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!

Steampunk Week: Tea for Two

A while back, I did a post all about my favorite teas. Since then we've moved from our little apartment into a nice house, and the tea stash has also expanded. I won't tell you how many varieties of tea are in the tea cupboard now (yes, we have an entire cupboard dedicated just to tea. Oh, and there's some hot chocolate in there, too).

Here are a few favorites from the current stash:

Celestial Seasonings Country Peach Passion I'm usually not a fan of fruit flavored teas, but I make an exception for peach. This is one of my favorites, though it has to battle The Republic of Tea's Ginger Peach. We don't have any of the latter in the house right now, but it's my special treat when we go to Panara Bread.

Of course, we still have the Ahmad, which is our go-to tea around here. The first box ran out long ago, and I was desperately searching online. The manufacturer's website offers it for £17.50, plus international shipping to the US. Whew! No thanks. That is one expensive cuppa! Thankfully, I ventured into a local Middle Eastern/Mediterranean market that we have about a mile or two from the house, and lo and behold, an entire shelf of Ahmad teas, all different varieties, was right by the front door! I think I wound up paying $4.50 for a box of 100 tea bags, which is much more my speed.

The Ahmad English Tea No. 1 is our standard, but I also found a tin of loose leaf Darjeeling, though I haven't tried that one yet. I should. You know, for science.

Shockingly, one of the best black teas I've found came from HomeGoods. I bought it mostly because of the tins, which are adorable, but the tea itself is fantastic--no cream or sugar required. Not bad, considering I paid $3.99 for three little containers!

The brand is "New English Teas," though generally you won't find it on the box. This is an example of some of their packaging. Each tin is a different flavor (we have Breakfast, Afternoon, English, and London varieties--all very similar). Some packages include one or two of the small tins, plus a longer one. The long ones have bagged tea, and I like to keep that in my locker at work, since loose leaf is not very practical on a 15 minute break in a shared kitchen.

It's not tea, but my last, favorite thing in the tea cupboard is actually a can of hot cocoa mix. When the weather was really cold and I was feeling down, I'd mix myself up the following concoction to get myself going in the morning. It tastes just like my mom's signature cake, and it's very comforting on a bad day.

-fill a mug with milk (I like whole milk but whatever you prefer). Heat in the microwave for 2-3 minutes (less, if your microwave is more powerful than our cheap-o one).

-stir in 3 scoops of Archer Farms mint hot chocolate mix (found at Target. 'Cuz I'm high class like that).

-Add 1/2 packet of instant coffee crystals (I use Foldgers, because it's what we have, but there might be other kinds out there. I don't know. I'm more of a tea/chocolate person).

And that's it. That right there is my absolute favorite thing to have in the morning. By using the whole milk, it's a little more filling than using water or skim milk or whatever other percentage, so I'll just have a cup of that with some banana bread or something and that's a decent breakfast.

Maybe another day, I'll share Missouri's recipe for Italian-style hot chocolate. It's a little more work, but oh my god. You haven't lived until you've had the southern European version of hot chocolate. It kicks the instant kind's ass.

Skirting the Issue

Literally.

This is that skirt I promised to show you last week, but wasn't able to photograph.

I used a yard or two of fabric that I've been sitting on for over a year with no idea what to do with it, and a pair of jeans that had worn through in places. Normally, I wear it with a long shirt which covers the fly and pockets it actually fits me better than the dress form, because, as I have to remind myself every time I use it, people are squishy and mannequins are not. This is a very important fact. In order for something to be comfortable on me, it has to be quite snug on
the model.

This week I finally sat down and made the skirt for my Steampunk Symposium costume. I made the center panel last week, but got side tracked before I could finish it. It's done now, except for the last button.

Over the weekend, I'm hoping to get the matching jacket made. I have it all sketched out, but I'm terrified of actually making it. I've made a lot of skirts (clearly) but very few dresses or tops for myself that haven't been altered from something else. I have some extra fabric, but not a lot; I'm just really scared I'm going to completely screw it up since this close to the convention, I probably won't be able to find a replacement costume and one simply does not attend a steampunk convention in jeans and a tee shirt.

Gee, looking at these skirts now, you really can't tell what the dominant colors in my wardrobe are, can you?

Fashion Inspiration: Steampunk

At the end of April, I will once again be venturing off to Cincinnati for Steampunk Symposium. Last year we had a wonderful time--dancing, watching panels, meeting people, and this year promises more of the same on a grander scale. This year, Missouri and I will be hosing a panel on conserving and mimicking history. Since I can't go to a convention without at least one costume, I've been gathering images to create my own Victorian walking dress.

Walking Dresses were worn to see and be seen. They are often referred to as Promenade Dresses, a very literal definition of their purpose....Walking Dresses differ for each location and season of the year. Because they were meant to be worn outdoors, the full costume of the Walking Dress always included a head covering of some kind, an outer garment or wrap, and gloves. Bonnets, caps, and veils were worn to cover the head, and were often the means of the most dashing or frivolous fashion statement.

(From http://www.janeausten.co.uk/walking-dresses. The era might be a little early for my purposes, but the definition is about the same.)

For my walking dress, I've chosen to go with a late Victorian, almost Edwardian silhouette, for a few reasons--First, conventions are crowded and the last thing I want is a six foot hoop skirt clogging up the hallways. Second, I likely won't get a chance to wear the dress before the convention, so a large bustle or anything that makes it difficult to wear is out of the question. Simplicity is the key here, since I've never really made a true historical garment before. Also, I know me and if I've got layers of big fluffy skirts, I'll probably tear them on something. And lastly, I simply prefer the look of that period to earlier Victorian garments.

Here you can see the difference in the cuts. On the left is an image from 1880, and on the right two dresses from the 1870s.

Of course, that's not to say that I don't love 1870s fashion. I love how elaborate the skirts and bustles are, I'm just not feeling ambitious enough to attempt them.

Here are a couple of modern interpretations I'm using for inspiration:

(Yeah, I know, 1870s. But look at that skirt! And also, the jacket. I'm using a similar fabric and need a jacket, which is where I'm getting stuck.)

I adore the back of this dress. It might be a little more fanciful than what I'm after, but I definately want to use it as a jumping off point:

Speaking of jumping off points, I think is the direction I want to go in for the jacket:

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.

The pre-convention conversation in our apartment

Me: I have a conundrum. I don't know what knitting to take.

Missouri: Oh?

Me: See, I can't take the [super-secret project I can't mention yet] because I have to be able to write the chart and the directions as I'm doing it, and I can't do that if I'm sitting through a panel.

Missouri: Okay...

Me: So I thought I'd start something new, but I don't want to work from a pattern, because again, that's something that will distract me from the panels. So I thought I could do socks, but I prefer doing those two at a time on one circular needle, which isn't really historically accurate for a Steampunk convention, and if I do DPNs, then I'm risking dropped stitches. But if I take a larger project on straight needles, then I might poke the person next to me with them by mistake.

Missouri: I am not answering this. It is not my problem.

Me: And I was thinking about doing something in entrelac, because I love the technique, but everything I want to make is done in the round, and that requires cutting the yarn after every tier, which is just too fiddly for knitting in public, and--

Missouri: Oh, for the love of--*walks away, rolling eyes*

Me: *follows* And then there's the problem of wood needles versus metal--

Missouri: *slams door*


Welcome to Chez Knotmagick. That was an actual conversation.

And to distract you while I am away: http://www.knitprincess.com/