Here ere is my update on what has been going on in week one.

I wrote my Dissertation Proposal and it was accepted. Waving hands madly in the air in a Kermit fashion, “Yaaaay!!!”

I have drawn out the sketch of the Kermit Puppet, I am designing this pattern myself from scratch.

I made a start of knitting Jim, so far I have finished:

The Body

The Head

One Arm 

One Leg

I started having a go at designing and knitting the Jacket. Knitting and frogging it about 6 times over

The Body

One Arm

The most challenging part of the week was knitting and designing the shape of Kermit’s head. The first attempt came out the same size as as Jim’s head, therefore I had to start again. I am using my trusty Fisher Price Kermit as a model. I think he quite likes the attention and is looking kind of pleased with himself.

Final Kermit Head

So all in all it has been a fun packed week, I am really pleased with the start that I have made and also watching the work Team Fraggle has produced since the start. I think we all deserve a pat on the back.

Happy Knitting,

A few months ago I stumbled across a few new sites and forums on the net.  the first was a game on Ravelry called Nerd Wars.  It took me a few weeks to get my head around the concept.  In a nutshell, it is a knitting game set over 3 month Tournament played against teams that are based on a theme which the members share a passion.   Within that time frame there are monthly challenges that you have to complete that are based on the following areas:

Scientific
This category focuses on challenges of scientific knowledge.

Nerd Culture
This category focuses on challenges of demonstration of the culture of geekiness – what it is to be a nerd, and the shared experiences of those who consider themselves dorks.

Intellectual
This category focuses on challenges of demonstration of intellectual abilities. This is where cleverness shines.

Technical
This category focuses on challenges of technical ability. Show off your mad skillsz.

Geek Pride 
This category focuses on challenges of showing one’s devotion to their team’s geekiness.

You are awarded points for each item that you make based on challenge and awarded extra points if you can make the project fit back to your team theme.

If you want to take on a meatier challenge, then you can summit a proposal for a dissertation.  This is a project that will last the whole of the tournament.  A proposal, which is your design brief, has to be submitted at the beginning of a tournament and had to include a picture of a tension swatch, yarn you are going to use and  a written design brief template.

Having made a few friends on Ravelry, I was invited to take part in Tournament 4 in Team Fraggle, a team that share a passion for all things Henson.  I applied and was accepted.

Before Christmas I came across a site called  DiviantArt I found some fantastic Henson related art,  I also found this fantastic picture digitally drawn by Mighty Rain which inspired me to want to knit a doll based on my life long hero, Jim Henson.  Although I had the idea for a long time before the tournament started, I began to think of ways of creating this project, what would be the best pattern to use as a base, how could I put together my own design based on my knitting and design experience.  I knew that what was forming was a  Nerd Wars Dissertation rather than just a Nerd Wars Challenge.

Having seen how they were put together, this weekend I bit the bullet and submitted this proposal, which within two hours was approved:

NERD WARS TOURNAMENT 4 DISSERTATION PROPOSAL:

 HENSON & KERM

Rav Handle: MummyRivett

Team: Fraggle

Project Title: Henson & Kerm

Summary of the Project:

I’ve been a Henson fan all my life and was very excited to here that Palisades Toys where planning to make a:Jim Henson Muppets Special Edition Jim Henson Action Figure

All us Nerds love a good action figure, but as you can see, from the link, the Jim action figure is quite an expensive action figure. It was also very hard to get hold of in the UK.

One of the team members of Team Fraggle: patologica noticed some of my work and suggested I joined Nerd Wars and Team Fraggle. Taking a good look at what Nerd Wars is all about, I thought that this would be a great opportunity to knit my own Jim Henson Doll and join the Henson Community on Nerd Wars

The Pattern:

The pattern will be based on the original boot wearing prototype, which included a Kermit, which never made it through to the final production of the action figure.

I will be using will be from my own experience. I will use my knowledge of knitting dolls and 3D structures together with adapting a few designs by Alan Dart to inc / dec / k2tog / KSPSO to construct the following:

Knitted Jim Henson Doll / Removable Knitted Country Suede Jacket / Knitted and Yarn constructed Banjo / Knitted Miniature Kermit Sock Glove Muppet / Knitted and Yarn Constructed Directors Chair/ Knitted and Yarn Constructed Microphone

Measurements 41cm/16in tall when sitting

Obviously this is a doll and the dimensions are larger than the action figure

Yarn:

Sirdar Bonus DK Colourway:
Black
Camel
Airforce Blue
Flesh
Grass
Bright Green
Red
Iced Pink
White
Chocolate
Cream
Grey

Sirdar Funky Fur Colourway:
Walnut

Swatch:

10cm / 10cm square based on a tension of 26 stitches x 36 rows stocking stitch on 3mm needles.

Category:

Geek Pride

Jim Henson created the Muppets without Jim there would be no Muppet Show, Fraggle Rock Sesame Street and Henson Creature workshop.

The doll propose is based on a Muppet verison of Jim Henson which he performed on the Muppet Show along with Frank Oz and Jerry Nelson Muppets in a series of original Skits:

Jim is to Muppet fans what Tolkien is to Lord of the Rings Fans. This project does not just show pride in my Geekiness, it also shows pride in my Team and honours my all time hero: Jim Henson.

Time Justification:

Taking a good look at what Nerd Wars is all about, I thought that this would be a great opportunity to design and knit my own version of this Jim. I major in knitted toys and 3D construction knit design. I believe that Nerd Wars is the perfect place to showcase my work. However, because of the attention to details, this project will take at least three months to complete. At first I felt a little disheartened as I noticed that the challenges where set for a period of one month. I pride myself on attention to detail. If I make Jim I want to do his creative genius justice. When I noticed the Dissertation section, I got that sweaty, excited, sick feeling you only get in the knowledge that you have just snipper bid that the limited edition out of production mint on the card 1978 Vinyl Cape Star Wars Jawa on ebay. After hours of sleep depravation, owing to the fact that the seller is from another country you are in that blissful state of Nerdvana. The next day you get an email from the seller congratulating you on your winning bid. It is then that the fear of commitment sets in, realising that it is going to take your entire savings for the deposit of your house and next months salary to pay for it. Therefore it my understanding that this project, in its entirety, fits the description of a Nerd Wars Dissertation perfectly.

Team Tie-In:

Jim Henson Doll, in honour of the creator of the Muppets.

Happy Knitting