I have a puckish side that will not be denied

pop quiz, hotshot

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 04:38:10 GMT

View Poll: costumer poll (monkey optional)

I think you know which one I picked.

historicalish fabrics!

Tue, 09 Jun 2009 05:44:37 GMT

So of course, while I was in Boston, I had to go to Sewfisticated. *happy sigh* Man, I miss that store. Thanks to a tip from sarahlizzi, I knew they had some historical-type printed cotton lengths for $2/yard, so I figured if anything caught my eye, I should pick it up! Here's what I got:

All three are from Windham fabrics. Clockwise from top left, that's an India Chintz 1730-1800 (pattern 27849) (isn't it amazing and hideous all at once?), Wm. Penn's Vision, c. 1820 (pattern 25500), and Colonies Archives c. 1850 (pattern 26643).

The chintz and the dark red fabric are around 10 yards each; the black with the stripes is only a little more than two, but I loved it so much that I had to buy it anyway. I don't have the faintest idea what I'm going to do with any of it, but I couldn't pass it up. Uh...anyone have any suggestions?

don't stop believin'

Fri, 05 Jun 2009 03:56:25 GMT

OMG. YOU GUYS. I was waiting for the SYTYCD Vegas results show to come on, so I watched:

GLEE.

AND YOU GUYS. THIS SHOW. IT IS AMAZING.

WHY DID WE NEVER HAVE A ~~SHOW CHOIR~~ GLEE CLUB IN MY HIGH SCHOOL YOU GUYS. All the fun of musical theater and none of the bother of the acting scenes!

ALSO. The "Rehab" blue polka-dot dresses. I MUST HAVE ONE. Witness the awesomosity that is a show choir version of Amy Winehouse's "Rehab":

(Apparently there are a bunch of SYTYCD alums and auditionees in that number too, so, awesome! I wonder if Lauren got costume flashbacks to the Hairspray group dance?)

*cannot stop gleeing*

fabric finding help?

Sun, 31 May 2009 21:58:39 GMT

Hey, my costuming peeps. I'm helping a friend of mine make an Evil Queen from Snow White costume, and I'm having a hell of a time finding suitable fabric for the main dress. Being as it's an animated costume, there's no one right choice, and even the "official" Disney meetable character versions have many, many variations.

I bought some plain poly satin with a low sheen as an if-all-else-fails backup, but I'd really like to find something...fancier, for lack of a better word. Large expanses of plain fabric are not my favorite thing in the world. Ideas I had (but haven't actually been able to find in a suitably dark purple):
- jacquard/brocade in a non-obviously-floral pattern
- matelasse, ditto
- crushed velvet (actual crushed velvet, not panne)
- regular velvet

Here's a bunch of reference pictures of different Disney park versions, for comparison (click on any pic to make it bigger):

I like this circular/square pattern:
.

A diamond-patterned brocade:
.

Sparkle velvet (?), aka the Fantasmic version:

Non-sparkle velvet:
..

Plain satin (much more like the fabric I have, and my least favorite):

Does anyone have any ideas or suggestions, or online sources I might try? I came up empty on FFC/Denver Fabrics, fabric.com, and syfabrics. I'm not picky on fiber content. I would be most grateful for any assistance!

geek life

Sun, 17 May 2009 16:38:24 GMT

Rogue, contemplating whether to put our new Burger King Star Trek glasses in the dishwasher:
"I do not want the Emperor's prize damaged. We will test it...on Captain Nero."

what.

Fri, 15 May 2009 07:32:10 GMT

Um, I just turned on the TV, and the Tonight Show was on, and Tabatha from Shear Genius and Apolo Ohno were in a contest to see who could blow out a bunch of birthday cake candles faster. Tabs had a hairdryer; Apolo was just using his manly lungs.

I don't even know how to respond to that.

Bad Horse, he's bad!

Mon, 11 May 2009 05:49:02 GMT

Hey, so remember when sirrogue and sirgarrett and another friend delivered a Bad Horse letter to Alan Tudyk last Dragon*Con? Searching YouTube today, I discovered that someone captured the last few seconds of it on video! It's only a little snippet, but you can clearly tell it's Alan:

Yay!

Outcast at last!

Wed, 06 May 2009 07:37:50 GMT

YAAAAAAAY, Aaron is on the mend! To celebrate, I'm finally posting my Outcast review. I'd been holding off because-- I dunno, it just felt weird and not-right to be doing it while he was still in the hospital. So here it is now.

OMG I FREAKING LOVED THIS BOOK YOU GUYS.

In the first place, Jaina is awesome, hilarious, and kickass, which would be enough on its own. But because it's Aaron, we got an avalanche of other awesomeness too. Even the plotlines I wasn't terribly interested in at first ended up completely sucking me in. Ben and Luke were in some sort of amazing buddy cop movie and I would gladly read an entire book just about their wacky adventures. (For you Avatar fans, I keep hearing Aang whenever I read Ben. Not sure what that's about, especially since Ben's a bit older now, but there it is.)

Random notes I made as I read:

- Page 9 and we're already at the sexytimes! First an OT3, and now this? Aaron, I think I love you...

- The crack about Jedi not worrying much about amputation was hilarious, but then I loved how it turned into a serious point a little bit later. Because, well, *yeah.* See, I can get behind a sensible, well-reasoned argument about why the Jedi shouldn't necessarily be given carte blanche for whatever they think is best. As opposed to, say, a crazyperson screed about the evils of the Jedi (pause for a pointed look at Karen Traviss).

- Loved Lando's wardrobe-- first a sparkly black cloak, then logo PJs. It's the little things that make me happy. XD

- Jag = best not!Emperor ever: "I let my advisers and advocates do [all the boring crap], and at the end of the day I veto every decision they've made. Thus is the balance between ruler and bureaucrat maintained." Also, "I really am redundant and stuffy, aren't I?" "Yes, but you're pretty." So true! Jag is such a tough character to get a handle on-- when he was initially introduced, his background basically ensured that he had zero personality. Getting ping-ponged around a bunch of different authors in NJO didn't help, because they each had their own take on him and those didn't always overlap. Then there was the Dark Nest mess which I still refuse to read, and then LOTF almost rebooted him, in a way. Anyway, I really liked him in Outcast, and I really hope this characterization sticks throughout FOTJ.

- Tahiri! Tahiri being normal(ish) and mature and THANK YOU for bringing up how messed-up the whole becoming-a-Sith-cause-she-was-still-hung-up-on-her-dead-teenage-boyfriend thing was. Girlfriend is stronger than that.

- The convo between Jaina and Kenth Hamner on p105-106 is *golden* in its absurdity. I could completely picture the whole thing playing out onscreen. Well done Jaina: "Jaina sensed that somewhere beneath his Jedi calm, he was resisting the urge to throttle her."

- "You could always resign from the Order, come away with me to the Empire, and set up that rival Jedi school." DOOOOOOO IIIIIIIIT JAINA. YAY for Legacy!!! (Take Tahiri with you!) I really love Jaina and Jag interacting. It's fun and banter-y without being a carbon copy of, say, Han and Leia.

- That said, the "Where's my blaster"/"Under your pillow" exchange from both couples was GENIUS.

- "I'm not getting my presents?" LOLOLOLOL because that is *exactly* how I would react.

- Yay, crotchety retirees! (If you'll forgive me another Avatar reference: "Welcome to Old People Camp.") I know we can always expect to see some Rogues or Wraiths when Aaron's writing, but in addition to Wedge and Hobbie, it was lovely to see Nawara and Inyri and Rhysati and CHERISS! Yay Cheriss! Also, Inyri's "Homegirl" callsign-- I know what he meant, but LOL!

- Also, HELL TO THE YES for Jaina's Darkmeld team-- a bunch of kickass ladies, including Winter and Mirax (recognize!) with the lone guy as the funds behind the operation. "Here's to crazy women, and the pilots who pursue them." Damn straight!

- Ahahaha, Jag blowing a kiss specifically to be un-Jag-like! And his constantly correcting "Imperial Remnant" to "Galactic Empire." And "That's strange. Your boyfriend's strange." GLEE.

- "This isn't the armed forces, it's more like a heavily armed bachelor party." This line fills me with joy.

- The purpose of Jedi is to serve as models for attractive lines of boots! Shout-out to dm_lunsford!

- Oh. my. god. Ben and the helium Ewok singing. When I realized what he was doing, I almost fell over.

Now. Fingers crossed for Christie Golden.

he's got his own theme music

Tue, 05 May 2009 06:47:15 GMT

House:

- I sure hope House brushed his teeth. (Okay okay, internally I was shrieking like the fangirl I am. But I mean Fox already spoiled the hell out of it, and that really was my first thought when I finally saw the episode.)

- Can we keep Head!Amber somehow? She is *awesome.*

- Dude, *what* is up with Cameron. That was just...really really weird. Run, Chase, run!!!

Castle:

- Beckett is a closet Castle fangirl! AAAAAAHHHH!

- Square-jawed FBI dude was boring. as. heck. Sucked all the energy out of his scenes.

- Star Wars references throughout! ILU writers!

- I LOVE THIS SHOW OMG. Please please pretty please pick it up, ABC?

And because we finally have the fancy new TiVo that lets you record two shows at once, we were able to tape HIMYM and BBT! We are super behind on HIMYM though. Blarg!

perhaps they'll call it MCIS

Sat, 02 May 2009 02:29:14 GMT

Okay so YOU GUYS. Earlier this week, I read this article/photo gallery from EW about this week's NCIS episode, which they're setting up to spin off a new series...

...which will star LL COOL J and CHRIS O'DONNELL. You heard me.

So of course I had to watch it. And OMG, they *have* to pick this show up, you guys. They *have* to. Because it is golden. (I really can't imagine that they won't, since NCIS gets ridiculous ratings, and CBS looooves their procedurals. Hey, as long as they keep renewing HIMYM and BBT*, I'm happy.)

ANYWAY. Reasons why this show is awesome and must therefore be properly spun off:

1. Chris O'Donnell totally stole the "Reinventing Yourself as a Badass Crazyperson for Early 90s Heartthrobs" handbook from Brian Austin Green, and I am 100% on board with that. See? His character is supposed to be this ~amazing~ undercover guy who can become anyone, and who is so ~mysterious~ that he doesn't even know his own first name. YES. Hilarity potential = incalculable.

2. LL Cool J spends the entire show with this SUPER-INTENSE look on his face, even when all he was doing was manipulating their secret-agent version of the CNN Magic Wall, which of course is filled with video footage of bad guys instead of electoral maps. Picture, if you will, LL Cool J making his intense face while engaged in the SRS BSNS of...stabbing the screen with his fingers and *swooshing* videos from one monitor to another. Again, YES.

And there was some other stuff too, but I wasn't paying all that much attention. DEAR CBS, PLEASE PICK THIS SHOW UP. It will be EPIC.

* Yeah, I finally started watching BBT. It's annakovsky's fault; I dare you to read The Failure of Einstein's Universe and not fall in love with a) the show, and b) the pairing. I am but one of many who have now seen the light.

it's that time again

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 15:53:18 GMT

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to cyndisuesue! We love you Cyndi!

and gordon gordon would totally read it too

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 04:21:27 GMT

Fic rec time! (No babies this time, I promise.)

Today we have Bones, with Supernatural along for the ride (I don't watch it, but fandom_wank has taught me enough that I can follow along). So here are three loosely-related fics that cracked me the hell up:

omg otp!!1! by with_a_kay
Sweets is the best BNF ever. Because you know Sweets isn't just writing a scholarly book on B/B.

But What Are Your Thoughts on Yaoi by with_a_kay
"No. Having a therapist on our double date with gay brothers would not make it better." SPN crossover, and Wincest, obv, but it's ridiculously hilarious.

Mutual Fangirling by with_a_kay
This one makes a lot more sense if you read f_w. Delicious, delicious meta response to the whole SPN PTB poking their fanbase with sharp sticks thing, and a sequel to omg otp!!1! Made me burst out laughing repeatedly.

Pinky stumps the Brain!

Fri, 17 Apr 2009 05:40:54 GMT

OH MY GRACIOUS, we are finally caught up on Bones and we watched the last two episodes in real time (more or less) and I am still just STAGGERED by how much I love this show and everyone in it. It makes me want to jump up and down and hug someone and make squeaky noises.

GORDON GORDON!!! COME BACK FOR PERMANENT GORDON GORDON!!! (House gets Hugh Laurie, so it's only fair that Bones gets Stephen Fry, amirite?) "One of them struggles daily and the other is patient," oh my GOSH. Dear Booth and Bones, *everyone you work with* is shipping you like there is no tomorrow. And just the EVERYTHING. *makes incoherent squeaky noises* ("Okay, Monica, only dogs can hear you now.")

What I really really need is an animated icon from that one ep where they go to pottery class with Sweets and his gf, and Booth is like, "Look at my horse! Tuk-tuk, tuk-tuk, tuk-tuk" and he makes the little clay horse gallop. Rogue swears he's seen one but the Internets are not yielding to my demands. The skating icon is awesome though too, obvs. (I love that this season's episodes are all, The One Where They Go Skating! The One Where They're Stuck on a Plane! The One Where They Join the Circus! The One Where They Go to a Con!)

okay, some of them are going home.

Tue, 14 Apr 2009 15:16:29 GMT

Like any girl raised in Maryland and educated in Boston, I hate the Yankees. But I think I might love this kid: Yanks use Swisher to save bullpen.

There were light moments late in the Yankees' 15-5 drubbing at the hands of the Rays on Monday, as Swisher volunteered to pitch the eighth inning to save New York's bullpen. He got the job done, hurling a scoreless frame with a strikeout.

"When I took the mound, I wanted to try to compete, even though I'm pumping 78 [mph] or whatever it was," Swisher said. "I felt that I wanted to go out there and get three outs. I had fun with it. I mean, when am I ever going to have the chance to do that again? Probably never."

I don't know what it is, but I get *so* irrationally excited when a team has to go to a non-pitcher because they can't or don't want to use their bullpen. I get even more excited when the player does really well. I mean, I know that plenty of position players pitched in high school and even in college, but it's gotta take some serious guts to get up there in front of however many thousands of fans (and the TV audience!), not to mention the scary giant hitters on the opposite team.

(Also, WTF the Padres are leading their division? Let's enjoy that while it lasts...)

pins, abigail

Sat, 11 Apr 2009 08:17:45 GMT

I sewed tonight! Crazy talk, I know, but it's true! SDCC is LESS THAN FOUR MONTHS AWAY OH GOD and there is waaaaay too much to get done. And I'm out of black thread. How is that possible? I'm forever buying white and black thread when it's on sale. Maybe it's like my seam rippers, and socks in a dryer-- they just disappear through a rip in space/time and you never see them again.

Mon, 06 Apr 2009 07:35:25 GMT

Long, fabulous weekend-- too long to post about now. But! We were able to briefly visit with Dan and Wee Cordelia (and Dan's mom and Wayne) this evening, and we took a few pictures.

Baby burrito, asleep on the couch.

This is basically what I did for the whole visit. BABY SO CUTE.

Coco wishes the humans would pay attention to him, and not the mysterious noisemaking bundle.

Daddy Dan. Awwwwwww.

I'm Brigitta, she's Louisa, and you're smart

Sun, 05 Apr 2009 06:23:46 GMT

I am in love with this video, you guys-- a flash mob dancing to "Do Re Mi" in a train station in Antwerp. It just keeps getting bigger and bigger as more people join in, and the end (from about 3:23 on) is particularly awesome. I *loves* me a good production number. The awesomeness is diminished somewhat because it's a corporate-sponsored promotion, not a genuine flash mob/improv everywhere thing, but the sheer scale of it remains pretty impressive.

welcome, wee Cordelia! have some fic.

Fri, 03 Apr 2009 05:24:45 GMT

Baby Donut is finally here, and I am going to celebrate! How, you ask? Why, with a metric ton of babyfic recs, of course. How else?

Follow me to a wave o' babyfic!

It's something of an open secret that I have a odd fondness for babyfic. I read every bit of it I can get my hands on, no matter how terrible the story. (And oh, there have been some truly terrible ones.) For this joyous occasion, however, I shall endeavor to rec only the mostly decent stuff. :)

Stargate: Atlantis

we were never good soldiers (or very good fighters) by minervacat
She went off-world with them every trip until the day her contractions started in the gate room and they scrubbed the mission, but before they did, John said, "Teyla, we can go if you want." Ronon/Teyla.

Nanny by slybrarian
The children of the rich or powerful had always been targets, even in child-loving Pegasus, and the Lanteans were both rich and powerful beyond imagination. This is hilarious and perfect. No pairings specified.

Object Permanence and Strategic Planning by mylittleredgirl
The kid is Ford and Teyla's, but the focus is John and Elizabeth. Too cute for words.

Battlestar Galactica

The Greater Good and Imperative (links to part 7, check the post for links to earlier parts) by wisteria_
Parenthood at the end of the world. Lots and lots of pairings.

Places to Stand by stars_like_dust
"He knew the exact day Kara gave up on being rescued, because she cornered him in the Raptor, pushed him up against the wall and kissed him." Kara/Lee.

Kara Thrace's Very Special Baby Shower by leiascully
"Gods, marry your own husbands and auction them off," Kara said. "This one's mine. I dragged him off Caprica fair and square." AU, fluff, crack!fic, whatever you want to call it, it's very silly and cute. Kara/Anders and various other pairings.

X-Files
Shelba used to have a page with a huge list of MSR babyfics. But it was a Hometown AOL page, so it's gone now, and I am KICKING MYSELF for not saving every last one of them. But here are a few, including some oooooold-school stuff.

Guardian and Renewal, by Amy Vincent (you'll have to copy and paste the links, because it's Gossamer)
Fics so old, I originally read them on a Star Wars fic archive (the precursor to Fanfix)

The Emilys series, by Rocketman
More kidfic than babyfic, but I figure it counts.

Four Ways William Scully Got Picked Up From Daycare, by emily_shore
I like to pretend this is how XF really ended, and that I didn't spend the entire finale screaming "What about William!?" at the TV.

By Falling In and In, by aloysiavirgata
Things go AU after DeadAlive, and Scully must answer the following question: "So what do you want to do? Do you want to live separately? Do you want a place together? A creampuff wedding gown and a Barbie Dream House in Reston?" Note that this is just part 1 of 5; check her tags for the other four parts.

30 Rock

Almost Like Back to the Future, In a Way by jennyo
"Good god, Lemon, I die and you let our children keep using the names Teeny and Lemon?" Jack asked. "They're Donaghys, not circus people." Okay, I don't know if this is technically babyfic, but I don't care. It's completely cracky and utterly hilarious. Jack/Liz.

Bones

Anthropologically Predictable, by sheafrotherdon
I read this before I even watched the show, it's that cute. Booth/Brennan.

The Office

Take Your Son To Work Day by juteux
Dwight Kurt Schrute IV was born at home on the beet farm. He is the most perfect creation Dwight has ever laid eyes on. Okay, again, I don't actually watch The Office, but this is awesome. Dwight/Angela.

Doctor Who

Notes on the Domestication of Birds by nostalgia
He doesn't do domestic. This is so good. SO GOOD. Ten/Rose.

House
These are all House/Cuddy. (I might be a liiiittle bit overly addicted to House babyfic. I blame the writers and the end of S2.)

Everything Nice by exhumedpotato
"Well, fine," Wilson sighed. "She looks smart. She looks... evil. That more to your liking?"

I Don't Have to Like Him by sam_storyteller
"Christ, is that why we're here? I thought we were buying a car!"

Rockabye, by pwcorgigirl (Link is to Part 1, make sure to click on Part 2 at the bottom.)
"It's a little conspiracy called parenting." I love this fic so much, I can't even talk coherently about it. It would never happen on the show, because no one gets a happy ending on House, but it's still in-character. It's just-- gah, you see? Incoherence.
For a waaaaaaaay less-functional take by the same author, check out Catalyst and More Than Blood.

Alias

Boston: Running to Stand Still and Brownsville: Slips Away, by auburnnothenna.
These are parts 3 and 4 of the Cities arc, so it'll help to read Belfast and Byzantium first. Sark/Sydney.

Aaaaand I think that'll do it for now. If you have any recs, feel free to leave them in the comments! I love reading new fic. :)

Donut is here!

Thu, 02 Apr 2009 22:06:45 GMT

Announcing the long-awaited arrival of blusurfer and Dan's baby girl, born this morning...

(drumroll please)

...Miss Cordelia Elizabeth! 7 lbs 4oz, 19.5 in.

All three are doing great, but tired.

HOORAY!

"don't laugh at me, David!"

Thu, 02 Apr 2009 03:25:30 GMT

Soooo, as some of you know, my friend miana_dude is a film student. Back in February, she needed a couple actors for one of her class assignments, so sirrogue and I helped her out. I would describe myself as a marginally competent theater actress, but this was my first experience with film, and it was kind of weird, you know? Very very very different from theater. Anyhow, Rachel cut together a blooper reel from the film, and it made me giggle, so I thought I'd share with y'all:

I'm only sorry that the camera wasn't rolling when Rogue completely lost it during a dead-serious take. That was some good stuff. :)

2008 Sewing Projects!

Thu, 05 Mar 2009 08:27:05 GMT

OMFG FINALLY. It's March, and I'm just now posting my 2008 completed projects. Yeesh!

I had a pretty good year-- 11 costumes or other pieces of clothing, all told! For me, that's a lot. XD And now, time to get cracking for this year-- just as soon as I get back from New Zealand!

	T'Posh (of the Space Girls) Made for the Costume-Con 26 SF&F Masquerade. SO MUCH FUN!!!! Webpage is here. Skit video is here.
	Striped dress and tan jacket for Patternmaking II final project No pictures of the tan jacket-- I need to redo some of it, and it needs buttons! My dress won third place in its category at our school fashion show! XD
	Polka-dot PJs We had to make a T-shirt pattern in Pattern II, so I made shorts to go along with it so I could have cute matching summery PJs.
	Hairspray dancer Made for the SDCC Masquerade. Webpage is here. Skit video is here.
	Londo Mollari Made for the SDCC Masquerade. Webpage is here. Skit video is here.
	Tristan, from Stardust Made for DragonCon. Webpage is here. Una dress (screenworn!!!) on loan from the lovely wendyhouse*.
	ROBIN SPARKLES!!! from How I Met Your Mother Made for Dragon*Con. God, I love this costume. Webpage is here.
	Zuko, Katara, and Toph, from Avatar Made for Halloween. Webpage is here.

quick, somebody call Lucky and Elizabeth...

Sat, 28 Feb 2009 07:59:11 GMT

...I think Mr. Murty is stalking me. He was in my NCIS rerun at the gym today and he just showed up in the Bones episode we're watching (middle of season 3! woohoo!). I will be non-shocked if he turns out to the the murderer in this one. :P Oh, late 1990s General Hospital, I miss you.

(PS, Brennan in the Wonder Woman costume? ASDLKFJS AWESOME.)

Dan and Debby's Excellently Geeky Baby Shower Adventure

Tue, 24 Feb 2009 08:54:23 GMT

(that's right! I'm busting out the old-school Charlie and Claire icon for this post!)

Soooo, as previously mentioned, Tree and I co-hosted Dan and Debby's baby shower on Sunday at her house. We promised them that it would just be a regular party, except with presents and cake-- no games involving diaper pins or toilet paper or anything scary like that. This ensured that 1) our circle of friends would come, even the single gamer boys, and relatedly, that 2) Debby and Dan would actually attend their own shower. :D

I had promised cake, so I had to live up to my end of the bargain. I ended up going maybe a liiiiittle bit crazy, because I apparently felt the need to make a cake, cupcakes, and cake pops. I'm sure you are all shocked, shocked! to hear that I was still up at 2 am on Sunday, sticking chocolate ladybugs onto cake pops. No? Yeah, me neither.

ANYWAY! I'm not gonna be working at Charm City Cakes anytime soon, but I am pretty damn excited about how these came out:

D&D (ha) announced the news to the gaming group by passing around a character sheet that looked something like this. It took awhile for the guys to figure it out, but they eventually caught on. So this is my tribute to that. :) (On the name thing-- D&D neglected to provide us with a baby nickname, so the guys came up with one. Reasoning: baby girl = pink, pink = lightish red, lightish red = Donut.)

Also, cupcakes!

And... (please pardon terrible picture, did I mention it was 2 am?)

I needed a drying rack for my cake pops, but of course I had thrown out all the random Styrofoam that we had around the house. So I used the only Styrofoam I could find:

I put ladybugs on the cake pops because the nursery set that D&D bought has ladybugs on it-- it's super cute. Of course someone at the party thought they looked like eyeballs, and that's what everyone ended up calling them. Grrrr. >:( I wasn't super scientific about my cake-to-frosting ratio when I mixed these up, so they ended up kind of squishy and lumpy-looking, and their tops got all flat when I put them in the freezer to firm up. But that actually made it easier to stick the ladybugs on, and hey, they tasted good!

I made the ladybugs by dropping red candy melts onto wax paper and then freezing them briefly, then drawing on the details with a chocolate candy writer:

We had a metric ton of desserts-- besides the stuff I made, Rachel made chocolate cupcakes and two kinds of cookies (Dan's favorite and Debby's favorite), and Amy brought one of the chocolate fountains from Debby's wedding shower, which was a nice bit of symmetry.

For actual food, we had potato products galore-- Debby's been obsessed with potatoes since at least November, so it seemed like a good idea. :) Rogue made Pizzeria Uno-style skinless bakes, and Tree and Alex made mashed potatoes and tater tots. Apparently the tater tots were pretty good dipped in chocolate from the fountain? Also I made deviled eggs. Like you do.

We had meant to play normal games (Munchkin, Apples to Apples, Catchphrase), but we were all too busy talking and laughing! So that was fun. Thanks to the miracle of modern technology, both grandmothers Skyped in and were able to watch the gift-opening via webcam. Gifts ranged from practical (bathtub-of-baby-stuff) to geeky (two sizes of the Level 1 Human onesie) to man-it's-good-to-be-friends-with-a-pediatrician (Rachel and her box of "here is all the stuff you don't know you need but you'll thank me later"). They also got our very last Ewok bib that we bought at C4.

After gifts, we had cake (and there was a near-disaster when Dan tilted the cake board to show his mom on the webcam and the cake almost went crashing onto the laptop) and Alex gave out party favors to the boys-- little bags of dice. Of course.

Would you believe me if I said that we are wise, foresighted party planners and deliberately scheduled the shower for the same day as the Oscars, so the party could go on longer? ...yeah, again, me neither. But it worked out well! Most people didn't stay the whole time, but James and Whitney arrived after their flight, so that was great that they could join us.

Overall, it was really fun, I had a great time, and I hope everyone else did, too. Tree and Alex, thank you so much, again, for hosting and generally being fabulous.

I leave you with a quote from the party:
Me: "What do you say to people at a baby shower, anyway? 'Congratulations'? 'Happy baby'?"
Rogue: "'Nice knowing you.'"

Finished object: geeky baby blanket!

Mon, 23 Feb 2009 08:29:37 GMT

GLEE! Today Tree and I co-hosted Debby's baby shower (much longer post coming on that, I promise!) and I actually finished all my knitting projects in time! Usually the kid's three or four months old by the time I actually finish my baby knitting. ;-)

They of course received a baby Jayne hat, which I didn't take a picture of since I've made like eight of them now (but it looked pretty much like this, only with less orange, more yellow).

I also gave them a blanket of my own devising, which was so much fun to knit (even if I did have to frog the entire thing after getting halfway through, the first time around!). I call it Baby Formulas and I am really, really happy with it:

Yarn is Knit Picks Shine Worsted in Wave, Snapdragon, Watermelon, Crocus, Green Apple, and Coral. Size 8 needles. Each square took almost one skein, with enough left over to make a striped baby hat or two, I think. I basically figured out how big a square each skein would make, based on my gauge swatch, then worked backwards from there.

The letters are garter stitch on a stockinette background. These knitted alphabet dishcloth patterns were a really helpful starting point, but I came up with the pattern for each letter on my own. I made a grid in Excel and then just played around with highlighting cells until I was happy with how each letter looked. Each column was knitted in one piece, and then I stitched the columns together.

More pictures!

Yay! Now that that's done, it's onto the bandwagon with me-- I'm making a (mini) Clapotis!

(PS Hugh Jackman I LOVE YOUUUUUUU.)

camera recs?

Wed, 28 Jan 2009 23:28:47 GMT

Alas, our camera has gone to the Great Electronics Pile in the sky-- it did not survive its fateful fall to a freezing Philadephia sidewalk. :( And we definitely need to buy a new one before we go to New Zealand in six weeks!

So I thought I would ask you, dear flist, if anyone has any camera recommendations. We would really like something that can take good pics under convention conditions (most of our hall costume D*C pics turned out grainy and not-great quality). Bonus points for something that's small and not insanely expensive.