"Spike" at Ma Cobb's Hat Shoppe

One of the absolute coolest things that has happened here at Ma Cobb's Hat Shoppe occured over this past summer. A friend of mine (Magie) is a huge James Marsters afficionado. She's met him several times at different conventions over the years, and she was planning to see him again at Atlanta's Dragon*Con in August. She decided that she wanted to commission a Jayne hat to give to him for his birthday, so I knit one up special just for him.... and here is the result. One of the MOST awesome pics that Magie could have sent me is this one of James Marsters in one of my Jayne hats.

Pretty cunning, dontcha think? ;)

Love Letter To One Of My Favourite Geniuses

Dear Bryan Fuller:

Please don't ever stop being so awesome.

Love,
Ma Cobb

Ma Cobb to the Rescue!

I had this whole elaborate tale to tell about how frustrated I get when sellers won't ship to Canada, or when they completely overcharge for shipping to Canada (or my favourite excuse: when sellers don't want to have to go to the PO to ship International First Class packages! That's my biggest pet peeve! I go to the Post Office just about everyday! You don't see me complaining! Grr!). But alas, I don't want to dwell on snarkyness and frustration on this fine Tuesday afternoon. So I'll move on to something a little bit more fun!

I went to one of my favourite conventions this summer: Fan Expo in Toronto, and besides seeing some very awesome special guests (Renee O'Connor, Kristy Swanson, Brent Spiner, Edward James Olmos (from afar) and The Fonze! to name a few), I also came across this little booth that was making Super Hero Cards.

So I present to you: Ma Cobb: Super Hero!
So, okay this one I wasn't very prepared for, so it's not my favourite. Although I guess I'm somewhat "known" as a Jayne hat Knitter in the TO area, well... it doesn't exactly go with the theme now, does it? Plus the girl made me wear this creepy mask which wasn't very Ma-Cobb-esque. So I went back with a friend later on in the weekend and I got this one done up:


This one's a bit more flattering, in my opinion, and I like that my power is that I "knit VERY fast". Hee hee. If you knew how many Jayne hats I've knit in the past month alone, you'd probably start to wonder if maybe I'm not specially gifted somehow. I'm waiting for Heroes to introduce a character with my ability. But alas, perhaps knitting is a bit too mundane for prime-time television. It might come in handy though, if your name is Ma Cobb...

Original Jayne Hat on Ebay-- Ends Today!

So the Jayne hat auction on Ebay ends today in about 5 hours! It's still only at $1775usd and that seems ridiculously low to me at this point in the auction. Man, if I only had a few thousand credits to spare I would so be there. Sadly, I do not. But I still wants it!

Oh well, I will have to make do with my reproduction. Which I've been told is as good as the real thing. Except perhaps for the fact that Adam Baldwin hasn't ever touched the reproductions. But he has touched me.... so maybe if you do the 6 degrees of separation thing... ;)

Beyond the status quo

It's funny: just when you start hoping things will pick up, they do, and then you start hoping that things will settle down. Or maybe it's just a case of never being satisfied with the status quo? Perhaps.

Mostly I've been busy shipping hats, which involves the very fun "trip to the post office." It seems like in the past month every time I stop by the post office after work there's a line. All summer long it was like a ghost-town, but now it's starting to pick up. It makes me wonder if people are getting ready for xmas already. And that scares me a bit, cuz I know I said I like to be prepared, but I feel like I'm falling behind already. Like I should have dozens of hats knit up and waiting for the rush that is sure to come. Maybe I'm being paranoid (it's entirely possible).

So I decided that I need to step up my hat-production. Which sadly, sigh, means more TV watching (Pushing Daisies starts tonight! I can't wait! But I guess I've already missed Chuck. Oh well). 'Tis the season, as they say. So if you need me, I'll be on the couch, staring at the boob-tube, anticipating xmas.

The Original Jayne Hat!

Oh, I almost forgot about this! A friend of mine sent me this link a few days ago. Adam Baldwin (with help from the California Browncoats) is auctioning off the original screen-worn Jayne hat! Like, the actual hat that was worn on-screen on Firefly! Man would I LOVE to have that thing! I wish that I was wealthy and not po'!

The auction currently sits at just over $1,500, which seems paltry to me (not that I could even afford that much), but it still has 6 days to go and I'm sure there will be tonnes of last minute sniping on this one! So yeah, if anyone has a couple extra thousand credits to spare, this is what I want for my birthday. Or it can even be a combo Xmas/birthday present. I'm flexible!

Anyway, all kidding aside, the hat is being auctioned off for a good cause, and all proceeds will go to the Marine Corps - Law Enforcement Foundation, Adam Baldwin's charity of choice. So yes, if you have the money, please bid! But just promise me that if you win, you will let me touch it! ;)

Button Packs!

So buttons are the newest addition to my shop. After many many years (I'm talking since high school here! Yeah, that long) of wanting a 1" button machine, I finally decided last month that I'd been a good little girl, and that I deserved to use a chunk of my savings and invest in a new machine. "It will completely pay for itself after time" I rationalized to myself. So I jumped on the good old inter-web and found the best deal I could, which happened to be on ebay (surprise!). You would not believe how excited I was. I waited by the mailbox daily, and it finally showed up in all its 9-pound glory (just like a little baby, awww!), with parts enough to make 1000 1" buttons! I absolutely love my button machine, and I've been dutifully pumping out buttons ever since. Again, it's a repetitive and calming sort of action, which I can appreciate after a long day of working at my repetitive but not so calming job.

Anyway, the buttons are a breeze to make, but what's a little more difficult for me is coming up with designs, especially on my antiquated computer program (anyone else still using Microsoft PictureIt! ? No, just me? *sigh*). But I've managed to come up with a few Browncoaty ideas that have not been half bad, imho. (ie the above six buttons which can be found in my shop here). And I think that I've still got a few good ideas coming along, just in time for the holiday season (hey, buttons make great stocking-stuffers, am I right?).

So after designing and making the buttons, I'd been struggling with how to package them. And these little babies are what I came up with: they're kind of like matchbooks, but instead of matches, it's a page full of buttons! Yay! Quite ingenious, if I do say so myself. But I can't take all the credit; I actually got the idea from a pack of MOO stickers that I bought awhile back! And even more marvelous was the fact that I actually figured out how to fold the paper in just the right way on my first try.

So after pinning the pins, folding the holder, and stapling them both together (careful, make sure that it's straight!) I take out my trusty custom-made rubber stamps (thank you terbearco) and stamp them all over with Serenity and Firefly and Ma Cobb's Hat Shoppe. And Ta-Da! There it is folks: the newest addition to Ma Cobb's Hat Shoppe! Button Packs! Please enjoy!