Underwater basket weaving

Except without the underwater part.

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This Saturday, Cpurl and I took a basket weaving class. It was offered at Knit-One-One in Berkeley. It was super fun! First, Knit-One-one is really neat. It is a space, rather than a store, where the owner Sile (pronounced Sheila) offers different classes and events.

We arrived a little early, we got to be in charge for a few minutes while Sile went out to find the instructor, who had lost her way driving to the studio. So we took a few minutes to investigate...

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The space is full of neat stuff, most of it made in the classes and events that they offer.

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Lovely jewelry...

Handbags and sweaters...


Giant condiments...


In just a few minutes, Sile returned with the instructor and the class got under way.


Basket making is not hard- in fact it is lots of fun!


Here are our baskets at the end of the day- not quite finished, but almost! Cpurls is on the left, and mine is on the right. You can't see it too well in the photo, but mine has a giant open space in the middle too.


Here are all of the baskets made in the class- each one is shaped a little differently.


We took home enough supplies to finish our projects and then some- here is my completed basket. It is a little rough, but not too bad for a first try!

Roller Derby Queens!

A while ago, CPurl and I heard that Roller Derby was coming to town, and of course we knew we could not miss that, right? Well, our big night came last Saturday! We picked up CPurl's pal R and headed for Kezar Stadium in San Francisco- oh, the anticipation! We didn't really know what to expect- none of us had been to Roller Derby before, and to be honest, we didn't even know how it worked- all we knew was that there was rollerskating, in a circle (ok an oval if you want to get technical about it), and that there was lots of "bone crushing action." What else did we need to know? If there is bone crushing action, we are there!

R and CPurl waiting for the action to begin!

The team waits anxiously for the game to start- excitement fills the air!


And they're off! Roller derby is super fast, so it is hard to take photos- mostly you just get a blur whizzing by.



The show was so exciting that it was broadcast on TV as well! The camera guy is filming a man who has a notebook full of signs- one for each player on the team. He flips through it and holds up the appropriate one as that player zooms past... this is an extremely enthusiastic crowd!



There was lots of smashing and crashing!




and audience participation...

Time for a hotdog break!

Back to the game- this is the men's half of the team. There are both men and women on each team, and they skate separately.

There is a lot of fighting...




everyone joins in...


even the referee!

Victory- the Bay City Bombers win!!!

R and another dedicated fan pose with one of the roller derby ladies!




The schwag- possibly the coolest t-shirt ever.

Sooo- now for the review!

Was roller derby everything you expected?

It was very fun, with lots of action. I had no idea how it was played or how they win, so that was a little confusing- I thought there was a ball involved. But in terms of retro coolness- it was everything that I expected. It was a little exaggerated- you can see that there is some acting going on, but not so much that it ruined it.

Do you know how the game is played now?

No...

How was the crowd?

The crowd was awesome- they were SO involved, and many of them knew a lot about the teams and players. There was a lot of stuff going on that seemed to be traditional- booing the other team every single chance they got, getting up and yelling face to face with the other players, etc.

How was the concession stand?

Rather limited- hotdogs, or pop corn.

Would you go again?

Absolutely. And we will too- I heard throughthe grapevine that there will be roller derby every single day at the county fair this year!

If you were a roller derby queen, what would your roller derby name be?

Boom Boom Jones

Hotdog rating: Derby Dog- 4