Keyka Lou Retirement Sale

One of my favorite bag designers is retiring some amazing designs including my favorite the Lots of Pockets Tote. She has put all of these patterns on sale for 3 dollars, which is a steal really. Keyka Lou Patterns are easy to follow and adapt if that’s your choice(I used the Lots Of Pocket tote as a base for my laptop bag). For those of you who have Etsy/Artfire stores or sell at craft stalls all of Keyka Lou’s Patterns include the following liscense :

Pouches made using this pattern can be sold in your own online store, local boutiques, craft fairs, etc. Start your own sewing business today! Please offer Keyka Lou design credit in written descriptions.

So within a few minutes you could easily be on your way to having some great new things for your shop. The patterns print well, include lots of photos, and come out looking great in the end. You only have 3 days to grab up these before they are gone for good. So go buy now!

*Yes I know it’s been awhile I promise I will do a real post soon.

Aug 16

CONfusion (RPG Con)

This past Saturday I ventured out (despite recovering from a nasty cold and it being semi dreary) to Wellington proper to attend my first CONfusion. What is CONfusion? It’s a one day gaming convention held at Turnbull House. It consisted of three rounds each roughly 3 hours long. Each session had 4 games you could play in. So I look at the options for the first session and I see three things I haven’t played and then there is The Silver Kiss of the Magical Twilight of the Full Moon, which I have played both tabletop AND Larp before. I’m predictable as much as I like to do new things I’ll default with something I know I’ll have fun playing, that meant Silver Kiss.

I was the human love interest to Bryn’s Vampire, Thomas, ZOMG WAS HE CREEPY. My character was popular but geeky, she was really into kung fu. She also had a boyfriend and thus I was expecting angsty drama, which one do I choose, etc. Nope Thomas broke his neck within 20 minutes of meeting him. He then proceeded to stalk, kidnap, and force me to either spend eternity with him or die. My character liked living so she was turned, as was her bff. Then we all went to New York where I became an awesome kung fu teacher.

Next round was all about Fiasco. I’ve heard so many good things about Fiasco like SERIOUSLY good. So I signed up for that, but my deciding wasn’t done yet, With Fiasco comes many play sets do I play the Cthulhu set or Regina’s Wedding? I decided to go with Regina’s Wedding, and I’m so glad I did. I played with Jenni, Thomas, Paul and Mike. In Fiasco you don’t really have a GM as more a facilitator who plays just as equally. My main char was “Televisions Margaret Wakefeild” who we determined had a Bridezillas type of show. Jenni was Regina, who though she was marrying the heir to Baroness Something or Another, but was in fact a con-man. The photographer was my crazy ex, who ever since I deserted him at the altar has been Hell bent of destroying ALL OF THE weddings. Turned out good for most people including Margaret Wakefeild who ended up with her own wedding CHANNEL.

The final round I played Shadowrun. I didn’t know much about this system, I think I would have preferred to have play Fiasco another time. I find while I like classic skill based games that use dice rolls to determine passes or fails, for day games I prefer more free form indie games I think. I ended up having fun in this game and it went rather fast, mostly cause there were only two players. It took awhile to get used to the system it uses. The game is odd in that it is Science Fiction and Fantasy combined, so you have both magic and advanced tech. The goal of the game was to stop this Terrorist which we did. Dunno if I will play it again but it’s a possibility….

Over-all I played in two new to me systems, and had lots of fun… When’s the next one?

Jul 2

I’ve never been called a Slut.

Below is a speech I gave at the Wellington Slut Walk on June 25th 2011.

I’m Brooklynne Kennedy, a rape survivor and a transwoman.

It’s interesting when talking with friends about this event; we got talking about being called a slut. How we felt about it, and when was the last time. They were all surprised that I had never been called a slut.

I have never been called a slut, not because I am the perfect picture of virtue and purity. No, I have never been called a slut be cause as a transwoman, our bodies have been so sexualized that they no longer belong to humans. Unlike cis-gendered women, many people have only encountered, that they know of, a transwoman via, disgusting and degrading “she-male” porn.

Obviously all transwoman are porn stars; we want nothing but sex all the time. We think of nothing but cock, cock, cock. This attitude gets confirmed at least twice a week, when some guy comes up to me and touches me or exposes himself to me. When some guy doesn’t understand that “I am married” means “I don’t want to fuck you!” I guess the wedding ring is invisible.

Transwomen are no longer human beings, with feelings and emotions, but instead a fancy sex toy. We are little more than a blow up doll to be used then tossed aside. This attitude is far more damaging to the transgendered community than the hatred and transphobia.

This attitude encourages transphobia and violence against transwomen. After all you can’t rape a “sex toy” Beating up a “sex toy” surely isn’t illegal. In many places when a transwoman is raped there is nowhere for her to go. The police will often laugh at her or arrest her for prostitution. That is if they weren’t the rapists themselves.

In my own case I was raped by police, arrested for prostitution, and thrown into a man’s cell where I was raped again. How I wish my case was unique. How I wish my case was rare. It wasn’t tho.

I am here to say this has got to STOP!

I am here to say I am in charge of MY body, I am in charge of MY sexuality!

Trans women are NOT sex toys!

I did not transition for your benefit, and pleasure!

I did not transition for YOU!

Jun 30

Things I Like Thursday

Okay I really meant to post in this blog before now… but anyway here we are a week later.

Things I like:

Slut Walk: The march was awesome, getting up and speaking in front of such a large amount of amazing people was terrifying but worth it. Seeing everyone cry as I read my speech was heart breaking, and heart warming all at once. I feel bad that I had to leave so soon afterward. It’s also great to hear that so many people appreciated my speech… ( I have since this posted my speech up here)

The Reason I had to hop off so soon after slut walk was so I could get ready for the Midea High School Prom LARP being held by The VUW Roleplaying and Games Club which was a blast! I completed all of my character goals and got into my secret society! YUS!!!!!!! It was a lot of fun. and I got to wear one of my Victorian gowns! (it was a Victorian masquerade themed prom).

And THEN the next day I had my Dragonlance table top game! so a very VERY geeky weekend.

This week has from then been filled with Game of Thrones, I’m almost done… I rather like Cersei, but also rather adore Daenerys…

While watching GoT I have been busily sketching costume ideas for my Teonn character… which is useful, I love designing for medievalesque fantasy, you can pick and choose the best from everything really… I love a lot of what Cersei wears, and this am drawing a lot of inspiration from her.

Knitting wise I’m working on the Dino Hat for a friend of mine!

Sep 3

A whole lot of tatting

The thing with being confined to bed for weeks at a time is there isn’t much you can do. If you happen to also have ADHD like myself it can very quickly drive you up the wall. Luckily I’ve had a drawer fulla tatting to keep me company. I haven’t got a whole lot of things completed like one would expect, mostly cause my energy starts to wane after a few rings and chains but here’s what I’ve been up to.

This is my one and only completed item, a simple collar tatted with DMC cotton perle 8 which is all I had at the time. I think this needs a bit of a starching and blocking again.

This is a border That I have made up as I went along. It’s tatted in Twilleys size 20 crochet cotton and I’m not too fond of the thread it keeps twisting and turning and in general being a PITA

Finally I have this an edging from Bessie M. Attenborough’s The Craft Of Tatting. I’m really liking how this is coming along I think I might make it a hankie edging. It is tatted in vintage coats mercerised cotton size 20 I originally didn’t like this thread because it was so stiff but have grown to appreciate the crisp look it creates.