Knittin' Crap: SFAC October 2013

October projects are a little late going up because many of them had "extended" deadlines. This tour started with a visit to a really cold planet. Or something.

Mission	Report
Command: Prove your own understanding of the concept of duality: Craft an item made up of two parts (a pair of gloves or socks, for example), or two separate items which mirror each other in some way.	My mission report on duality may come from a slightly unintended angle. I thought not of the split personalities in the physical copies created by the transporter malfunction on the Enterprise at Alpha 177, but of what they represented: two aspects, however highly contrasted, contained within a whole. Once Captain Kirk was re-integrated, he still contained the contrasting personalities. This report demonstrates that quality: each side is the opposite of the other, but they are indivisible, part of a complete whole and the complement can always be spied from the other angle. This is also demonstrated by this invasive quadruped. On the one hand, he’s in a comfortable warm lap, yet the total coward side of his personality still shines through. At least he looks handsome modeling the mission report!
Diplomatic: Finish up your UnFinished Objects!	This UFO had been sighted on an earlier tour, but it seemed unspaceworthy and when we tried to catch it in the tractor beam, it disintegrated into balls of yarn. (Strange, but true.) I began working to recreate it in a more stable form in August, and have finally completed the facsimile. Status at beginning of the month: Completed mission:
Engineering: Craft – in black (or another dark color) – something which might be of use to a member of a Landing Party.	This device not only provides a high-contrast background for the dangerous ore, but particles passing through the detector pores in the fabric will automatically be analyzed and set off an alarm if they pose a threat, either to equipment or personnel.
Science: Craft an otherwise plain design, then add embellishment.	The trims on this simple torso-covering is made of a special fabric with self-activated chameleon-derived color changing pigments. They will automatically identify and display a series of horizontal and vertical bars to communicate the wearer’s identity, rank, and other salient information. Children start learning the patterns and color meanings from an early age, starting first with their parents, until they finally can read the information even for people they never met before. In times of danger, they can force the trim to assume the same coloration as the background ice-storm camouflage fabric to remain unseen. (A favorite prank of juveniles is to reprogram their identification trims to appear to be figures of authority. Obviously this works better when they’ve chosen a senior of the same height and build.)
Tactical: Craft something to prevent or treat frostbite.	My self-tested experiments have found that sipping and holding a container of a warm beverage or food helps warm the fingers and raise the comfort level of warm-blooded humanoids in cold conditions. Therefore I have programmed the replicators to make some nabeyaki udon, a Japanese noodle soup with multiple toppings.
The Brig	This prisoner was just in pieces at the beginning of the month. I gave it a good pep talk and told it to pull itself together already! Finally, it did.

Fisherman's Rib Muffler pattern by Kotomi Hayashi
Seamless Pullover recipe by Elizabeth Zimmermann
Begonia shawl pattern by Carfield Ma
Mosaic V-Neck Pullover pattern by Makiko Okamoto
Nabeyaki Udon pattern by Mitsuki Hoshi
Diamond Jacket pattern by DROPS