Thanks, everyone, for the kind words! I really appreciate them.
matthavener & jtenright: The total for parts and materials probably came to about $300 and while I didn't keep track of the time I spent on it, I would guess that it took between 40 and 50 hours over the course of a few weeks.
gregg: As far as the build goes, I don't think she has anything too elaborate in mind. The wheels are built - 650c Sun Mistral rims and Nashbar track hubs - and I also picked up a crankset for her (a set of fluted Campy Pistas that had been milled down to 155mm for a jr racer). I think the one fancy bit of flare might be a sprung Brooks. I have a pair of teensy chip n' flops coming in the mail (thanks, Fugazi Dave!) as she's interested in giving bullhorns a whirl, but we'll probably just play the whole thing by ear.
RhinoRiot: It's not really a question of talent so much as it is perserverence. I was lucky to have access to a brazing torch and a friend who had built a frame to offer some guidance, but when it comes down to it, if a mechanically inept ass-clown such as myself can do it then anyone here can certainly do it too.
aj2four0: The tubing came from Kirk Pacenti, the lugs came from Nova Cycles, and the Kalavinka parts came from Kalavinka.
andy_is_me: While I would probably choose "delicate" over "flimsy," you're spot on about the seat stays. Getting them on nearly gave me an ulcer. When I ordered the parts I didn't realise that the tubeset I had ordered came with double tapered seat stay tubes and I ordered the wrong size stay plugs to finish them. Rather than go back and order the right sized plugs, I tried to do fastback stays and totally botched them. My salvage job was to cut the stays down to a point where the plugs I had ordered would fit and not be wider than the tube itself. I had already cut and slotted the other end of the tube to fit over the track ends, so they ended up being a little on the short side. The joint is solid, and my girlfriend weighs about 100lbs, so I'm not too worried about it failing. There's at least as much cotact as there would be with fastback stays, so I think it's OK. As far as the bottom angle goes, it's actually surprisingly on. The apparent askew-ness is probably a function of the incredibly uneven floor in our bedroom.
dolface/ImOnCrank: The colour is from an '06 Ford. I think it's called "Medium Titanium Pearl" or something like that... it's kind of the colour of an apple powerbook, but glossy - it looks a little more purple in the photos than it does in daylight. I really like it too.
Again, thanks for the props!
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