Nerd Wars!

I mentioned that I signed up for another crafting game on Ravelry, Nerd Wars.  The game runs through February, March, and April, and their three-month crafting prompts are called dissertations.

Competitors interested in taking part will post a proposalfor their project. The project should be expected to take a solid three months, like a cable-knit sweater or 3 pairs of socks, or spinning 1200 yards of 3-ply yarn or something.

I wrote my dissertation proposal in the scientific category:

Scientific
This category focuses on challenges of scientific knowledge.Samples: Complete a project that demonstrates some type of circuitry
Complete a project that demonstrates DNA, in structure, the letters, or double helix.

Wish me luck!

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Rav handle: needlesnswiffers
Team Dumbledore's Army
Summary of the project: complete three lace shawlettes
Patterns:
Emily Shawl in Alina Shea Creations Grassy Feet in Summer Fun



Lehmus-huivi in Left Coast Yarns Merino/Nylon 80/20 blend in Forbidden Forrest



Dane Shawl in Plymouth Yarn Zino in color 8



I intend to knit the three shawls as written until/unless I run out of yarn.

Category: Scientific.  This is a study in botany.  These three lace shawls all exhibit leaf motifs and have three different construction methods.  My experiment is designed to explore how the leaves react to growth in the three different directions.  Figure 4 illustrates the three shawls and the shading indicates the direction of work, from the cast-on at the lightest portion to the bind-off at the darkest portion.



Time justification: I am not very experienced at lace shawls, so I will be building a valuable skillset which takes time and mental energy.  To tell you a little about my life, I am a stay-at-home-parent to two little boys who are ages 3 and 1.  My family requires good food, clean clothes, and a passing attempt at cleaning the house once in a while.  I also spend several hours each day on administrative tasks concerning another group on Ravelry.  So, projects that move swiftly can be done with my eyes closed, are easy to pick up and throw down to mitigate the latest crisis in real life or online, and have easy-to-memorize patterns.  Otherwise, my time to sit and ponder lace charts is limited and fraught with peril.