Monday 25 January 2016

The X-Files Knitting is Out There


I'm an X-Phile. I have the whole nine seasons of The X-Files plus the two movies on DVD, and I've seen them all at least twice each. When I read of the new mini-season that premiered last night, I thought I'd faint for joy. This joy was only somewhat dampened by my viewing of the first episode, which proved to be plagued by some of the worst features of the franchise (i.e., a convoluted alien plot that doesn't make much sense, bloviated monologues from Mulder, contrived conflict between Scully and Mulder), with a gratuitous reanimation of the Cigarette Smoking Man who was last seen burned down to his skull in the series finale. Critics who have previewed the series are assuring their readers that the series does get better, but sadly, such is my love for The X-Files that I'll keep watching regardless of how bad it might be -- a state of affairs that the show producers are probably banking on. Meanwhile, I'd like to pay tribute to my love for the good qualities of the show by doing a special post on some X-Files-themed knitting inspiration. I didn't turn up any actual knitting patterns in my search, probably because such patterns are destroyed by a shadow government conspiracy problematic due to copyright issues, but like Mulder, I kept searching, convinced that the truth X-Files knitting patterns were out there, and unlike him, I actually came up with some tangible results.

The amigurumi above are crocheted by the blogger at Moñacos, cosicas y meriendacenas, but I couldn't resist including them anyway as they are quite well done on the whole. Recreating Mulder's nose appeared to be a challenge, but then it would be.

Honourable mention also goes to the X-Files knitting game devised by Ravelry user Lindsey Knit, as described on her project page for her X-Files Cowl. As Lindsey watched the series and knitted, she put an eyelet in her cowl every time she heard or saw one of the following:

- Dated technology (giant cellphones, big computers, beepers, etc.)
- "I Want to Believe" poster
- A dead body
- Someone draws a gun
- Skinner reprimanding Mulder
- Scully says "Mulder, are you suggesting _________?"
- An autopsy
- An actual alien on screen
- Sunflower seeds
- Reference to Mulder's addiction to pornography
- Quirky Mulder/Scully banter
- "X" in the window
- The Cigarette Smoking Man
- Mulder or Scully tamper with a crime scene or evidence
- Mulder jumps to insane conclusions
- Scully refuses to believe something she just witnessed
- Scully narrowly misses seeing something extraterrestrial


I like the idea of a knitting game as opposed to a drinking game because taking even a modest sip of an alcoholic beverage on those terms could have one in a coma before too long.





These X-Files themed mittens, designed and knitted by Etsy vendor Bad at Math Knits, are terrific, although there are no patterns available.





There's also this Scully and UFO pattern, created by the blogger from Lattes and Llamas, who has generously made the chart available as a free PDF. I love that Scully has her back turned on the UFO and that her body posture says she isn't buying this crap because science.





Pinterest member Archaeopterknits posted this photo of a "knitting idea that didn't work out" to her Knitted board. Even though it wasn't finished, I thought the knitted replica of Mulder's iconic poster was quite well done and might give other X-Files fans an idea of how to knit their own similar tribute projects.

2 comments:

  1. I'm reading this during the commercial breaks of the second episode. Loving it.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I thought the second episode was better. But like Mulder, I want to believe.

    ReplyDelete