Weekend wanderings
So this weekend I went to Reading. Partly to see Andy Owen, partly for Reading Mage and partly to go to Fabric Land.
As I walked through the town centre I was struck by how many shops have changed. I felt sad to discover that the Friar Street Bookshop, once my favourite lunch time haunt and source of so many of my first forays into Pratchett is now an optician. Just like Birmingham it seems to be filling up with pound shops and charity shops. Next time I’m in I must go to more of the charity shops - I found one with some vintage sewing patterns in it (didn’t get any as none of them leapt out at me.) I must also go to the market to see if it still has fabric stalls.
Feeling slightly melancholy about how much has changed I was happy to wander past the unchanged Greyfriars church and Christian Coffee Shop, turn into Cheapside and discover that Fabric Land still has the same brilliant yellow shop sign, and the bridal shop next to it is the same. Fabric Land was crammed with goodies - and absolutely packed with people.
I was aiming to get some bright fuchsia pink suiting for a skirt, but the only bolt I found in the right kind of fabric was entirely the wrong shade of pink. I did find the floral cotton I’d fallen in love with online; and it is as lovely in the flesh. Most definitely a good plan to go and physically see the fabric, feel it and play with it - and hold it against the pink suiting and go “no, that really doesn’t go at all.” So I went hunting through the bolts and found a gorgeous moss crepe in a lovely deep crimson red. So I now have that, lining to go with it, the floral for a blouse and a load of calico to make toiles with. This seems especially important as the patterns I have don’t come in my size. However there are a lot of tutorials online about how to redraft a pattern and grade it up so I have tissue paper, a ruler and a plan.
I had a nice natter with the lady who cut my fabric - I asked if they’d seen an increase in business since the Great British Sewing Bee and the answer was “it’s been completely crazy.” I let her know that there are a whole bunch of blogs about sewing and Fabric Land is being recommended as a source both as a bricks and mortar shop and online. It was nice to see a small shop be so busy. I also had a sympathetic moan with a lady who was buying fabric to make her little girl a skirt because all the skirts in the shops are miniskirts - and she just doesn’t think that they’re suitable for a five year old. I said I was doing the same for myself as I didn’t want to wear a miniskirt to work where I’m sat down all day. Definitely one of the advantages to this making your own lark - you can increase (or decrease) the length to how you want it. Plus add in pockets; what is it about women’s clothing not having pockets?
I also popped into John Lewis - they’ve moved their haberdashery and it’s nice and light and airy, but I’d swear that their fabric selection has seriously decreased. Managed to find a matching zip for the skirt though; plus some fusible stuff to see if I can fix Mark’s cloak. I have decided that I’m going to make self-covered buttons for the blouse. I’m going to make patch pockets for the skirt, and may decorate them with some self-covered buttons as well so I got spares.
I am really hoping to go to the sewing bloggers meet up in June now - apparently the one in London was amazing; and this one aims to hit the rag market. The fabric I have for the skirt is gorgeous, but somewhat heavy. It’s going to be perfect for work, and I think will carry through to autumn, I’d almost be tempted to make trousers for autumn / winter out of it (in a different colour possibly) - but I’m wondering if it’s going to be a bit heavy during summer. So some experienced advice on if some of the cottons about will actually work for a skirt would be most welcome.
So now I have the fabric to make a toile, the actual fabric and all the notions. Next weekend is a bank holiday so I’m going to spend it sewing. I have already popped the fabric into the washing machine and it’s drying on the laundry rack. I need to hunt out the iron - I think I know where it is, and take my ironing board out of its shrink wrap (from when I bought it from Woolworths was closing down … yeah, I don’t iron. This may change.) I also intend to buy some sawdust and make a tailor’s ham and sleeve.
I then ambled from John Lewis into glorious sunshine (which as it had suddenly started raining as we walked up from the station was lovely) and the familiar sound of the Hare Krishnas. So some things about Reading haven’t changed - they still have folks in robes with cymbals and drums chanting. It reminded me of the parade that they once had with a sacred bull in tow.
When I got to the games Simon Francis was lurking about so I sat and had a cup of tea and nattered to him and Daniel who I’d not met before. They were busy writing up mage sheets and cackling; I knitted more of one of my throw squares. Forsaken seemed to be going along nicely as the STs were on stage to run a mass combat; which appeared to be bouncing along and involved a Pure wielding a fire axe. Eventually Jez and Sally appeared, along with Pav so I took the opportunity to borrow Jez and make the new Southwark Requiem ST cry as I explained just what was in Dolly’s basement. He’s come up with a lovely system for CCTV cameras which makes total sense, so I just now need to make sure Dolly balances and then send him my character sheet along with a list of things that Matt Sanderson left behind. I also explained the current cross venue with Mage and what my personal intentions are regarding it (namely no I’m not playing super friends, but if it’s Spirits then the guy who can actually do something to the spirits can go play.)
Simon and I also came up with the next silly idea for Requiem, which made Jez go “no” a lot. And Mike. Honestly they spoil all our fun. I think Stefan would be a fabulous Moros.
Mage then happened. I think that’s the best way to describe it. I have to confess that I’d been planning for May to give birth on this weekend for a while. However I had no plans to go into labour mid game - the idea was that she would be in the early stages during the game; giving Zephyr the chance to send James a text to get him to Reading; and then the actual birth would happen off stage. And initially this was what was happening; and the only thing to mar the joyous occasion was Zephyr coming back from a mission to rescue Parker with blood over him and bullet holes in his shirt. As Andy and I discussed; there is a whole world of difference between academically knowing that your boyfriend gets involved in combat and coming face to face with immediate, direct evidence that he gets hurt whilst doing so. However as it had all been stopped by the bullet proof vest all Zephyr actually had was heavy bruising; and no one else was badly hurt either.
Apart from that May had an interesting discussion with Mr J about why Seers were Bad; how what happened to him was not the done thing and how brainwashing Sleepers by the GoTV was not the best thing either. Pythia then rocked our worlds with her reply when asked what she was intending to about the sleepers who had witnessed an awakening (she’s going to get them to sign a non-disclosure agreement. I think May might be in love.)
And then suddenly, the quiet amble that May was doing through the game changed. It was decided that they really needed to deal with the Abyssal Spirit of Death and Destruction today, and there was a plan to ambush it in the new natal ward of the new local hospital. Faraday was asking for people with spirit and prime, and May naturally went “well I’m a Master and Adept … better go help.”
I then did something I very rarely do. I sat down and buffed her up; got some shields and in general prepped for combat. Hopefully I didn’t go completely off piste with what I was doing - I’m terrible at mage rules and working out how many spells I can cast, and what potency they all are. Yeah, going into a combat whilst in early stages of labour - not May’s wisest action ever I will confess. In her defence she a: recently dropped Wisdom; b: didn’t want Zephyr to go without her and c: actually only intended to heal people; and try to drain the spirit of essence. Plus it was Tinker, and May hates Tinker a lot. So when Tinker’s life is threatened May has to try and help - because otherwise she doesn’t have the moral high ground over the person she dislikes. Did I ever mention that May’s a bit nuts? It feeds into her narcissism “I am better than the person I dislike because I will go out of my way to help them - aren’t I a Good Girl?”
So we all pull initiative and get into a circle around the lovely Jez. I then got a chair and appeared to start a trend as everyone else went “sitting down to do this is a good plan.” There was a bit of a scene set to start and then Jez asked for anything else, I stuck up my hand and said “By the way, May’s in the early stages of labour.”
The look on Jez’s face was so worth it. About half way through the combat he went “this is not how I envisioned running this” with a pained expression. If ever there was an object lesson of “no plot survives contact with the players” this was it.
So the Bad Guy turned up, asked if we were willing to undertake the deal. There was a quick explanation of what the deal was (torturing a person to death every month and giving the creature the soul to eat - thank you Simon Wolf) and it was rejected by all present. It then went “ok then” and turned into a tentacle monstrosity. Top of the round is Zephyr. A few people before me are Raphael and Ofelia. There are a few actions, folks curse the beastie and boost people’s luck in various ways and then Raphael changes the spiritual resonance of the area to boost the fertility and life of the area - basically to be even more inimical to the beastie.
And May makes a check, fails it and her waters break. Oops. Suddenly she really is the spirit’s bane …
There are more actions, some people fail rule 0 and are on fire so May shoots the wall in order to set off the fire alarm (and sprinklers.) Zephyr suddenly discovers his girlfriend has brought the gun he gave her. He looked slightly startled and is now insisting on giving her firearms training. (Yes she cheated to get the skill; mind magic for the win.) There is more action, Pythia, last in the round yells “the birthing fluids will hurt it!”
We go round again, and Raphael boosts the area again and so does Ofelia. Gee thanks, things are really starting to move right now. May is swearing mightily but also boosts the area because it’s working. She also kicks the fluid running down her leg at the beastie; which made it sizzle.
Jez takes me outside and asks if I mind Plot hitting my children. I say yes, yes I do mind. I am so glad I did as otherwise one of them would have vanished. I’ve had a plot like that, never again please.
We go back in and Jez glosses over the fine details but points out to all present that giving birth is messy and any time anyone gets laid over the next month or so they may wish to remember what they just saw.
Top of the round and we’re back to Zephyr. At least three people are now cthulonic entities; more are still on fire - but we are actually hurting it. Zephyr aims, shoots and yells “remember your breathing exercises dear, in and out.”
If it had continued I think May would have thrown birthing fluids at Zephyr at that point. As it was Overwatch portalled in and grabbed May, taking her back to the Forge; just as the beastie decided to discorporate the heck out of dodge. Fortunately Raphael managed to get to the Forge in time to prevent delivery via machete. May does not want to know what the Veiled Pillar have done with the placenta and umbilical cords.
And that was that. Apart from the fact that anyone involved is now Mightily Fertile for the next month or so (and has flashbacks to seeing May go into labour which is a fun combination) - between the three of us we got 20 successes on that boost. Shame we didn’t kill the beastie, so we need to hit it again but never mind. All good fun. Fortunately James managed to find someone willing to get him to May’s bedside and everything went fine from there. May now has two healthy baby girls, and brought them to be cooed over at Anglesey.
As I walked through the town centre I was struck by how many shops have changed. I felt sad to discover that the Friar Street Bookshop, once my favourite lunch time haunt and source of so many of my first forays into Pratchett is now an optician. Just like Birmingham it seems to be filling up with pound shops and charity shops. Next time I’m in I must go to more of the charity shops - I found one with some vintage sewing patterns in it (didn’t get any as none of them leapt out at me.) I must also go to the market to see if it still has fabric stalls.
Feeling slightly melancholy about how much has changed I was happy to wander past the unchanged Greyfriars church and Christian Coffee Shop, turn into Cheapside and discover that Fabric Land still has the same brilliant yellow shop sign, and the bridal shop next to it is the same. Fabric Land was crammed with goodies - and absolutely packed with people.
I was aiming to get some bright fuchsia pink suiting for a skirt, but the only bolt I found in the right kind of fabric was entirely the wrong shade of pink. I did find the floral cotton I’d fallen in love with online; and it is as lovely in the flesh. Most definitely a good plan to go and physically see the fabric, feel it and play with it - and hold it against the pink suiting and go “no, that really doesn’t go at all.” So I went hunting through the bolts and found a gorgeous moss crepe in a lovely deep crimson red. So I now have that, lining to go with it, the floral for a blouse and a load of calico to make toiles with. This seems especially important as the patterns I have don’t come in my size. However there are a lot of tutorials online about how to redraft a pattern and grade it up so I have tissue paper, a ruler and a plan.
I had a nice natter with the lady who cut my fabric - I asked if they’d seen an increase in business since the Great British Sewing Bee and the answer was “it’s been completely crazy.” I let her know that there are a whole bunch of blogs about sewing and Fabric Land is being recommended as a source both as a bricks and mortar shop and online. It was nice to see a small shop be so busy. I also had a sympathetic moan with a lady who was buying fabric to make her little girl a skirt because all the skirts in the shops are miniskirts - and she just doesn’t think that they’re suitable for a five year old. I said I was doing the same for myself as I didn’t want to wear a miniskirt to work where I’m sat down all day. Definitely one of the advantages to this making your own lark - you can increase (or decrease) the length to how you want it. Plus add in pockets; what is it about women’s clothing not having pockets?
I also popped into John Lewis - they’ve moved their haberdashery and it’s nice and light and airy, but I’d swear that their fabric selection has seriously decreased. Managed to find a matching zip for the skirt though; plus some fusible stuff to see if I can fix Mark’s cloak. I have decided that I’m going to make self-covered buttons for the blouse. I’m going to make patch pockets for the skirt, and may decorate them with some self-covered buttons as well so I got spares.
I am really hoping to go to the sewing bloggers meet up in June now - apparently the one in London was amazing; and this one aims to hit the rag market. The fabric I have for the skirt is gorgeous, but somewhat heavy. It’s going to be perfect for work, and I think will carry through to autumn, I’d almost be tempted to make trousers for autumn / winter out of it (in a different colour possibly) - but I’m wondering if it’s going to be a bit heavy during summer. So some experienced advice on if some of the cottons about will actually work for a skirt would be most welcome.
So now I have the fabric to make a toile, the actual fabric and all the notions. Next weekend is a bank holiday so I’m going to spend it sewing. I have already popped the fabric into the washing machine and it’s drying on the laundry rack. I need to hunt out the iron - I think I know where it is, and take my ironing board out of its shrink wrap (from when I bought it from Woolworths was closing down … yeah, I don’t iron. This may change.) I also intend to buy some sawdust and make a tailor’s ham and sleeve.
I then ambled from John Lewis into glorious sunshine (which as it had suddenly started raining as we walked up from the station was lovely) and the familiar sound of the Hare Krishnas. So some things about Reading haven’t changed - they still have folks in robes with cymbals and drums chanting. It reminded me of the parade that they once had with a sacred bull in tow.
When I got to the games Simon Francis was lurking about so I sat and had a cup of tea and nattered to him and Daniel who I’d not met before. They were busy writing up mage sheets and cackling; I knitted more of one of my throw squares. Forsaken seemed to be going along nicely as the STs were on stage to run a mass combat; which appeared to be bouncing along and involved a Pure wielding a fire axe. Eventually Jez and Sally appeared, along with Pav so I took the opportunity to borrow Jez and make the new Southwark Requiem ST cry as I explained just what was in Dolly’s basement. He’s come up with a lovely system for CCTV cameras which makes total sense, so I just now need to make sure Dolly balances and then send him my character sheet along with a list of things that Matt Sanderson left behind. I also explained the current cross venue with Mage and what my personal intentions are regarding it (namely no I’m not playing super friends, but if it’s Spirits then the guy who can actually do something to the spirits can go play.)
Simon and I also came up with the next silly idea for Requiem, which made Jez go “no” a lot. And Mike. Honestly they spoil all our fun. I think Stefan would be a fabulous Moros.
Mage then happened. I think that’s the best way to describe it. I have to confess that I’d been planning for May to give birth on this weekend for a while. However I had no plans to go into labour mid game - the idea was that she would be in the early stages during the game; giving Zephyr the chance to send James a text to get him to Reading; and then the actual birth would happen off stage. And initially this was what was happening; and the only thing to mar the joyous occasion was Zephyr coming back from a mission to rescue Parker with blood over him and bullet holes in his shirt. As Andy and I discussed; there is a whole world of difference between academically knowing that your boyfriend gets involved in combat and coming face to face with immediate, direct evidence that he gets hurt whilst doing so. However as it had all been stopped by the bullet proof vest all Zephyr actually had was heavy bruising; and no one else was badly hurt either.
Apart from that May had an interesting discussion with Mr J about why Seers were Bad; how what happened to him was not the done thing and how brainwashing Sleepers by the GoTV was not the best thing either. Pythia then rocked our worlds with her reply when asked what she was intending to about the sleepers who had witnessed an awakening (she’s going to get them to sign a non-disclosure agreement. I think May might be in love.)
And then suddenly, the quiet amble that May was doing through the game changed. It was decided that they really needed to deal with the Abyssal Spirit of Death and Destruction today, and there was a plan to ambush it in the new natal ward of the new local hospital. Faraday was asking for people with spirit and prime, and May naturally went “well I’m a Master and Adept … better go help.”
I then did something I very rarely do. I sat down and buffed her up; got some shields and in general prepped for combat. Hopefully I didn’t go completely off piste with what I was doing - I’m terrible at mage rules and working out how many spells I can cast, and what potency they all are. Yeah, going into a combat whilst in early stages of labour - not May’s wisest action ever I will confess. In her defence she a: recently dropped Wisdom; b: didn’t want Zephyr to go without her and c: actually only intended to heal people; and try to drain the spirit of essence. Plus it was Tinker, and May hates Tinker a lot. So when Tinker’s life is threatened May has to try and help - because otherwise she doesn’t have the moral high ground over the person she dislikes. Did I ever mention that May’s a bit nuts? It feeds into her narcissism “I am better than the person I dislike because I will go out of my way to help them - aren’t I a Good Girl?”
So we all pull initiative and get into a circle around the lovely Jez. I then got a chair and appeared to start a trend as everyone else went “sitting down to do this is a good plan.” There was a bit of a scene set to start and then Jez asked for anything else, I stuck up my hand and said “By the way, May’s in the early stages of labour.”
The look on Jez’s face was so worth it. About half way through the combat he went “this is not how I envisioned running this” with a pained expression. If ever there was an object lesson of “no plot survives contact with the players” this was it.
So the Bad Guy turned up, asked if we were willing to undertake the deal. There was a quick explanation of what the deal was (torturing a person to death every month and giving the creature the soul to eat - thank you Simon Wolf) and it was rejected by all present. It then went “ok then” and turned into a tentacle monstrosity. Top of the round is Zephyr. A few people before me are Raphael and Ofelia. There are a few actions, folks curse the beastie and boost people’s luck in various ways and then Raphael changes the spiritual resonance of the area to boost the fertility and life of the area - basically to be even more inimical to the beastie.
And May makes a check, fails it and her waters break. Oops. Suddenly she really is the spirit’s bane …
There are more actions, some people fail rule 0 and are on fire so May shoots the wall in order to set off the fire alarm (and sprinklers.) Zephyr suddenly discovers his girlfriend has brought the gun he gave her. He looked slightly startled and is now insisting on giving her firearms training. (Yes she cheated to get the skill; mind magic for the win.) There is more action, Pythia, last in the round yells “the birthing fluids will hurt it!”
We go round again, and Raphael boosts the area again and so does Ofelia. Gee thanks, things are really starting to move right now. May is swearing mightily but also boosts the area because it’s working. She also kicks the fluid running down her leg at the beastie; which made it sizzle.
Jez takes me outside and asks if I mind Plot hitting my children. I say yes, yes I do mind. I am so glad I did as otherwise one of them would have vanished. I’ve had a plot like that, never again please.
We go back in and Jez glosses over the fine details but points out to all present that giving birth is messy and any time anyone gets laid over the next month or so they may wish to remember what they just saw.
Top of the round and we’re back to Zephyr. At least three people are now cthulonic entities; more are still on fire - but we are actually hurting it. Zephyr aims, shoots and yells “remember your breathing exercises dear, in and out.”
If it had continued I think May would have thrown birthing fluids at Zephyr at that point. As it was Overwatch portalled in and grabbed May, taking her back to the Forge; just as the beastie decided to discorporate the heck out of dodge. Fortunately Raphael managed to get to the Forge in time to prevent delivery via machete. May does not want to know what the Veiled Pillar have done with the placenta and umbilical cords.
And that was that. Apart from the fact that anyone involved is now Mightily Fertile for the next month or so (and has flashbacks to seeing May go into labour which is a fun combination) - between the three of us we got 20 successes on that boost. Shame we didn’t kill the beastie, so we need to hit it again but never mind. All good fun. Fortunately James managed to find someone willing to get him to May’s bedside and everything went fine from there. May now has two healthy baby girls, and brought them to be cooed over at Anglesey.