Ah yes, spring flowers.  They are a joy to behold. We can learn much from their tenacity and ability to bring beauty even when things are a bit tough and winter continues to cling.  They’re especially fun if they begin to sing to us as the animated ones did in Disney’s Alice in Wonderland.  

It’s getting to the point where the frost is just about to it’s final show and we can begin to consider planting gardens.  If you don’t have bulbs popping up in your garden, I suggest you visit your local nursery to find some spring color.  What better way to uplift your spirits than to be around natural things?

I happened to capture these amazing flowers at Windmill Gardens in Sumner, WA.  (Did you know that Cisco will sometimes host his show there?)  The people there are helpful, the plant varieties are quite diverse and the selection/quantities are aplenty.  Plus, while you’re visiting Windmill, you can also pop into the Tea Madame, one of the Windmill Villagers, and get some delicious loose leaf teas.  I highly recommend the coconut chai and the citrus green.

What symbols represent spring to you?  Is it the snow melting on the mountain?  Is it the ability to wear fewer layers?  Is it the loss of wearing your favorite handknit items?  How do you determine that spring is indeed arrived? 

True to my word, I wore a slightly different outfit/costume each day I was at Norwescon.  The first few days were focused on the dreads I was demoing, the amazing headdresses created by Peg and Bellydance costume bits. Many people really love the dreads I have on in the photo above.  Those were my first and still are my favorites.  I told many people about spinning the yarn, what types of fibers produce the best results, and why you should select some yarns that somewhat match your natural hair color.  


The mucha/art deco style headpiece I’m wearing is a Peg original.  The flowers & leaves are vintage.  I didn’t have to wear earrings because the headpiece had it’s own danglie bits.  And, it was so comfortable and secure that I could dance and jump around wearing it without it falling or flying off.  That is one of my key tests for a great costume. 

 

The last day, I got all dudded up in my Madd Hatter costume.  I made the dress from a vintage 1950′s child’s dress and just graded it up to fit my body.  Surprisingly, it didn’t require much grading.  The hat is a custom bygone design by Topsy Turvy in the theme of Mad Hatter.  See, for my recently major birthday party I had an Alice in Wonderland costume theme.  We even had pink lawn flamingos for playing croquet and twins running about with birthday cakes upon their heads.  It was perfect!

A huge thanks to David Ketcherside (one very cool dude) for all his hardwork organizing Artists Alley at Norwescon34.  Also, Christopher Baldwin (creator of Little Dee and Spacetrawler) gets Artist’s Alley neighbor of the year award for keeping mom & I laughing with his good nature, humorous engagement with the crowd of by-passers, and for showing me knitting related humor in his comic strips.  You’ve now gained a new fan of your comics!  Finally, thanks to all the volunteers, panelists, artists, attendees and writers who made NWC34 such a fun event.  I’ve been to unconferences and learned much about product management, and now I can say I’ve learned about flirting, flash writing, power & electricity using 1800′s techniques, tested my geek movie knowledge in (geek, geek, don’t tell me – NPR nuts eat your heart out), and explored the 5th wing late night parties.  All in all, a wild and fantastic weekend!