April 2011 Blog Posts (141)

Well I have just started Steampunk but I am no stranger to these kinds of oddities. I started with Renn Faire when I was 13 and then Dickens when I was 15 (oh I remember my first corset I felt to grown up and sexy). Each time period had a special place in my heart: the energetic, outgoing, sexy loud Renaissance and the romantic, soft, feminine Dickens fair. I find the these two can collide with Steampunk. I can be an elegant lady on the arm of a mad but genius scientist or brash…

I think my love for mechanical things goes back to working in my dad’s flour mill.

The whole place was run on hydroelectric power from a river that  was diverted to flow under the building.  Electricity was generated, but only to run heavy electric motors in the “new” part of the building.  The flour milling machines ran on a system of flat belt pulleys, with the main  pulley powered from the turning of the water turbine below ground level.…

I read online today about a gent in the UK who has spent the last three years building a replica of a 737 cockpit for a flight simulator. The article is here: 737-cockpit-at-home

There was also a gent who paid big money to turn his home theatre into something Captain Nemo would be proud of:…

Hayden’s eyes narrowed.  “If the doctor on psych call discharged you, I’ll have his license pulled.”

“But –” I looked from face to face.  Except for the admissions-desk nurse, intent on her computer monitor, and a security guard staring out toward the parking lot, we had the waiting room to ourselves.  “Come on, Hayden.  You outed yourself when you pulled me from my car.  Everyone saw.”

No one spoke up to agree with me.

“Zach—” I turned to him, amazed.  “The Porsche’s…

Have just finished a walking skirt (Folkwear 209) in brown; am trying to decide whether to add decorative embroidery somewhere along the hem or not.

Next piece is a corset, in brown.  It will be based on Simplicity 2890, though I am going to modify it so that it has a lining. 

After that, I need to figure out a shirt - maybe I should attempt making one? - and locate a good hat.  Something like a low top hat (riding hat?) with a veil could be fun.  Or a…

When you think of plush animals, do you think "steampunk"? No? Well, neither did I, until I saw Etsy's latest challenge to its artists, and now I think a plush dirigible is probably one of the best things ever made.

When you think of tinkerers, you may think of steampunk. And that would be a good thing, because David Malki (of Wondermark fame) is posting…