Posts Tagged ‘Steampunk’

Bits and bobs

May 9, 2011 @ 4:30 pm | Filed under:

The bonnet side view, since you asked:

The light wasn’t great, so the ribbon looks washed out; it’s such a pretty blue with wheat stalks on it. The hatmaker said he has a special fondness for any ribbon depicting wheat or rye.

That batwing plait around the edges is to swoon for, isn’t it?

We found out about the steampunk/Victoriana con by chance: a Facebook friend mentioned it Saturday morning. So quick on the uptake am I that I at first interpreted “in SD” to mean in South Dakota and had a moment of “aw, too bad, I would love to go to something like that.” Then it dawned on me that my friend who lives in San Diego was probably posting about an event in, go figure, San Diego.

I mentioned it to Scott and he agreed that it sounded like a perfect mother-daughter Mother’s Day adventure. He stayed home with the little ones, which was part of my present. We arrived too late to sign up for the Mother’s Day Ice Cream Social, but as it happened, after we tore ourselves away from the tempting vendor hall and were headed toward the bits-and-bobs room, we encountered a Victorian gentleman bearing a box of slightly melty ice-cream bars: leftovers from the social which he was quite desperate to unload on sweet-toothed passersby. This made Rose and Beanie very happy.

The high point for Jane was meeting Kaja Foglio, co-author and illustrator of the Genius Girl comics (which have won numerous awards and look wonderful)—and discovering that her son was the model for a character in Aaron Williams’s PS238 series, which all my girls adore. Scott was Aaron’s editor on North 40. I love it when our worlds converge this way.

What I did for Mother’s Day

May 8, 2011 @ 7:22 pm | Filed under: ,

The mechanical butterflies were on display among many other marvels in the Curiosities and Inventions room at the Gaslight Gathering, a Steampunk and Victoriana convention the girls and I attended this afternoon. Loads of fun: the costumes were every bit as fabulous as one would hope. We’re determined to have our own garb for next year’s gathering.

My hastily snapped photos don’t do these outfits justice. They were spectacular.

Even better than the clothing were the gizmos, trinkets, and wondrous creations. We sighed over cunning little pocketwatches and brooches, gear-necklaces and carved bone bracelets. We admired a very fine propeller-chair to be used for in-flight repair of dirigibles and peeked in at a make-your-own-carpetbag workshop.

My favorite part was a long chat with a maker of straw hats. He comes from a family of “strawbenders” and had a booth filled with the most gorgeous boaters, bonnets, and bicycle hats. It is possible that one of us succumbed, under extreme pressure from her daughters, and treated herself to a delectable blue bonnet trimmed with brown batwing plait. But I’m not naming names.

SDCC Pix: Steampunk Wheelchair

July 27, 2010 @ 6:10 am | Filed under: , , ,

Coolest thing I saw at the con. These pictures don’t come close to doing it justice. I chatted briefly with the owner—she did all the work herself. Wish I’d gotten her name. Amazing craftsmanship.

More on SDCC 2010:

A few photos
Awesome sketch drawn for me by the incredible Fiona Staples
What I did at SDCC
Rick Riordan panel
LOST Encyclopedia Panel
Epic fantasy panel
Books that caught my eye (part 1)
Books that caught my eye (part 2)