Something to Do in My Spare Time

This past weekend was the GoodGuys car show in downtown Columbus. As I do every year, I went on Saturday with my parents (Dad shows a '53 Chevy pickup). And as usual, I dressed for the occasion. (Photos coming soon; they're on Mom's camera.)

My motto is that if you can wear a costume, you should. I love costumes. They're fun! Fun to make, and fun to wear. I love going out "in character".

It never fails to surprise me, however, that even after all these years and the hundreds of car shows I've been to, that I still am usually the only non-vendor to dress up (sometimes at Hot Summer Nights a few girls will dress up, but I think they are with a theater or dance group, so it doesn't really count).

I just feel like car shows could be so much more than what they are. You show up. You look at cars. You buy car-related stuff, and listen to music from a bygone era. Usually this consists of the hits from the 1950s-1970s, but sometimes there's a little broader variety (sometimes not. Hot Summer Nights plays almost exclusively the Beach Boys).

There are vendors. usually they sell jewelry, tee shirts and hats with cars on them, car parts, and reproduction advertisements from the 1960s.

I want to go to a car show that takes the theme of these historical vehicles and expands on them. These cars can be from anywhere from the early 1920s (sometimes before!) up through souped-up contemporary models. What if there was some kind of costume competition, or a masquarade/costume dance? There's always great music at these shows, but I'm always the only one dancing. And why is it that there's almost never live music?

Opening up the vendors to include antique dealers--of all kinds--would also be great. Vintage books, clothing, and household accessories. Some drivers create mini displays or themes for their vehicles. My dad has a fake dinner tray for the driver's side window and a set of drive-in movie speakers. A lot of classic car fans have rooms or even decorate their entire houses around the era their car is from, but mostly those things have to be purchased elsewhere. They are never available at shows, even at GoodGuys--the largest in the midwest.

And for the kids and grandkids that come: Why not educate them on what times were like back then? Have toys and games, but maybe also some mini classes or lectures, something fun and interactive.  An yes, I do think that there should be typewriters.

Part of me would love to put this together, but the greater part of me just sees flashing dollar signs and faints at the thought (not that I have time for something even half this involved. I'm lucky if I make it to two shows a year now, where I used to be at car shows every weekend from May to September.

I guess I'm throwing this out there in the hopes that someone else might take the reigns on it. I love car shows, but sometimes they just feel...lazy. Especially when I see the same cars at all the local shows, over and over. Why not spice things up a bit?

Knitter's Weekend Part I: Pride Columbus Meetup and Yarn Crawl

It's been a few days, so I'm mostly recovered now from a very busy weekend. It was so much fun though--I seldom go out, let alone with people (because REASONS, mostly involving the fact that I'm a broke hermit). But on Saturday I got to meet a whole slew of Ravelers at Columbus Pride.

We started off at the Columbus Pride Parade, which was just all kinds of fun. Here are a few highlights:

I think this should be my next car. What do you think?

There were some really funny signs in the parade, but I couldn't snap a picture of my favorite: "If we've learned anything from Harry Potter, it's that you can't live in a closet."

These guys just made my day. There was also a Sebastian and an Ursula.

 We had perfect weather for the parade. It was sunny and bright without a cloud in the sky. Even though it was 90+ degrees, High Street had a great breeze going so it felt much cooler and wasn't at all unbearable.

After the parade, we headed up to one of the local yarnshops, where I bought the two center cakes of yarn pictured below. The rest came from our after dinner stop of Michael's.

Back row (L-R): Red Heart Unforgettable in "Parrot" and "Dragonfly."
Middle: Cascade Ultra Pima #9778 and #9781.
Front: Loops and Threads Elegance in "Ocean" and "Smoky Plum."

You can't tell at all that I have a favorite color pallet, can you?

 The Ultra Pima is 100% cotton, but I think it's much nicer to work with than most other cottons. I think it's a little easier on the hands.

I almost swapped this one out for another variegated purple or aqua, but decided that I needed to mix it up a little. Besides, I love the sherbet-like colors in it.

Unfortunately, the others are all 100% acrylic, but they're so pretty that I think it makes up for it. Anyway, I'm not above using acrylic. Unforgettable looks slightly Noro-like in the ball, and since I can't use Noro because of my allergies (and the fact that it feels like a kitchen scrubber to me) I think this is a decent substitute.


We ended the day with Mexican food and margaritas (well, they had margaritas. I had iced tea, because I am not so fond of the alcohol and suspect that drinking would end very badly for me (also for REASONS).

It was a fabulous day, and also completely exhausting. I can't wait to see everyone again next time!

Steampunk Symposium Part II: Costumes, Crafts, Booklust, and more!

Here we go, round two of the Con Report!

Costumes
I am horrible at taking photos, especially of my own costumes. I didn't even remember to take out my camera for most of the weekend.

Once we arrived at the hotel, it didn't take long for me to realized that I'd left two key costumes pieces behind. The first was the bodice I normally wear with my seamstress costume. It's a more casual/lower class character, so my fancy corsets are a bit too much for her. Without the bodice, I had to modify things. The result was okay, but I wasn't happy with it. My top half wound up looking more like a tavern wench than a seamstress.

Missouri wore this outfit on the right the first day. She designed the top, and I made it for her. I'm so pleased with the way it came out, and she got a lot of compliments on it. Doesn't she look great? (You can see how thrilled she was with me taking her photo, but I think it's excellent.)

Saturday I wore my Victorian walking dress (left). This is the costume that I spent most of last week working on, but I think the results are FABULOUS. I got so many compliments, and this was the first year were multiple people asked to take my picture. I love this costume. I did discover that it needs a little tweaking in the back when I'm wearing my corset, and I'll be adding a bustle to it eventually, but I'm still very pleased with how it came out.

My Sunday costume is an old standard. Pardon the washroom photography:

I tweak this outfit a little bit every year, adding more and more too it. This year I changed blouses, going with a peasant look instead of my usual button down. I also added the hat and the chain on the corset--darn useful, that. It's not really visible, but that chain has my pocket watch hanging from it, and there's a clip for my fan. I'm going to add other bits and bobs to it, too.

Missouri's Saturday outfit was just stunning--academic in inspiration, it was a purple and cream plaid over a bright green blouse. I didn't think it would work, but  they were perfect together. The blouse was store-bought, but the waistcoat and skirt were made by moi, again based on her design. We make a good team! In the photo on the left, I had to do some creative pinning, since the manikin was still set to my measurements, but it looked wonderful on her.

Missouri's Sunday costume was tried and true--a button down tunic dress over a skirt, tied with a modified obi that I made last year. No pictures since Sunday was a bit of rush with checking out and the two hour drive, but I'll see if I can rustle up something to share.


The Swag
Our budget was tight this year. Most of my money wound up spent on food. Most of my souveniers are even consumable.

War Pony Forge candies ended up being a place we came back to twice. They have great homemade candy in a variety of unusual flavors like Early Grey, lavender, and coriander pear. We walked away with blackberry, coconut, cinnamon, an lime flavored chocolate (and white chocolate, in the case of the last, and I don't even like white chocolate. It's that good).

I picked up a pair of white gloves for my costumes, and chipped in for a gift for a friend who couldn't attend the convention. My last purchase was a mother's day present.


I also bought an herbal tea. Gents, you won't be much interested in this and might want to skip to the next section. Ladies, this is a tea that is supposed to help with cramps and some of the symptoms Mother Nature likes to dump on us. I haven't tried it yet, but I will be soon. If it works, I'll let you know.  ;)

There were so many books that I wanted to get! Steampunk Symposium is a bit of an author's mecca. Two that I will probably download on my Nook soon are Darker Still and The Tales of the Airship Neverland, which is a dark, Steamy retelling of the Peter Pan story. I almost bought a couple of other books, too. I've got a whole list that needs downloading!

The Crafts

You didn't expect me to sit through all of those panels with nothing to do, now did you?

At first, I was carrying my sock in my purse. I'm just finishing the gusset on these, about to start the heel. After a week of hard work,, though, my wrists were pretty fatigued. Saturday night I switched to embroidery.

You'll never guess what I found in a box of craft stuff when I went downstairs to retreive some costume pieces.
 Remember this one? It's been sitting in storage for almost a year, but I got quite a bit of work done on it Saturday and Sunday. It's still sitting by my bed, getting a few more stitches every day. I'll have to make a Joann's run this weekend, since I used up the last of the color I had for the right hand gear.

Alas, those are all of the pictures I have to share. We had a fabulous time despite the little kinks; it will be interesting to see where the convention is held next year. We're already plotting costumes and panels, so it should be fun!

Nano Training Camp

After many years of coercion and nagging, Missouri finally made me consent to take part in NaNoWriMo (a statement which was made under duress, I might add, just so she would shut up about it).

I've voiced my opinion of NaNo in the past, most recently here. I find that deadlines are overrated, and since they don't so much whoosh by me as run me over with roughly the same force as a freight train, the idea of choosing to write for a deadline sounds like very much like volunteering to spend a weekend in a pit of poisonous snakes. Just for the fun of it.

My "free" time is spoken for in the month of June (and possibly July), but I believe that training is in order, at least a few weeks in advance [cue "Eye of the Tiger" and training montage a la Buffy. "I thought it was gonna be like in the movies. You know, inspirational music ... a montage, me sharpening my pencils, me reading, writing, falling asleep on a big pile of books with my glasses all crooked ('cause in my montage I have glasses)..."].

Yeah, it might be starting a little early. But I know that I write best when I have a set schedule, and sadly, my current position prevents that. So I need to find a way to work around it.

I will not be joining as part of the typewriter brigade; I know that much already. I write faster on the computer and I don't have a practical work space where I can set up and leave a typewriter, and since most of my writing will be done when Missouri is asleep...well, I like my head intact.

I have a very, very rough outline written down. I want to get all of my research done in advance (or as much of it as I can). So I put the rest to you, NaNo veterans: What do you do to prepare yourself for a month of nonstop writing?

News From the Front

When I packed for the Steampunk Empire Symposium, I came prepared for everything. We brought food, water, a first aide kit. I packed a second set of panty hose (which is good, since I put my thumb through the first pair as I was putting them on), and I even brought along a second knitting project, just in case (as if there was any hope of me knitting 90% of a tank top in fingering weight lace on size 3 needles in three days).

I did not, however, plan for a dead battery.

The camera said it was fully charged when I checked it. We arrived, I took two pictures, it flashed the low battery symbol and then refused to turn on. I even tried swapping the battery with the one in my cell phone, but alas, they were not compatible. So I posted on the Empire website and on Twitter, pleading for anyone at the convention with a compatible battery or charger to contact me.

So far, no luck.

I'm making do with Missouri's cell phone camera, since the Iphone camera is far superior to my crummy %^&* !$@$#  %^$%^ Samsung that I've been fighting with since day one. When we get home I'll be able to get some of the photos from her, but for now this is the only one she's sent me and I have to say that it's one I'm immensely proud of:

Yes, that is the back of my head. While I realize that this is normally not considered an ideal shot, I'm happy because that purple thing in my hair? and the shiny silvery things? That would be a Knitpicks 42" circular sock needle.

The reason it is in my hair? Well, long story short, it's the best place I've found for it, since I don't have the heart to throw away needles.

The longer story: Back in December, I ordered two Knitpicks circulars to work on Christmas presents (you know, those purple socks that I was knitting for far too long? Yeah, those). They arrived, I opened the package, and cast on. Three rows in, the cable snapped. I emailed the company, and a week later they sent a replacement. The replacement (seen above) has one of the worst joins I have ever seen between the cable and the needle. It doesn't just feel awkward, you can see where the metal sticks up around the cable. The yarn catches something awful. I knit one row, then switched to another set of needles. This one was being used as a stitch holder for another project while I used the good needles to finish the Christmas socks. I pulled that project out of hibernation yesterday to bring to the convention, put it back on the good needles, and just didn't have the heart to throw the crappy ones out. Then this morning I was trying to do my hair and inspiration struck. I'm already the weird girl with the knitting, so why not take it a step further? I don't think anyone has actually noticed (not even the girl who was sitting behind me in a panel using a set of the same needles to make a Dr. Who scarf). I've always heard really good things about this brand, and it saddens me that I've had such bad luck with them, but I think it's time to move on. I'm perfectly happy using them as hair sticks. Maybe I can add beads to the cable and do something really nifty with it when I get back!

Anyway, the convention. So far, I've spent too much money, taken a wonderful dancing lesson (with actual men! Normally when I take dance lessons its all women and I always have to dance the male parts. This was such a nice change!), been eaten by a werewolf (twice), gotten a massage, spoken with an excellent author who can apparently command the weather, oggled more costumes than I could possibly ever make in a lifetime, nearly bought a corset, drooled over a lovely treadle Singer sewing machine, gone to Target in full Steampunk regalia, and bought a handkerchief with flamingos on it, just because.

Full details to come.

P.S. It appears blogger ate the comments from my last post. So if you leave a message and it never makes it to the site, please take it up with Google. I know that I for one am not loving the new layout.

A List, Some Reviews, and BOOYA!

1. I recently finished Gate of Darkness, Circle of Light by Tanya Huff. This was her second or third novel, I believe, and one of her lesser known ones. I strongly recommend that any fans of urban fantasy check it out as it is just as good as her Blood Ties books. It follows nicely in the vein of The Enchantment Emporium (or would it be leads, since it came out first?). I found it as part of a twofer, Of Darkness, Light, and Fire, which includes another of her early works. I've only just started that one but it promises to be just as good, if not better.

2. I also finished reading The Enchanted Typewriter. I am planning a more complete review for the podcast, which I hope to record tomorrow. If it doesn't happen then...well, I mentioned at the outset that the production schedule would likely be sporadic. It will probably be November before I manage to get another episode out.

3. Part of that delay is that I am moving over Halloween weekend. No idea when I will regain internet access or how long it will be down.

4. The typosphere has been abuzz with the upcoming start of NaNoWriMo. Just to set the record straight: I have no plans to participate. My only acquaintance with short deadlines is the whizzing sound they make as they zip by and they've nearly decapitated me on an occasion or two so I generally avoid them on principal. I will, however, endeavor to finish Threadbare (formerly known as Fortune's Fight) BEFORE the start of November, if my paying job doesn't suck the life out of me like so many vampires. (Really, it's like Dracula meets Clueless. Never give a vampire a credit card.) I am doing this so that I can work on my Untitled Jazzpunk Novel as soon as possible, because...

5. THE THREE MUSKETEERS IS AWESOME. Seriously. Alexandre Dumas + Orlando Bloom + Matthew Mcfadyen + steampunk = THE BEST THING EVER. EVER! Also, it was total costume p0rn and I want every single outfit and prop associated with Countess de Winter. I have a strong desire to cosplay her at the earliest opportunity.


6. While it isn't truly a costume, I did finish knitting my Quebecois pride hat this week. This has been in my queue for years (ever since I made a scarf based on the Canadian flag). This couldn't have come at a better time, since...

7. Thursday night we drove out to Beavercreek for the Kathy Reichs signing. For those of you unfamiliar, she wrote the books that the Bones TV series are based on, though other than the name and occupation of the main character they really bear no resemblance to the source material. (For those not catching the connection here, in the books Temperance divides her time between a North Carolina university, and working for the government of Quebec. In Montreal. In a building that I am enough of a fangirl to have photographed just for it's relationship to the books.) Sadly, both Mom and I forgot our cameras, so I only have one cellphone picture:


So that is my list of awesome. We'll see what next week holds.

P.S. I just went through to add links to everything in this post, and it appears Kathy's site is down due to bandwidth limits. Looks like that last signing broke teh internets.

I've taken the leap...

...and landed in the technological age. Last week I ordered a Nook, which arrived yesterday. Before you get too shocked though, I should mention that it is a Nook First Edition, which I bought used because the newer ones just didn't appeal to me.

Also, it was cheaper. And less complicated.

The first thing I did was a search for "typewriter" in the ebook library, and came across a book called The Enchanted Typewriter by John Kendrick Bangs. There are several versions of it available, but I picked the free one because I'm cheap like that. So far it isn't bad, but the formatting is horrible. It was very obviously scanned directly into whatever program they use to create their ebooks, using something that translated the images into text because there are a lot of spelling and punctuation problems (things like "tell" turning into "teU", apostrophe's turning into asterisks, stuff like that). Maybe these have been edited out in the paid versions, but I don't know.

I will say that if you haven't read this book, you might want to give it a quick read. It's about 75 pages, according to the Nook, and is pretty amusing. The basic premise is that the main character, a man who is generally content to enjoy his own pleasures (usually late dinners and lots of wine at his local gentleman's club) comes home one night to discover a ghost sitting at the typewriter in his upstairs room. They proceed to have a conversation (the ghost typing out his answers), and eventually strike an agreement that the ghost can use the typewriter to work on the gazette he publishes for the ghosts in Hades, while the owner of the typewriter can use the printed off pages for his own purposes. Other ghosts show up as well, including a very odd, very independently minded woman who takes over for him while he is being punished for claiming to be (in various incarnations) Adam, Noah, Jonah, and William Shakespeare. Much of the dialogue strikes me as Victorian locker-room talk (such as a conversation they have involving the merits of King Henry VIII), but it's amusing nonetheless and good for a chuckle.

In other book related news, my mom and I along with a family friend will be going to see Kathy Reichs at her book signing over in Beavercreek. For those who don't know, Ms. Reichs is the author and creator of the book series behind the Bones television series. If you want to join us, the signing is at 7 pm at Books&Co on the Green on Thursday. I'll be the one wearing a hat that looks like the Quebec flag.

Currently Reading: The Fire's Stone
Currently Watching: Practical Magic

Masters of their Craft

Currently Reading: Death's Mistress
In the DVD Player: Star Trek TOS Season 2

I did have pictures to share today, such as of the Jim Butcher book signing I went to on Friday and the aforementioned gifts from Alice, however my camera cord has apparently changed residences and did not leave a forwarding address, so until I discover which of the many desk drawers it got stuck in, text shall have to do.

The signing was great fun, even though I'm five books behind in the Dresden Files; a more detailed account can be found on Missouri's blog. Mr. Butcher was just as funny in person as he is in print; he reminded me a great deal of Robert Downy Jr. in the first Iron Man movie.

Also this weekend, my Master Knitting Course Level 1 kit arrived in the mail. I spent last night swatching and trying to figure out how to compensate for the tension issues that show up in my knitting. I'm hoping to get started on the actual swatches this morning, maybe get one done before work if at all possible. Or at least another practice swatch. Speaking of which, work time is creeping up on me faster than I'd like and I've still got other things to get done this morning. So the blogging will have to end....here.

Coming and Going

Hello, beautiful.

What you see before you is a 1958 Chevrolet Impala and my new love.

This little beauty was one of four Impalas at the Belfountaine Hot Summer Nights Car show yesterday. Okay, well, two days ago now since it is officially after midnight.

Dad's '53 won a Top 50 award and he won $57 in the drivers pool, which he promptly donated to the Holland Theater. The Holland is a local historical site that my grandparents have been helping to restore. Hot Summer Nights is sponsored by the Holland and a local car club, and all of the proceeds go to the Holland and other local charities.

It's been a busy weekend, even without bouncing around in a poodle skirt (because at heart, I am still a geeky con-goer).

Speaking of being geeky, I'm going to have to blame Crazy Aunt Purl for this next bit of geekery. My knitting mojo has been somewhat depleted for the last several weeks. Maybe it's just the weather combined with stress but when I read her post about the Entrelac Scarf, I had to try it. This segment here seemed almost like a challenge, and considering how non-competitive I am and how terrible I am with patterns, I just had to try.

I'm very thick-headed when it comes to reading patterns and I think that Allison Lo Cicero, the woman who wrote this, is brilliant at writing patterns! It's very clear for such a complicated concept. You do have to take a leap of faith when you start the first time because it may not make sense for a while (What? I'm knitting one stitch and then turning the work around and knitting that one stitch from the other direction? Are you nuts?) but it works

No pictures just yet; I'm using recycled sari silk and it makes the texture a little hard to pick up in the best of times, let alone with a camera interfering. I've had some skanes of this that were semi-striping, or at least had color variations. This particular one, however, is very evenly distributed but I still like the way that it looks and it makes me happy. I love the construction and after I finish this initial scarf, I'm going to play around with it a little bit and see what else I can do to it in a self striping yarn. That will have to wait until I get to Italy, though.

Today I went to the State Fair. It was hot. Very hot. It was 90 degrees with little shade, but even with the windows open on my car, the AC on it's max setting, and going 75 (sh, don't tell) down 670, it was still cooler outside in the sun than it was inside my truck. I think my brain melted. I may have lost IQ points, I didn't have many to spare.

And lastly, if you've been paying attention to the news the last few days (as in, a lot of attention; it didn't get much press) the wonderful, beloved, and magnificent John Hughs passed away this week. Alice and I are marking his passing in appropriate style. We started with her favorite, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, moved on to Sixteen Candles (which, shockingly, neither of us had ever seen all the way through), to Pretty In Pink. For the grande finale there's my favorite, The Breakfast Club.

Can I breathe yet?

Things around here continue to spiral out of my hands. I was productive this morning, accomplishing many things that needed done, but none of them were actually on my to-do list. I'm tempted to write them in just so I can cross them off and feel like less of a lazy bum.

My Etsy shop has been updated with new items and a new section.

Perhaps the biggest news is that I now know the dates of my show! It will run from March 2-6, 2009, and I'm planning a reception for 6th, though that is still up in the air and I need to peg down the exact time.

I finished spinning/plying some of the silk I purchased, oh, what? Two months ago? Finally. I had an awful time splicing the silk, and in the end had to settle with knots, which I can cover up later when I'm knitting.

I went to bed in a bad mood last night, and woke up surprisingly cheerful this morning. I couldn't figure out why, and then I got on Yahoo and found the election results (more like, they jumped at me screaming and I couldn't find my celebrity gossip or weird news). I still think that Darth Vader should have won, but really, it can't get much worse than Bush/McCain. If one of the candidates had to win (and I suppose they did) then I'm glad it's Obama.

(In an ironic twist, I've received about 70 flags for the Peace Project, but thus far, while claimed, the American flag has not been among them.

Ooh, shiney!

Mom, Dad and I went to the Good Guys car show in Columbus today. 4,000+ classic cars. Squee! A lot of people think I'm pretty girly, because I like to knit and crochet and make frothy, foamy girly dresses, but I'm also a bit of a tomboy. I love cars, especially Chevys from 1958-73. The Impala is my favorite (1960 model, to be exact), but I don't discriminate (except against Ford).

The Good Guys show is one of the largest in the country, and attracts people from all around. I saw license plates from Texas, Ontario, and...Hawaii? Somehow, I don't think they drove all the way to the show.

The weather was good, but we did get about an hour of storms and afterwards it was pretty muggy, especially in the main area of the show, which was all paved with no trees or anything to provide shade.


While we where there, I was introduced to a few new car models that I'd never seen before, like this 1965 Belair. It was for sale for such an awesome price too. I did my best to talk my dad into buying it for me for Christmas/Graduation/Birthday (for the next three years!) but he didn't bite even though he was drooling over it too. I didn't even know that they made Belairs that late--I was only familiar with the boat-like version form the 50's that my dad drools over.

There was also a 1963 version that I think was even nicer (I'm a sucker for the fins; I like the line) and was for sale/"interesting trade." He didn't bite on that one, either. Shucks.

Sadly, this is the only car I got to take home. It's a '68 Corvette. Mom and I sat behind it while we took our rest break around noon, and I started sketching it. Not bad, considering I've hardly drawn so much as a stick figure in the past year (Who me, an art student? What are you talking about?).

Maybe I am a girly-girl after all. Do you know what I bought? Earings. Pewter earings shaped like tape measures with a thimble, a pair of scissors, and a button hanging from them.

Swag

I like swag bags, especially when they are full of yarn. It is sad when that yarn is 100% wool, since I am allergic to it, but a bag of free yarn and patterns means happiness nonetheless.

I gave the brown and green balls to Alice, because she didn't get a swag bag since she's not a Knitter's Connection member (I got a member so that I could pre-reg. And get the swag). The grey was 100% wool and quite coarse, to I handed it off to some lovely ladies I met and chatted with out in the common area who were not plagued by the allergy to wool that Alice and I share. The pink yarns are either acrylic or merino; I can sometimes use merino if it's really fine, though that large ball of Gems might be a bit of a stretch for me. I think I'll be okay with the sock yarn, though.

The books are pattern books (well, one of them is; the other is a catalog for patterns). There are lots of very pretty pictures that I'll probably use for resources, since I don't actually use patterns.

Sadly, I didn't get to go to any of the classes offered (just plain couldn't afford it, especially after what I bought today, but that's another story). I did get to go to the Ravelry presentation last night. I learned some things about the site that I didn't know, and I also got to breath the same air as Jess, Casey, Mary-Heather, and Cate Bordie (I'm sure there were others, but they were the only ones who got introduced).

The Market Place (the main reason Alice and I attended) was really much smaller than I thought it would be. After going to TNNA last year, I thought we'd get at least one whole room, but we only got about 3/4 of one. What really irriated me though was that 95% of the fiber for sale was all wool! Alice had trouble even going in there because her lanolin allergy is so severe, but there was very little I could afford that wasn't all wool (I was *this close* to walking away with a $45 hank of silk laceweight though). Instead of collecting yarn, we collected business cards so that maybe when we have more money we can look them up and buy some of their products. For the time being however, we will have to stick with lower end yarns.

However, that brings me to part un of my purchases:



A drop spindle and 1.5 oz of natural alpaca fiber. We've both been wanting to learn to spin, and I figured that (what with the wool allergy) this was a good basic fiber to learn on, and with it being natural in color, I could experiment with dying, too. It was a really excellant price--$13 for the spindle, and only $7.50 for the fiber (I'll edit this later and put in the company--I have to find her business card, if I remembered to grab one).

Now, that certainly isn't enough to break the bank. But part deux of my shopping is (at least for me): fabric. Now, the two yards each of satin and tulle aren't a huge deal. Not at all. The entire bolt of 45" muslin (25 yds) was. Don't tell my mom I spent $70 on fabric today, kay?). My credit card was screaming, and I was almost in tears, but I need it for school (I consoled myself by saying I could write it off for my taxes. Hey, it is for my senior thesis show). The muslin will be used for several projects: 1) backing the Peace Project, as well as going in between the individual flags. 2) A series of embroidery projects that I have planned. 3) leftovers will become test subjects for my dye pot. Cool-aide dyed fabric, anyone? 4) If I manage to scrap together enough money for batik supplies, I'll be using it for that, too.

Here, there, everywhere.

I feel like I'm wasting space, because there really hasn't been much going on lately. I picked up the knitting/crocheting again, and have started making slow progress. Nothing has been frogged yet--thankfully. The project that is now a shrug has been torn out so many times that I was afraid I had damaged some of the yarn, but it's knitting up nicely and doesn't seem to be complaining.

I started my new job, working for my favorite discount clothing retailer. I won't specify here, just to ensure job security, but I am enjoying it. The pay isn't too great, but I'm supposed to get a raise after I've been there six months, and then again after a year, and I think I'll be there long enough to get those raises. The people have been really nice and they treat their employees well. There is no yarn involved, but I enjoy looking at what comes out of designers heads--mostly though, I make fun of it in my mind (shh, don't tell!); some of them would be...brave choices for the average person, to say the least, and some of them wouldn't be very flattering on anyone, not even the size zeros that most things seem intended for (for the record, our widest selection comes in sizes 8 and 10, which I think is an average size).

Anyway...For those of you who are in the Columbus Area, Alice and I will be at Knitters Connection on Thursday and Friday, checking out the Ravelry forum and the market--sadly, the classes were just too far out of our price range.

I started listening to a new podcast (well, new to me) called Stash and Burn. They have about fifty episodes up, so I've been listening to them starting with the first on that was on Itunes (12, I think). I needed audio stimulation that was both free and entertaining.

Since I last posted, I was introduced to a website called surfthechannel.com. I've been catching up on my Doctor Who, and last night I introduced it to my mom, who was thrilled to see that they have Emergency! available to view. It's been enjoyable and once I finish with the 2005 series I'm going to go back and watch it from the beginning. I'm a nerd like that, I can't help it.

Well, that's about it in my world. What's going on in yours?