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Saturday, October 4th, 2008
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4:21 am - Adventures In Costuming (!!!)
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Progress so far on the Summoner Yuna costume from Final Fantasy X. Everything but the pajama top I'm wearing for modeling purposes was hand-sewn, as I have no clue how to use a sewing machine. Wired items were constructed using braided floral wire stitched into a layer of white cloth, with the colored pieces stiched on in an overlay before the painting stage. All painting is done in acrylics, using a flat-edged 1 brush. Paint was set using an iron before the pieces were assembled.
I started on the assembly the 27th of September. Here's where I'm at as of October 4th.
Front:
Front view of the obi, sleeves, and skirt.
Back:
back view of the obi, sleeves, and skirt.
Side:
Side view of the obi, sleeves, and skirt
Obi Bow Pieces:
Pieces used to assemble the obi, or yellow belt. The square piece is built over a wired white piece of cloth, and painted . The narrower strip is the loose piece of cloth that falls over the back of the bow, and the wide one is the back of the bow, as it has a doubled appearance. I freehanded the vines and flowers, without, regrettably, clear reference. It's inaccurate, but I think the pattern turned out alright.
Obi Front:
The part of the obi that goes around the waist. It is constructed on a wired frame of heavy white cloth, with the yellow stitched over this, then painted with acrylic. Vines and flowers are freehand, while the circular detail was placed with a handmade styrofoam stamp, then had the details added in. This fastens around the waist by means of hook-and-eye closures I sewed onto the ends.
Closeup of circle and obi stamp:
The circle detail, as near as I could get to the original on Yuna's costume, and the styrofoam stamp I made to help me lay out the details before painting it. The stamp was made using a mechanical pencil, a bit of styrofoam from a food service container, a sewing needle, and a length of measured thread. I used the thread and needle to make a simple compass, traced the circle, then sketched in the details. Once those were complete, I dug into the styrofoam using the end of my pencil, until I felt the grooves were deep enough to leave the pattern on the cloth. The circle was stamped out of the styrofoam by continuing to follow the needle/compass/pencil lines until the grooves allowed me to pop the piece out. Then, I just painted it over with paint in the base dark blue, stamped it on the cloth, and worked in the details with a chisel-edged 1 brush.
The bow affixes to the obi belt by means of snaps.
The sleeves were made out of two yard lengths of sheet each, with purple cord strung through the tops to affix them to the arm. The pink gradient was accomplished by pouring pink fabric dye into a spray bottle and spraying it over the lain-out, pre-assembled sleeves.
The skirt is a box-pleated skirt with a fitted waist. I made this without a pattern or any previous experience with a project like this. It uses a pleating style called the 'box pleat', which is what is used in cheerleading skirts, and has a slit up the left side to the knee, which I cheated on by simply affixing an extra panel of pleated cloth in the left seam that only reached to the knee, both allowing me to have my fitted skirt and get into the garment without a crazy closure system or elastic. The waist fastens with hook-and-eye closures at the waistband, and two lower on the hip to keep the flap of extra pleats closed. When finished, it will have a pattern of flowers and vines up the front.
So far, I have learned the following:
1: Good GOSH, do I need to learn how to use a sewing machine! My fingers are so stabbed it's only moderately funny, and my fingernails have gotten scratched by the needle and floral wire. 0.0
2: When making a fitted skirt, remember: Hips tend to be about 10 inches wider than the waist measurement. So even if the brief and sketchy tutorial you read said "Bunch to the waist measurement, then stitch up the hem," make sure you make an enterance/escape route to your skirt!
3: Um, make sure things are the right side up when you paint. Kay? Thanks.
4: When dyeing to a gradient, put tape in layers over the area you do not want colored, because otherwise, you WILL get spatters.
5: When dyeing cord, test the dye first. Otherwise your carnation ends up flamingo pink. ;.;
6: A waist cincher style belt really shouldn't be a solid rectangle. The waist dips in the middle. Next time you construct one, look up HOW first. (Note: Same for every other piece here. I've been mostly guessing.)
current mood:  industrious
current music: synthpop
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(comment on this)
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| Wednesday, May 7th, 2008
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2:39 am
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Husband to dog: NO! Those are not to chew up, those are for ME to enjoy!
Me: Um...are you two fighting over my underwear again?
Dog: *jumps on the bed, tries to look innocent*
Husband: Noooooooo...
Me: By the way Boo's trying to look innocent, I can't help but think you're lying.
Husband: Boo! Quickly! Look more innocent!
current mood:  amused
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(comment on this)
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| Saturday, January 12th, 2008
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12:37 am - first post of the year
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So, the wedding is in t minus a month and three days.
We have, ah... the dress purchased. My shoes purchased. Locales arranged, but not payed for. An offer to buy flowers, but haven't had a talk with the person who offered yet...it just hasn't been convinient. I think one bridesmaid has her dress picked. The guys arranged for their tuxes. We had a dancing lesson, the boys have been practicing the music they'll play...
My family won't be able to come. We won't have a photographer, so I still need to figure out which friends won't be in the wedding party so I can talk them into taking pictures, and make sure they actually GET to me afterwards. If this wedding planning foolishness has shown me anything, it's that you can't trust other people with things, and it's aggrivating as HELL to not be able to complete things yourself.
I have yet to talk to the gentleman who will be officiating, or even hear his name. We haven't gotten the marriage license yet.
....
I am not panicking. Really.
In other news: Still working at the elementary school. I am amused at the kinds of pixie treasure I find myself getting from the kids, and by how disturbed and yet thrilled they are at the idea that in a few weeks "Miss C." will be going by an entirely different name. It is somewhat cute to have a wide-eyed little gal come up to you and be like "Miss C, what will happen if I forget your new name? Will you still answer?"
Brandon laughed when I told him about this. He thought it was cute that the kids have trouble realizing I won't forget my maiden name. I already had one fifth grade boy who likes to chat with me during his breaks tell me he will still call me Miss C, even after the name change, because that's who I am.
Boo's just as crazy a dog as ever, we've been gaming with the boys a great deal, and that's about it.
current mood:  sick
current music: space heater hum
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(comment on this)
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| Tuesday, November 27th, 2007
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11:45 pm
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| Sunday, November 11th, 2007
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8:28 pm
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Got ahold of my grandpa for the first time in three years. That was nice, though he doesn't think he'll be able to come to the wedding because of his lack of cat-sitters. (He has five very large cats that, since the death of his second wife, have become the main focus of his life.)
I begin to realize I probably won't have any family at the wedding. Somehow, that upsets me way more than it should. It costs an obscene amount to get to Indiana, especially in winter, when the Cascades are impassable, so the Spokane airport is the main option for leaving the Okanogan valley and heading out of state.
We were trying to plan out some sort of family thanksgiving gathering, but Bo's mom is a fool and nixes it despite my offer to do all the work. Bleh.
On the bright side: Finally got to read Fatal Revenant (the second book of the last chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever). It was pretty dramatic, and I look forward to the next book, despite the three year wait I have in store. Also got to read the second Abarat book, which was pretty neat.
for those of you attempting NaNoWriMo,from Stephen R. Donaldson's personal website:
On why he took 25 years to start writing the Last Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever:
"...perhaps the deepest, most personal reason is that I was afraid. At my first glimpse of "The Last Chronicles," I knew that it would be astonishingly difficult to write; that as a narrative exercise it would make the previous "Covenant" stories look like a stroll in the park. If this last story is done right, if it fulfills my intentions, it will complete and unify the entire saga. But in order to accomplish that goal I'll have to go far beyond my known abilities, both as a story-teller and as a writer. The prospect terrified me. It still does. The argument could be made that everything I've written since I first conceived "The Last Chronicles" has been an attempt to expand my abilities and resources; to make myself ready for the story I'm writing now.
It seems a little inspirational, somehow, in the way a man who writes about ruin and rot, helplessness and powerlessness, failure and surrender, can sound.
current mood: sick
current music: Yellow, Ed Allyne-Johnson
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(comment on this)
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| Sunday, October 21st, 2007
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1:31 pm
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I've been looking into metal bands with female vocalists lately. Anyone know any decent ones other than the following?
Nightwish
Lacuna Coil
Within Temptation
Octavia Sperati
Elis
Epica
The Dreamsides
Sirenia
After Forever (Don't like their vocalist.)
current mood:  sleepy
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(comment on this)
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| Friday, October 19th, 2007
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3:31 pm
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| Monday, September 17th, 2007
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11:33 pm
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One of the worst things to have conveyed over the phone after saying "I can't afford to visit home to get my books, could you guys please maybe send a few?"
"Mama wants to know if she drove you off and made you run away. Did she?"
...GAH.
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(1 comment | comment on this)
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| Monday, August 27th, 2007
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6:25 pm
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| Saturday, August 18th, 2007
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9:09 pm
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Your results:
You are Spider-Man
| Spider-Man |
| 85% |
| Superman |
| 75% |
| Robin |
| 74% |
| Wonder Woman |
| 62% |
| Batman |
| 55% |
| Supergirl |
| 47% |
| Hulk |
| 40% |
| Green Lantern |
| 25% |
| Catwoman |
| 20% |
| The Flash |
| 15% |
| Iron Man |
| 10% |
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You are intelligent, witty,
a bit geeky and have great
power and responsibility.
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Click here to take the "Which Superhero are you?" quiz...
Your results:
You are Mystique
| Mystique |
| 68% |
| Magneto |
| 48% |
| Apocalypse |
| 43% |
| The Joker |
| 41% |
| Green Goblin |
| 40% |
| Mr. Freeze |
| 39% |
| Dr. Doom |
| 38% |
| Dark Phoenix |
| 34% |
| Riddler |
| 33% |
| Poison Ivy |
| 33% |
| Venom |
| 30% |
| Two-Face |
| 24% |
| Lex Luthor |
| 23% |
| Catwoman |
| 20% |
| Juggernaut |
| 8% |
| Kingpin |
| 7% |
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Sometimes motherly, sometimes a beautiful companion, but most of the time a deceiving vixen.
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Click here to take the "Which Super Villain are you?" quiz...
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(comment on this)
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| Wednesday, August 15th, 2007
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8:52 pm
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As of today, Bo and I have been together for three years.
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(comment on this)
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| Friday, August 10th, 2007
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5:18 pm
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| Thursday, August 2nd, 2007
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1:24 pm
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I have jerky. YAAAY. *purrs at food dehydrator*
And I am taunting Boo by eating jerky in front of him while feeding him grapes.
Brandon's coworker gave him this crazy wdding planning book. Its peach-ness intimidates me, as do its concepts of hundreds and thousands of dollars being small, modest expenditures. Also: Apparently the formal dress industry caught on to the 'prom dress' ploy, for any white dress I can find is JUST as overpriced as a wedding dress.
I start work again the 15th of August. Yaaay!
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(comment on this)
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| Tuesday, July 17th, 2007
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5:52 pm
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Feckin Vista. I've been waiting AGES to finally get to play though Neverwinter Nights. Bo lets me install it on his new computer. I get ALL the patches, make sure everything's installed just right, and what does it do?
Stick me with these metallic blobs instead of characters. ;.;
DAMN YOU, VISTA!!!
Oh, and Bo? Next time you're thirsty, just go get a glass of water. My journal isn't a faucet or a resturant.
current mood:  annoyed
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(comment on this)
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| Sunday, July 15th, 2007
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6:26 pm
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I am a bit bemused right now. Bo's mom decided to take us out to eat, so we went to Los Bravos.
Her first impulse? To order the Gringo Steak.
Bo's response? Abject horror and shame. I think the waiter was torn between laughing at Bo, his mom, and the situation.
She ended up trying something new, though, and liked it, so that was pretty cool.
Then, somehow, a conversation about jerky turned into her buying us a food dehydrator. I'm a little confused, but that's still cool. Rar, many things shall be dehydrated.
current mood:  bemused
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(1 comment | comment on this)
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| Wednesday, July 11th, 2007
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8:19 pm
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My engagement ring came in today. I suppose this is a girly thing to gush over, but...I am, well, of the fairer sex. It is shiny, and has three marquis tanzanites on it. I hoard its shininess, and note that it feels very, very odd to have a ring on my left hand right now, but I'm sure I'll get used to it quickly.
The (one) ring (to rule them all!)
Oh. And Bo's new computer came in, too.
current mood:  bouncy
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(7 comments | comment on this)
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| Tuesday, July 3rd, 2007
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5:47 pm
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I have been trying to work out what me and Bo need to get done by certain points to actually manage our wedding. Like: What the hell IS a bridesmaid, really, and am I SUPPOSED to have them? Wikipedia says they're supposed to confuse the evil spirits and fight off people for me, but I don't know if I can find any suitable ones, in that case. :P And how does one fight off people in heels?
Then there's the matter of receptions. We think we have a church for the ceremony, a very nice little one. But as far as receptions go, I have no clue what we ought to do. We're broke, and don't have any family who can afford to help. Renting a place costs like, Teh Monies. I don't know that the house would be big enough, and let's be frank. It's hard to heat, and me and Bo are getting hitched Feb. 15th (The Friday after Valentine's Day. He asked for it when he proposed, so it would take a LOT to talk me out of it.)
The church in question has a basement... a little small, but not too bad. Rather plain, but frankly looks aren't why I want a REAL wedding. I don't know if we can secure both, though, if Bo did deem it suitable, especially since Sissy says her and her pastor are keeping it on the down-low that they're arranging for a wedding there at all. How likely would it be that a church might want to have a function on Feb 15, and...now this part REALLY worries me...what if their church board decides randomly to plan something there on our day?
Real weddings are, apparently, a headache. I still refuse to NOT have one, however, because my mother got cheated, and I shan't tolerate the same.
Oh, and 'Laise, could you get ahold of me sometime? I'm not altogether sure what email you're using lately, and I managed to lose the phone number you gave me. If...if you wouldn't mind, I should rather like to have some help figuring out all this rot from my best friend. I could find communications easiest at my Gmail addy ( liachami@gmail.com ), as the Hotmail one I used for ages tends to eat things now. (And obviously you're invited. I need you there, if you can come, to help me not go crazy!)
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(8 comments | comment on this)
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| Monday, July 2nd, 2007
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11:43 pm - The Humans are Dead
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| Sunday, July 1st, 2007
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6:02 pm
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| Friday, June 8th, 2007
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2:35 pm
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[CENTER][IMG]http://www.wizards.com/magic/images/whatcolor_isblue.jpg[/IMG][URL=http://www.wizards.com/magic/playmagic/whatcolorareyou.asp][B]Take the Magic: The Gathering 'What Color Are You?' Quiz.[/B][/URL][/CENTER]
Wot, wot? The Smashing Pumpkins got back together? http://www.amazon.com/Zeitgeist-Smashing-Pumpkins/dp/B000OQF6N6/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-1637276-6807850?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1181331357&sr=8-1
Apparently so. They replaced about half the band--only Billy Corgan and Jimmy Chamberlain remain of the originals, and they've been touring Europe. Only stops scheduled in the US so far are in North Carolina and California. The album comes out in July.
Oh, and wish me luck, luvs and ducks, because I've an interview for a bank teller position on Tuesday at 9:00 am. It pays about 9.00 an hour, has benefits, and would give me a 40-hr week, which would mean, well. We could probably afford our wedding, eh?
current mood: cheerful
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raedencelyn's journal
waaaaant
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