#space bridge handiwork

Surprise! I'm still here!

Finally done with my latest cross stitch project: Kiddo the Airship Cat with his vessel, the airship America! If you’re not familiar with Kiddo, he’s famous in aviation history for being the first cat to attempt a transatlantic crossing by airship and for also being the subject of the very first air-to-land radio transmission. Read on:

The pet of a member of the crew of Walter Wellman’s America, Kiddo was reported to have stowed away in one of the airship’s lifeboats before takeoff from Atlantic City, New Jersey on October 15, 1910. Initially, he didn’t enjoy the experience, howling piteously and upsetting the airship’s chief engineer, Melvin Vaniman. The America was the first aircraft to carry radio equipment, and Vaniman ordered a wireless message sent to Wellman’s secretary back on shore – so the historic first radio communication from an aircraft in flight reads: “Roy, come and get this goddamn cat.” (From Animals Aloft by Allan Janus)

You can read more of Kiddo’s story at Purr ‘n’ Fur (don’t worry, he survived the airship debacle, became a celebrity, and comfortably retired). As for the cross stitch piece, it’ll soon be adorning my office at the aviation/aerospace archives. Here’s to you, Kiddo. The best goddamn airship cat ever.

Got myself a new bag for ECCC.

Hello, fellow Auto-Bop fan! I made the design and had it printed through Society6 on one of their All-Over-Print shirts. It’s available here, if you’re interested in getting one.

FYI, the dye sublimation process they use for all-over-print shirts can leave some white areas along the seams (here’s a blog post about it). It’s not very noticeable, though, and I’m pretty happy with the end result! :D