Dr. Firefly

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So, a while ago I got another pukipuki cosplay commission. This one was technically much easier than the last (I think partially because I'd got used to sewing for the size and partially the outfits were actually easier), and I think I like the outfits better too.

I almost wish I could go back and redo the other outfits now... but I think I'll be saying that forever no matter how many times I redo something.

Anyway, this time it was for 4 different outfits, one from Doctor Who (Rory), and three from Firefly (River Tam, Wash and Kaylee), which I have never seen.

I'm not very happy with Rory's scrub shirt (mainly the pockets - I should have left them off), but I adore his pants, they're lots of fun. When I get some time (and flanelette :P) I'd love to make a similar pair as PJs for the girls.

River's was quite fun to do and rather simple, though I wish I'd been able to find thinner fabric... but it's difficult to find. In the actual episode (Safe), River's top is a loose weave sweater that's sort of fraying all over the place. It's a very cute outfit. Since I can't knit (tried, failed, I'll leave it to the pros), I pulled at the hems with a pin to simulate the fraying.

I custom printed the material for Wash's shirt to match the one in the reference image, but it came out a bit dark. Oh well. The commissioner likes it and I think it's my favourite of the 4. ^^

And yet again we are reminded of just how bad I am at posing pukipukis.

Lastly was Kaylee's outfit. It was super complicated with all sorts of extra things that look amazing full size (embroidery, writing etc.) but don't translate well at all to puki-size. I had to settle for a few of the bigger details and a plain blue coat. I made an umbrella too, but forgot to take a picture of it. :(

Forgotten Memory

Since I've clearly missed my original deadline by, well, a lot, I've decided the best course of action is to continue working on collection pieces and post them up in my (still a WIP) shop on a made-to-order basis. That way I can add things when they are done instead of waiting until x number of copies are done. Which, thinking about it now, is really how I should have done it in the first place.

The only problem with this... is that since I'm going to be in another country until January... I'll only be able to bring a small amount of fabric which will severely limit what I can make while I'm there. In addition, it's likely that shipping prices will be very different (though, knowing Canada Post, that could be a good thing)...

Oh well. We'll see what happens.

Anyway, here are teasers of a few of the items I've got ready:

Tan fuzzy shorts for MNF, lined in white cotton. I don't know if they will work for Bisou Ai, since the fabric is a bit thick, but we'll see.

Textures EVERYWHERE! :D

This one went through a couple revisions after I discovered the fabric I'd originally chosen for the bottom was hell to work with and the first replacement material was just wrong, but I think that it turned out quite well. The only problem is that I'm quickly running out of this lace, and nothing else I have at the moment will work. :/ I'm hoping that I can find something while I'm away, otherwise I might just have to leave it off. :(

I think these bracelets are my favourite things I've ever made. They're fun to make, relatively painless and look excellent (if I do say so myself. :P). I tried making similar ones for myself... but they don't look quite as nice.

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Almost all of these are prototypes and will have minute differences in the final versions, but since they're mostly changes like '-2mm on this strap', 'tie the knot this way instead' I'm assuming it won't be very apparent.

What do you think? :)

Excuses, Excuses

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Alright... let's try this again.

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It's been approximately 2 months since my last post, which, to me, is unacceptable. Especially considering there was about a month in between that and the one before... and the same for the one before that... :/

So, with that in mind, I feel the need to explain. It's probably not necessary, but I'm going to do it anyway.

My grandmother died in January. It was a long time coming, and I've more than come to terms with it. However, since my grandfather had also died recently, it meant that their house (where my little part of the family was also living), possessions and all that jazz, were now in the possession of my aunts, uncles and parents. Which would be fine, except that instead of being civil and adult about it, it seemed to become an excuse to rip the family apart at the seams. Yay.

Now, I'd moved most of my stuff out and live a few hours away, because apparently I am a grown up now. So for me it was mostly a matter of getting the rest of it moved or donated and then saying "to hell with you all until you learn to be proper human beings again".

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for my younger brother, who got caught up in the middle of everything and the raw end of almost every deal... Since I could not afford the $50/8 hour round trip bus ride every week (especially during the winter term, when I had classes), I was sort of stuck trying to help from afar... which, as you might expect, didn't really amount to much.

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On top of that, I've been dealing with some sort of health issue(s?) since November, or maybe October...September?... I forget. Luckily after countless visits to countless doctors (it might be only 5 or 6 doctors but I have actually lost count of the number of visits), I finally got them to agree that yes, there is, in fact, something wrong with me. Previously, they'd just done a blood test, or talked to me and then sent me home with an "I don't know, you look healthy, you're probably fine". Gee. Thanks.

Now comes the happy task of trying to convince at least one of them to help me figure out just what that something is. And since the symptoms keep manifesting slightly differently every time I visit (and many of the doctors cut me off after listing 2), I'm expecting it to take a while.

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In happier news, I've also been preparing for a term (ish) abroad, which I'll talk about closer to leaving, but suffice it to say, it's been keeping me pretty busy. (Apparently, the Embassy, immigration board, Travel Companies and a host of other people are not very clear on some of the laws... XD)

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As a result of all of this (I assume, it could also be another symptom), I've been either sleeping or utterly exhausted for the greater portion of most days, so even when I could bring myself to work on something, posting a blog update about it was not at the top of my to do list.

So there you have it, my lovely excuses. Though this may have been more of a 'get it off my chest' post than anything.

I have quite a few other things to post updates on though, so those should be coming in the next few weeks. Hopefully with pictures. :)