Reason number #56 why I love knitting

Seriously cute sweater, crappy pics.  My photographer (brother) was busy.

You know how it is, it's not that you have nothing to wear it's just that there's this one hole in your wardrobe that needs filling.  That one piece that would make a third of your closet more wearable. The great advantage to knitting (and sewing) is not having to chose just from what can be bought.  If the style, size, or color I have in mind isn't there I can just make it myself.  And while I would never say that knitting saves money I will say it is quite possible that the sweaters I can afford to knit are nicer than the ones I can afford to buy. 

What is up with the color in this image?  All other pics are closer to the true color of this yarn.

So, anyway, my wardrobe hole just happens to be small shrug/bolero type sweaters that can be tossed on for added warmth and interest.  Preferably in a color that goes with most of my wardrobe.  This wool/alpaca blend yarn started life as a cape. But after months of just hanging on Myrna the cape remained unfinished.  One day I finally realized it was time to move on and reclaimed the yarn.  I'm very glad I did.  Not that I won't make a cape some day, just not in this yarn.

Myrna, modeling the ill fated cape.

I did search my patterns for something just right but I have relatively few patterns that were even close to what I had in mind.  Ultimately I ended up casting on and making notes along the way.  I knit cuff to cuff so all I really had to do was mirror things for the second half: decrease as many times as I increased, cast on the same number of stitches I bound off, etc . . .  If this were a pattern I think a beginner could manage it.  Increase, decrease, knit, purl, cast on, and bind off were really the only skills needed. Ravelry link

Myrna, kindly modeling the back of the much better received sweater.

The resulting sweater fills the hole perfectly and has gotten lots of wear - unfortunately it is still too warm to wear it most days.  That aside, I predict lots of future use and it really does go with most of my wardrobe.  And I definitely want to play around more with this method of construction. 

I really do love this sweater.  Even if my expression looks a little off.

Manh(a)ttan

Source

I've been watching the show Manh(a)ttan since it started.  I know anyone who knows me wouldn't be too surprised as clearly it's the sort of thing I will watch. It also has some of my favorite actors in it (Olivia Williams, Harry Lloyd, and Daniel Stern!) and it's set in New Mexico.  Which, duh!  But still.

And I do enjoy the show.  I'm not ranking it top ten of all time but it's a nice cap to Sunday night, but . . . 

Okay, I'm not saying you have to be 100% accurate when you make this sort of thing.  It's a drama and if you play things out as they actually were no one would believe it or it might just be kind of boring.  But I do think you need to fall in the realm of what actually happened.  There were real people that worked on this project.  Some who still live.  And some of the liberties being taken aren't very respectful.

Now it just so happens I'm reading a book about women in the U. S. military and I'm smack dab in the section on World War II.  There's even a part about WAAC/WACs who were stationed at Los Alamos.  I've read a lot on this subject and I have infinite respect and admiration for all these women went through just so they could serve their country.

The book I am reading right now, A Few Good Women,  takes a few pages to describe the experiences of WAAC/WACs who worked in the Manhattan Project in New Mexico.  These women were told they would be going overseas so when they arrived in the middle of the New Mexico desert it was a shock.  It was considered a security risk to inform the women before their arrival.  The women themselves could not tell family where they were or what they were working on.  They couldn't even talk to their roommates about it if they didn't happen to work in the same area.  Many had degrees - even doctorates.  They were a vital part of helping win the war.  These women were and are heroes who worked hard and made sacrifices for their country.

Source

So, you know this is show is a huge opportunity to educate and pay tribute to these women.  Except the only real plot line to involve a WAAC/WAC at this point involves her charging for sex.  In fact, it's implied that all WAAC/WACs on site are prostitutes. Wait, what?

The irony here is there was a campaign by men in the army and their families to smear the WAAC/WAC organization so badly that women wouldn't join.  The U. S. Government thought it was probably Nazi's spreading rumors so imagine their surprise when they found out it was their own men.  You see the campaign for the WAAC was "Free a man to fight" - women could take over military jobs that didn't involve direct combat so the men who used to do those jobs could be on the front.  Not every man or man's family was happy with that idea.

So what was the smear campaign?  Well the usual stuff: women who joined were lesbians, loose morally, would end up pregnant ( according to the statistics in the book women in the military were actually much less likely to become pregnant than civilian women at that time) and, of course, the real job of the WAAC was to keep the men happy by having sex with them.  It was actually pretty clever - it played on the fears that women, away from their families and left to their own devices, would suddenly behave in ways that went completely counter to how they had been raised.  Yes the smear campaign is a pretty nasty bit of history, but to me it's almost more upsetting that so many people believed it.  That so many people just accepted the idea that the only thing a woman could offer to the military would be her body and not her brain.

Of course none of it was true.  Sure, there were a few lesbians, some women did get pregnant, and maybe there was the odd WAAC/WAC who did trade sex for money.  But it certainly wasn't common.  The fact is most women were too busy with important war work and fending off rude remarks from those who bought into the smear campaign to have time for much else besides a little sleep  and maybe a beer every now and then.  For most WAAC/WACs what they were doing for their country was far more important than risking getting in trouble of any kind.  And you can bet that trading sex for money would definitely have got them in a world of trouble.

So, it's 2014 and we still believe the WAAC/WACs were prostitutes?  Who is researching this thing?  Why would you make that choice?  Couldn't you think of a better way of including a WAAC/WAC in your storyline?

There isn't anything inherently wrong with sex work in my eyes.  It's the circumstances surrounding it that are the problem (abuse, not having a choice in the matter, unsafe - among others) and not the work itself.  But WAAC/WACs weren't prostitutes.  Portraying them as such is not only a lie but it totally ignores the important contributions these women really made to help end the war. 

These women are heroes.  They served their country bravely and well.  They gave up a lot so they could do their patriotic duty.  They also had to put up with a lot of crap male soldiers never had to deal with as part of their service.  And, apparently, they are still having to put up with it.

As Promised

Still figuring out how to show off the costume and the shield at the same time.  Also, still working on that salute.

 So, like it says in the title, as promised.  Here are better pictures of me as Cap.  Complete with updates.  My brother was nice enough to take pics and quite a few of them were in focus!  To be clear -I blame the camera and not him.  I will buy a new camera.   Some day.

Serious face.

 The updated version was a huge hit.  Some dude came over and asked if he could touch my shield - which was a new one.  Yes, I let him.   One of the cosplay ladies complimented my costume and then I later found out she was a judge at the the costume contest - which I didn't enter.  Darn.  Also got a compliment from another pro who was a fab Harley but I forgot to ask for a pic.  What is wrong with me?  Oh yeah, didn't I mention I was a volunteer the first two days?  And was out past midnight both nights?  By Sunday I was exhausted and running on fumes so I blame that for me not being more on the ball about pics.  But I don't mind because my exhaustion and sore feet are proof that the con was a success and since it was the first year that's a huge deal. 

Best of the full length shots. 

 Details on the updates:

The cartridge belt, suspenders, and first aid kit I bought as a set from World War Supply.   I ordered on a Monday and got it Thursday - so I totally recommend.  The set was a little musty when I got it but I just washed it like I wash sweaters (soak and spin in the washer using Eucalan wash) and then shoved it in my ceder chest for about a week and it was fine.  I loved that I didn't have to carry a purse.   The set was pricey but it was cheaper in time, money, and sanity to buy than make.  Besides the "no purse" advantage I think it just makes a costume I already loved even better.

Ooh, I've gone all old timey here.

The gloves are just plain knit fingerless gloves.  So boring and simple I didn't even bother with a pattern.  I used Cascade Yarns Heritage Silk which is a wool silk blend and wonderful to knit with.  The previous gloves were satin and made it awkward to do much of anything with my hands when they were on.  I could have just cut the fingers off the original gloves but I am a knitter and I knew the one's I made would be better.  It was nice to only have to remove my gloves to use the restroom.

My first attempt. 

And finally, the Garrison Cap.  Or Cap's Cap as I couldn't resist calling it.  I used this pattern here.  I had some difficulty printing it correctly so my test square was off (totally my fault).  I adjusted it some and made a cap with fabric leftover from the skirt.  Everyone I showed it to thought it looked good but I found the crown to be too high and the cap itself was super tight so I made some more adjustments to the pattern and cut out another cap (luckily I had enough piping and fabric for another) and it came out huge, so I did a little ripping and cutting and managed to create a hat that fit.  The wings and "A" are just white felt I cut and sewed on by hand.  I still like the wing barrettes but I love my cap.  But you already knew that, right?

Somewhat blurry close up of the wings.

So, is it perfect now?  Is it ever perfect?  No, but I'm very proud of it and pleased that I can be Cap whenever I want.  Or you know, I'm needed.  To lead the Avengers or to take down Hydra.  Or whatever.

I already know who I want to tackle next but I'm having trouble sourcing the right fabric.  I like to make my costumes as good (or better) than regular clothes.  I have several reasons for that: I wear the costumes over and over and they can get a lot of wear and tear over the course of a con,  I do wear some of my costume pieces outside of cosplay,  and, most importantly, life is too short to sew with fabric you don't love.

Anyway, if you're still reading this, my self imposed deadline for that costume is actually Halloween.  Hopefully I'll have something awesome to show then.  If my camera battery doesn't die.  As it does.  Every.  Single.  Halloween.  Or at least the last five.

Another Serious face, my brother was being goofy, but I think it came out good.  Kind of action-y.

Some of what I've been up to lately

Recently bleached my roots and went blue (again)

Blurry teaser of some of my Cap cosplay updates

I've been busy lately with a few things, including prepping for Las Cruces Comic Con.  It's their first year so go out and support them if you can this weekend.  I'm volunteering on Friday and Saturday.  Sunday I'm going to be Captain America again.  I plan on getting better pics of me in the cosplay - but plans don't always work out.  If they do I promise to share.