Increasing the Self-Striping Sock Yarn Stash

Whenever I order small stuff online, I have it delivered to work because it's easier for me to retrieve said items than having them sit on my doorstep at home. Plus, it's like Christmas whenever I get a package at work. Last Friday, I got two separate packages full of sock yarn to replenish my lack of sock yarn stash.

Webs (yarn.com) was closing out their supply of Stilleto yarn from Plymouth, so I bought a few skeins. Each skein lets me knit a pair of socks AND they were about $7.50 a skein.

Colorway (not in order): Winterthru, Dillon, Villandry, Eden, Birmingham  

I had previously knitted two other colorways of this yarn, and while I wasn't happy with some "splotching" of some of the color, the socks have worn like IRON. Consequently, I have really fallen for this sock base. I hope these new colorways don't have the same color issues.

Yes, I have a "thing" for self-striping yarns as of late. I love how the stripes knit up. In fact, I've finished a whole bunch of socks that I haven't posted about yet.

(Yes, I have a lot of work meetings)

The second package was from Simply Socks Yarn Company and picked up some fairly cool self-striping yarn from a new-to-me company.

Vespers 75% Merino + 25% Nylon

Colorways: Hay Ride & Callistos

I really can't wait to start knitting them....as soon as I finish my current pair of socks....

Kroy Pattons Yarn. Toothy, but holds up like iron.
Great as boot socks as it's slightly thicker than sock weight but not as heavy as sport.

No, they aren't quite self-striping yarn, but it's almost self-striping, and when you're desperate to knit, you do what you can.

Last Skein of Yarn

Last night, I realized that I was down to my last skein of sock yarn --- specifically, yarn designated for knitting socks, not sick weight yarn that already is slated for another project such as a shawl.

I'm not sure how that happened but it meant that I HAD to go shopping for more sock yarn...oh, such a bother! :-)

Loot Crate: Month One.

My Viking and I are splitting a Loot Crate subscription. We had gotten the FireFly version and liked it.  So, we subscribed to their regular version.

The very first one out of the gate is an awesome package for the both of us. The theme is ANTI-HERO. 

One of the things LootCrate does is let you turn the box in which your goodies arrived into either a diorama for your loot or a prop. In this case, the box turned into a giant " hammer".

Insofar as the loot, there's a little bit for both of us. My Viking is a big HellBoy fan, while I'm a classic Harley Quinn girl. He gets the Sterling Archer shirt, while I get the Kill Bill socks. It's yet to be determined who is going to get the Sylvana's pin (from World of Warcraft)

I can't wait to see what they put in for next month.

Phat Lewts: Loot Crate For Fan Girls

While I was at San Diego ComicCon this year, we might have done a bit of shopping and got some phat lewts while we were there.

The most epic was the LootCrates for Fan Girls with a Her Universe exclusive. I'm a big fan of the Her Universe line of clothes, so I just had to get this, especially considering the price!

The price of the box ($65 USD) was well worth what was inside. They claim there's about $100 USD worth of merchandise, which was about right.

First, there was a small, but cute pin that went right onto the lanyard. It's a nice little warning that a FANGIRL! is at large. :-)

Then, a small DC bombshell figurine of Wonder Woman...so cute. I actually want to collect all of them now, and I'm haven't collected figurines in a long while.

Another item was a coloring book for fangirls, along with some coloring pencils. It has several types of fangirls, from the gamer girl to a gear head girl to the Whovian! 

Coloring books aren't normally my thing; I was going to give this to a friend, but all the drawings and subjects were adorable that I just might keep it for myself. When I started flipping through it, I found myself laughing at many of the quips and quotes inside (as they were so true!). The LARP-er girl cries out, "FOR THE HORDE!", which warms my little Warcraft heart.....

There were a few minor trinkets as well, including a Walking Dead charm bracelet and some nail gels. (Not exactly my fandom, but fairly nice)

Oh, and there was this SWEET Star Trek clutch. Perfect for a night out with your friends. Of course, you could also use it for make-up too, if you were so inclined. I'm going to just assume that the red is for a command officer, instead of being a red-shirt. I would have preferred a blue or yellow (ala ST:NG), but red IS my favorite color.

And then the jewel of the box, which was this awesome dress that has the Marvel super heroines, including Ms Marvel, Scarlet Witch, and so many many more! I love the fit. :-)

The dress is well worth the price of the box, so you could just consider buying the box for the dress and getting a bunch of free stuff thrown in for that price.

If you missed out, there are still a few left at: https://www.lootcrate.com/limited-edition-crates/loot4fangirls-crate

I'm looking forward to any more Loot Crates for Fan Girls, especially if they are all of this caliber.

Cosplay Problems: Part I

When getting ready for San Diego ComicCon, I realized that there were a bunch of (first world) cosplay problems that often occur. I decided to try and document a few of them as they happened.(Note: numbering is random)

Cosplay problem #122: when the accessories and props take up more room than the actual costume. 

Cosplay problem #123: when your makeup kit is its own piece of luggage. 

When packing outfits for a convention, I always run into the problem of "How much do I really want to pack?!?!" This problem depends on the mode of travel (plane or car), how far away is the convention, and how much I want to pay the luggage fees or sacrifice other packed things.

This conundrum leads to the two following issues:

Cosplay problems #10a: when you pack more outfits than number of days (and nights) attending the con. 

Cosplay problem #10b: when you decide to not pack a costume because, "eh, I won't wear that anyways/ Ive got enough costumes to wear!" 

Which leads to more problems...

Cosplay problem #11: when you are grateful that you packed Costume B because you just can't deal with Costume A for whatever reason. 

Cosplay problem #12: when you kick yourself for not packing Costume B because for whatever reason, Costume A, is not working out, not the right outfit, etc. 

Luckily, during SDCC, I was experiencing #11

The weather in San Diego was about 90 deg F with 100% humidity. In other words, it was too damn hot, which lead to the following problem.

Cosplay problem #124: trying to determine how much of your cosplay you want to wear in the goddamn heat.

I'm sure there's a part B to this one, which deals with cold weather & skimpy outfits. For SDCC, I was really glad to have packed a fairly comfortable and "light" costume.

(Worn at Gallifrey. I forgot to take photos during SDCC.)

Then it came time to go home and repack all of our cosplay outfits, props, and accessories back into the luggage. During this time, much of the accessories were spread around the room.

Cosplay problem #150: when you realize that you have to repack all of your costumes back up to go home.

Cosplay problem #150a; when you wonder just how the f*** did you Tetris-packed everything into the suitcases you brought.

I'm sure there are more cosplay problems. I'll continue documenting them as I run into them during conventions. Let me know some of your cosplay problems!