Nerds Can Dance

So I survived another year of Archon. Mike and his brother have gone every year since they were 12, meaning for the past 23 years. It is really more of a reunion at this point for them. We hang out with friends, he plays games while I shop, and we all drink from the complimentary beer at night. None of us costume but I always appreciate the time and energy people put into their designs. It's interesting to see what is popular each year. One year it was mostly sci fi, one year Pirates, and this year Steampunk had a big contingency. I was really impressed with their creative looks so carefully assembled. I didn't get a great shot but I did like the dancing scene above which shows that nerds can dance.Since I had my Strange Folk money Mike didn't give me any trouble for shopping this year. I was really impressed with the art room for a change. It wasn't just dragons and fairies and there were some really interesting new artists on display. My favorite was Sarah Wyman whom you can find on etsy here. I bought three of her wood block prints with moons in them for our bedroom which has a celestial theme. I also really love this one and I have a feeling that I will be coming back for more in the future. I also got a few of Kim Fritt's illustrations for my niece Kate for Christmas. They are the kitties and the castle in the sky pictures. Kate has a very creative spirit and I like to buy her art to support her active fantasy world.

I bought the adorable Faerie Panda by Silly Kitty, which you can barely see in the picture above. Mike even liked her Amigurumi creations and told me that I should try making them. It is a Japanese method of making little stuffed dolls like this cupid bunny stuffed with wool. I told him I would look into it but it mostly involves crochet and I just don't think it's something I would enjoy but they are so damn cute.

The only thing Mike gave me trouble about buying were some self published books from Sam"s Dot Publishing. I fell in love with the artwork on the covers and bought 4 of them. He said they will probably have thousands of typos but I really don't care. They are all short fiction compilations which I can read in short bursts which is about all I read any more since I started blogging and knitting in earnest. I think that buying self published books is just another way of supporting the indie community.

The black material is a handmade dress that I got for only $15. It was marked as a resale so I think that it has been worn before but who cares for that price. It is a see through fabric with embroidery that she said her parents brought her back from India.
















So that is my haul. Mike was excited about Talisman, the game he bought for like $80 with the extensions, another reason he couldn't give me any trouble for what all I bought. He and his friends used to play it years ago and he was just like a kid again playing, which was cute to watch. I like this shot of Mike, Chris, and Tif. Tiffany looks so confused but she was a trooper. Sandy and I quit after the 3rd round to focus on our drinking and people watching but Tif stuck with the boys to the end.

Mike said that he heard the zombie faction was getting out of control and were getting kicked out of their hotel rooms. So I got to say, "those damn zombies." Only at Archon...