To the ends of the earth

My partner has recently acquired a couple of new books that might be of interest to steampunk afficionados. The one pictured, To the Ends of the Earth: 100 Maps that Changed the World (Harper Collins, 2006) is a beautifully illustrated history of cartography from Babylonian clay tablets to 21st-century interactive virtual maps.

Looking at the maps of past ages makes me nostalgic for times when the world was still there to be explored; when dragons and sea monsters might feasibly have lurked behind the next mountain range or in the depths of a vast and uncharted sea. These days, with cameras everywhere accumulating data and satellites giving precise locations of everything on Earth, some of the magic is gone.

As author Jeremy Harwood says:

The electronic linking of such maps to other maps means that the amount of information that can be accessed is almost limitless. The availability of downloadable map data also means that today's mapmakers are spoilt for choice. Put at its simplest, provided that they possess the necessary software and skills, everyone who wants to can be a mapmaker.

Steampunk Melody

It was my birthday a couple of weeks ago and my friends bought me this fantastic T-shirt. For those of you not familiar with Sanrio characters, this little rabbit is a friend of Hello Kitty, and her name is My Melody. Obviously, she's always been a favourite of mine... and now even more so, because she's been Steampunked! (Google "Steampunk Melody" to find out where you can buy the T-shirt for yourself.)

Blocking the lacy frill

When you've finished knitting the wrist warmers, you need to block them to even out the fabric. The easiest way is to dampen them with lukewarm water, then pull them onto your hands for a minute to stretch them (gently!) to the right shape. While they are still wet, carefully roll up the glove sections, then lay the frill out as flat as possible on a towel or other absorbent surface. Tease the edge of the frill flat with your fingers and leave it to dry completely.

Once the frill is dry, unroll the glove parts and lay the gloves out flat to ensure that the glove parts are completely dry too. The pattern will soon be available at my etsy store; sign up to the newsletter in the sidebar and I'll let you know when it's ready.

Orreries

I've always wanted an orrery. Perhaps not exactly like Aughra's orrery in The Dark Crystal (for a start, where would I put it?) but I'm fascinated by the idea of a mechanical representation of celestial motion.

Did you know: 

• That it was called an orrery after the Earl of Orrery commissioned a mechanical planetarium as a gift for his son in the early 18th century?
• That you can make your own orrery from such mundane materials as Meccano and LEGO?
• That you can buy your own working orrery, designed and made by Brian Greig, who created the gorgeous Tellurion at Sydney Observatory?

Knitting the wrist warmers

Here's the progress on my frilly wrist warmers. The wrist warmers are knitted all in one, including the lacy frill. After you've knitted the wrist part, you make extra stitches for the frill and place them on stitch holders until you've finished knitting the glove.

Keep knitting in the round, then turn the work at the end of a row and work flat in stocking stitch (knit one row, purl one row) to create the thumb hole.

The pattern for these wrist warmers is almost ready, and when it is I'll be selling it in my etsy store. Keep your eye on this blog to find out when it's available, or sign up to my newsletter using the form in the sidebar and I'll email you when it's ready. As a bonus, if you sign up to the newsletter I'll send you the pattern for the Urban Explorer's Kit Bag for free!

Girlpower

This great project was proposed on Kickstarter earlier this year, with a target of $4000 to publish the first in a series of steampunk detective fiction novels for girls. As the funds raised exceeded the budget and eventually reached an amazing $90,000, the author has promised a series of four books, with all sorts of extras thrown in. Check out the proposal video below, and see if–like me–you can't wait for them to be published.

Friday fashion parade

American Gothic goes steampunk. This T-shirt is a bit of fun from the Threadless collection. Click on the picture to go to the website, or check out some of their other steampunk style offerings.