Starfleet's Newest Ensign!

I'm coming up on the end of my first month in the JJA (June/July/August) 2015 Tour of Duty for the Starfleet Fiber Arts Corps (SFAC).

This tour, I got to play for real fake points as an ensign!  I was reassigned from the Zimmermann to the Noro:

The doors of a distant cabin hiss open quietly, and a former cadet steps out, her new ensign pip shining on the collar of her uniform. She adjusts the shoulder strap of her carrying case as she strides confidently to the turbolift. Her steps falter, however, once she gets inside.

“Transporter Ro--no, Main Engineering,” she says quickly. The ‘lift doors shut silently, and then part again a few decks later, just as quickly.

Ensign Velvet Key hesitates near the Zimmermann’s main engineering console, and then pauses to wipe an imaginary speck of dust off of one panel. She looks around, a little misty-eyed, until her Away Mission automaton project wanders over to her.

She crouches, gives the little ‘bot a proud look, and then stands again. “You’ll be in good hands,” the ensigns says softly. “Make me proud by helping the next chief engineer.”

With that, she goes to the turbolift once more. “Transporter Room 6,” Ensign Velvet Key says distinctly, straightening.

“Where to, Ensign?” the transporter room chief asks as she enters the room and climbs up onto the pad.

“One to beam aboard the U.S.S. Noro,” the ensign replies.

And then in the Noro's forum thread:

The on-duty transporter chief acknowledges a hail from the U.S.S. Zimmermann, still in space dock over San Francisco. Moments later, a single beam of glittering light coalesces and a young ensign steps off of the transporter pad.

“Uhm…Cad--I mean, Ensign Velvet Key reporting as ordered,” she tells the chief, gripping the strap of her standard-issue Starfleet case.

Welcome aboard,” the chief says, handing her a PADD. “Report to Captain Samyra, First Officer Jrnylst, or Second Officer Jenybecca for assignment.”

“Yes, sir” she says crisply with a salute. “Thank you, sir.” The new ensign pauses for a moment in the doorway to get her bearings, and then heads for the turbolift.

Ensign VelvetKey reporting for duty, fellow shipmates. I look forward to serving with you all this tour.

I'm also helping out in Ten Forward this tour, as assistant barkeep!  I serve pictures of yummy food and drinks to the crewmembers that come in, and once in awhile prompt the forum thread with questions to keep chat going.

This month, we've been dealing with the Department of Temporal Investigations, and each of the six available missions have been themed around them.

Command:  Craft something to indicate how you would have handled this situation by either Option A crafting exactly to pattern to indicate you would do the same, or Option B modifying a pattern to show you would do things differently. Justify your position.

In undertaking this assignment, I chose to study a distant cousin of the tribble (the merphyllis munkai), as we had previously assumed tribbles to be extinct up until Commander Sisko’s little brush with time travel. While I was able to recreate the little animal’s proportions to exact specifications, it is unfortunate that his instructions had a few minor errors that needed correcting in order to provide a well-balanced appearance.
For that is what I believe the true issue is: balance. While I disagree with a few of the minor decisions Sisko and his team made (such as bringing tribbles back to our time), the overarching premise of his intent remains: he was correcting the actions of another time traveler. In fact, he was in the unique position of being one of the few people who knew about the problem and sought to fix it.

In conclusion, if I were to undertake the same mission, I would try to eliminate incidental alterations to the timeline as much as possible. No, I do not need to speak with Captain Kirk in order to obtain signature. (But that does not say anything about photobomb selfies made with the tricorder…)

Tallou the Monkey pattern; this guy is for sale!

...I just haven't put him on Etsy yet.

 Diplomatic:  Determine whether Kirk’s behavior was a violation of the Temporal Prime Directive. Craft something red for yes, or something green for no.

Commodore, in my review of the case files of this particular incident, as well as based upon multiple references to Captain James T. Kirk’s psychological evaluations and his own mission logs, it is my belief that Captain Kirk was a formidable judge of character. Thus, when he decided to tell the truth he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he would not be believed, and therefore was not breaking any manner of rule or regulation.

I have crafted a charming, leafy vine of decoration to illustrate my point. Thank you!

 A scarf for Ms. Pat, DH's manager.

Queen Anne's Lace pattern is free on Ravelry!

Engineering:  Invent a “temporal stability field” which cancels out any instabilities in the timeline and prevents tampering.

In my own study of engineering, I have developed a four-point temporal stability field with quadruple the strength of a normal forcefield. These chaos-inspired inhibitors may be placed around the anomaly to keep it from affecting our timeline. Sometimes the best way to fight temporal chaos is with equal amounts of meta-chaos.

 This pattern is free right here on my blog!

Medical:  Craft something to protect against the temporal distortions.

Part of maintaining one’s health during temporal instability is maintaining sanity. However, recorded logs and other manner of records are not normally immune to shifting timelines. I have crafted a violet forcefield that can be placed around a recording device (such as a book, tricorder, or data PADD) in order to preserve useful information that would assist repeat time travelers in reaching their goals more efficiently.

 I may have spilled soda on this journal and needed

to cover up the damage, so I improvised...

Science:  Craft a hat to hide Vulcan ears, Andorian antennae, or just a bad hair day.

A close-fitting cap is the best way to hide Vulcan ears; on windy planets the hat will not get caught and blown away, thus exposing the secret identity of said Vulcan. To that end, I have crafted a beanie-style hat, complete with decorative pins.

 Pattern is free on Ravelry.

Tactical:  Craft something that represents Gary Seven’s role in the Temporal Cold War – something in a single color to indicate his honesty, something in more than one color to indicate his duplicity.

In my very brief (one might say non-existent) study of the mission reports pertaining to the individual known as Gary 7, I have come to the conclusion that one should not ‘monkey’ around with any time travel, timelines, time vortexes, or even undertake that manner of responsibility.

I have expressed my thoughts on Gary 7’s duplicitous actions with this peculiar little stuffie:

I made this one for my cousin's little boy.

Brig:  Any project that was started before the target month.

This engineering project is the second in my attempts to build a small automaton army to assist me with maintaining the systems in Engineering. I regret that I had to confine this particular model to the Brig for so long; a power surge in the ship activated him before his software had completely downloaded. Rather than lose hours of precious work, I confined him to the Brig while I waited for the necessary computations to finish. Now I have completed all necessary programming and he is just as useful and non-threatening as the first one.

A former commission, now cancelled.  

If you want to buy him, let me know!

Temporal Training Center:  Rescue temporally stranded projects and turn UFOs into FOs.

I proposed my unfinished King Pause plushie:

Hopefully I'll get him all finished by the end of July!

He's also a cancelled commission, so 

he'll be available for purchase eventually.

So far, this tour has been very interesting!  I can't wait to see what happens next month!

Craft on!

End of April: Starfleet Fiber Arts Corps

April was the third and final month of the Starfleet Fiber Arts Corps spring tour, and I have had a terrible case of Do All the Things.

The normal mission schedule is:

Command Mission

Making wise choices is what defines any officer’s career (even if it is deciding upon a role to play on the holodeck). In my studying of the situation, I have decided that less is more, and that the person who really wins in the end is the one who has a stable job that serves both sides.

In representing my “less is more” idea, I took a pattern designed to fit a 2- or 3-year-old and downsized it to make it wearable by a 6-month old. I have never attempted to do anything like this before, and I still have some concerns about it fitting well, although I have triple-checked the measurements. I changed the neckline to an Asian-inspired side seam to make sure it was large enough, and I hope the final recipient will be pleased.

Diplomatic Mission

Good, solid communication is necessary between two parties that wish to undertake negotiations. Unfortunately, both sides are not always listening to hear these attempts at communication. In these situations, it might be best to set up an automated recording to broadcast the attempt to open negotiations. Of course, the message would be put on a recorded loop to be repeated, which I have crafted as cables.

Engineering Mission

I wrote a previous blog post about this little heart rug commission.

Medical Mission

One might say that the holodeck is an ideal place to train before attempting first contact with alien races. Recently, I have been studying for an away mission on the world newly known as “Equestria” by using old Earth footage of a show known as My Little Pony.

In the event that we should ever need to treat one of these new pony-like inhabitants of Equestria, I have made a model for Sickbay technicians to experiment on.

Science Mission

Nothing is quite as dastardly as having a portable prison sphere that one can carry in one’s pocket. With this handy little device, all Chaotica has to do is throw it in Captain Proton’s direction and the little ball does the rest.

Tactical Mission

As mentioned in the mission brief, it is imperative that one dress in appropriate color and style for any type of mission, whether it is first contact or a holodeck excursion. Even the smallest of details is important, such as one’s accessories in order to convince Queen Arachnia that you are a competent, well-dressed lady worth trusting. (Even if one must turn the accessory inside-out to hide a colorful button.)

I believe that this wrist cuff is the height of evil villainess fashion, and Arachnia will be more than happy to hire me and divulge all of her devious plans.

And then there was an additional bonus mission this month, in memoriam of Commander Spock:

Shuttle Mission

Instructors, in honor of Mr. Spock’s great contribution to the science field, I have made the likeness of a dwarf star. I chose sparkly white yarn to show the intense heat at the heart of the star, and the blue halo evokes the image of the center of a flame. In addition, the blue tone also mimics the blue tunic once worn by Mr. Spock and all of the science division in the 23rd century. Finally, the edges of the starburst design fade to navy and then black, embracing the surrounding void of space.

The reenlistment thread officially opened a couple of days ago; come on in and sign up for a tour with us!

Craft on, alien friends!

Commission Complete: BlameTheController II Plushie

After having repeatedly discussed the elusive Away Mission for the SFAC (Starfleet Fiber Arts Corps), I'm so happy to finally show off the completed project!

Here's the handsome devil now:

Clearly, he is calibrating something for use in Engineering.

And based on the Panda's suggestion, I had BTC take a selfie, which I then tweeted:

@LillyLove181 I've got somebody who's ready to meet you...but first, he had to take a selfie. @BlameTC pic.twitter.com/mCEDNbvCcB

— Katie (@Velvet_Key) April 15, 2015

BTC was kind enough to retweet the image (Mini Fangirl Fiesta!) and I picked up a few new followers on Twitter, including the Walking Dad!  (He's done some of the stickers and things for BTC to give away at meet-ups.)

Immediately after finishing this plushie, I put together the proposal for the Time Lord Travels' Time Vortex Challenge, which features a new-to-me plushie: SkyDoesMinecraft.

I'm working on him from just an image of his Minecraft skin; no papercraft pattern this time.  So far so good:

Other than that, adventurers, we're closing in on the end of April!  Lots of crafting ahead!

Tally hooooooo and craft on!

Commission Complete: Heart Rug

A little while ago, I received an e-mail from DSCA's mother, who has some very crafty relatives.  She included a picture:

A darling little sewn dollhouse!

She asked me to create a tiny, heart-shaped rug to fit inside, and included the dimensions.  I went through several patterns trying to find one that could be tweaked to the appropriate size.

I settled on the Crochet Hearts Applique pattern by GoldenLucyCrafts, available for free through Ravelry, using some Bernat Babycakes yarn donated to my stash by Deevius many moons ago.

The result:

Additionally, I turned it in for the SFAC Engineering Mission this month!

Like all women, Queen Arachnia can be of tempestuous moods that change at the drop of a tiara. She is so changeable that I have opted to distract her with a symbol of affection, and if she does indeed decide to backstab us in this little escapade, then hopefully my distraction will buy us enough time to turn the tables on her.

A friend of a friend designed an adorable little fabric house; she then contacted me and asked me to furnish said house with a rug. I believe that this little playset will keep Arachnia’s devious mind elsewhere while we try to set things right.

Craft on!

The Adventures of Captain Proton

That's the theme of April's SFAC (Starfleet Fiber Arts Corps) missions.

The individual missions are as follows:

Command

• Mission: Craft something that requires making choices. (Use a self-designed pattern or one that has multiple options.) Give the reasoning for your choices and how this relates to the characters in Captain Proton.
• My craft of choice:  Charlie's Scarf from the ongoing Spring in Illinois collection.

Diplomatic

• Mission: Craft something representing language. Incorporate “words” with colorwork, cables, lace, texture, or repeating motifs.
• Craft of choice:  Tabitha's poncho from the Spring in Illinois collection (this completes the commission).

Engineering

• Mission: Craft something to show whether Queen Arachnia is an enemy or ally. If she is an enemy, craft her undoing; if she is an ally, craft a gift as a token of your affection.
• Craft of choice:  Twilight Sparkle II

Medical

• Mission: Craft a representation of a living being or medical condition you may need to treat (e.g. stuffed animals).
• Craft of choice:  Rarity

Science

• Mission: Craft the results of your brainstorming as Doctor Chaotica. Option B: if you have already figured out what villainous invention you would like to make, go ahead and craft it and tell us how it fits into your evil scheme. Be creative and dastardly.
• Craft:  Jim's Jayne hat.

Tactical

• Mission: Your mission: Craft something in blacks, whites, or greys (no color) to blend in to your surroundings in the program.
• Craft:  Doc's Viking helmet.

And of course, there's always the Brig, which I already turned in:

We're already in full swing, but I feel like I'm behind!  Time to get a'hookin'!

Later this week, I'll post and discuss the projects for the Time Lord Travels challenges (based on Doctor Who).

Craft on!

Yarn Dyeing with Kool-Aid

Yep, you read that title correctly.  (Did you know you could do that?  I didn't know you could do that.)

First off, this is for the HPKCHC Three Broomsticks challenge, which was to dye yarn using a food product of some kind.

I found a couple of resources, and quickly decided that I wanted to try for green or blue yarn.

• http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEfall02/FEATdyedwool.html
• http://www.dyeyouryarn.com/

My DH did some research for me (okay, he looked under the bed in my unused yarn stash) and found this gray wool yarn:

I then sent him off to Wal-Mart on our weekly shopping run to buy me 5 packets of Kool-Aid (it's one packet per ounce, but I wanted to be absolutely sure I had enough dye to do the job).

I then unwound the original skein and tied it into smaller bunches:

It was then I discovered that the last part of the skein had apparently been attacked by scissors; there were many shorter pieces, instead of a solid strand of yarn.  I tied those up to dye anyway.

Then I dunked my bunches in lukewarm soapy water, while preparing the Kool-Aid in my microwave-safe Pyrex bowl:

DH bought 5 packets of Blue Raspberry Lemonade (which smelled very good).  I mixed the packets with 1-2 cups of hot water to dissolve the powder...and I mixed with the fingers of my right hand.

If you're going 'herp derp derp DERP' right now, you're doing better than I did.

It's taken me over three decades to encounter Kool-Aid ever.  I didn't drink it as a child.  Thus, of course, my fingers turned blue.  Three washings and a hand sanitizer bath later, only my nails were affected:

Anyway, on I went.  I squeezed my soapy yarn out so it was damp but not dripping, then dropped it into the seemingly-inadequate Kool-Aid bath.  I then added water enough to cover the yarn (or it would have, hadn't the yarn floated) and stuck the bowl in the microwave:

I zapped the bowl for two minutes, then let it rest for five.  I repeated twice more for a total of three zaps, until the water was colorless:

Then I had to let the yarn cool completely.  DH and I went out to Mike and Midori's apartment for dinner and Smash Up.

When I got home, I rinsed the yarn, then dunked it back into the soapy solution before rinsing again.  I squeezed out the excess water and laid it out to dry in the bottom of our bathtub:

A close-up of the original color of yarn (the center, tiny bunch):

At this point, I was starting to doubt that my Kool-Aid had done the job.  In the morning, I took the still-damp bunches outside to dry on the clothesline in the back yard:

Now it was more readily apparent that there was at least going to be some slight change:

Then I put up the tiny gray bunch of original yarn all the way on the left for comparison:

Finally, when I got home from lunch at Panera and some Christmas Tree Store shopping, all of the yarn was ready to be balled and photographed for funsies (and I even found a chameleon to help me, as he is a distant member of the dragon family).

Final close-up of the After and Before colors:

Close-ups of the ball:

And my cover photo for Ravelry:

Besides the Three Broomsticks Challenge, I was able to turn it in for Care of Magical Creatures:

Professors, in my study of dragons I was particularly fascinated by the Swedish Short-Snout’s coloring. The blue tint was what at first glance sets it apart from other dragon species. I love the blue-gray scales and thought I would try to replicate their tinting by over dyeing some gray yarn. Please note, this was my first time ever using this incantation and I did get my fingers in the way (like a complete novice). I’m sure the coloring will wear off in a week or so…

For this badge:

And I turned it into the SFAC for the Engineering Mission:

Instructors, when analyzing the molecular composition of Mr. Mudd’s formula, I realized that our replicators were not equipped to handle the spiral-like fibrous structure I found in my Science mission. I decided that I would use a basic remolecularization test to determine when I had correctly recalibrated the replicators to the sensitivity they need to produce Mr. Mudd’s “fountain of youth” potion.

I knew that when the test matter finally retained a blue or teal hue that the recalibrations were complete.

I’m now pleased to report that our replicators can handle any volume of replication deemed necessary of Mr. Mudd’s elixir. Thank you for reading my lengthy report!

I'll put the Three Broomsticks badge up in my End of March report; the staff are checking around for it, but it may not be available until the end of the month.

Have a great day, and craft on!

Charmed Hat

Hello, and I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!  I did a fair bit of crafting myself, and I'm delighted to report that I have submitted all of my Starfleet Fiber Arts Corps missions for the month of March!

I have one more class I could submit to in the Harry Potter Knit and Crochet House Cup, but I desperately want the project I do to be awesome (because the prompt is for something Elvish, specifically for Tolkien's elves) and I can't afford to mess something that important up!

I already have the maximum amount of score-able classes done (six) so it would be icing on the cake anyway.  (Mind you, as an NQFY I don't actually earn points, and all the points are imaginary internet points in the first place.)

Enough of that.

The Charms prompt for this month was to copy another student's project from this term and turn it in.  (Did I mention that someone did my wand and tagged me?  Most awesome thing ever!)

I went back to one of the first friends I'd made in the HPKCHC, Pat (costumer47) from last month's Arithmancy homework.

She had made a couple delightful hats that I loved:

And as luck would have it, I had bookmarked the original pattern long ago. I think I might have even attempted it, but at the time I didn't understand the pattern.

Well, after many months of learning, I found that this time I knew what I was doing!  It's a great, simple pattern that I could sit down and do while watching Pitch Perfect and a few episodes of Scrubs.

I had the perfect, already soft yarn from Hobby Lobby:

(I just figured out the reason the spirals are backwards

is because I took this picture using a mirror.  Derp.)

My homework turn in:

Professors, I was looking for something to make for this homework prompt that would challenge me a little bit, yet be beautiful. I found the answer in Hufflepuff House: costumer47’s DADA homework from last month!

In my use of this new charm, I did experience some slight color and size change. I chalk this up to my extremely amateurish use of my wand and hope that in future classes I will improve with practice!

Thank you very much!

The badge I earned was:

Plus, the grading professor was handing out Nathan Fillion pictures, and I requested a Captain Reynolds of my very own:

Shiny.

And for the SFAC Science Mission:

Good evening instructors, I have analyzed Mr. Mudd’s potion and have found whatever this substance is to have a fibrous structure, as evidenced by the cabling winding upwards. What I can’t quite understand is the swirling pattern; I highly suspect that this means that this “fountain of youth” formula is at its basest level unstable, and that it will ultimately prove to have only temporary effects, much like the compound he used to make “Mudd’s women” appear to be young and beautiful.

I think we’ll find that Mr. Mudd isn’t quite telling us the truth, and should be watched carefully from here on out.

The original Divine Hat pattern is free on Ravelry here.

Happy Monday, and craft on!

Hat & Poncho Set

Another coworker commissioned a similar hat and poncho set from the Posey Collection I did last year, and it's taken me forever to finish it up.

Yesterday I was able to place it on her desk with a clean conscience and cross it off the task list!

Quick, crappy picture:

I turned in the unadorned poncho for Starfleet's Tactical Mission:

Hello Commodore Kristysnowedin, and adjunct instructors! Since I have doubts about the character of Mr. Mudd, I thought it best to construct a means of restraining him posthaste. Not that he would ever resist arrest, mind you, but a cadet should always be prepared!

Thus I have constructed this harmless-looking collar (one might even mistake it for a scarf--these things are all the rage on Rigel VII) made of a neutral brown fibrous substance that is capable of conducting several jigawatts of electricity. The pink and red edging are of course protective barriers to keep the shock field from spreading to anybody except the wearer.

With this device, I feel far more confident that we will have no trouble handling Mr. Mudd should the need arise.

Thank you Commodore!

And also for my Herbology homework:

Professors, I know that grandparents often cherish the new little ones in their lives. This poncho is a gift for the granddaughter of a coworker and friend. I’m sure it will be cozy and warm as the weather continues to fluctuate between winter and spring. Thank you for your consideration!

And the yummy badge I had to have:

Time to turn up the heat!  Lots to do this weekend!

Craft on, my friends.

Citrus Waves

From yesterday's post, you may have noticed that I've decided to double-up on my assignments.

Before I left for LARP, I had started a hat, and I finished it and turned it in for credit a couple days ago.

The finished product:

I turned it in as the Starfleet Medical Mission:

Good evening instructors; I hope I have not kept you up too late this fine evening. I am sorry to have brought you here so late, but I have made a troubling discovery in my medical analysis of one Mr. Harcourt Fenton Mudd. Having obtained the required DNA sample, I thought it might be best to reduce my testing to the most basic of protein analyses and turn out an easy-to-read bi-colored report, such as the one I did last year:

This sample, done in a closed laboratory setting, clearly indicates no abnormal or synthetic proteins. However, the analysis I constructed from Mr. Mudd’s current sample

This sample is quite clearly of some significant difference! I am frankly alarmed at the color disparity and no other analysis I’ve tried can account for this level of cell staining. I’m thus forced to conclude from my limited medical knowledge that there might be some sort of inexplicable alien influence at work, and more study is definitely called for.

Thank you instructors for your time and attention to this alarming matter.

And then also for my Arithmancy homework:

Good evening professors! This simple yet captivating hat design contains a repeat in two sets of three, in order to give the rounds of the hat their varying thicknesses. I even did an extended pattern in order to make the hat long enough for the largest of heads (including mine!). This six-round repeat was completed three times to make the final product.

Thank you for your time!

For which I earned the badge:

Not too shabby.  Tomorrow I'll be able to post something from yesterday's list, too!  Let's keep the progress train moving.  :)

Craft on!

The Rise of Rainbow Dash

Over this past weekend, I was able to drive up to Lynchburg (Virginia) and visit DSCA.  Deevius drove down from Michigan.

And I had this grand plan.

DSCA loves My Little Pony.  I picked it up late last year when it hit Netflix, and I enjoyed it far more than I thought I would.

My reasoning is simple: I have a small anxiety disorder.  Nothing in the MLP show is real and can stress me out.  It has cute animation, positive messages, and some pretty good songs.  (Even the Panda has been known to try out a couple of the more noteworthy episodes should he be in the room.)

I recently purchased "the Mane 6" crochet pattern from the Nerdy Knitter.  It has 45 pages in the PDF.  On Wednesday or Thursday of last week, I started in on Twilight Sparkle.

Wait, wait, let me back up.  Remember last year when I would talk briefly about playing Minecraft with my galpals?

One day I logged in and went to the little hidey hole we use for our beds, some extra storage...and basically just hiding from mobs.  I didn't know that DSCA had expanded it to have beds for all four of us...or that she had labeled them.

The signs read:  Fluttershy, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Twilight Sparkle.

What are your guesses as to who's who?

Anyway, I started Twilight Sparkle.  I brought the pieces of the plushie with me to Virginia, and I showed them to DSCA and Deevius.

And I made Deevius this promise (since DSCA had to work a half day on Friday and we were going to be in the house alone for the morning):  if she watched the key selections of My Little Pony and learned to sing along, I would make her Rainbow Dash.

She did all that I asked of her, and I think we'll make her into a 'brony' yet.  Or an Equestrian.  However you come down on the issue.

Deevius was departing for Michigan Sunday morning.  That's how I managed to stay up until 5:40 a.m. the morning of Daylight Savings, hurriedly crocheting Rainbow Dash's mane and tail pieces.  My hands literally gave up on life for the next two days.

However...I'm pleased to say that a finished Rainbow Dash is now dwelling in Michigan (and I apparently have earned the unending respect of DSCA's family).

TA-DA!

And what's also awesome (other than getting nearly 150 positive karma on Reddit for this) is that I was able to submit the plushie as my Diplomatic mission for Starfleet (which is the Zimmermann's group mission):

Good evening instructors! I thought that gaining insight into the minds of other notable smuggling/swashbuckling types might help me to identify precisely what it is Mr. Mudd might want in trade for his fountain of youth potion. In my research, I identified a ship from a far distant galaxy known as the Serenity, and her captain and crew once smuggled a herd of cows successfully across space. However, it was noted in the log that Captain Mal Reynolds considered ‘black market beagles’ a far more profitable enterprise, given that they were smaller and easier to transport.

Well, I think we all remember Mr. Mudd’s other contribution to Starfleet records: the tribble. I think it’s fair to say from these studies that Mr. Mudd could be convinced to trade his potion for similarly small and rare animals. I found a unique breed of colorful miniature ponies, and I firmly believe Mr. Mudd would find them hard to resist, particularly if we get a Vulcan to do the bargaining.

Thank you for your time, instructors!

Dashie's been graded and accepted already!  I didn't get to finish Twilight, but that just means I can turn her in for a separate project of some description.  Not sure which yet.

Happy Saturday!  Craft on, my little ponies!

First In: Command Mission for SFAC

Yesterday I posted the missions for the Starfleet Fiber Arts Corps, and first on the list was the Command mission.

This was a fairly easy one for me; deconstructing something?   Just the excuse I needed!

Here's the post I made:

Instructors, in my study of this trickster Harcourt Fenton Mudd, I asked and was given permission to study one of the old androids from the unidentified Class K planet Mudd was “in charge of” until the androids were taught to think for themselves by Captain James T. Kirk.

As you can see, it was only a partial body construct:

I carefully dismantled the model, hoping to glean any indication of the inner workings of Mudd’s tricky mind--there are twists and cul-de-sacs; it’s wild in there!

I will study the base elements and perhaps be able to put the to use in my ongoing away mission. Thank you for your time, Commodore Kristysnowedin and instructors.

In all actuality, I was eyeing taking this model apart for the yellow yarn, which I then put to use in my Away Mission project.

I've already been given credit (I need a "That was easy!" button from Staples.) and at least put myself on the board for this month.

Tomorrow, I'll share something I turned in at Hogwarts!  Craft on, Trekkers and Trekkies!