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neadodsSo. I did this thing this weekend...
I thought I'd be beating the rest of the Sherlockian wave by arriving Thursday night, only to be part of a line of people arriving early. At least a dozen non-concom folk had decided to come in and settle early.
I don't know what they did with themselves Friday day, as I went to the Stitches South marketplace. I actually didn't buy any yarn! I went for needles and notions, which I did get (including the new Boyes "Tipping Point" needles, straights with interchangeable tips that are dull, medium, and sharp. Boyeses aren't particularly quality but the pinhole for the tightening key is a vital thing for running lifelines.) Alas, though, the Octopus Snips aren't out yet - I asked! I also picked up two DVDs on sock knitting - one with the "free sole" method and one with the Bosnian Square Toe and Garter Toe, which I want to learn. As usual, I brought about 100x the amount of yarn I needed, so I've decided that I'm going to learn square toe tube socks and knit those at conventions. It's the sort of thing I'd wear in the winter instead of slippers.
By the time I'd gotten back, the cosplay had begun, in anticipation of the tea. As Brad of Sherlock Peoria has pointed out, it's hard to tell when people are cosplaying the modern stuff because it looks like everyone else's clothing. (If Joan Watson hadn't had a Clyde, I'd never have "gotten" her.) For the Sherlock cosplayers, it mostly means slim women in tailored men's suits - if she had painted on stubble, she was Moriarty, if she had curly dark hair she was Sherlock, and if she had an umbrella, she was Mycroft. There were also lots of Johns, mostly recognizable by 1) hanging out with a Sherlock and 2) cabled sweaters and Irenes in either slinky short black or white dresses, usually accessorized with a riding crop.
There were exceptions. As the con really picked up, other costumes, including those for fan art and fanfic started showing up - a Sherlock with black wings, a male Sherlock in (nothing but?) a sheet, an Irene in (nothing but?) a long coat, someone in a cardboard box marked up as "Sherlock's Mind Palace," an Irene in lingerie, a blood-covered Sherlock with a harpoon, a blue Easter bunny costume with lights under it (Bluebell the bunny), and a handful of Mollys - one in a the black dress from the Christmas party (she kept getting mistaken for an Irene) but most in lab coats with fake IDs clipped to them. There were some gender-bends but surprisingly few - off the top of my head, I only saw one femmeLock and one femmeCroft. There were also some BRILLIANT Cabin Pressure folks and lots of hand-made Ts. Some of the Ts were fan art (there was a nice Hark a Vagrant one of the Tale of Two Watsons) but the one I lusted after most was the Traveling Lemon World Championship one. The "Anderson" of the T stayed in her sterile suit all weekend, accessorized with a "kick me - signed Sherlock Holmes" note taped to her back and a dinosaur-patterned purse. (Side note - I know I'm scrambling pronouns and characters here, but I think there's a big difference between cosplay as a male character and serious cross dressing. Particularly when a male character is carrying a purse.)
The fan photographer brought a 221B door and TimeGate con brought their TARDIS, which sat in the main hall lobby all Saturday. By the time it left most people had taken their picture in it (including one of the cardboard cutout of Doyle peeking out) and it had more than one lemon on top.
The dealer's room, when it opened, was tilted heavily towards fan art. This is a great thing when I wanted to wibble over DauntDraws/MarieLikestoDraw, but a little surprising when I expected to come home with armloads of books. The only books for sale were an old Sherlockian couple burning off some of their collection (which was some nice stuff, but I had or had purged it myself, y'know?) There was ALWAYS a line at Cara McGee's table - in part because she was stopping to do quickie commission cartoons and in part because the teas are so unique in a room full of art, cards, deerstalkers, and jewelry.
The convention itself also had some things on sale. Con shirts, of course ("221BCon" on the front, badge art across the back) and deerstalkers, and the noir version of Watson and Holmes #1 (and, in the fullness of time, 2014 memberships.) They also had Diogenes Club mugs... but those weren't so much for sale as they were the carrot on a very expensive lure - lifetime convention memberships.
As I had gone to the con with a simply stupid amount of cash (seriously, I could have hired a contractor with what I'd squirreled away, because between the two conventions I didn't want to run out of cash) and THEN found $300 hidden in my suitcase (long story) - well... I could buy the membership and still come out ahead.
So I did. I have literally invested in 221BCon.
I thought I'd be beating the rest of the Sherlockian wave by arriving Thursday night, only to be part of a line of people arriving early. At least a dozen non-concom folk had decided to come in and settle early.
I don't know what they did with themselves Friday day, as I went to the Stitches South marketplace. I actually didn't buy any yarn! I went for needles and notions, which I did get (including the new Boyes "Tipping Point" needles, straights with interchangeable tips that are dull, medium, and sharp. Boyeses aren't particularly quality but the pinhole for the tightening key is a vital thing for running lifelines.) Alas, though, the Octopus Snips aren't out yet - I asked! I also picked up two DVDs on sock knitting - one with the "free sole" method and one with the Bosnian Square Toe and Garter Toe, which I want to learn. As usual, I brought about 100x the amount of yarn I needed, so I've decided that I'm going to learn square toe tube socks and knit those at conventions. It's the sort of thing I'd wear in the winter instead of slippers.
By the time I'd gotten back, the cosplay had begun, in anticipation of the tea. As Brad of Sherlock Peoria has pointed out, it's hard to tell when people are cosplaying the modern stuff because it looks like everyone else's clothing. (If Joan Watson hadn't had a Clyde, I'd never have "gotten" her.) For the Sherlock cosplayers, it mostly means slim women in tailored men's suits - if she had painted on stubble, she was Moriarty, if she had curly dark hair she was Sherlock, and if she had an umbrella, she was Mycroft. There were also lots of Johns, mostly recognizable by 1) hanging out with a Sherlock and 2) cabled sweaters and Irenes in either slinky short black or white dresses, usually accessorized with a riding crop.
There were exceptions. As the con really picked up, other costumes, including those for fan art and fanfic started showing up - a Sherlock with black wings, a male Sherlock in (nothing but?) a sheet, an Irene in (nothing but?) a long coat, someone in a cardboard box marked up as "Sherlock's Mind Palace," an Irene in lingerie, a blood-covered Sherlock with a harpoon, a blue Easter bunny costume with lights under it (Bluebell the bunny), and a handful of Mollys - one in a the black dress from the Christmas party (she kept getting mistaken for an Irene) but most in lab coats with fake IDs clipped to them. There were some gender-bends but surprisingly few - off the top of my head, I only saw one femmeLock and one femmeCroft. There were also some BRILLIANT Cabin Pressure folks and lots of hand-made Ts. Some of the Ts were fan art (there was a nice Hark a Vagrant one of the Tale of Two Watsons) but the one I lusted after most was the Traveling Lemon World Championship one. The "Anderson" of the T stayed in her sterile suit all weekend, accessorized with a "kick me - signed Sherlock Holmes" note taped to her back and a dinosaur-patterned purse. (Side note - I know I'm scrambling pronouns and characters here, but I think there's a big difference between cosplay as a male character and serious cross dressing. Particularly when a male character is carrying a purse.)
The fan photographer brought a 221B door and TimeGate con brought their TARDIS, which sat in the main hall lobby all Saturday. By the time it left most people had taken their picture in it (including one of the cardboard cutout of Doyle peeking out) and it had more than one lemon on top.
The dealer's room, when it opened, was tilted heavily towards fan art. This is a great thing when I wanted to wibble over DauntDraws/MarieLikestoDraw, but a little surprising when I expected to come home with armloads of books. The only books for sale were an old Sherlockian couple burning off some of their collection (which was some nice stuff, but I had or had purged it myself, y'know?) There was ALWAYS a line at Cara McGee's table - in part because she was stopping to do quickie commission cartoons and in part because the teas are so unique in a room full of art, cards, deerstalkers, and jewelry.
The convention itself also had some things on sale. Con shirts, of course ("221BCon" on the front, badge art across the back) and deerstalkers, and the noir version of Watson and Holmes #1 (and, in the fullness of time, 2014 memberships.) They also had Diogenes Club mugs... but those weren't so much for sale as they were the carrot on a very expensive lure - lifetime convention memberships.
As I had gone to the con with a simply stupid amount of cash (seriously, I could have hired a contractor with what I'd squirreled away, because between the two conventions I didn't want to run out of cash) and THEN found $300 hidden in my suitcase (long story) - well... I could buy the membership and still come out ahead.
So I did. I have literally invested in 221BCon.
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no subject
Date: 2013-04-15 10:44 pm (UTC)Glad to hear the con went well, all things considered.
no subject
Date: 2013-04-15 11:10 pm (UTC)Yes, for all the worries in advance, the reality worked really well!
no subject
Date: 2013-04-15 10:44 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-04-15 11:09 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-04-16 01:31 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-04-16 09:41 am (UTC)