kNerd

If you read my husband Chris' Kit's blog, you know that we spent much of last weekend geeking out. It was our first Con (that's a Convention, for the non-geekly), and this particular one was RPG (role-playing game -- think Dungeons & Dragons, though there wasn't that much of that particular system being played there) themed. I had never even really played an live tabletop RPG (the distinction is for the geeks. See, there are computer game RPGs, which I have played lots of, and then there are tabletop, or "pen and paper" RPGs, which you play with a bunch of other people sitting around a table -- go here for a satirical example that's actually pretty dead-on -- and then there's the LARP, which stands for Live Action Role Playing and is when you dress up and act out the RPG), even though I had always really wanted to.

I was a little leery, because just as people in MMORPGs (Dude, look it up. Geeks have more acronyms than knitters. We'll be here all day if I keep having to interrupt myself to explain what things are.) are a little annoyed by and snooty towards inexperienced players (n00bs, in the vernacular), I figured the people at a gaming con were likely to be pretty experienced and not happy about finding a complete neophyte in their midst. It's not like knitting, where converting teaching muggles is almost a mitzvah. People want to play and not have their game interrupted by a bunch of stupid questions (yes, Virginia, despite what your teacher told you, there are lots of stupid questions).

Chris headed off and played a game in the afternoon with Frank (Erica's beau) (yes, Erica of the comments) and Erica and I sat in the bar and drank chatted. So when Chris finished up and he and I headed up to the sign up room (I had somehow gotten it into my head that signing up for a miniature painting contest would be a good idea -- common sense won out on that one, thankfully), I was pretty open to his suggestion that we sign up for a spot in one of the games that had been really highly recommended by Frank and Erica (and also their friends Terry and John, who are just tres cool). So we did. I came clean with my n00bness right from the start and everybody was really very cool about it and nice to me, so that was fine. I ended up having a totally fun time...and I got to be king! Which means I "won" the game. Yay me! (More about the game itself here -- note that there's a system for debate, called a "Duel of Wits!" I was totally geeked out!)

And now I start knitting my fingers to the bone. I've already: fought with the yarn to get it properly wound into balls (a hint from me to you: Seasilk hates being in center pull balls. It tries to eat itself. Not pretty.); knitted 2 swatches, both unsuccessful for different reasons -- 3 if you count the partial one I knitted whlie I was still fighting losing the center pull ball battle; and determined that I will be knitting these on, sigh, size 1 needles. Or possibly size 0s. Goody. I'm off to the LYS now to see if they have wooly nylon or possibly a laceweight merino I can knit along side the Seasilk to lend it some elasticity. Okay, wait, I'm having a thought. See, I have been thinking of these as fine stockings. So doubling the Seasilk and knitting on 2s, while much faster, gives a considerably chunkier (and not at all fine) hand to the fabric. I like it though, because it's nice and soft and cushy. And much faster. So if I just start thinking of them as socks instead of stockings, I'm finding I really don't have a problem with the chunkiness. Hmmm. Something to consider.

posted by Laura Y. @ 10:41 AM