Dreadnought - # 40k

Our crack pair of investigative rollergirls Maura Buse and Etta Maims cornered newlywed Nutcracker Dreadnought and asked her about her sewing skills, as well as what life is like in a bi-BDD-partisan marriage.

This season will be your first time bouting. What can fans expect from you?

 A fabulously deconstructed tutu framing a magnificent booty block.

Tell us a bit about the derby quilt.

 I've started a collaborative quilting project inspired by roller derby themes. I began by creating my own squares, then other BDD skaters started contributing their own. Soon the idea grew past our league. I've gotten packages from Vermont, Arizona, New York, Kansas, New Hampshire, and Connecticut already, and the squares keep coming! I just got one from Pioneer Valley Roller Derby today, and apparently one from a league in Toronto is in the mail.

When it all started, I was hoping to get a dozen contributions, but as of today I have over forty squares. I'm hoping to take it to Rollercon this year as well as tournaments like ECE in order to spread the word even further.

(Read more about Dread's derby quilt project—including how you can contribute—at her blog, Angry Robot Roller Derby. Here's the quilt as it stood in early November.)

Your husband is an avid Cosmonaughties supporter and their mascot! Is it going to get tense around the house once the season starts?

We've negotiated a very shaky truce that will hopefully last through the upcoming Cosmo/Nut bouts. I promised not to feed his ape mask to the dog, and he promised not to let the cat pee in my skates. I figure we'll be able to salvage our relationship whenever our respective teams play the Pissahs. Until then, I'll suck it up while he gets the Cosmo fans to boo me like crazy and then resist the urge to crush him in his sleep. I do have about sixty pounds on the guy...

Have any predictions for this season?

I think we all know it's going to be the year of the Nut! I'm itching to taunt my husband with that championship trophy at the after party.

Photo of Dreadnought by Margaret Hart