Knittin' Crap: Starfleet March 2015

This month, we ran into that reprobate Harcourt Fenton Mudd, who came offering a deal...

Mission	Report
Science: Analyze Harry’s potion and present its molecular structure as either a lace or cable pattern (lace could represent a crystalline structure, where cables would represent a more fibrous structure; similar to the difference between metals and plastics or inorganic and organic compounds).	A quark-level analysis of Mudd’s compound reveals some interesting relationships between the atoms. I’ve represented the shared electron orbits with this model of the structure’s planar axis.
Tactical: Craft something to capture Harry if the evidence is incriminating.	Harcourt Fenton Mudd has frequently shown himself to be a slippery, unethical, unprincipled character. We need to be vigilant and ready for his tricks. These newly engineered restraints are very small when not in use, but they can be deployed with speed, stretching to several times their resting state in order entrap the soon-to-be prisoner. Different configurations can apply different forces or biophysical effects, like rigidity, elastic restraint, or a sedating effect. We’re not letting him get away this time!

Knittin' Crap: Starfleet February 2015

We spent February at the Academy with all those young, perky, eager cadets.

Mission	Report
Command - Demonstrate ways to overcome a crafting “no-win” scenario to your cadets by planning and swatching for a project.	Although I had carefully considered details for my Away Mission for this tour before the tour actually began, my other duties kept me from confirming its viability through proof-of-concept work with the raw materials until after the start of the tour. My first sample came out at the perfect specifications (25x36 st on US4), but I was not sure I liked the lack of density, so I made another sample to smaller specifications (on US3), and ended up calculating that the original sample was superior. But, the extra time was not wasted, as I now had evidence that I could move forward with additional certainty that my mission would ultimately be a success. Swatches (tested for sleep-worthiness by my invasive quadrupeds and marked as approved):
Diplomatic - Show your cadets the importance of details by creating something involving detail work or embellishments	Without detailed facial expressions, this very undiplomatic penguin would look like an unexpressive round ball on top of a tube. And he certainly wouldn’t be able to express his indignation at being shoved aside by the giant, undiplomatic invasive quadruped:
Medical - One of the hardest lessons to accept is that you can’t save them all, and sometimes the only thing you can do is give comfort. Your Mission: Teach your cadets how to cope with these situations by creating something comforting, either for yourself or for someone else. Bonus points for charitable submissions.	Many cultures on Old Earth long had a tradition of brightening the environment of the ill with the often colorful and pleasantly scented reproductive organs of certain plants. Plants of the genus Tulipa were especially prized for their elegant beauty. I have replicated some and put them on a bunting for wall decoration.
Tactical - Teach your cadets the value of thinking quickly by making something very speedy (something that takes a day or less).	Any Starfleet cadet who has taken the Anomalous Quantum Particles course final exam will already know that concentrating on details while under time pressure is particularly difficult. To practice mental focus while simultaneously watching the clock, I manualy fabricated this special neck gear, which also acts as a sensor to monitor heart rate and blood pressure in tense situations. Keeping track of many small components, manipulating them without the aid of nano-tools, and completing an important piece of equipment are all skills that may be needed during an emergency when the replicators are not available either because of mechanical failure or on an away team mission.
The Brig - Finish off UFOs.	This prisoner hit its rehabilitation target 3 weeks ago, but I had more important things to do than process the paperwork. (Like, take naps.)

Badtz-Maru pattern by Mei Li Lee
Bull's-Eye pattern by Jennifer Hansen
Necklace designed by Un-Roen Manarata

Knittin' Crap: SFAC December 2014

This month, our surprise visitor was the avaricious Ferengi Quark.

Mission	Report
Diplomatic: Craft a gift to show good will to one of the negotiating parties.	Yellow lilies are thought by some to represent merriment and joy. As this Quark seems to be trying to get everyone to have “fun” by plying us all with what I strongly suspect is non-synthehol liquor and encouraging us play these games designed around gambling, I bio-replicated some yellow lilies to represent the mood.
Medical: Craft something that demonstrates the effects of a food or drug on different species taking part in the negotiations.	I took this bioluminescent vine from Alpha Beta Prime and genetically modified it to detect the presence of certain neuroactive substances, at which point that will light up. We can use it to decorate the chairs and tables where it will simply look like part of the decor. Note the following holographs which show the flowers lighting up when some otherwise undetected compound is present: While here it remains unlit in the presence of my totally-not-neuroactive invasive quadrupeds:
Tactical: Craft something to help keep up with the stream of information (an AI assistant, a discreet lie detector, etc.)	This basket was designed both to carry Starfleet PADDs and to automate the pre-processing and upload into Starfleet data banks of the information they carried. However, someone in the Starfleet Engineering Quartermaster’s office apparently decided to change the specifications of their Chroma Data Cables without telling us, so the basket failed to meet the specifications.

Knittin' Crap: SFAC November 2014

This month, Q apparently got himself kicked out of the Q Collective again, and we have to help him adapt to being human.

Mission	Report
Command: Demonstrate your ability to follow orders by crafting something following a pattern without changing it.	Q needs to learn discipline and mental focus. Practitioners of some Old Earth religions used a visual tool called a “mandala” to help them focus. Making a mandala was often a painstaking process requiring exacting detail. I tried to demonstrate this kind of discipline to Q by following the directions for Sophie’s Garden exactly, changing colors on every row.
Engineering: Craft something that requires some decision making (something modified, or a pattern with different options).	Footwear. So many choices. Of course, Starfleet personnel are rather limited when they’re in uniform, but Q isn’t in Starfleet. He will soon have to learn to worry about things such as adequate toe room, arch support, and proper width, in addition to styles dictated by the occasion. If he ever decides to play the old Earth sport basketball (or decides to become a musician in the late 20th-century Earth style known as “punk rock”), he might need some Chucks. Then he’ll really be faced with lots of decisions, like color, low- or hi-rise, fabric… Eventually he’ll learn firsthand about the psychological stress of ”decision fatigue.” And that’s after a single pair of shoes.
Medical: Craft something to ward off aches and pains - e.g. make a stuffed doll to help Q feel better or craft bandages tor something to keep him warm.	Q frequently expressed exasperation with humanity (at the same time exhibiting a fascination that wouldn’t allow him to stay away) while he was Q. Now that he’s human, he’ll quickly learn the race is not only a source of mental pain to Q but to its own members as well. In other words, I give him 3 days tops before he gets a roaring headache, probably the throbbing forehead vein kind. Of course, another odd feature of the human race is the fact that many aches and ailments can sometimes be treated just as effectively by psychological tricks as by actual chemical medications. We call this mental trickery “the placebo effect.” This headband doesn’t actually have any inherent physical ability to reduce headache pain, but now that he’s human, a medical officer just needs to tell him that it will, and odds are his headache will dissipate shortly. He’ll just look a little dorky while he’s wearing it, but since he will almost certainly have given half the ship their own headaches by then, they’ll need the laugh (another effective treatment for minor ailments).
The Brig: Where Neverending Missions Finally End	This prisoner should have been a simple reform job, but it just refused to get buttoned up until I showed it what nice buttons I had picked out for it.

Sophie's Garden designed by Dedri Uys.

Crochet Baby Converse designed by Suzanne Resaul.

Cardigan pattern by Amanda Griffiths

Knittin' Crap: SFAC October 2014

This tour opened with a promotion. I am now Captain of the USS Kitchener!

We apparently have a guest, the flamboyant Luxwana Troi, so most of our missions revolved around keeping her happy and out of trouble.

(Post delayed because the Medical Mission disappeared into a Temporal Rift and only just reappeared.)

Mission	Report
Command - Craft a head covering for Lwaxana.	This headband may not be, um, haute couture enough for Lwaxana, but I have no doubt she can work it better than Dip, who just looks annoyed at being a fashion model. Or Lwaxana can try to wear Dip on her head, but I doubt that would work out too well.
Engineering - Craft something to cover Lwaxana’s torso.	Not many people these days can pull off a cape, but Lwaxana is certainly one of them. Therefore, I made this, um, cape for her.
Medical - Craft something to keep Lwaxana’s hands steady and/or warm.	This basket was designed to provide multiple uses for Luxwana. She can use it as a receptacle to hold various items, she can even put her hands inside for additional warmth, and if she gets on Captain Picard’s nerves, the many straps can be used to, um, subdue her.
Tactical - Craft a fabulous accessory for Lwaxana to wear!	This, um, accessory can be worn in a variety of ways. On the arm, around the neck, over the hair. It can even be a meta-accessory, accessorizing a small quadruped species with which Lwaxana may accessorize herself, as seen below. (In this case, a not-that-small quadruped.)