Thursday, August 25, 2011

Episode 2: While España's Away....


(Click to listen. Uses Flash)

Click here to directly download the show. You can also find us on the iTunes shop.

Part I: LETS TALK GEEK:


Administrative:
España is at WorldCon this week in Reno, and we're expecting a full detailed report for the event. But however, before she left, we recorded a topic discussion before she left as part of the Topic du Jour.

Events (Check out more SF Events at the bottom of the page)

  • NorCal Ren Faire: Weekends, September 17 thru October 16, 2011 10 am - 6 pm @ Casa de Fruta in Gilroy
  • Ardenwood Faire: September 10-11, 2011 in Fremont: http://www.ardenwoodfaire.com/
  • Evil Dead, the Musical August 27th (Campbell Theatre Martinez, CAmap)
  • Sac-Anime Convention: Radisson Hotel Sacramento 500 Leisure Lane Sacramento, CA 95815 (http://www.sacconventions.com/)
  • PacifiCon Santa Clara Marriott, 2700 Mission College Blvd., Santa Clara, CA 95054, Labor Day weekend. http://www.con-quest.com/
  • Oct 7-9, Big Bad Con, gaming convention in Hilton Oakland @ Oakland airport. Looking for volunteers for reg, open gaming, and soliciting for GMs to run games for the convention. http://www.bigbadcon.com/

Hugo Awards:
Congratulations to our local Hugo award winners:


Books: The girls are listening to podcasts as of late on the way to work and at the gym:

Movies:  Jade's seen some movies lately

  • Cowboy&aliens movie:  Jade HIGHLY recommends this movie.
    • An excellent Western that just happen to have aliens
    • Good solid acting
    • nice homages to old westerns and indiana jones
  • Harry potter: A good entertaining movie, and a nice wrap up to the movie series. Jade enjoyed it, despite mixed reviews by others. She recommends it if you enjoy the whole movie series.

TV Shows: Fezzes are cool

By Jade: I finally caught up on the 11th  Season 6, and I am really enjoying the 11th doctor. The 10th Doctor is hard act to follow, as David Tennant, is well...David Tennant, but Matt Smith is doing an excellent job taking the Doctor down another path of his personality. The writers are definitely doing some interesting things with the storyline and I can't wait to see what happens.And River Song? LUV HER! She's ingenious, tough, brazen, puts the Doctor off-balanace. I love this character.

Sandy is on the first few episodes of 11th doctor.


Topic du Jour: How did you get into costuming?
(Jade made a mistake. The topic wasn’t Geeky Crafting)

=======================================
Part II: GEEK CRAFTS

Sandy's Artwork: Sandy is currently working on illustrations for a Live Action RPG (LARP) book, and will give publishing information closer to the due date. She's been working in traditional mediums then scanning in work into the computer. She's currently putting about 4 hours of work a night on this project.


Sharp Pointy Sticks & Crooked Hooks:


Jade:  still working on the February Lady's Sweater using Valley Sheffield (Worsted / 10 ply : 70% Merino, 15% Angora, 15% Silk)

Sandy:
  • Finished the sweater from Baroque Jacket at StitchDiva Studios. It just need buttons.Yarn for it: Newton’s Yarn (warning: website very limited) http://www.newtons.com/
  • Untangling an array of arcylic yarn for creating blankets for a homeless shelter.

Knitting tools:

  • Knitting needles: Jade uses harmony needles
  • Sandy uses aluminum hooks (Boye) almost exclusively -- Dumbo's magic feather
  • Jade uses: wood/bamboo hooks. She used to use Boye alumnium, but they fatigue her hand.
  • Beginners might be using the wrong tools, because of comfort & control

Sewing: (Jade)
  • finished a 6-gore ren faire skirt out of red linen that took about 1.5 hours, but still needs hemming
  • a friend's mother recently passed away, so Jade received all of her mom's sewing equipment & gear -- lots of quilting & embroidery accessories. Spent part of the weekend getting the sewing machine set up, tested, and whatnought
  • Have a Stitch & Bitch next weekend where a bunch of friends get together and sew.

Spinning: (Jade)

  • During the TDF 2011, Jade spun up a pound of merino/tussah silk blend (she had 18 ounces), that she completed. She finished 2 ounces of that batch, and ready to ply. And started plying. Her first batch was about 383 yards.
  • Her Ashford Joy needed repair. She was trouble on the take-up when the bobbin was half-full. Her LYS diagnosed bad threads on the ball bearing that holds the flyer together. They replaced it for absolutely free, and let Ashford know of the problem. Now, the Joy spins like a dream, and 
  • Jade is spinning Abstract Fibers Targhee in the colorway Maleficient, on her Joy, which is spinning up beautifully. She originally had tried some Targhee from another hand dyer, and it while it was okay to spin, parts of it were felted, so she wanted to give it another try with a good supplier
  • Jade is using the The Fleece & Fiber book, by Deb Robson, Carol Ekarius (in Conjunction with: In Sheep's Clothing)

Follow us:

  • on twitter at: geekgirlcrafts
  • on Ravelry: jadecat9, nogitsunegirl









SF/SF Calendar of Events from SF to LA

Sunday, August 7, 2011

Friday, August 5, 2011

Pilot Episode 1: A Geek By Any Other Gender


(Click to Listen...)

You can also download it directly from our Hosting Provider.

Topics Discussed

In the First Half of the podcast, España, Sandy, and Jade give an introduction to themselves and what makes them geeky.  In our topic discussion, we discuss

a) What is a geek?
b) How are geek girls different from geek boys (outside of the obvious)
c) What is starting to bring more girls to the scene?

In the Second Half of the podcast, we talk about the projects that we're working on (costuming, knitting, etc), and discuss how our geekiness affects our crafting, and vice versa.
  •  Sandy is working on
    • a crochet project from Stitch & Bitch, The Happy Hooker
    • a remake of a tattered 1920s dress from a Estate sale find using the amazing beadwork
  •  Jade is :
    • trying to finish the last 6 inches of her February Lady Sweater
    • several hats
    • a Renaissance Faire outfit
  • España is working on:
    • her World Con costumes
    • a sign for a World Con party
    • learning how to create some 'fake' books

Resources & Events
The following are the resources & events mentioned on the podcast

Crafting/costuming

Events
  • Worldcon: Science Fiction Convention held annually in different locations.  Reno, Nevada. Wednesday 17 - Sunday 21 August 2011 (España will be attending this convention)
  • Pacificon: Gaming Convention held in the SF Bay Area.September 2 - 5, 2011 (Sandy will be attending this convention)
Other:

    Miscellaneous: