Monday, September 15, 2008

Iowa to Nevada to Dallas


Manos Del Uruguay
Originally uploaded by craftytails
My attempt to blog every day of a convention has failed, it seems. There is far too much to write about, so I will sum up, as Inigo Montoya would say.

Anime Iowa was a good time for many. The charity auction raised $5,600 to aid the Red Cross relief efforts for flood victims. We more than doubled the total for last year, so I feel this was a worthwhile trip. Having limited excursions to the Midwest in the past, I have come to find a certain calm at conventions there. In Iowa, I not only found a cute LYS, but I got 'kidnapped' to go on a field trip near Iowa State University. The person who drove me around was a kindred spirit named Jennifer and the sort of person who is extremely intelligent and would be intimidating if she was not as easy to converse with. We had a great time eating Chinese food and poking around an independently-owned craft store chock full of adorable fabric and yarn I have never seen sold anywhere else. I was a bit overwhelmed at the sheer quality of the merchandise, so I managed to leave without buying anything. I wish they had an online store, but I hope to visit again one day when funds are available to buy retro apple-patterned fabric for aprons and silk yarn.

The weekend after was Eli and Melissa's wedding in Las Vegas. Predictably, two trips on consecutive weekends sapped my energy. But it was well-worth a minor inconvenience. I will spare a detailed account of the wedding, but we stayed downtown at The Golden Nugget. I have always just gone to The Strip when I have visited Las Vegas, so I saw the 'big screen' on Freemont Street for the first time. According to the documentation I found, it is longer than five football fields. It was the ultimate blinky distraction for the drunks staggering wildly outside.

When the wedding day arrived, we took a limousine to the chapel. The 'dueling Elvises' package was everything I imagined, and the event was captured on DVD for review later. I plan to mail out some copies to people who were unable to make it. The bride and groom were very happy and I am deeply grateful they enabled me to be there.

The following weekend, I went to AnimeFest. Although we were only there to catch the events on Saturday night, we managed to see almost everyone we wanted. A few people were missed, but I am sure I will run into them soon enough.

The crafty items are coming along slowly but surely. I have finished off two socks (from different pairs, of course) and a lovely hat from Cascade Pastaza in the 067 colorway. The llama sheds more than I expected, but the hat itself is beautiful and promises to be warm in the winter.

I think the next update will contain a lot of information about Yarn School. The amount of excitement I have would be embarrassing if I actually felt shame.