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 Symposium Part I: Con Report!

You've all been waiting for this one, haven't you? That's right, it's time for the con report!

This was my second year attending Steampunk Symposium. Last year was the first year of the con. I have to say, while the hotel was nicer this year, I actually liked it less. The staff were very rude, the service was horrible, and the physical layout of the hotel wasn't as amenable to just hanging out and meeting people as the previous location. Each panel, section, etc, was very segregated from the other parts of the convention. It was also a lot more expensive than last year--almost double the price per room (granted, the rooms were a lot nicer looking and more comfortable, but the other problems kind of negated it.

All that aside, however, we did have a great time. 

Friday kicked off the panels. The first one we attended was on corset making. It was absolutely fascinating, but I'm not quite ambitious enough to give it a go just yet. Missouri is contemplating it, however. We'll see what she comes up with. 

Following that, we hosted our own panel on Maintaining History. There was talk of costumes and typewriters, old books and leather. Not many people showed up, but the ones that did asked some good questions and I think that they enjoyed it. 

Speaking of typewriters, I did spot one while we were there: 

This Underwood was being used as a prop at one of the booths. It's in great condition (despite my poor photography). I wanted to play with it a little, but no one was manning the booth and  didn't want to be poking at things that didn't belong to be, so I walked away reluctantly. The next time we went by the booth it was gone.

I also spotted this phonograph machine by the check in; I thought it was quite cool, especially since it still had the cylinders.


We only did one other panel that night, since we were both tired: Con Sociology, the Zen of Flirting. At lot of the things in that panel could be used for general networking, but it was a lot of fun and the host was hilarious.

There were, of course, parties aplenty on both Friday and Saturday nights, but neither Missouri nor I are much for large parties. For starters, neither of us drinks or enjoys being around people who are drinking, so we spent our evenings relaxing in our room and making tweaks to our costumes.

On Saturday, we did some shopping in the morning. I think that there were more vendors this year than last, but there was a lot less variety in their wares. A few stands outs included hand-blended teas, a purveyor of vintage kimono, and leather top hats. There were a lot of people selling corsets and costumes of various sorts, but most were quite expensive (not overpriced, mind, but most people don't got to a convention with $150, $200+ dollars to spend in the dealers room). There was less jewelry and accessories than last year, but a lot more author tables, which I whole-heartedly support. I heard a rumor that a publisher had a booth in the dealer's room, but we searched it thoroughly and couldn't find it.

For me, the highlight of the entire weekend came on Saturday afternoon, when we took a stage fighting class. Fencing, to be specific. Most of the class was using rapiers, but they ran out when they got to me so I got to play with a cane sword. Here I am (or at least my back) practicing part of the routine they were teaching use. 

Did I mention? The class was taught by this guy, who arranged the fight scenes in the Highlander TV series and Hook, which was one of my favorite movies as a kid. So cool! So much fun! I really want to take fencing lessons now!

We finished off Saturday with more costuming panels on bustles and corset fitting, and one on Victorian mysticism and occult beliefs, and hilarious panel on Victorian Erotica. I don't think I stopped laughing for the entire hour. Sunday wound things down with Goths in Steampunk, and LGBTQ in Steampunk.

The panels were all great, but I wish they were longer. All of the panels this year were one hour, and most would have been better served to be 2-3 hour workshops.

This is going rather long so check back on Friday for all the details on the costumes, the books, and what I was making while I was there!

Finishing Friday

It's getting to be crunch time. Seven days from now, I'll be in Cincinnati for Steampunk Symposium.

Wednesday I spent all day sewing, attempting to get our costumes finished. Missouri has a lovely skirt, and the bulk for my Victorian walking dress is done, it's just waiting on buttons and trim--which my end up hand sewn on Friday night in the hotel room. (Is it scary or just sad that I'm contemplating bringing my sewing  machine to a convention?)

This year, I will remember my camera. And the charger. And a spare battery. And the cord. No repeats of last year, when I got to take one picture and then my battery died on me. I want pictures, dammit!

I'll have more details on the costumes once we get back. I also finished a knitting project, but I can't show it off just yet because it's for CENSORED. I'm a sketch and a photo shoot away from a finished book proposal. If I'm very, very lucky I'll be able to send it off before we got to Symposium, but with everything on my plate right now I kind of doubt it.

Lastly: I declare the week of April 28 to be Steampunk Week. that's when you'll get the rundown on the costumes, the con, and probably some tea, so stick around!

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/

Cameo Apearances

I just went to see The King's Speech, and there were several familiar faces: Colin Firth, Helena Bonham Carter,Geoffry Rush and Michael Gambon to name a few, as well as this one:

I highly recommend the movie (because really, you can't go wrong if it involves Colin Firth, who delivers an extremely moving performance), and when you do see it, pay close attention to the scenes in Lionel, the speech therapist's office, especially the initial ones--You'll see an Oliver #9 sitting front and center, and it does get used later in the film. It's a lovely machine and I can't wait until my own Oliver is up and running.

I know I promised weeks ago to post another photo, and here it is: Me at Ohayocon with my feather and fan shawl. My first actual lace project! It's very lovely in person. Just ignore the model. And the bad photography.

The blog has fallen by the wayside lately; According to my Chinese Horoscope this is supposed to be a great year with only one unfavorable month, but I think the unfavorable one must be February because nothing is going even remotely according to plan, and I haven't much wanted to broadcast my bad mood about it to the rest of the world. So I shall leave you with your moment of feline cute:




He's playing innocent because he knows he's in trouble. He managed to get into a package of kitty treats and eat 3/4 of them before we caught him, and then got his paws on a bag of dog treats and did the same. We keep finding tiny steak treats all over the house.

Okay, so I lied about the knitting content.

It works!! So now I'll just stick the typewriter posts in as scans, and you can skip down to the knitting bits if you so desire. Just click on the images to make them bigger/readable.





Since the ribbons got here about two weeks (!!) before I was expecting them, I don't have a lot to say on the knitting front. There just hasn't been time for much because of the holidays (probably could have finished that sweater front last night if I'd had my knitting at the hospital. Darn). So, even though it's typewriter related and not knitting, here's a kitty fix for you. Hermes love the cover almost as much as I love the typewriter. Now that Henry is working, Hermes decided to get to know him a little better:

Cat v. Mouse

I had no idea Hermes could dedicate this much attention to anything but sleep. He spent over three hours last night staring at the underside of our fridge because I suspect a mouse was hiding under it. He stared at it so long, in fact, that he forgot to wake me up at 2:30 the way he normally does and I got to sleep until 5:30 (is it wrong for me to hope he doesn't catch the mouse in the near future?). This morning, I didn't even see him until mid-afternoon because he was so busy staring at the underside of the stove. He was like a bookend, he held so still.


---
Do you know what this is?

If you guessed the start of my Christmas list, then you're spot on. You see here half a dozen dish clothes waiting for their accompanying hand towels. I have the towels and the sewing on them is mostly done, I just need to make the crocheted hangers.

I finished the second pocket lining for the London Calling sweater. It is cooling off for a few days while I get caught up on the other projects that went to pot during my hell unit, namely on the aforementioned gifts and also on a pair of socks that I started just because I had the urge to knit socks. I've got the heel turned on the first one, just finishing up the gusset shaping. This is the first pair of top-down socks I've ever made, and they're turning out rather well. I always forget how long it takes to knit socks until I actually sit down to knit them. It's taken me seven disks of Gundam Wing to get where I am now, though I think I might have been working on other things through about half of that. And then of course there's disc 5, which has 3 episodes of nothing but rehashing the last four disks, so I normally skip that one.

Speaking of anime, it has been decided that the CFM crew will be at Ohayocon in Columbus at the end of January. We might even be running a panel--we'll see. Anyone else going to be there?

My Life is Complete

Today started out kind of shitty. I woke up earlier than expected, so not only was I tired, but I had several hours with nothing to do, because I had to be quiet so as not to wake up my housemates. Then, Alice's parents were coming into town, so we ended up getting delayed about three hours while we waited for them to show up. When we finally left, we drove thirty five minutes to the wrong hotel. Wasted more time looking up the right location on Alice's Ipod touch, drove across town, through a huge detour and traffic because it was OSU game day, and then to a hotel that was under renovations and looked like crap. By this time, I was getting a headache from lack of food.

We found seats in the guest lounge. And then suddenly, things started looking up.

Context is not a large sci-fi connection. But boy do they know how to take care of the attendees.

I've been to several conventions, most notably, Ohayocon. They treat you like crap there, at least the last time I went they did.

At Context, however, there was free food. That in and of itself was fantastic--I'm like most men in that the way to my heart is through my stomach. Give me free food and I'll love you forever.

Give me a job opportunity and great networking, and I'm at your feet. Alice and I were both asked to submit portfolios and writing samples to a sci-fi magazine by one of the people in charge of the writing submissions--what's more, it actually pays!

So we're in a pretty good mood by this point, right? Enjoying ourselves. In addition to the finger foods, they brought out things like popcorn, candy, and some sandwiches. My blood sugar went back to where it's supposed to be.

And then, I looked up. And I saw blond hair and a "Special Guest" name tag.

Tanya Huff.

If you don't read Sci-fi or fantasy, you can just walk away now. If you do, and you haven't read her books, go to the library right now and look her up. I highly recommend the Blood Books. For everyone else, you can join me in a massive squee:

SQUEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!



If ever you were afraid that one of your favorite authors would be mean and nasty if you met them in person, fear not. Tanya is awesome! She was very tolerant of my shy hovering and obsessive gushing, and loved my Coreen costume (she even said that my boots were better than the ones that Gina Holden wore in the series!!!). She signed my book and one of Alice's, and ended up spending about half an hour in the lounge talking to us. She's great. The only thing that could possibly have made it better would be if Kyle, Dylan, and Christina were there, or Mercedes Lackey, who is a friend of Tanya's (!!). Of course, then, I might have just exploded and then they'd have been covered in goo, and that's not a great first impression.