Teca and I spent the day working on ORB uniforms!

I shall summarize my feelings thusly:

I just bought a dress for Dragon*Con, lol.

I wanted something else to wear, but couldn't find anything that I liked AND could make in a month.

So I went waaaaaay back into the Cosplay Dream List for...

...my favorite Evil Geneticist, Mimegumi Teu from MPD Psycho.

If I were an Evil Geneticist instead of just a regular-old one, I'd totally wear dresses like that all the time.

By being lazy and just buying a base dress, I think I can get it done. ;) I just need to add the butterfly cutout, put in a WICKED slit, make some gloves, and go shoe shopping. (I've had the hat for, seriously, years.)

I'm kind of excited! It's totally unrecognizable, but I think it'll be fun to wear and DRINK MARTINIS. :D

Big Lab Project Mach II is off the table at the moment, I haven't heard anything in 2 weeks (and I thought I was going to be in Philly by now). Instead, Big Stem Cell Project continues! It's kind of tedious (sterile technique basically equals "Don't touch anything, and if you do, hose yourself down with ethanol) but I think/hope it's making us lots of money, at a time when we really need money.

I've been watching True Blood while finishing up my Isara poncho. I see why everyone's been talking about it, it's very entertaining. Many of my relatives on the Gulf Coast are exactly like these people, for better or worse. Just fewer vampires (I think).

And since I'm working on Valkyria, I started up the anime tonight... very different tone from the game, but I'm enjoying it. Ringo says there's a shower scene in episode 4, which I must get to ([sniffles] Gundam Seed nostalgia!). And Isara kicks ass (in her lovely calm, collected manner), which I love.

But the REAL winner anime of the season is OBVIOUSLY Sengoku Basara, which I CANNOT GET ENOUGH OF. IT'S DELICIOUS HISTORICALLY-IMPAIRED CRACK AND I HEART IT. I squeal with glee every time Takeda and Yukimura start going at it. <3 <3 <3 IT'S AMAZING AND I WISH EVERYTHING WAS EXACTLY LIKE IT. (I exaggerate to keep with the MANLY SPIRIT of the show. [burning fist])

Wow, did Animeland Wasabi get lucky weather-wise. Thursday was the biggest blizzard of the season, and this morning was a semi-surprise icy commute that dumped a few more inches. How they managed to squeeze in 3 beautiful sunny Colorado days for the con between that, I just don't know.

But! I had a lot of fun at the convention, because I have some of the coolest friends in the world. #^_^# Bev did another knockout job on the cosplay contest, which started ON TIME and finished EARLY, which is basically unheard of in the cosplay world. Dahlia and Lilacwire did a great job with the looooooong process of craftsmanship judging, Teca rocked the greenroom (everybody POSED on stage! OMG!), Ringo rocked the fashion show (with her CROOOOOOWN), and Josh and Nathan and Nick and all the crew were just super awesometastic. :D Go Team DCCS!

There was just a HOLY GREAT turn-out for the CLAMP in 3D Land group! We had THIRTEEN PEOPLE, with characters from Box 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, & 8! A very nice spread, guys~! :D For those who don't know, these costumes are from the box art for the 3D Land figures; the figures themselves are wearing their standard costumes, but the box art is a full series of matching Chinese-style outfits for LOTS of CLAMP characters (41 characters, to be precise, but there are repeats... like 3 Syaorans, 3 Sakuras, 2 Akiras...). Al took a lot of awesome photos of us, and here are a few!



( Photo Intensive! )

So, cosplaying at Comiket.
[deep breath]

( The 2006 backstory, which involves Kelly Osbourne )

( Choosing costumes this time around )

( The long road to the changing room )

( Making fandom nice-nice )

tl;dr It was AWESOME, Teca had a cadre of fangirls, and changing clothes in a room full of Japanese girls gets less weird every time I do it. XD

Click HERE for all the shots Minako-chan took! :D

Winter Comiket 2010, anybody? ;)

Still in St Louis... I miss everybody!

I've been slacking on the full Comiket write-up, but here's a photo to remind myself to keep at it.

Obama-kun Daisuki! XD

Surely you've already been hit with this, but I'm gonna toss this up here anyway for posterity <3



Alain of Idolatry Studios gave us this absolutely GORGEOUS photo set from our shoot last weekend, and I think I lost a couple hours last night, just staring, enraptured. The remarkable effort he put into lighting the park at dusk (... and full-on evening) made for an amazing set. I know how many hours you must have logged in MSPaint to give me that flawless skin, and I heart you for it. XD

Since I realized I never really talked about these costumes, I will now!

Firstly, Code Geass is awesome and CLAMP designs are even better.

So when CLAMP did the DVD Box illustration for the first season, Lauren and I immediately went "OH GOD VERY VERY YES." Because she always looks precious in pink wigs, and as Becky so rightly put it, "I always knew, deep down, that you would cosplay Euphie." ...and I like CC, so that was decided. I bought 10 yards of black moire at the winter Wesco sale to prep.

At which point we began EVIL PLOTTING to snare a Handsome Prince (or two) ;)

Teca is an amazing detail-oriented cosplayer, and she looks hella hot in that Suzaku wig, so we begged and pleaded for her to move on from Fersen's blingy-gold white coat to a CLAMP blingy-gold white coat. She acquiesed, and convinced(? still not sure how much arm-twisting was involved, but I'm grateful for every second of it!) Ellome to join up as our Lelouch. EVIL QUARTET ACHIEVED!

We set the target date as "Competing at NDK". It took a lot of liquor to get me to agree to that, because well... I don't exactly have the shiniest competition track record. I'd lost so many times that competition really just seemed like spending most of your Con-Saturday to end in inevitable disappointment. But these costumes are really too ginormo for hall-wear, so going on stage seemed like the right choice.

Teca found the world's most horrible dance-remix of the Pizza Hut song (It seems about a 60/40 ratio People Who'd Sung the Song at Camp to People Who'd Never Heard It, I was in the clueless group) and lo the skit was born. I doubted my ability to dance in 7-inch platform sandals, so the choreography was toned down for me. ^_^

(Somehow Teca managed to talk Nick into going on stage as Rivalz... still not sure how she managed it, but yay! XD)

Oh, and yeah, 7-inch platform heels. They're actually quite comfortable, if you'd believe it (being open-toed makes all the difference), but I'm a slow-moving landmass. I don't know that I'll be aiming for Matchy-Matchy with Lauren again anytime soon, but I was SO pleased with how the entire group looked with our CLAMP long-legged proportions. I think it was totally worth it, and I hope you guys agree!

The black chrysanthemum sheer was a random Denver Fabrics find... I found 3 cuts of it buried in the flat-folds and bought them all. All-black costumes can lose all the detail in photographs, so I wanted to punch it up and use lots of contrast.

Anyway, back to the timeline: as summer approached, we'd collected pretty much all the materials we needed. But we were deeply entrenched in Dragon*Con costumes (Cloth Road <3), and decided we'd make the Geass dresses in the 2 weeks between D*C and NDK. OH GOD. ((T____T)) Every day after work, I went to Lauren's (... plus a day or two where I might have played hooky, eh-hem) and sewed and sewed and sewed and serged and sewed. It was grueling and we barely made it (I was sewing the trim on the bottom of the corset on Friday) but all's well that ends well!

Melissa and Josh (and a cadre of other helpers!) were a HUGE help as our stage ninjas at the convention, and they get lots of hugs~~ for helping us nab a masquerade win, which still makes me warm'n'fuzzy inside.

But, epic victory requires EPIC PHOTOS, right?! To reunite the group, Ellome flew out here from Cali to go to Casa Bonita for the shoot, and it was made of awesome and COLD and awesome. Afterwards we looked at the raw photos on Nick's giant TV and squealed a lot. XD

So there's the Tale of the Big Black CC Dress. And P.S., my mother still refuses to believe that Teca and Ello are girls XD

When I got to the car rental place at 1 a.m., a couple hours into an ice storm, I decided "Whichever car I can get the door open on, that's the one I'm taking".

>____<

I actually got in a Versa first, but after 20 minutes of scraping and defrost, I still couldn't get the second windshield wiper to function properly. So I ditched it for an HHR, and while I'm not crazy about the huge blind spot (made even huger-er by the constantly accumulating ice), it did get me safely to the hotel.

By the time I got to the hotel, the back door was frozen shut again and I had to climb in the back seat and kick it open, but still. Safe and sound.

Okay, Midwest America, I concede; icestorms do suck as much as advertised.

Today I opted to stay at the hotel and do work from here instead; it's not an icestorm, just regular ol' snow, but since the ice never melted from 2 days ago, the streets are icky and I've got paperwork to do. (Plus they closed the road I take to get to the lab. Sigh. Really, Missouri? I hate your transportation project and long for the days of T-Rex.)

I picked up some Charles Shaw wine (aka "Two Buck Chuck", although now it costs $2.99) at Trader Joe's, because that's what the internet told me to do. Then I proceeded to get sloshed on it last night. It is JUST as good as I'd heard, but to call it "The best $3 wine you'll ever have" is a bit of a disservice, as it's some of the nicest wine I've ever had, period. Smooth and a little sweet with zero aftertaste. I think I'll have to find room in my luggage to bring some home with me #^_^#

Saturday's photoshoot was made of AMAZING and I had such a great memorable time at it; huge thanks to Alain and Nick and Team Gino's Pizza for being so wonderful. Made it even harder to come back to work out here T_T but this week will fly and I'll be back in Denver on Friday night. See you soon [chu]

The cosplay event at Gimme Gimme Pillow Toast was fabulous! Everyone looked so cute. :D I wore my Kujian costume, since it'd been forever and a day. Then the Biblical rain started (I remember saying "It looks like it's letting up" just before the hail began); Josh, Nick, and I hid in the parking garage until it let up a little, when we dashed to the coffee shop. Then it rained more. And more. Sigh. But eventually it stopped and we met back up with everybody, none of whom had drowned <3

I was looking forward to taking stupid photos in the costume, but the rain kinda killed those plans. Next time! :)

We grabbed a late-night snack at Wasabi before I got paged, and now I'm here at work again. (My wig-hair is pretty bad.) I managed to grab a power-nap before I had to come in, so we'll see if that helps or hurts me in the long run.

... so I've finished half of the ridiculously complicated underwear, so I can start actually making the costume soon. Once I make pannier. Was this really a good idea?

Anyway, myspace photos of the finished product.


( Back shot under the cut )

I'm depressed, but nothing cheers up a Virgo like some good list-making.

( How much for additional luggage...? )

Work today was made interesting when one of our new neighbors dug too deeply and damaged the Qwest lines heading up to our office.

From about 8:30 to 2:30, no internet. This is BAD, of course, made considerably worse in that we 1) have shiny new VOIP phones which DO NOT WORK and no clients can call us, and 2) all the shared drives (full of delicious helpful science info) also died. It was a wee bit challenging to get work done. Thankfully, no donors, because then I would have had to hook a Blackberry up to a laptop and pray.

At the moment, I'm having some Adventures in Well-Disciplined Seamstressing. If there's not much to the outfit besides a suit jacket, that suit jacket had better be pretty damned fine <3

Oh, and short hair is short. I love it, the stylist was great. Now I have a ziploc-baggie full of hair to mail off, lol...

I'm sad today. My boss retired last week, and this was his last day. He left without saying goodbye because he didn't want us to start crying. (I sobbed the entire way through my review with him last week, so I can't really blame him.) I didn't really cry when Boss-Lady left 2 years ago, and I loved her. It's mostly a stress thing, I guess.

Unfortunately, my cos-checklists aren't cleared, but I hope I can knock this stuff out quick.
Nia:
*Put gems on necklace
*Put gems on belt
*Put gems on shoes (BLIIIING)
Arashi:
*Cut bangs
*Rip up coat hem
*Sew up cuffs
*Make patch
Fuuma:
*Style wig
*Rip up coat hem
*Make patch
*Attach straps to holster

(IMHO) The Tsubasa coats look really cool. I painted the stains on the bottoms last night, and it's a nice color... not too "I just rolled in the Blood of Innocents" bright-red, more "I've been working on my motorbike, and got some acid-rain-mud on my clothes, and oh yeah, happened to get a little Blood of Innocents on there along the way." It's like, Secondary Transfer Blood of Innocents.

I think I'm going to name my next Rock Band that.

See you guys tonight or tomorrow, yay! :)

Colorado was in excellent form this weekend, with a gorgeous 74 degrees on Saturday, followed by 5 inches of blowing snow on Sunday. That's not good for anyone's health...

Unfortunately, the blizzard conditions meant it was best to postpone my photoshoot with Digital Dreams and Shock Value, sad face, but it looks like they got some amazing photos out of their collaboration on Saturday, so I can't wait to see more of those! :) But the upside was, I had a super-awesome Sunday of alone-time and productivity. XD I was in my pajamas all day! Score!!

( Tokimemo GS2, after 3 gleeful days of playtime )

Besides sitting around playing love sims, I watched some Kyou Kara Maoh (which is NOT a love sim, despite its best efforts) while sewing for Wasabi. KKM has gotten so good again! I'm approaching the end of the second season, and the guys all heading to Earth together had me absolutely rolling. I was laughing so hard, I had to pause the video at the kiddie pool scene, no lie. Sure the quest stuff is interesting, and the angsty stuff is probably necessary, but this kind of comedy is really what makes KKM great.

But late last night, I finished this:

But now I have to tear up the bottom and stain it, which will be sort of depressing because I think I did a fine job on it. ;_; I'm cosplaying Arashi, from the inexplicably flipped teams in Tsubasa. Figuring out a good way to do the hood was a bit annoying x_x But if anyone else wants to join, I've got lots of hints now! :)

I'm anxiously waiting for the phone to ring. o__O please ring, mr phone...

Anyway, need to get up early tomorrow to buy bagels for a department meeting. Remember the bagels, Mako-chan!

I am doing good things, helping out the tech who is on call, but it's still a crappy way to spend a Sunday afternoon. Twix is not a healthy dinner, I hope to get out of here soon. ;-_-

Sewing's going well, it's very therapeutic. I cut out and basted a pleated skirt for Nia's little sundress today, and I'm looking forward to attaching it to the bodice and seeing how it looks. But I'm currently without a handsewing project, so I need to find one of those soon.

(Yes, I'm a tool and I'm making a Nia costume. A young Nia costume, even though there is a perfectly acceptable adult version of her. TOOL.)

I did my taxes over the weekend! I'm getting a refund on both federal and state, so I'm pleased. Add on the Economic Stimulus Rebate and I should have some nice pocket money for European Travel and Buying More Manga. (LOL, I'm zero help to the U.S. economy. ... I'll try to buy some new shoes or something to do my part.) Actually, I might put the money towards some new shelving I've had my eye on. And I'll buy the bunnies some new toys. <3

Last week was Epic Bad at work, like "I'm standing in my boss's office trying not to cry 'cause I don't want to be that girl" bad, so I was looking for a very good weekend. ;)

Friday night, Ringo and I went for a Cupcake Adventure, at "The Shoppe", a freakishly adorable Cupcake & Cereal bar on Colfax. It was delightful, the people are super-friendly and the food was delicious. <3 Josh showed up too, and we hung out 'til very late! There was thundersnow, which was freaky, so we waited until it stopped until attempting to drive.

That led to the Ice Adventure! Even though it had been a pleasantly warm day, the surprise storm iced over the roads completely. >_< So rather than take Ringo back to her car so she could (attempt to) drive home, she and I headed back to my place. Hilariously slowly. XD Fortunately it was midnight so very few people were on the roads, but I never got above 20 mph. [thumbs up] She was great moral support and I appreciate it heartily.

Saturday, once the roads were traversable again, we went on a Shopping Adventure to Denver Fabrics! It had been a while~~. We were looking for craptons of drab green twill (can you guess? can you guess?) but the selection was disappointing so we ended up at Joann's instead. I'm very happy with what we got. Hopefully these costumes will debut at Wasabi in March :)

That evening was a magical Pirate Adventure to celebrate Merry Shannon's latest book release. Because we'll use any excuse to dress up like pirates, but a successful pirate-themed novel is really the best! Plus the book recitation was amazing. Talented people here in Denver, no lie.

Today Ringo & I took it pretty easy (I fail in getting us to brunch x_x maybe some other sunday...) and started a little cosplay work. It wasn't a very adventurous day, really, but it was fun shopping at Whole Foods with nothing but women, since all the men were watching the Super Bowl. XD Coffee and a nice chat, let's call it the Anti-Super-Bowl Adventure.

This week at work the New Guy starts, so let's hope we all get along. And I don't throw anything through a window, but that's what the cosplay-therapy is for. :)

I finally finished my Gurren-dan hoodie... I started the project over a month ago, set down the applique when I got sick of it, and just managed to complete it today.



I think it turned out cute, so I'm happy! The red parts are the very very last of the Shinku fabric (I've got about a fat quarter left) and the black trim was all hand-stitched (hence the month-long hiatus).

I didn't really intend to make a full Nia costume, I just wanted the jacket >_>
But we'll see, 'cause it's kinda like "Well, you've gotten this far, just suck it up and make the damned thing".

Thrust with your drill, etc etc...

Yesterday was the EPIC Alice in Wonderland photoshoot. I can't put in in better terms than that. 2 photographers, 2 make-up artists, 8 cast members, a gorgeous location, not nearly enough sleep, batshit yokels on the 3rd floor, and snow from a sunny sky. XD I really can't thank everyone enough for making it such a wonderful experience. Really, it was magic <3

That being said, I'm completely exhausted and think I may go to bed at 9 tonight. ;z_z Let's do this again ASAP, but remind me to take the next day off work XD

LOLORADO IS AMAZING

So, Lauren and I are psyched for an upcoming pair of costumes that are just our style <3. However, we're encountering a heretofore "Did not really care" issue:

The image is mirrored, so the characters should really be the same height. I'm just under 5'8'' (172cm), Lauren is 6'2'' (188cm). That's a fairly substantial deficit on my part. So I'll be looking for some ridiculous heels for this, and I'm curious: what's the tallest heel you've worn? And how ungodly were they?

I've got some 5 1/2 inch heels with a 2 inch platform, but they're pointy-toed pumps and I really can't wear them for long. I tried them on standing next to her (with her in flats) and was still significantly shorter, but ... closer, at least. So, do I want to try 6 inch somethings, 7 inch somethings? Hmm. (They're big dresses, so no one should SEE the distracting hilarity on my feet other than to marvel at the unlikelihood of someone with legs that long, and perhaps wonder why I'm moving so slowly.)

pssst, teca, you knooooow you want to doooooooo these with usssssssss... XD

In other news, I'm making myself a Gurren-dan hoodie. It's velour, I think Kamina would approve <3

It was so gorgeous and warm outside today. And now it's snowing, and I am sad. T__T

Ringo-chan spent the night last night so we could get up bright and early and hit the big fabric sale at Wesco. <3 I got a crap-ton of a pretty black moire with a few possible projects in mind (you can never have too much fancy black, that's for damned sure) and a couple different kinds of dusty pink/lilac (with no particular use immediately apparent).

What I really, REALLY need to do is organize the Room of Shame. Honestly, I don't even know what I've got in here anymore. Shelving, ahoy!

We also picked out my Halloween costume ($4.17; half-off sale at Goodwill FTW), got Teca's measurements for Pattern-Master-fun, AND bought some bunny supplies, so all in all it was a very productive day.

I'm currently reading G-Defend volume 31. 31. When I set up my website, there were 12 volumes. o_o For a light-hearted manga about an anti-terrorism squad, it continues to entertain, but HOLY DAMMIT CHRISTMAS, 31 VOLUMES. I wonder if there are enough characters to populate their own Suikoden game yet...?