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Neil Gaiman was AMAZING. Joe Donohue is a good interviewer, so there weren't any clunky, embarrassing questions: he basically directed the conversation but let Gaiman talk. After that, he read from The Ocean at the End of the Lane (which I had read all but the last ten pages of while waiting for it to start) and then Unfortunately, the Milk. He reads so well, really acts out the parts and makes funny bits even funnier. I got there around 4:45, so I got a bookmark putting me in signing group B, which was excellent as I stood in line for about an hour and I can't imagine managing to do it longer. I was awkwardly alone because everyone else sensibly took advantage of the pricing to bring a friend.
Things I considered saying to Neil Gaiman while I was in line:
- The Doctor's Wife is one of my favorite episodes
- I loved how the father in tOatEotL transitioned so smoothly from a comforting yet imperfect figure to a terrifying menace
- His books make me want to write more than most other authors, but at the same time makes me feel I could never be that good
- I fancasted Natalie Dormer as Ursula Monkton while reading
- Tiffany Aching and Lettie Hempstead should meet up
- I love that you used a maiden-mother-crone triad, they're the best
Things I actually said to Neil Gaiman:
- "Thanks so much for coming all the way out here to Saratoga, I never thought you would." LIKE AN IDIOT. (He replied with mild sarcasm, perhaps, that he thanked his publicist for picking it out and said that he hadn't thought anyone would have heard of him here.)
Before I left work, though, I itched a little bit inside my ear and the whole organ went numb. It was terrifying, and since I'm a weirdo it suddenly became imperative that I not tell anyone, so I kind of dealt with it and googled my issues. Basically it's Eustachian Tube Disfunction, which is a meaningless term ("ear canal not working", couldn't have figured that ne out), and it did go away after a bit. But it's felt congested ever since. I'm freaked out, frankly.
I think I may have just worked out how the two-piece sleeves were done in the spencer I patterned last week! I think they were put flat, two layers of linen on top of two layers of silk, then the seams sewn (running or backstitch, not important), and then the bottom layer of silk was pulled around it to turn it right side out. The seam allowances and all the stitches are hidden, see. That probably seems pretty obvious if you do a lot of modern sewing, but I'm so used to the sew-from-the-outside method that it didn't occur to me until now.
Things I considered saying to Neil Gaiman while I was in line:
- The Doctor's Wife is one of my favorite episodes
- I loved how the father in tOatEotL transitioned so smoothly from a comforting yet imperfect figure to a terrifying menace
- His books make me want to write more than most other authors, but at the same time makes me feel I could never be that good
- I fancasted Natalie Dormer as Ursula Monkton while reading
- Tiffany Aching and Lettie Hempstead should meet up
- I love that you used a maiden-mother-crone triad, they're the best
Things I actually said to Neil Gaiman:
- "Thanks so much for coming all the way out here to Saratoga, I never thought you would." LIKE AN IDIOT. (He replied with mild sarcasm, perhaps, that he thanked his publicist for picking it out and said that he hadn't thought anyone would have heard of him here.)
Before I left work, though, I itched a little bit inside my ear and the whole organ went numb. It was terrifying, and since I'm a weirdo it suddenly became imperative that I not tell anyone, so I kind of dealt with it and googled my issues. Basically it's Eustachian Tube Disfunction, which is a meaningless term ("ear canal not working", couldn't have figured that ne out), and it did go away after a bit. But it's felt congested ever since. I'm freaked out, frankly.
I think I may have just worked out how the two-piece sleeves were done in the spencer I patterned last week! I think they were put flat, two layers of linen on top of two layers of silk, then the seams sewn (running or backstitch, not important), and then the bottom layer of silk was pulled around it to turn it right side out. The seam allowances and all the stitches are hidden, see. That probably seems pretty obvious if you do a lot of modern sewing, but I'm so used to the sew-from-the-outside method that it didn't occur to me until now.
