A. R. G. H.
Jul. 27th, 2017 04:46 pmSince the schedule is effectively live, I feel 100% okay with sharing a small detail or two about Super Secret AI Plans that I've been working on.
One of our attractions this year is a one-day-only haunted house. Everyone on the haunted house team took a section of the room to work on, plus maybe a costume or two, or maybe some scripting, whatever. At least one thing, sometimes more. I volunteered to help make stuff for the foresty area, because I already had tree costumes.
There was one other person working on this area with me, who we'll call C. Areas were assigned at the penultimate meeting, and in the two weeks until then, I did some planning and some shopping and talked with the person in charge of our false walls. Just before the final meeting, it occurred to me that maybe I should have contacted C to see what his plans were for the area, what he was doing for it, etc etc. I felt guilty for about three minutes, then I remembered Captain Awkward and that e-mails work two ways and that he definitely could have e-mailed me as well to find out my plans, so I shrugged it off.
The final meeting came and the haunted house team met to discuss stuff. Turns out C had done exactly nothing for the scenery of the forest area, not even asking around if anyone had fake trees we could borrow; he'd been focusing entirely on his costume. I was angry for another three minutes, because that's a fair amount of space to cover myself, and then let it go. If he wasn't interested in helping, I wasn't going to go to the work of making him help. He could focus on his costume the way he so clearly wanted to, and I could make the scenery look as good as I could manage on my own.
Half an hour ago, C sent me an e-mail saying his costume wasn't coming together and he was told I could help with it.
Yeah. Let that sink in for a minute.
I replied that I could lend him a mask, but that's it. I may still feel a teensy bit guilty, but not enough to pull a last-minute costume out of thin air when he's had a month to put one together without contributing in any way, as near as I can tell, to making the forest area.
Do I have ideas and possibly resources I could lend him? Yes. Am I going to? Not without a lot more explicit pressure and/or help. I am not putting in the extra labor for this when I've already made most of the forest myself and have a whole 'nother department to run. C can bug someone else.
One of our attractions this year is a one-day-only haunted house. Everyone on the haunted house team took a section of the room to work on, plus maybe a costume or two, or maybe some scripting, whatever. At least one thing, sometimes more. I volunteered to help make stuff for the foresty area, because I already had tree costumes.
There was one other person working on this area with me, who we'll call C. Areas were assigned at the penultimate meeting, and in the two weeks until then, I did some planning and some shopping and talked with the person in charge of our false walls. Just before the final meeting, it occurred to me that maybe I should have contacted C to see what his plans were for the area, what he was doing for it, etc etc. I felt guilty for about three minutes, then I remembered Captain Awkward and that e-mails work two ways and that he definitely could have e-mailed me as well to find out my plans, so I shrugged it off.
The final meeting came and the haunted house team met to discuss stuff. Turns out C had done exactly nothing for the scenery of the forest area, not even asking around if anyone had fake trees we could borrow; he'd been focusing entirely on his costume. I was angry for another three minutes, because that's a fair amount of space to cover myself, and then let it go. If he wasn't interested in helping, I wasn't going to go to the work of making him help. He could focus on his costume the way he so clearly wanted to, and I could make the scenery look as good as I could manage on my own.
Half an hour ago, C sent me an e-mail saying his costume wasn't coming together and he was told I could help with it.
Yeah. Let that sink in for a minute.
I replied that I could lend him a mask, but that's it. I may still feel a teensy bit guilty, but not enough to pull a last-minute costume out of thin air when he's had a month to put one together without contributing in any way, as near as I can tell, to making the forest area.
Do I have ideas and possibly resources I could lend him? Yes. Am I going to? Not without a lot more explicit pressure and/or help. I am not putting in the extra labor for this when I've already made most of the forest myself and have a whole 'nother department to run. C can bug someone else.
Convention setup at the hotel officially starts tomorrow. I'm not reeeaaaaaadyyyyyyyyyy D:
Okay. Okay, I think I can do this. I'm pretty sure.
Still must be done:
* Horrible aprons for Super Surprise Thing
* Horrible signs for Super Surprise Thing
* Print out lots more copies of my coloring pages, especially the AI one
* Find and pack Accessibility stuff
* Print Quiet Room rules again
* Print reminder to put stim toys back for Quiet Room
Considerably more optional:
* Pack for hotel stay (I live fifteen minutes from the hotel; I can put it off a bit, or even entirely)
Is that it? I think that might be it. Okay, convention here we go!
Okay. Okay, I think I can do this. I'm pretty sure.
Still must be done:
* Horrible aprons for Super Surprise Thing
* Horrible signs for Super Surprise Thing
* Print out lots more copies of my coloring pages, especially the AI one
* Find and pack Accessibility stuff
* Print Quiet Room rules again
* Print reminder to put stim toys back for Quiet Room
Considerably more optional:
* Pack for hotel stay (I live fifteen minutes from the hotel; I can put it off a bit, or even entirely)
Is that it? I think that might be it. Okay, convention here we go!
Art accessibility concept
Jun. 16th, 2017 12:08 amSince my coloring pages are only lineart, it would be pretty simple to mat prints and go over the lines with puffy shirt paint. If I let it dry, it would conceivably preserve the raised paint lines, and allow blind people to feel how the art looks, to a certain extent.
Not something I currently have the technology to share via the internet, but definitely an idea. I may have to try it out with one or two pics at AI.
Input welcome, natch.
Not something I currently have the technology to share via the internet, but definitely an idea. I may have to try it out with one or two pics at AI.
Input welcome, natch.
Looks like this exact version of Kero-chan isn't going to be at the con, 'cuz I borrowed Sakura's sigil from online ^^a
For anyone 'round these parts who likes coloring, here's one final print version of Kero-chan. All the other pages are waiting until the con, as will a new version of Kero-chan with an original background.
Enjoy!
PS: I apparently didn't communicate effectively to my AI division head that I was drawing the anime-themed coloring pages, which resulted in some worry on his part and on the part of the con exec who oversees our division. Clarifying this is why I ended up eliminating the version with this background, but they both seemed pretty pleased to have otherwise misunderstood.
For anyone 'round these parts who likes coloring, here's one final print version of Kero-chan. All the other pages are waiting until the con, as will a new version of Kero-chan with an original background.
Enjoy!
PS: I apparently didn't communicate effectively to my AI division head that I was drawing the anime-themed coloring pages, which resulted in some worry on his part and on the part of the con exec who oversees our division. Clarifying this is why I ended up eliminating the version with this background, but they both seemed pretty pleased to have otherwise misunderstood.
More coloring page previews
Jun. 3rd, 2017 12:01 am
Kero-chan! I'm quite pleased with how he turned out. Possibly the simplicity has something to do with it. Anyway, I managed to find a good HQ version of Sakura's magic circle, so I should be able to stick him in front of it with very little trouble once I get him scannned.
As you can see and/or read, I settled on Butterfree and Floette for "Sweet Scent". I may re-do both of their eyes, and I have plans to add ripple-lines to Butterfree's head and body, but otherwise I'd say it's done. I mean, there's some minor tweaks to do (erasing a couple of extra lines in Butterfree's wings mostly), but that's about it. Maybe I'll add some fluffy lights or something, though, IDK.
"Own Tempo". Boy am I pleased with how this one turned out. I was feeling lukewarm about it until I added all the little musical notes in addition to the big ones, but I think they really pull the image together well :) Plus, more stuff to color!
Final version of "Petal Dance"~! Well, final non-print-quality version. I'm tempted to color it in myself and use it as an icon :3 I'm looking forward to finding out what other people think at the next AI meeting tomorrow [er, later today].
Stim Toy Library Inventory
May. 27th, 2017 03:35 pmFor the Accessibility Department this year, I thought it would be cool to have a collection of stim toys and related items for our attendees to use at AnimeIowa. I had a budget of ~$200, and this is what I got:
( Stim stim stim )
( Stim stim stim )
(no subject)
May. 25th, 2017 03:12 pmI've been getting together stuff for AI's stim toy library, and have included some grown-up coloring books and colored pencils among the options. (More on this later.) Since I was feeling rather draw-y a few days ago, I thought I'd come up with a few anime-themed coloring pages to add to the mix.* Below is a preview of the first one I've finished.
"Bulbasaur used Petal Dance!"
This is a super crappy phone photo edit; it looks much more stunning in real life, with sharp, clear black lines. I'm planning to scan it properly, make a few minor edits, and print a bunch of copies to share at AI. Once AI is over (or maybe once it's begun), I'll also share high-res images (PDFs, maybe?) of the pics online :)
Anyway, I'm suuuuper pleased with how this one turned out. Not sure exactly what all else I'm going to draw, though more Pokemon are a probability. Kero-chan and Suppi-chan in front of Sakura's and Clow's magic circles respectively seem like good options as well, and I'm hoping to do at least one option with Buu-chan, our convention mascot. Besides that, I don't have a lot of plans. I guess I'll see where the muse takes me!
* I also eventually got some work done on the Accessibility Dept sign. The Charity Auction flyer still eludes me. Maybe after the next coloring page?
"Bulbasaur used Petal Dance!"
This is a super crappy phone photo edit; it looks much more stunning in real life, with sharp, clear black lines. I'm planning to scan it properly, make a few minor edits, and print a bunch of copies to share at AI. Once AI is over (or maybe once it's begun), I'll also share high-res images (PDFs, maybe?) of the pics online :)
Anyway, I'm suuuuper pleased with how this one turned out. Not sure exactly what all else I'm going to draw, though more Pokemon are a probability. Kero-chan and Suppi-chan in front of Sakura's and Clow's magic circles respectively seem like good options as well, and I'm hoping to do at least one option with Buu-chan, our convention mascot. Besides that, I don't have a lot of plans. I guess I'll see where the muse takes me!
* I also eventually got some work done on the Accessibility Dept sign. The Charity Auction flyer still eludes me. Maybe after the next coloring page?
AI 2016 Day Three
Aug. 1st, 2016 11:03 pm...Was yesterday, but who's counting?
Anyway, something I didn't mention on my Friday report is that I missed making my Opening Ceremonies "Here are things you can do to make the lives of PWD easier" speech, again. Either I missed my cue (entirely possible; I was called to the Bridge in the middle of Opening Ceremonies to deal with a gluten-related problem that may or may not have been an emergency; I'll probably ask for details at the postmortem), or the MC didn't actually give the cue for Staffers With Other Business.
The Staff Art Table closed out having made just over $1,000 before sales tax; about $450 of that was my own sales :3 I may be running a table with one of my costaffers at Icon this year, as well, though I do want to first discuss with her the option of the Art Sho, which would cost her less to participate in.
For acquisitions, I bought a box set of the first three seasons of Slayers, and the season one and two box sets of Wedding Peach, because I am a sucker for magical girl stuff. I also bought the first volume of Fallen, by Ogawa Buruku, one of our guests of honor this year, and some postcards by the staffer I mentioned in the previous paragraph, because she does gorgeous work. In fact, here is a link to her Deviantart account. Definitely check out the Senshi Royalty Project and the Talented Princesses collection, which were originally done in watercolors and both of which she had some postcard/greeting card prints of. She is just ridiculously talented.
Hmm, what else. Oh, apparently there was someone there from Cosplay Magazine, and one of my costaffers really talked up my work in the Accessibility Department to them <3 And I just - alawejfovdisd??? <3 <3 <3? Also, one of our returning attendees (uses a walker, has chronic pain and arthritis) basically showered me with compliments, and shared a really fantastic story from Friday: She had slipped and fallen, knocking her purse and walker down, and before she had even hit the ground, three people had come over to help - one put everything back in her purse, one righted her walker, and a third helped her up and made sure she was okay. She told me that probably 95% of our attendees are just really fantastic about accommodating folks, and I just about burst with pride on behalf of the convention. Anyway, I really, really want some minions next year, because I wasn't able to do nearly everything I wanted to this year, and I just want to reach for the stars now.
Oh, the Staff Art Table was also one of three tables in the Marketplace selling Pride oriented stuff, and I accidentally drew a lot of folks in by hanging up my Ace Blanket ^^a Unfortunately, I only had two smaller-ticket Ace pride items, and those were snatched up in very short order on the first day of the con, and I had probably at least eight other people asking for some. Moral of the story: I am definitely making at least a dozen Ace Pride Piggies and three Asexuowls for next year. Probably starting now, since I'll likely be too preoccupied leading up to the con next year.
Staffers were also given three Excellent Cosplay ribbons to hand out to people who had, well, excellent cosplays, to encourage them to keep attending. I handed all three of mine out on Friday: One to a Sailor Saturn that I met on the elevator, one to a tiny Captain America who was accompanied by their grown-up Winter Soldier guardian person, and one to a Ms. Marvel just as the Marketplace was closing, who proceeded to freak out happily.![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
lightbird, I also saw a Helga cosplayer who made me think of you, and I made sure to get her picture :)
I think that's about it for highlights. Here's to next year!
Anyway, something I didn't mention on my Friday report is that I missed making my Opening Ceremonies "Here are things you can do to make the lives of PWD easier" speech, again. Either I missed my cue (entirely possible; I was called to the Bridge in the middle of Opening Ceremonies to deal with a gluten-related problem that may or may not have been an emergency; I'll probably ask for details at the postmortem), or the MC didn't actually give the cue for Staffers With Other Business.
The Staff Art Table closed out having made just over $1,000 before sales tax; about $450 of that was my own sales :3 I may be running a table with one of my costaffers at Icon this year, as well, though I do want to first discuss with her the option of the Art Sho, which would cost her less to participate in.
For acquisitions, I bought a box set of the first three seasons of Slayers, and the season one and two box sets of Wedding Peach, because I am a sucker for magical girl stuff. I also bought the first volume of Fallen, by Ogawa Buruku, one of our guests of honor this year, and some postcards by the staffer I mentioned in the previous paragraph, because she does gorgeous work. In fact, here is a link to her Deviantart account. Definitely check out the Senshi Royalty Project and the Talented Princesses collection, which were originally done in watercolors and both of which she had some postcard/greeting card prints of. She is just ridiculously talented.
Hmm, what else. Oh, apparently there was someone there from Cosplay Magazine, and one of my costaffers really talked up my work in the Accessibility Department to them <3 And I just - alawejfovdisd??? <3 <3 <3? Also, one of our returning attendees (uses a walker, has chronic pain and arthritis) basically showered me with compliments, and shared a really fantastic story from Friday: She had slipped and fallen, knocking her purse and walker down, and before she had even hit the ground, three people had come over to help - one put everything back in her purse, one righted her walker, and a third helped her up and made sure she was okay. She told me that probably 95% of our attendees are just really fantastic about accommodating folks, and I just about burst with pride on behalf of the convention. Anyway, I really, really want some minions next year, because I wasn't able to do nearly everything I wanted to this year, and I just want to reach for the stars now.
Oh, the Staff Art Table was also one of three tables in the Marketplace selling Pride oriented stuff, and I accidentally drew a lot of folks in by hanging up my Ace Blanket ^^a Unfortunately, I only had two smaller-ticket Ace pride items, and those were snatched up in very short order on the first day of the con, and I had probably at least eight other people asking for some. Moral of the story: I am definitely making at least a dozen Ace Pride Piggies and three Asexuowls for next year. Probably starting now, since I'll likely be too preoccupied leading up to the con next year.
Staffers were also given three Excellent Cosplay ribbons to hand out to people who had, well, excellent cosplays, to encourage them to keep attending. I handed all three of mine out on Friday: One to a Sailor Saturn that I met on the elevator, one to a tiny Captain America who was accompanied by their grown-up Winter Soldier guardian person, and one to a Ms. Marvel just as the Marketplace was closing, who proceeded to freak out happily.
lightbird, I also saw a Helga cosplayer who made me think of you, and I made sure to get her picture :)I think that's about it for highlights. Here's to next year!
AI 2016 Day One
Jul. 29th, 2016 10:37 pmPhew! Convention day one is effectively over. I mean, there's still stuff going on, but I'm not doing any of it. Instead, I will (very shortly) be sleeping. And then in the morning, back to work!
Oh, sales are also going pretty well at the Staff Art Table. And I've got pics of one of the special desserts I made for the Recharge Room, which I will share later :3b They are Pokeball chocolate strawberries, and they turned out great! The other ones are Mario 1up and grow/shrink mushroom style cupcakes. They turned out less well, but they're still tasty. Possibly more on those later.
Anyway, sleep. That is definitely what I'm going to do next.
Oh, sales are also going pretty well at the Staff Art Table. And I've got pics of one of the special desserts I made for the Recharge Room, which I will share later :3b They are Pokeball chocolate strawberries, and they turned out great! The other ones are Mario 1up and grow/shrink mushroom style cupcakes. They turned out less well, but they're still tasty. Possibly more on those later.
Anyway, sleep. That is definitely what I'm going to do next.
(no subject)
Jul. 25th, 2016 10:45 pmMy brother called me less than five hours ago to ask about setting some Pokemon GO related stuff up at AnimeIowa, since I'm on staff there.
The convention is this weekend, which makes it extremely late notice, but I'm also on a special team that likes to do things like that, so I put him in contact with our team leader, and basically we might be making this happen.
I might be spending all day at the library tomorrow trying to get all my ducks in a row for this, is what I'm saying. Plus everything else I've been putting off and/or not doing.
*flexes fingers* Okay, let's do this!
The convention is this weekend, which makes it extremely late notice, but I'm also on a special team that likes to do things like that, so I put him in contact with our team leader, and basically we might be making this happen.
I might be spending all day at the library tomorrow trying to get all my ducks in a row for this, is what I'm saying. Plus everything else I've been putting off and/or not doing.
*flexes fingers* Okay, let's do this!
Just had the best idea for the con!
So, our con's mother organization has a game library to share between the various conventions, right? And it has various board games and tabletop games and card games and so forth that attendees can "check out" with some collateral or something (I need to review this a bit).
And we also have the Quiet Room running, which is a great place to unwind for a bit when you're over-stimulated.
And I thought, hey! Wouldn't it be great to have some stim toys in the Quiet Room? Except the Quiet Room is, by necessity, quiet, and a lot of the stim toys I'm aware of make subtle but definite noises. (Zipper noises, clicking, clinking, etc.) (Though if I can find some silent ones, all the better! I know there are some weight things that could work, but something to keep your hands busy; hmm...)
HOWEVER. From what I'm aware, things are usually relatively quiet and/or uncrowded in the Tabletop Gaming Room, but no one needs it really silent. (I will definitely be double-checking this, of course.) If I talked with the head of Tabletop Gaming, I might be able to arrange to set up a Stim Toy Library in there, so people who need something to stim with but don't necessarily have anything with them for whatever reason can go there and check something out for a while.
I seriously think this could work out, and pretty well. It needs more thought, but I just came up with it this morning, so it hasn't been incubating long. There is definitely potential here.
So, our con's mother organization has a game library to share between the various conventions, right? And it has various board games and tabletop games and card games and so forth that attendees can "check out" with some collateral or something (I need to review this a bit).
And we also have the Quiet Room running, which is a great place to unwind for a bit when you're over-stimulated.
And I thought, hey! Wouldn't it be great to have some stim toys in the Quiet Room? Except the Quiet Room is, by necessity, quiet, and a lot of the stim toys I'm aware of make subtle but definite noises. (Zipper noises, clicking, clinking, etc.) (Though if I can find some silent ones, all the better! I know there are some weight things that could work, but something to keep your hands busy; hmm...)
HOWEVER. From what I'm aware, things are usually relatively quiet and/or uncrowded in the Tabletop Gaming Room, but no one needs it really silent. (I will definitely be double-checking this, of course.) If I talked with the head of Tabletop Gaming, I might be able to arrange to set up a Stim Toy Library in there, so people who need something to stim with but don't necessarily have anything with them for whatever reason can go there and check something out for a while.
I seriously think this could work out, and pretty well. It needs more thought, but I just came up with it this morning, so it hasn't been incubating long. There is definitely potential here.
AI Report in progress
Sep. 13th, 2014 08:22 pmGot back from the AI 2014 Postmortem about an hour ago. There was... a good amount to say, and some stuff to do, and I've got my whole "Making of an Accessibility Department" entry mentally outlined already, so. Some bullet points:
* According to the very informal Staff Survey, in which AI staffers attending the meeting were asked if departments had "Improved", "Stayed the same", or "Gotten worse" since last year, the Accessibility Department was very much in the 'improved' category. I voted for "Improved" but also "Gotten worse", since I do know that I let some things slip through the cracks for 2014, and then there was the whole wrist band debacle, but mostly it went pretty well, IMO.
* Speaking of the wrist band thing: I confirmed that it was our previous Hotel Department head who had okay'd the use of staff corridor access wrist bands for attendees with disabilities. Our current Hotel head said that it was probably the lack of warning/prep time that prevented that being an option this year, and told me that if I asked far enough ahead of time, she could probably make it happen for the 2015 convention. I asked her if asking now was enough time, to which she laughed and said yes, then asked me to send an e-mail reminder, since she was pretty sure she'd forget otherwise. I don't know if I'll get to the e-mail reminder tonight, but I'm hoping that posting the "Making Of" report to![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
access_fandom in the near future will remind me to do so, so I don't forget and mess it up for 2015. (My major failing this year was that I assumed that, since we got permission to do the wrist-band thing in 2013, that permission would carry over to this year. Never doing that again if I can possibly help it.)
* The general survey for attendees has a list of departments and events, with a rating system for how important something is and how well AI did on a scale of 1 to 5 (1 being the lowest, 5 being the highest), as well as a section for comments. The Accessibility department itself wasn't on the list of things to rate, but both the Consweet and the Shuttle Bus (a school bus which makes regular shuttle trips between selected hotels in the area) received high marks. They both got around a 4 on average, and since the highest mark anything got was 4.65, I'd say that's pretty darn good.
* The Consweet in particular got a lot of positive comments on the inclusion of labels for the eight most common food allergies, as well as "Gluten-free" and "Vegan" for any of our snack foods that applied.
Our Info Desk head (who compiled the surveys) is going to be sending out the compiled comments shortly. I plan to post this with any further info from the comments to access_fandom as soon as I get it and can look through the information.
Edit: Comments:
- We had one person say they appreciated the designated changing room in Cosplay Central, but another person reported that it wasn't open before the convention proper; will need to see what I can do about the latter.
- Someone - presumably the same person who complained that citrus wasn't labeled in the Consweet - commented that they couldn't enter the Consweet because of oranges(?). I know oranges are highly aromatic, but I wasn't aware that any food allergen aside from peanuts was air transmittable? Will have to look this up.
- Forgot this completely: This year we made bag check for the Dealer's Room optional, whereas in previous years it had been mandatory. While I had been entirely prepared to have exemption stickers made for people with necessary medical equipment/bags, the fact that I don't have to is quite nice.
- Sounds like the MC (same as the one for Opening Ceremonies) did more of the same while MC-ing the Masquerade, though only one of the four people commenting specifically on him brought this up.
Will sort through more later.
* According to the very informal Staff Survey, in which AI staffers attending the meeting were asked if departments had "Improved", "Stayed the same", or "Gotten worse" since last year, the Accessibility Department was very much in the 'improved' category. I voted for "Improved" but also "Gotten worse", since I do know that I let some things slip through the cracks for 2014, and then there was the whole wrist band debacle, but mostly it went pretty well, IMO.
* Speaking of the wrist band thing: I confirmed that it was our previous Hotel Department head who had okay'd the use of staff corridor access wrist bands for attendees with disabilities. Our current Hotel head said that it was probably the lack of warning/prep time that prevented that being an option this year, and told me that if I asked far enough ahead of time, she could probably make it happen for the 2015 convention. I asked her if asking now was enough time, to which she laughed and said yes, then asked me to send an e-mail reminder, since she was pretty sure she'd forget otherwise. I don't know if I'll get to the e-mail reminder tonight, but I'm hoping that posting the "Making Of" report to
access_fandom in the near future will remind me to do so, so I don't forget and mess it up for 2015. (My major failing this year was that I assumed that, since we got permission to do the wrist-band thing in 2013, that permission would carry over to this year. Never doing that again if I can possibly help it.)* The general survey for attendees has a list of departments and events, with a rating system for how important something is and how well AI did on a scale of 1 to 5 (1 being the lowest, 5 being the highest), as well as a section for comments. The Accessibility department itself wasn't on the list of things to rate, but both the Consweet and the Shuttle Bus (a school bus which makes regular shuttle trips between selected hotels in the area) received high marks. They both got around a 4 on average, and since the highest mark anything got was 4.65, I'd say that's pretty darn good.
* The Consweet in particular got a lot of positive comments on the inclusion of labels for the eight most common food allergies, as well as "Gluten-free" and "Vegan" for any of our snack foods that applied.
Our Info Desk head (who compiled the surveys) is going to be sending out the compiled comments shortly. I plan to post this with any further info from the comments to access_fandom as soon as I get it and can look through the information.
Edit: Comments:
- We had one person say they appreciated the designated changing room in Cosplay Central, but another person reported that it wasn't open before the convention proper; will need to see what I can do about the latter.
- Someone - presumably the same person who complained that citrus wasn't labeled in the Consweet - commented that they couldn't enter the Consweet because of oranges(?). I know oranges are highly aromatic, but I wasn't aware that any food allergen aside from peanuts was air transmittable? Will have to look this up.
- Forgot this completely: This year we made bag check for the Dealer's Room optional, whereas in previous years it had been mandatory. While I had been entirely prepared to have exemption stickers made for people with necessary medical equipment/bags, the fact that I don't have to is quite nice.
- Sounds like the MC (same as the one for Opening Ceremonies) did more of the same while MC-ing the Masquerade, though only one of the four people commenting specifically on him brought this up.
Will sort through more later.
AnimeIowa 2014 Teaspoon Report, part 2
Aug. 24th, 2014 04:41 pmBlargh, sorry this took so long. My internet connection issues should all be sorted out now, though. On to the details! (Part 1 can be found here.)
[Content Note: Ablism/Disablism]
* Two meetings prior to the convention, a fellow staffer asked if I could make sure a ramp was included at the mainstage area in Main Programming this year. I initially responded that I'd asked for one last year, and it should still be in the hotel resume (which basically describes what we want out of our various spaces, and how we would like them set up). I then decided to double-check, because better safe than sorry, and we had just changed hotel department heads since the previous convention. Lo and behold, there was no record of mainstage needing a ramp. I made sure that the request was logged in the appropriate resume, and went to relay the results to the staffer who had approached me. I was quite happy to see the ramp ready to go when I was marking out wheelchair spaces before the convention.
* There was a bit of a problem with the head of registration. ( Gruesome details below the cut )
* Speaking of the Accessibility Policy, I didn't actually manage to get it entirely okay'd until the day before the convention, whoops. I had gotten my immediate supervisor and one exec to look over it at the second to last meeting before the con, but hadn't gotten around to e-mailing it to the other execs in the meantime. I did get three other execs to read through the policy Thursday evening and effectively sign off on it. I have also just sent a copy to this year's execs to hopefully okay, so I can get it posted on the convention's website ASAP.
* While setting up my things in the Dealer's Room, I was directed to a dealer who had expressed interest in speaking to the Accessibility Head about accommodations. I was directed to the person in question, where they asked about any "special badges" that would allow them to skip any lines, given that they had only been able to get around by means of a wheelchair until very recently andn ow still had to rely on a cane. They knew that other conventions did this, and were wondering if AnimeIowa did it and, when I said we did not, why. I did my best to explain about not wanting to make PWD "marked" or to automatically out them to every other convention attendee, though I'm afraid I did a poor job of it.
The Masquerade was also the only event that came to mind at the time that involved an actual line, and while registration frequently did, this person had already collected their badge - a Dealer's/Artisan's badge, which they got from a different location than other attendees. ((As a note to msyelf, I need to make sure that the location to pick up these badges is very explicitly clear to anyone who gets one, because having to potentially wait in line to get your badge only to find out it's the wrong line, and the right line is potentially at the other end of a very long hallway? Yeah, that can't be good.)) The Masquerade head had previously stated that they couldn't allow anyone to skip the line; given that the Masquerade is an incredibly popular event with very limited seating, I was more understanding of that than I was of the no-skipping-the-reg-line BS, though I still wasn't entirely happy with it. However, I don't believe I had actually worked out a solution as of this year, and that is entirely on me and my own biases; I haven't attended a Masquerade for probably at least five years now, and haven't enjoyed it for even longer. I will be speaking with the Masquerade department to work out a possible proxy system for PWD who wish to attend but cannot wait in line. This should hopefully clear up any issues with the Masquerade deptartment and any potential attendee grumpiness over "unfairness", or at least minimize it. Lines for autographs simply hadn't occurred to me at all, though I can probably work out a similar system for that, provided that the Guests head isn't more accommodating WRT attendees' ability to wait in lines (or lack thereof).
Anyway, I told the exhibitor that I didn't think there were any events aside from the Masquerade that had lines at AI, and I could probably work out a proxy system for that if they wanted me to. We eventually agreed that they would be skipping lines as they saw fit, and if anyone had any problem with it, that person could come talk to me about it.
An hour or two later, as the exhibitor was leaving the exhibition hall, I remembered that I had an extra copy of the Accessibility Policy on hand. I made quick work of passing it on to them, and their companion began reading it aloud to them immediately as they continued on their way. I certainly didn't want to hold them up and potentially waste their spoons if they could just as easily continue to where they were going, especially since they knew where I was and how to find me if they had any questions.
* I did hear of one person complaining that foods with citrus weren't labeled as such in the Consweet, unlike foods with dairy, nuts, any of the other eight most common food allergies, or if they were gluten-free, but being that citrus isn't one of the eight most common food allergies, I didn't think it was terribly important. Unfortunately, I don't know that I made sure an ingredients list was available for all foods this year, which is something I definitely need to make sure I do next year, because getting an allergy attack at a convention would be both horrible and completely preventable by having ingredient lists available.
And that's all I can remember for the AI 2014 Teaspoon/Accessibility Report. Overall, I had a lot of failings this year, mostly in getting things printed out on time. If I ever get my own underling, this is definitely something I plan to assign to them. I also feel like I did some good work, and am looking forward to doing better next year.
[Content Note: Ablism/Disablism]
* Two meetings prior to the convention, a fellow staffer asked if I could make sure a ramp was included at the mainstage area in Main Programming this year. I initially responded that I'd asked for one last year, and it should still be in the hotel resume (which basically describes what we want out of our various spaces, and how we would like them set up). I then decided to double-check, because better safe than sorry, and we had just changed hotel department heads since the previous convention. Lo and behold, there was no record of mainstage needing a ramp. I made sure that the request was logged in the appropriate resume, and went to relay the results to the staffer who had approached me. I was quite happy to see the ramp ready to go when I was marking out wheelchair spaces before the convention.
* There was a bit of a problem with the head of registration. ( Gruesome details below the cut )
* Speaking of the Accessibility Policy, I didn't actually manage to get it entirely okay'd until the day before the convention, whoops. I had gotten my immediate supervisor and one exec to look over it at the second to last meeting before the con, but hadn't gotten around to e-mailing it to the other execs in the meantime. I did get three other execs to read through the policy Thursday evening and effectively sign off on it. I have also just sent a copy to this year's execs to hopefully okay, so I can get it posted on the convention's website ASAP.
* While setting up my things in the Dealer's Room, I was directed to a dealer who had expressed interest in speaking to the Accessibility Head about accommodations. I was directed to the person in question, where they asked about any "special badges" that would allow them to skip any lines, given that they had only been able to get around by means of a wheelchair until very recently andn ow still had to rely on a cane. They knew that other conventions did this, and were wondering if AnimeIowa did it and, when I said we did not, why. I did my best to explain about not wanting to make PWD "marked" or to automatically out them to every other convention attendee, though I'm afraid I did a poor job of it.
The Masquerade was also the only event that came to mind at the time that involved an actual line, and while registration frequently did, this person had already collected their badge - a Dealer's/Artisan's badge, which they got from a different location than other attendees. ((As a note to msyelf, I need to make sure that the location to pick up these badges is very explicitly clear to anyone who gets one, because having to potentially wait in line to get your badge only to find out it's the wrong line, and the right line is potentially at the other end of a very long hallway? Yeah, that can't be good.)) The Masquerade head had previously stated that they couldn't allow anyone to skip the line; given that the Masquerade is an incredibly popular event with very limited seating, I was more understanding of that than I was of the no-skipping-the-reg-line BS, though I still wasn't entirely happy with it. However, I don't believe I had actually worked out a solution as of this year, and that is entirely on me and my own biases; I haven't attended a Masquerade for probably at least five years now, and haven't enjoyed it for even longer. I will be speaking with the Masquerade department to work out a possible proxy system for PWD who wish to attend but cannot wait in line. This should hopefully clear up any issues with the Masquerade deptartment and any potential attendee grumpiness over "unfairness", or at least minimize it. Lines for autographs simply hadn't occurred to me at all, though I can probably work out a similar system for that, provided that the Guests head isn't more accommodating WRT attendees' ability to wait in lines (or lack thereof).
Anyway, I told the exhibitor that I didn't think there were any events aside from the Masquerade that had lines at AI, and I could probably work out a proxy system for that if they wanted me to. We eventually agreed that they would be skipping lines as they saw fit, and if anyone had any problem with it, that person could come talk to me about it.
An hour or two later, as the exhibitor was leaving the exhibition hall, I remembered that I had an extra copy of the Accessibility Policy on hand. I made quick work of passing it on to them, and their companion began reading it aloud to them immediately as they continued on their way. I certainly didn't want to hold them up and potentially waste their spoons if they could just as easily continue to where they were going, especially since they knew where I was and how to find me if they had any questions.
* I did hear of one person complaining that foods with citrus weren't labeled as such in the Consweet, unlike foods with dairy, nuts, any of the other eight most common food allergies, or if they were gluten-free, but being that citrus isn't one of the eight most common food allergies, I didn't think it was terribly important. Unfortunately, I don't know that I made sure an ingredients list was available for all foods this year, which is something I definitely need to make sure I do next year, because getting an allergy attack at a convention would be both horrible and completely preventable by having ingredient lists available.
And that's all I can remember for the AI 2014 Teaspoon/Accessibility Report. Overall, I had a lot of failings this year, mostly in getting things printed out on time. If I ever get my own underling, this is definitely something I plan to assign to them. I also feel like I did some good work, and am looking forward to doing better next year.
AnimeIowa 2014 Teaspoon Report, part 1
Aug. 7th, 2014 08:34 pmIt's time for my AnimeIowa 2014 report!
* My blue gaffer's tape arrived promptly before AI, which allowed me to mark out wheelchair spaces in the various programming rooms. Sadly, after the rooms were "torn down" for various events (most noticeably the Masquerade), the hotel staff was possibly unaware of the blue tape's significance and didn't bother to lay out the chairs around them when setting the rooms back up. I managed to fix two of the three rooms affected, but Main Programming had far too many chairs for me to even attempt on my own. I will have to see if I can include notes on this next year.
* I did not manage to print out all of the Use The Mic signs I had planned to make before my parents' printer ran out of black ink, but between what we actually had leftover from last year and what I managed to print out this year, we had more than enough signs to go around, yay! The Info Desk people kindly wrote "Please Return [this sign] to the Info Desk" on the back of all the signs, so hopefully we'll have minimal losses this year and will continue to have sufficient signs for at least a few more years in the future.
* ( Hand Sanitizer )
* I managed to remember some key items when making my speech at Opening Ceremonies this year, woo! I included a request for able-bodied attendees to consider using the stairs, especially if they were only going up or down one or two floors (and added a note not to harass people for taking the elevator if it didn't look like they needed to, because you really can't always tell by looking what someone's ability level is); I made a gentle reminder to use the microphone, with general instructions on spacing (I think I said something like "hold it under your chin"?) and mentioned the Use The Mic signs at the Info Desk; and I pointed out that service animals in attendance at AI were there on the job, so please attendees ask their boss if it's okay for them to socialize first.
(This year's MC did "help" a bit with my speech, interjecting twice. The first time was with the microphone bit, where I pointed out that asking "Can everyone hear me?" was kinda pointless, since people who can't hear won't be able to answer; there he was actually helpful and even used my favorite comparison, asking everyone in the audience who wasn't there to put their hand up. I went on to suggest that panelists could ask, "If you can hear me, please raise your hand," and then to watch for people who didn't raise their hands, especially in the back. Not a perfect solution, but definitely better than "can everyone hear me". The second time was a lot more cringe-worthy for me. When I asked attendees to ask a service animal's handler before touching the animal, the MC added, "Just like if you're asking to touch someone's baby. Or their wife." [Emphasis mine.] Just. Wooooooow. Way to imply that people's wives are both their spouse's babysitter and their property. Ick ick ick. Since I wasn't sure how much time I had, I basically continued with my speech, but that bit has been sitting with me ever since.)
* I forgot to make a lot of large-print copies of things this year; I rather hope we saved some from previous years, but don't actually know if we did. That's definitely something I need to do for next year. It's also something I can potentially assign to someone in the event that I try to recruit more people to work for Accessibility. Now that I'm figuring this out, it's something I have to consider.
It's getting late for me, so I'm going to set aside the report for now and pick it up later. G'night!
Edit: Part 2 of this report can now be found here.
* My blue gaffer's tape arrived promptly before AI, which allowed me to mark out wheelchair spaces in the various programming rooms. Sadly, after the rooms were "torn down" for various events (most noticeably the Masquerade), the hotel staff was possibly unaware of the blue tape's significance and didn't bother to lay out the chairs around them when setting the rooms back up. I managed to fix two of the three rooms affected, but Main Programming had far too many chairs for me to even attempt on my own. I will have to see if I can include notes on this next year.
* I did not manage to print out all of the Use The Mic signs I had planned to make before my parents' printer ran out of black ink, but between what we actually had leftover from last year and what I managed to print out this year, we had more than enough signs to go around, yay! The Info Desk people kindly wrote "Please Return [this sign] to the Info Desk" on the back of all the signs, so hopefully we'll have minimal losses this year and will continue to have sufficient signs for at least a few more years in the future.
* ( Hand Sanitizer )
* I managed to remember some key items when making my speech at Opening Ceremonies this year, woo! I included a request for able-bodied attendees to consider using the stairs, especially if they were only going up or down one or two floors (and added a note not to harass people for taking the elevator if it didn't look like they needed to, because you really can't always tell by looking what someone's ability level is); I made a gentle reminder to use the microphone, with general instructions on spacing (I think I said something like "hold it under your chin"?) and mentioned the Use The Mic signs at the Info Desk; and I pointed out that service animals in attendance at AI were there on the job, so please attendees ask their boss if it's okay for them to socialize first.
(This year's MC did "help" a bit with my speech, interjecting twice. The first time was with the microphone bit, where I pointed out that asking "Can everyone hear me?" was kinda pointless, since people who can't hear won't be able to answer; there he was actually helpful and even used my favorite comparison, asking everyone in the audience who wasn't there to put their hand up. I went on to suggest that panelists could ask, "If you can hear me, please raise your hand," and then to watch for people who didn't raise their hands, especially in the back. Not a perfect solution, but definitely better than "can everyone hear me". The second time was a lot more cringe-worthy for me. When I asked attendees to ask a service animal's handler before touching the animal, the MC added, "Just like if you're asking to touch someone's baby. Or their wife." [Emphasis mine.] Just. Wooooooow. Way to imply that people's wives are both their spouse's babysitter and their property. Ick ick ick. Since I wasn't sure how much time I had, I basically continued with my speech, but that bit has been sitting with me ever since.)
* I forgot to make a lot of large-print copies of things this year; I rather hope we saved some from previous years, but don't actually know if we did. That's definitely something I need to do for next year. It's also something I can potentially assign to someone in the event that I try to recruit more people to work for Accessibility. Now that I'm figuring this out, it's something I have to consider.
It's getting late for me, so I'm going to set aside the report for now and pick it up later. G'night!
Edit: Part 2 of this report can now be found here.
AnimeIowa: The story behind the corn
Jul. 28th, 2013 12:37 amYou may recall from my most recent Amigurumi pic dump that I had a very special story behind the corn that I wasn't mentioning?
Well, today I'm finally going to talk about it :D (Online, that is. I already spilled the beans IRL several times over, but it's harder to internet search RL conversations ;) )
See, a few AI staff meetings back, the head of our Guests department approached me with a request. She knew I crocheted neat things, and had seen the cheetah griffin I was working on; would I be interested in maybe making something to give to this year's guests of honor? Maybe a little kernel of corn or something? She/the convention would be paying me for my work.
Of course I said yes! I estimated a price and told her I'd come up with a pattern by the next meeting. I managed it easily and showed up with fifteen mini-corns ready-made. The guests head loved them and paid me on the spot, while asking for another two now that she had the final number count of guests.
The guests head stopped by today to tell me that most of the guests had gotten their bags by now, and that they'd all loved the mini-corn. They loved them even more when they found out about the husk thing! Greg Ayers, well known for dying his hair in bright colors, was particularly tickled that I'd given his mini-corn rainbow cornsilk ;) I am so pleased by the results. I hope I can do something like this again!
Well, today I'm finally going to talk about it :D (Online, that is. I already spilled the beans IRL several times over, but it's harder to internet search RL conversations ;) )
See, a few AI staff meetings back, the head of our Guests department approached me with a request. She knew I crocheted neat things, and had seen the cheetah griffin I was working on; would I be interested in maybe making something to give to this year's guests of honor? Maybe a little kernel of corn or something? She/the convention would be paying me for my work.
Of course I said yes! I estimated a price and told her I'd come up with a pattern by the next meeting. I managed it easily and showed up with fifteen mini-corns ready-made. The guests head loved them and paid me on the spot, while asking for another two now that she had the final number count of guests.
The guests head stopped by today to tell me that most of the guests had gotten their bags by now, and that they'd all loved the mini-corn. They loved them even more when they found out about the husk thing! Greg Ayers, well known for dying his hair in bright colors, was particularly tickled that I'd given his mini-corn rainbow cornsilk ;) I am so pleased by the results. I hope I can do something like this again!
AnimeIowa 2013: Day Zero
Jul. 26th, 2013 12:16 amThis is it.
My art-for-sale is officially at home at the staff art table (and one piece is already set aside for a buyer tomorrow!). My art-not-for-sale is resting in the art show. My Etsy account is on vacation. The Accessibility Policy I wrote up has been given the OK by a representative from our Execs, and I have thirty-three copies printed out and ready to go, eighteen of which are large print. My "Use The Mic" signs are safely stashed and will be available with large print program books at the Info Desk. The list of ingredients of food in the Consweet [sic] is 95% complete, with two large print copies of the current list printed and to be made available to the public tomorrow. The Quiet Room is set up and has several sheets of paper with the rules on them set at strategic locations inside, as well as at the Bridge and the Info Desk. The cheetah griffin and Twilight Sparkle are both complete, Twilight in the Charity director's hands, and the griffin behind the desk at the art table.
The blue gaffer's tape is coming tomorrow. Registration typically gets a lull between the time it opens and the time official convention activity starts, so I should be able to use that time to set up wheelchair spots in all of our programing rooms. I still need to ask the Execs if/when/how I can speak at Opening Ceremonies, but I'm confident they'll OK it/find a slot for me.
Tomorrow (today) is Day One of AnimeIowa. I'm as prepared as I probably can be.
Tonight, I sleep.
My art-for-sale is officially at home at the staff art table (and one piece is already set aside for a buyer tomorrow!). My art-not-for-sale is resting in the art show. My Etsy account is on vacation. The Accessibility Policy I wrote up has been given the OK by a representative from our Execs, and I have thirty-three copies printed out and ready to go, eighteen of which are large print. My "Use The Mic" signs are safely stashed and will be available with large print program books at the Info Desk. The list of ingredients of food in the Consweet [sic] is 95% complete, with two large print copies of the current list printed and to be made available to the public tomorrow. The Quiet Room is set up and has several sheets of paper with the rules on them set at strategic locations inside, as well as at the Bridge and the Info Desk. The cheetah griffin and Twilight Sparkle are both complete, Twilight in the Charity director's hands, and the griffin behind the desk at the art table.
The blue gaffer's tape is coming tomorrow. Registration typically gets a lull between the time it opens and the time official convention activity starts, so I should be able to use that time to set up wheelchair spots in all of our programing rooms. I still need to ask the Execs if/when/how I can speak at Opening Ceremonies, but I'm confident they'll OK it/find a slot for me.
Tomorrow (today) is Day One of AnimeIowa. I'm as prepared as I probably can be.
Tonight, I sleep.
AnimeIowa To-Do and Done
Jul. 24th, 2013 05:43 pmDone
- Contacted Dept for Blind. Turns out they need three to four weeks' advance notice for printing a project as involved as this. At least I know the date to be pushing our pubs team for next year.
- Put price tags on everything I'll be bringing to sell. I had to go out and buy more unpriced tags and sticker them in order to do this; luckily, I did not lose my leftover logo stickers in the basement flood.
- Bought more sticker paper, since I couldn't find what I thought I had left over from last year. I hope I can still retrieve the receipt; I threw it away because I thought it was too late to get reimbursed, but it turns out maybe not?
- Finished remodeling blank pony-form to make Twilight Sparkle for AI charity thing. Her tail is tentatively attached, her mane and bangs are put together and only need to be glued down, and I contacted Klingon-Pony guy to see if he could whip up her eyes and main cutie mark for me on short notice. Spoiler alert: He could! Once she's done, she'll be going into some AI charity thing that I don't remember the details of off the top of my head.
- E-mailed programming head with How To Use A Microphone instructions to forward to all panel hosts. Whether she'll actually do it/has actually done it is anyone's guess.
To-Do
-Make new Use The Mic signs; starts with printing out new word parts on sticker paper. Stickers printed and cut to size. Now I need to stick them to the foam things and glue the jumbo Popsicle sticks to the back. Done! 25 signs at the ready, and I can make more if needed.
-Bug my immediate convention superior about the Accessibility Policy draft I sent her. Done! Exec has also looked it over, so, with one minor change, it's ready to go live :Db
-Print out copies of ingredients list for all Consweet foods and list of anime shown dubbed vs subbed in large and standard (small?) print. Ditto to as final a version of the Accessibility Policy as I can manage. Ingredients list is only 95% done, but it's as good as I'm gonna get tonight.
-Ask redsixwing if she's okay with her griffin being in the art show. (Pretty please?) Yay, thank you!
- Make sure there'll be time for me to speak in Opening Ceremonies, then write out exactly what I want to say.
-Organize everything that'll be going in the art show vs. staff art table.
-Fill out forms related to staff art table, including inventory list.
- Organize everything I want to bring to the swap meet.
-Make eyelashes and mini stars for Twilight Sparkle.
-Finish cheetah griffin.
- Actually look over program book so I can learn stuff about my own convention.
-the rat cage, so I don't have to do it over the weekend. Done!
Not Going To Happen
- Finding out about ASL interpreters and/or CART services, again.
- Crying in a corner over everything I didn't manage to get done.
- Crying in a corner over not having anyone else in my department.
- Crying in a corner period.
- Printing out more Brain Slug Party forms; my printer is either kaput or need a new power cord, and I don't exactly have the money to replace either. I'm already using my parents' ink to make the Use The Mic signs and other materials.
Setup for AnimeIowa at the hotel starts tomorrow. I'll likely be MIA for much of the weekend, so this is your official heads up.
- Contacted Dept for Blind. Turns out they need three to four weeks' advance notice for printing a project as involved as this. At least I know the date to be pushing our pubs team for next year.
- Put price tags on everything I'll be bringing to sell. I had to go out and buy more unpriced tags and sticker them in order to do this; luckily, I did not lose my leftover logo stickers in the basement flood.
- Bought more sticker paper, since I couldn't find what I thought I had left over from last year. I hope I can still retrieve the receipt; I threw it away because I thought it was too late to get reimbursed, but it turns out maybe not?
- Finished remodeling blank pony-form to make Twilight Sparkle for AI charity thing. Her tail is tentatively attached, her mane and bangs are put together and only need to be glued down, and I contacted Klingon-Pony guy to see if he could whip up her eyes and main cutie mark for me on short notice. Spoiler alert: He could! Once she's done, she'll be going into some AI charity thing that I don't remember the details of off the top of my head.
- E-mailed programming head with How To Use A Microphone instructions to forward to all panel hosts. Whether she'll actually do it/has actually done it is anyone's guess.
To-Do
-
-
-
-
redsixwing if she's okay with her griffin being in the art show. (Pretty please?)- Make sure there'll be time for me to speak in Opening Ceremonies, then write out exactly what I want to say.
-
-
- Organize everything I want to bring to the swap meet.
-
-
- Actually look over program book so I can learn stuff about my own convention.
-
Not Going To Happen
- Finding out about ASL interpreters and/or CART services, again.
- Crying in a corner over everything I didn't manage to get done.
- Crying in a corner over not having anyone else in my department.
- Crying in a corner period.
- Printing out more Brain Slug Party forms; my printer is either kaput or need a new power cord, and I don't exactly have the money to replace either. I'm already using my parents' ink to make the Use The Mic signs and other materials.
Setup for AnimeIowa at the hotel starts tomorrow. I'll likely be MIA for much of the weekend, so this is your official heads up.
(no subject)
Jul. 18th, 2013 03:50 amBad life choices: Starting a 100k fic right before arbitrary bedtime. It's been at least three hours, and I'm not quite half way through it, but I'm having trouble making myself stop because mystery!
Crafting party today, by which I mean I went over to Steve the Chain Mail Guy's house to crochet while he did chain mail stuff and Jody who made the violin thing was also visiting and crocheting. I ended up making one-and-a-half of my new mini-pigs (really fantastic new pattern of mine that's done in a single length of yarn - no extra pieces or sewing what-so-ever!) and a regular sized saddleback pig. After I'd finished saddleback!piggy, Steve decided that it needed a nose ring. And then that the mini pig needed a nose ring. And then that I should make another pig so he could give it a nose ring. (I'm out of eyes in the appropriate size, which is why it's not finished yet, but it's done enough to have a nose ring.) There was much amusement had by all.
Tiny piggies are adorable, BTW. I need to think of one more thing I can make in that size, and then I can sell it and a pig and an ear of corn together at a slight discount as the Iowa Dinner Special.
AnimeIowa is right around the corner, and I promised I'd make something for the charity auctions, so I need to get off my buns and do that. I've got a finished blank pony form of the right color that I'm not doing anything else with, so I think I'm going to make it into Twilight Sparkle. It's gonna need a nose job, but honestly, that's waaaaay less work than making an entire new pony. Only canon compliant through season two, but whatever. I'll probably be contacting one of my fellow staffers to see about eyes and the main part of the cutie mark. You know, the Klingon!pony guy? (I should totally link some of this stuff I'm referencing, but again, it's like three hours after I meant to be asleep. And yet I still can't stop reading that fic! *fistshake*)
I also need to finalize what I can for our potential Accessibility Policy. Once that's done, I'll send it off to my, hrm. Manager? We have con-specific terms, it's annoying. Anyway, I'll send it to her, and once she okays it I'll send it to the execs. Once they okay it, I'll talk to our webmaster about getting it on the convention site. I also need to track down contact info for the Department for the Blind and find out if we still have enough time for them to print some stuff out for us in Braille (urk, I'm so horribly late!).
Welp, I'm out of coherent, and also possibly things to say. I'm going to attempt to find a place I can manage to stop reading in the fic of doom, and then, with any luck, sleep.
Crafting party today, by which I mean I went over to Steve the Chain Mail Guy's house to crochet while he did chain mail stuff and Jody who made the violin thing was also visiting and crocheting. I ended up making one-and-a-half of my new mini-pigs (really fantastic new pattern of mine that's done in a single length of yarn - no extra pieces or sewing what-so-ever!) and a regular sized saddleback pig. After I'd finished saddleback!piggy, Steve decided that it needed a nose ring. And then that the mini pig needed a nose ring. And then that I should make another pig so he could give it a nose ring. (I'm out of eyes in the appropriate size, which is why it's not finished yet, but it's done enough to have a nose ring.) There was much amusement had by all.
Tiny piggies are adorable, BTW. I need to think of one more thing I can make in that size, and then I can sell it and a pig and an ear of corn together at a slight discount as the Iowa Dinner Special.
AnimeIowa is right around the corner, and I promised I'd make something for the charity auctions, so I need to get off my buns and do that. I've got a finished blank pony form of the right color that I'm not doing anything else with, so I think I'm going to make it into Twilight Sparkle. It's gonna need a nose job, but honestly, that's waaaaay less work than making an entire new pony. Only canon compliant through season two, but whatever. I'll probably be contacting one of my fellow staffers to see about eyes and the main part of the cutie mark. You know, the Klingon!pony guy? (I should totally link some of this stuff I'm referencing, but again, it's like three hours after I meant to be asleep. And yet I still can't stop reading that fic! *fistshake*)
I also need to finalize what I can for our potential Accessibility Policy. Once that's done, I'll send it off to my, hrm. Manager? We have con-specific terms, it's annoying. Anyway, I'll send it to her, and once she okays it I'll send it to the execs. Once they okay it, I'll talk to our webmaster about getting it on the convention site. I also need to track down contact info for the Department for the Blind and find out if we still have enough time for them to print some stuff out for us in Braille (urk, I'm so horribly late!).
Welp, I'm out of coherent, and also possibly things to say. I'm going to attempt to find a place I can manage to stop reading in the fic of doom, and then, with any luck, sleep.
