It's Official!

We have a home!

Arch Rival Rollergirls Announce All American Sports Mall as Home
Inaugural Season to Begin in September

St. Louis -June 30, 2006- The Arch Rival Rollergirls announced today that their home venue for the 2006 season will be All American Sports Mall in South St. Louis County. Season 1 will consist of 3 events, beginning in September, with 2 games or "bouts," at each event. Exact dates and times will be announced in the coming days.

The Arch Rival Rollergirls is Saint Louis' all-female flat-track roller derby league, and is a skater owned and operated Limited Liability Corporation dedicated to promoting and fostering the sport of women's flat-track roller derby by facilitating the development of athletic ability, sportswomanship, and goodwill among the skaters and fans. Formed in Fall 2005, over 60 active skaters comprise 4 local teams and join approximately 100 such leagues currently in existence or in formation across the United States, Canada, Europe, and Australia.

This press release went out today. I am so happy I could pop. All American is going to be the perfect venue for us.

In other, knitting related news, swap sock knitting continues. No pictures yet.
Annie the Sister received the Ti"grr" Sox last night in the mail and was quite happy with them. She has been referring to them as her "Liger" sox, because it's pretty much her favorite animal. I love my sister, but sometimes the fact that she converses completely in soundbites from movies freaks me out. But in a good way.

I know I have promised garden photos and have not delivered, but if you saw my tomato plants you wouldn't believe me about the whole "organic" thing anymore. Seriously.

Help out a fellow rollergirl.

Self-Portrait Tuesday

For April, in a misguided attempt at making you laugh.
I am Princess Peacock, sent to peck away at the last vestiges of virtue and honor in this world! My Lair is in the giant birdcage at the St. Louis Zoo and my super power is the ability to communicate with birds, and make them obey my every command. Obviously I use this power for evil, and many innocent winged creatures perish on my behalf. My greatest enemy is Cat Woman (DUH), and I fear being sucked into a jet engine and am eaisly distracted by mirrors and large shiny things. Quake with fear, tiny mortals, lest I use my flamingo bowling technique and round robin divebombs to destroy you. Thank you, that will be all.

A tragedy averted

Well well knitting enthusiasts, look what we have here! Annie's Ti"grr" Sox, completed and ready to go. Aren't they cute? Aren't they perfect? Wait, no! They aren't! Can you see that tiny, little, oops I mean ENORMOUS GAPING HOLE right on the bottom of one of them? Hmm, it appears to be right at the join.
Poop. It seems your favorite knitter did a lousy job of weaving in the ends here, and the socks started to unravel before Annie ever got a chance to see them, let alone wear them. I simply cannot deal with that level of poor sistering, so I had to bite the bullet and fix the problem. Well, ye of weak stomachs, read no further. Thar be grafting ahead! First I had to pick up the dropped stitches and get everything back in line. This took a while and all of my concentration. My brother-in-law Zach was sitting at the kitchen table with me while I did this and can attest to the fact that I was giving myself a little pep talk the entire time. I had to keep the pep talk thing going, because I was so terrified that I would totally wreck these and Annie would never let me knit for her again. I kept telling myself "it's just like closing a toe, just a toe," and of course, it turned out fine. It's not perfect, but the job is done, and I wove the ends in extra long this time around.I really loved making this pair of socks. I have to send out thanks to Rachel for selling me her leftovers at the Knitorous "Stash Reduction Event." I sent them off in the mail today. I hope she gets them soon and I really hope she likes them. I'm already half done with another pair of socks already, but these are for a swap, so no pictures for now. I'll just leave you with one final photo of Annie's tiger sox, blocking in the sun on my back porch.

48 hour Film Project in Review

Let's begin with Chris Drummond. Here he is, my pal Winnie. If he looks a bit tired here, that's because he'd been awake for 48 hours. I've known Chris for a few years now, I met him through Kate. Last year I went to see a movie he made at the 48 hour film project showcase and it seemed like so much fun. I asked him if he was doing it again next year, and then I insisted he let me work with him, in any capacity he needed. I was thrilled when he called me and asked if I'd like to work with his brother Michael on the costumes for his film this year.
So here's the lowdown: In most major cities across the world, teams of filmmakers get together and try to make a short film in just 48 hours. Each teams draws a genre, such as foreign, horror, musical, road movie, mockumentry, you get the idea. Every team has to use three constants: a prop, a character, a line of dialogue. Everything has to be completed (writing, casting, art direction, shooting, editing, scoring, making the titles) within 48 hours. It is an awesome challenge and a lot of fun.
I worked with the People's International Film Consortium and we got Martial Arts movie. I was hoping for horror (I've always wanted to make a zombie movie) but I was still very excited. I'm not a big fan of Martial Arts films, but the director and the writers wanted a post-apocalyptic look, and Michael and I knew we could pull that off.
I got to Studio 7 around eight on Friday the 9th. I sat around with the writers and helped them type the script while the wrote it. They finished about 3:45 am. Around four I called Michael and we put our heads together, then split up to go gather stuff. I had a list of props and costume things we might need. I drove around the south side, Webster and the CWE; gathering clothes for thugs, henchwomen, a cult of hippies, and some prostitutes. Michael did the same and we got back to the studio around five-thirty. We spent the next two hours combining awesome machine-knitted deconstructed sweaters with randomly ripped and half destroyed lingerie. I have never had so much fun. After a six am casting call, we got everyone dressed and sorted out.
Have a look at some quick pictures I took.Lindsay as a henchwoman. This is one of my favorite costumes. The underdress is burned and torn, the over dress is actually two pieces, a combination Michael and I came up with. These are the lovely "ladies of the night," Patty, Ashliegh, and Amanda. They were actually ladies of the afternoon, and it was about six thousand degrees outside, so I'm shocked their makeup didn't slide all over the place.
Here we have the lovely "peaceful hippie-type cultists." I'm about to get all arty now, so bear with me. Most of the "art" I do, if you can even call it "art," focuses on color. I like doing experiments with layering different shades, and making tiny transitions within a small section of the spectrum. So I wanted to use color as a continuous theme throughout the costume part of the film. It kind of worked.
Yes, that is my wedding dress. See, Courtney here played the "avenging spirit" who was summoned by the magic flute to incite revenge for the "peaceful hippie-type cultists." I wanted there to be some thread of continuity that showed how the "avenging spirit" was connected to the "cultists," and color seemed to be the best way to do that. Also, we had access to a bunch of purple robes.
I spent all of Friday night there, and most of Saturday day. I went home Saturday evening after we finished the last shots. The final scenes we shot were the opening scenes in the film. They were shot on Saturday, at sunset, just as an enormous thunderstorm was rolling in. We were on the riverfront, just north of downtown. Chris got the shots he needed, and then we almost all got blown away as this torrential downpour swept across the city. In one of the shots in particular you can actually see the clouds coming in. I don't think we could have asked for more dramatic weather. It turned out really cool.

Here we have Carson and Molly, the Director and the Gaffer, on Thursday after the showcase. I'm really glad we had a chance to work together. I met so many awesome women working on this project.
Last but not least, here I am, on Delmar in front to the Tivoli theatre holding the award and my copy of the DVD. "Award? What award?" you may be asking yourself. Why, the award for best costumes! I was shocked. I've never done costume design before, niether had Michael. We were so excited! My mom and Matt accompanied me to the Showcase, and we had a couple drinks at the Red Sea and BbH afterwards to celebrate. Michael couldn't come to the Showcase, but I am going to take him out to celebrate sometime this week.
Anyone who wants to see the film, let me know. I usually have it with me, and it plays well on my laptop.

I'm still around...

...but I've misplaced my USB cable for my camera. I think I left it at Studio 7 when I was working on the film. I had a long and stressful trip. I will report back soon, with knitting news, photographs and stories for all. Please excuse the lack of posting and NEVER let me get this far behind on a pair of socks again.

In the sticks

I am at the only Starbuck's in Virginia. I am paying some outrageous amount of money to write this post and check my email. I have very little time. I will get caught up when I get back home to St. Louis on Saturday night or Sunday. So far I have gone swimming twice, seen a live crab and a dead deer, picked berries, gotten sunburnt, been called "honneh" twice, changed seventy-thousand diapers and driven across fourteen bridges. I am staying with Caroline, who is a sweet girl with a penchant for blueberries and an extensive library. She lives with an Australian Shepard named Annabelle Lee and is a student of French. We are getting on famously. Jill and the boys are fine, and I FINALLY turned the heel on Annie's second tiger sock. Oops. Bye.

not quite forty eight...

...for me at least. I went to Studio 7 at eight last night and I just got home. So that makes it like, twenty seven, right? Filming is finished, the editing team has taken over. I'm really happy with the way the costumes turned out. I'm so beat. Pictures and details tomorrow.

back by popular demand

This whole "week in review" thing is going over big. I wish I could post more frequently, but my faithful (read: insane) readers like the big long photo-packed weekly posts. I have to give my public what they demand. (Is this whole "Media Darling/Rollerderby Queen" thing going to my head? Maybe just a little?)

Sunday I was off brunch so I went to eat at the boathouse with Toni and Helen. Helen had "a cup of Rosie Lee" and pancakes. "Rosie Lee" is cockney rhyming slang for tea, something Helen picked up from her Auntie Karen while she was in England. I went to Shawna's bridal shower in the afternoon.
It was a sweet shower, Stacey, Cindy and Sharlee did a really nice job of spoiling Shawna without making it seem too cutesy. I love that those Climer/Ramey women always bring their kids with them. I have been to too many upity "leave the kids at home" showers recently, and I like that the nieces and nephews are always about. I can see where Shawna gets her strong sense of family from. She is lucky.
Monday I went to work. After work I snuck out to see Jill and the boys. We talked for a long time about what's been happening, how she's doing and planned the trip for next week. Our agenda is full, but I think we will be able to sneak in some fun time. I'm really proud of her, how well she's coping and of how strong she is.
Tuesday was Shawna and Joe get married day. I went to the flower market with Huda and Tara at 7am. We picked out some amazing roses and beautiful lilies for her bouquet, and about ten billion wildflowers for the centerpieces. I was really pleased with the way the flowers turned out.
The wedding was in Tower Grove park, at the pond by the ruins around 4pm. Shawna looked beautiful in a simple cream colored dress. Joe actually wore long pants. They both looked so happy. My Dad performed the ceremony, it was short and sweet and Sam and Nickel bore the rings. We then proceeded to the pavilion for barbecue, lasagne and cake. It was a chill, laidback reception, totally suited to Joe and Shawna's personalities. Rizalia, who spent most of the afternoon holding every baby she could find (not too difficult, considering that there were probably about fifteen babies in attendance) made the most beautiful vegan devil's food cake with rolled fondant icing. In my opinion, this is the prettiest wedding cake in the history of the world. Riz is an artist. Her are a few gratuitous wedding type photos, which I managed to take before I snuck out early and went to bed.
Amazing cake by Rizalia Sappington. Contact me if you'd like Riz to make you a pretty pretty cake. I'll pass on the info, but be warned, she's in high demand. Shawna and Joe, our bride and groom, bride's bouquet by yours truly, groom's pant hemming (not in picture) by yours truly.
The rest of the week was spent cleaning the house, washing the clothes and going to meetings for the 48 hour film project, which I am participating in this year with my pals Winnie and Sam, and about thirty other people I don't know. I'm really excited to get to be a part of this project. Winnie and Carson made an hilarious movie last year called "A Fire Set On Fire" and when I went to the screening I knew I had to get in on the fun. I'm the official props master, the assistant costumer and I'm also some sort of typing assistant to Winnie, who is the cinematographer. He made me download a screenwriting program and everything. What I am really looking forward to is working with Michael, Winnie's brother. He's the head costumer. I've always liked him, and now we get to spend 48 hours playing dress-up with a bunch of strangers together. Oh My God, this is gonna be so much fun! I promise lots of details, if and when I get any down time.
Actually, Carson and Winnie are at Webster University right now choosing the category for our film. I'm killing time until about eight, when they get back to the studio. I think I'm going to get some carry-out Vietnamese food from Lemongrass and chill til the call comes.

Whyja lemme hab all'at beer?

So the ARRG meeting went very well. Gypsy and Tashia are the new chair and co-chair, respectively, of sponsorship. Duties have been delegated. The charming Ridell rep Randy gave his schpiel. Gypsi and Kai are excellent hostesses. Sue-shi's girls Sabrina and Miranda are the most charming kids I've met in a long time.
I had too many beers (4) and I sang all the way home. All is well. Derby is my life.

As promised.

Knitting and tomato stakes. That's Annie's Ti"grr"sox number 2 up in the corner. I've been neglecting them. I plan to finish them this week, but I'm not even at the heel turn yet. Sigh. In the rest of this picture you can see the tomatoes, all tied up and staked. That's it for now.