knitting, crocheting, or cross stitching this square, you can download the Kitty Pryde pattern here, featuring her lovable sidekick Lockheed. Instructions and charts for both knit and crochet are listed in the pattern. When you’re finished making it, don’t forget to Instagram your squares at us @lattesandllamasyarn with the hashtag #geekalong!

If you’re having trouble with double-sided knitting, we have a how-to video here and a tutorial on crochet here. Want to hang out with other people making the blanket? You can find moral support in the Geek-A-Long group on Ravelry here.

~ Megan-Anne
“Remember when this place was just flame-throwers and rotating knives? I miss that.” -Katherine Pryde

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