Questions
from mijejo in the Ravelry thread

What do mean that you use male pronouns?

The simple answer to this question is that I am clarifying that, when you talk about me, you should use the words “he” “him” “his” etc.

The more complicated answer has two parts.

One part is that once I point it out that I use male pronouns, it seems obvious. Yeah, obviously this dude should be called “him.” If I don’t clarify, not everyone guesses right, especially if I’m speaking. My voice isn’t that deep or masculine. My face isn’t super masculine. If you see me in person, I’m on the short side and I have wide hips. And “Adrian” doesn’t necessarily indicate masculine or feminine, as there are both versions of the name. And it really does not feel good when people guess wrong.

And that’s because of the second part. I have a complicated relationship with gender and sexuality. It’s been something that I’ve tried to clarify for myself for more than half of my life now. I don’t have a firm grasp on the specifics and I’m not comfortable sharing everything here on the podcast, but it’s been something I’ve been actively thinking about and educating myself on for a long time. If you’ve never questioned your gender or sexuality, you might not get that, but I want to be sure that it’s clear which gendered pronouns I prefer when I can because it’s something I’ve had to work at.

Also, if you regularly post or interact with a group of people who are trans, who don’t identify as binary male or female, or who are questioning, it’s polite to indicate your pronoun preference in your profile or as a part of your introduction. I know that each episode could be someone’s first time watching, so I keep it as part of my introduction.

Is there a backstory to the name Freakish Lemon?

Back in the seventh grade (2000 – 2001 school year), AOL Instant Messenger was becoming popular among my friend group. I cycled through a whole host of screen names trying to figure out which one suited me. I started out with ones based on book characters and weird combinations of words. I don’t remember a lot of them, but I remember using names like “Ketchup Avenger” for a while. I started using The Almighty Lemon after an assignment in History & Geography where we created trivia board games about India and played each other’s games. One of the games used little plastic fruits as pieces and I played as the lemon. After a while, The Almighty Lemon sounded too boastful, I guess, so I changed it to Freakish Lemon. I was one of the weird kids in school, so “freakish” seemed like a more appropriate descriptor.

It also made me laugh because of common fanfic terminology that was in use at the time. I hadn’t thought about it when I registered for the AIM screen name or anything, but I used to write fanfic at the time and it made me laugh so hard when I got a review on some tame and terrible introspective fic saying that this person was never reading my stuff again because my screen name lead them to believe that my fic would be very different.

Tell us more about the Renaissance Fairs you attend. What parts do you like? What would you recommend to someone who has never gone to one, but aspires to remedy that?

I’ve been to a few Ren Faires and I love going. My family started going to the NY Ren Faire when I was 13. I’m 27 now and the NY Ren Faire is a yearly tradition. We also used to go to the fall CT Ren Faire most years until some changes put us off. It’s in a new location this year, so we might check it out. We’ve also been to the PA Ren Faire multiple times for vacations and I’ve been to the MD Ren Faire once on a trip with my friends.

I like lots of things about Ren Faires, but I’ll try to nail down a few concrete ones. I love making and wearing costumes, which is encouraged at the faires. I love the welcoming environment of most faires. I like checking out the craftsmanship at the faires. You see lots of metal work, sculpture, glass work, leather work, and sewing work that you really don’t see all together anywhere else. I love the music. I love the jousting. I love faire food.

For someone who has never gone –

– Try not to feel self conscious about how you’re dressed. Dress up or don’t. There will be plenty of both. You won’t stick out.

– Find out if you can bring water or if there will be free water there. Lots of faires are in the summer and you need to stay hydrated, especially if you’re dressed up in layers. MD had free water stations when I went and PA has a water fountain near one of the bathrooms, but NY doesn’t have water fountains or free water stations. If there isn’t free water, find out if you can bring your own. Water bottles at NY are $3 each, so that can be a hefty chunk of your budget if you’re not prepared for it.

– It’s a fair, so food and drinks are expensive. It varies depending on the faire, but expect to pay up to $12 for a meal’s worth of food and drink.
– Scope out the bathrooms. Find out where they are and what type they are. NY has one set of normal, running water bathrooms and a bunch of groupings those blue portable toilets (we call them porta-potties here). PA has all normal, running water bathrooms. For us, knowing where they are and what type we’ll have to use alleviates a lot of stress.

– If you have mobility concerns (strollers, wheelchairs, canes, walkers, etc), bring someone who can help you. The faires I’ve been to have been handicap accessible, but often the walkways are dirt or gravel, uneven, and going up and down hill. The shops and tents also tend to be small, so if you use a wheelchair or walker especially, it’s probably best to have someone to help you in tight spaces.

 

Stuff on Sticks

FOs –

• Del Norte by Danielle Morgan – Ella Rae Lace Merino (100% extra fine merino) in “Green/11” and Berroco Cosma (60% Alpaca, 30% Merino, 10% Silk) in “2442” – US 4 / 3.5 mm Boye aluminum circular interchangeables – http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/del-norte

WIPs –

• Cozy Memories Blanket using the Memories Blanket tutorial by Georgie Hallam – sock scraps – US 2/2.75 mm interchangeable circulars – http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/memory-blanket
• Lace Weight Triangle Shawl – Plymouth Yarn Revel (85% alpaca, 15% merino) in “Grape Mist” – US 5/3.75 mm aluminum circulars – improvised pattern
• Redford Sweater by Julie Hoover – Yarn Place Basic Fingering (wool) in Grey (ebay yarn) – swatching for needle size – http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/redford
• Gift Knitting

Stuff on Hooks

WIPs –

• Granny Square Odds and Ends – Based off of a square seen on Attic24 – misc acrylic worsted weight yarn – H/5.00 mm
• Weekender Blanket by Sandra Paul – Lion Brand Wool Ease and Vanna’s Choice Yarns leftover from Doctor Who scarves in worsted and light aran weight – US I/ 5.5 mm- http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/weekender-blanket

Stuff on Spindles and Wheels

FOs –

• Pumpkin Yarn – hand dyed SW Merino/Merino/Silk – 4 oz – 231 yds – 15 wpi sport – Ashford Kiwi 2
• Swan Hollow Studio Fiber – Bought at Stitches East in 2014 – Camel/Tussah silk/Sheltland – 4 oz – 91.5 yds – 12 wpi DK – Ashford Kiwi 2

WIPs –

• Giant Ball of wool handspun 2 ply fractal spinning – Spinners Hill (blend of Corriedale, Finnish Landrace, Rambouillet) Autumn leaf colors – Ashford Kiwi 2 – for the Maple Leaf Knit Shawl by Natalia @ Elfmoda – http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/maple-leaf-knit-shawl
• Phoenix Fiber Club June – Turtle Made Turkish spindle

Stuff with Thread

FOs –

• Quilt from Bento Bag Scraps
• Linen Project Bag
• Small pumpkins – http://www2.fiskars.com/Ideas-and-How-Tos/Crafting-and-Sewing/Sewing/Sewn-Pumpkin-Pincushion
• Medium pumpkins – http://www.positivelysplendid.com/2012/09/plush-patchwork-pumpkin-tutorial.html
• Sweater Sized Avengers Drawstring Bag

WIPs –

• Christmas Cross Stitch – The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery

New Stuff

• Bryson Stainless Steel Sock Blockers
• Knitter’s Pride Knit Blockers
• Bee Linen bag from KnitterBag.Etsy.Com

Stuff for Etsy

• Moleskines
• Sparkly handspun
• New business cards
• Stitch Markers R&D

Other Stuff
          

Stuff I’m Watching – Agents of SHIELD, Wonder Woman, House Hunters, Hindenburg: The Untold Story, Doctor Who
 Stuff I’m Reading – Planet of Exile by Ursula K. Le Guin, Tales of Witchcraft edited by Richard Darby
Stuff I’m Playing – Lego Marvel Superheroes, DuoLingo
Podcasts – Herbstblatt Regina on YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/user/cre8iveregy

Events
 

Fiber, Friends, and Fun Yarn Crawl by the Western CT Yarn Council – Sept. 25th – 27th

• New England Yarn and Spindle in Bristol
• Knit & Pearls in Avon
• In Sheep’s Clothing in Torrington
• Black Sheep Yarns in Kent
• A Stitch in Time in Bethel
• Nancy O in Ridgefield
• Westport Yarns in Westport

Coventry Farmer’s Market – Fiber Twist & Bead Bash – Sept 27th

.