New Item: MiniFee Angelina Dress

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This dress is part of a bigger collection I have planned for the distant future, but I'm having a lot of fun sewing them in sparkly fabrics so I thought I would release it on its own.

I hope you like it. ^^

Halter Tops and Anime North

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Hello again lovely people!

I've been working like mad sewing halter tops recently. :) I have four more cut out and ready to be sewn, and then I think I'm going to take a break and make something else for a while. :p

Unfortunately, my kitty has been having breathing issues (we've ruled out a polyp, sinus issues, the weather and a bacterial infection so far, but still not sure), so that's taken up some time - but I still feel pretty good about everything I've accomplished recently, so I thought I'd update with some of my favourites.

Large Bust in 'Fuchsia Rings'
with 'Light Neon' Short Butterfly Cardigan

Small Bust in unreleased fabric
with 'Glitter Olive' Long Butterfly Cardigan

Small Bust in 'ZigZag Dots'

Small Bust in 'Eyebleed Flowers'

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In other news, Doll North released the theme for this year's Masquerade: Manga and Anime of the 1990's! I'm planning to enter again this year and have already started my entry. ^^ I picked something a little less ambitious than last year, so I feel pretty confident I can pull it off. We don't have to keep it secret this year, so I'll write a blog post when I'm a little farther along.

They changed the contest to size tiers this year as well, which I think is a great move. Unfortunately, they've also made a few changes to the Market... so I don't think I'll be selling this time around, but maybe next year. At least it will give me a lot of extra time to build up stocks. ^^ Haven't decided 100%, but I think we'll just go for the Sunday this year since there's not too much going on on the Friday or Saturday.

Maybe I'll see you there? :D

New Items + Sale!

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Everything has been pretty hectic around here the last little while, but I've put up a new item in the shop: MiniFee Halter Tank Tops!

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To celebrate, I've put everything on sale for 15% off until February 24th! :)
(Coupon code is Iheartbears [because it's true :| ])

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I used to make this top on commission, but I was never quite happy with the end results, so I've revamped the pattern and now it's available again (it's summer in Australia :p). ^^

This fabric works so well. ^3^

They're going to be made-to-order for now as I'm trying to build up stock for Anime North in May, so I'm keeping my prototypes until that is over.

The fabric pages have been updated with the stuff I got in NYC (well, some of it :p), so all of those are available to be picked and I have a few more prototypes I'm just finishing up as well to show different possibilities. :) There is a photo on my Flickr showing a top done in the same fabric, but with different top-stitching to show the different effects that can have.

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I hope everyone is having a good week!

NYC

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We got back from NYC last night. It was a fun trip, but next time I think we'll try to have a weekend. It was pretty whirlwind-y. :)

Monday we got stuck in the airport for ~9 hours because NYC was having a snowstorm and our flights kept getting cancelled. We arrived in NYC around 9-9:30pm so didn't get much time that day.

Tuesday I was supposed to meet up with Goodbyeyouhellome, but messaging and timing didn't work out, so I just went shopping by myself instead. I got a bunch of stuff from B&J Fabrics. They had Liberty Tana Lawn there too, way more than Liberty has, which I thought was kind of funny.

Wednesday my boyfriend took the day off work so we could spend it together. We spent the morning at the Natural History Museum. It was pretty awesome, though it took me a while to get used to the taxidermied animals. They have the displays set up so nicely that it's hard not to take photos, no matter how squicky I find the whole thing. We were going to go to Central Park for a bit, but got caught up in wandering the museum. Maybe next time!


That night we went to see Wicked on Broadway and had a lot of fun. I'd seen it before in Toronto a few years ago, but it was very different with different people playing Glinda and Elphaba. This Glinda (I think it was Alli Mausey, but don't quote me on that) took a bit to get used to, she played a very over-the-top version of the character, but after the second scene or so, she was just HILARIOUS. XD So good.

This keeps coming out really light on the blog... :/
It looks better on Flickr

Thursday I was supposed to meet up with Layn (DoA) to go fabric shopping again. There are far too many stores to attempt them in one day! Since I didn't get to see GYHM on Tuesday, she decided to come meet up with the two of us on Thursday. :) We wandered some shops - mainly Mood Fabrics, which is ginormous - and I got a few things and then we went back to my hotel so that we could take some photos since I hadn't brought my dolls shopping with me (a lot of the stores are VERY crowded). Hopefully next time I go it will be warmer, then we can meet up in Central Park or something and take photos there. ^^


On the flight home, my doll bag got selected for extra screening.... again (really people... they're dolls, it's not THAT weird). They did a swab for explosives because apparently that's a thing?... and Bella came up positive. So... yay. Luckily I didn't and neither did Mali, so they let us leave, but they wouldn't tell me what exactly Bella came up positive for... I'm guessing either mold release or just resin oxidation? I guess she'll get a bath before I fly with her again. Hopefully that will work. It was not a super fun experience and I'd rather not repeat it.

Ripley's Aquarium Visit

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Yesterday my boyfriend and I made a trip to the newly opened Ripley's Aquarium in Toronto - sort of as a birthday outing, sort of not. :p

Anyway, it was INSANELY crowded. Never going on a weekend again. But it was still quite a good trip and I got a lot of photos. :)

When you first walk in, there's a large mural on the wall that makes it look you've just stepped onto a private island.

Next you go through an exhibit full of fish and such native to the area. They had all kinds of trout and cod and anemone and a tank full of lobster. On the ceiling here they had hung a bunch of lobster traps and netting. Not something generally considered beautiful, but I think they did quite a good job.

Looks a bit spooky. ;)

After the local fish section, you walk out facing a huge colourful tank filled with (fake) corals and (real) tropical fish. It was quite a surprise after the greyness of the Great Lakes exhibits. ^^;

The reefs exhibit sort of blends into their 'Dangerous Lagoon' tank which is the largest one in the aquarium. It's got a few types of sharks, some rays + sawfish and at least one green sea turtle. I bet there are at least two but I only saw one.

You go through on this sort of conveyor belt underneath/inside the tank so you can see all around. The sawfish liked to sit on top of the tunnel roof for some reason. It was pretty funny to see.

Finally, the last(-ish..) section was my absolute favourite --- JELLYFISH! :D

They had a few different kinds, but they three main attractions were the Sea Nettles, the Moon Jellies and the Australian Spotted Jellyfish - which are entirely adorable.

Sea Nettles

Sea Nettles

The Sea Nettles Tank was all lit up and on a rotating timer so that it changed colours every minute or so. Since the jellies are translucent but coloured, they turn all sorts of crazy colours in response to the light. Most aquariums just keep them on a light blue background, where they look bright orange, so it was neat to see all the different colours. 

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I may have found my new favourite jellyfish - Australian Spotted Jellyfish. :) I played around with my macro lens for these photos. Worked out pretty well I think. I tried with the baby moon jellies too, but they had them on a blue-lit tank (instead of the more common black) so they were basically invisible. :(

About pingpong ball sized in person

Golf ball sized.

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I think I'd like to go back again some time, but probably not in the very near future. If you want to visit, I'd strongly suggest going on a weekday during school hours and buying your tickets in advance. The line to buy tickets was crazy.

And now, back to sewing and class readings. ^^