Bird

My grand fabric shopping trip turned in to a grand failure.  SAS didn't have anything nice, the JoAnn near SAS is evidently closed, Hancock has been closed forever, the other shops that were recommended to me only sell quilting cotton, the bead store didn't have what I was looking for, I completely forgot why I went to Wal-Mart and I never did make it to Michael's.  Instead of spending hundreds on fabric, I spent $12 on Christmas decorations.  I decided I wanted lights and garland on my stair rails, so lights and garland I get.  Except now that I have lights and garland wrapped around the rails, I realize there are no outlets anywhere near the lights.  My extension cord?  Goodness only knows were that is.  In fact, I'm not even sure it made it to the new hours with me.

I might go back to Wal-Mart later tonight - it's right across the street and open twenty-four hours, so there's no big rush - but for now I am going to enjoy my horrendous dinner of chili dogs and limeade and play more DDS.

(The urge to rush in to DDS2 is VERY strong, but I decided I would rather play through the first one again to catch all the little things I might have missed, fill everyone's mantra grids, earn a bit more gold, hit all the secret battles I missed on the last play-through... all the fun stuff.  Plus it's fabulous being able to play through with elemental resist and all my big, bad spells. =D)

Things to do when I finish Gwendolyn's dress and pay off the Disneyland trip:
- Catch up on sleep
- Clean, oil and change needles on the sewing machine and serger
- Finish Bella's blanket
- Fix the zipper on my mother's pants before she goes ballistic
- Clean up the craft room
- Get back into the kitchen
- Finish Odin Sphere
- Finish SMT: Nocturne
- Finish SMT: DDS 1 (will probably require starting from scratch)
- Play more Eternal Sonata
- Finish season 3 of House
- Watch Code Geass, maybe Gurren Lagann, etc
- Read manga that have been recommended
- Catch up on movies with mah Neko
- Finish season 4 of BSG
- Read the half dozen books I started but never finished
- Save up for the BOCA discs I do not own.

Mostly I'm really looking forward to sleep.

This post comes to you courtesy of my shiny new Voyager.

If you askeed me five hours ago if I wanted a new phone (especially one with such extensive internet capabilities), I would have said HELL NO. Now I find myself addicted and wondering if can afford everything when the free trial expires.

The not so fun part was having a full-blown panic attack right in the middle of the mall. My father can be a monumental jackass at times.

Supposed to be with the family in little more than six hours, but I can't sleep.

Subaru's outfit is gnawing away at my brain.  I really want to start it RIGHT NOW, but it's a holiday, I don't have the supplies, and I still cannot decide on fabrics.  If I have time this weekend, I need to head down to the other fabric store.  (Actually, I NEED to clean my house up this weekend.  Especially if my mother plans on helping me set up my Christmas stuff.)

I hate it when I get this way about a project.  On the upside, these are the projects I actually finish.  On the downside, I usually destroy my health in the process.

I still don't really know anything about satin stitching and embroidery.  Reading books is one thing, doing it properly is another.  Fweh.


Side note: work bites.  Please send tranquilizers.  Or help me find a better job. =/

I finally decided that, yes, I want to make Subaru's outfit my big goal for next year.  With that in mind, I headed out to the craft store in search of fabric and information on embroidery at about 5pm.  Around 8:30pm, I finally escaped.  I hadn't eaten anything since the night before, the store was freezing cold, there were snotty-nosed children EVERYWHERE and everything I wanted was so damned expensive.  Frankly, I'm surprised I didn't have an anxiety attack and exit the store on a stretcher.

So.  Fabric.  I still have no clue what I want to use.  They had a nice wool suiting that would work for the cassock, but I wasn't so fond of the $20/yard price tag.  I'm also not so fond of using the wool for the base of the cope due to both price and texture, but I didn't like the other few options JoAnn presented.  I did come up with a few options for the dark purple designs, but didn't find anything I liked for the lavender lining. (Dear CLAMP: Lavender? WTF?!)  So I'm basically back at square one when it comes to choosing a fabric.

(That leads to a little side rant.  I would really, really appreciate some help with this costume but I have no clue who to ask.  The LiveJournal cosplay community is poorly moderated and flooded with shitty sales posts, Cosplay.com has been dumbed down to for the fourteen-year-old-Narutards (Bleachtards, now?) and the people who can help seem to think anyone who has to ask a question must be one of the Narutards and they formulate their responses for such, /cgl/ can be pretty damned helpful but it's 4chan so it has a bad habit of being over-run by trolls and /b/tards.  If anyone knows of any other costuming communities to hide out in, do share!)

And then there was the issue of embroidery.  I went back to the sewing machine section in hopes that one of the ladies there might be able to help me decide whether or not an embroidery machine would even work for a project like this.  Big mistake.  (Big!  Huge!)  After waiting nearly two hours - the lady in front of me wasn't so bad because I was interested in some of the things she was looking at, but the other two ladies (one of whom had two screaming children) who butted in weren't so fabulous - I finally had the chance to ask my questions.  I mentioned that sewing was my hobby, that I primarily do costuming and rarely make more than two or three outfits a year, and that I was looking for information on embroidering and embroidery machines.  What does the lady do?  Shows me the Husqvarna Designer Diamond.  How much does the Diamond cost?  $9,995.

No, really.

TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS.

For a sewing machine.

Uh huh.  Riiiiiiiiiiiight.  Maybe if I made a living by sewing, but not for one or two projects a year.  Not when I would need to spend another $1200 on the image digitizing software, another $500 on hoops and threads and needles, and gods only knows how much on other things I don't know about.

All I wanted to know was whether or not a machine would even be right for me.  I'm not exactly enthusiastic about hand-embroidering yards and yards and yards of trim, but I had no clue whether or not a embroidery machine could do something like that either.  I know there is software for digitizing images, but I don't know how difficult it is to use or if it's possible to piece together smaller images to form a larger one.  I had no clue how much machines, supplies and thread cost.  Machine or hand, that was my first question and I was willing to go from there.  But $10k?  Fuck that shit, I don't even want to keep looking.  If I ever do embroider anything, it will be entirely by hand just so I can spare myself anymore sales idiocy.

And, yes, they're paid on commission.

How in the world do you get a dog to take a pill he doesn't want to take when he's also refusing to eat?  (The pills in question are pain pills, and I highly suspect he's in too much pain to want to eat.)  I've tried wrapping/coating/burying the damned things in: lunch meat, cheese, peanut butter, squishy dog food and still-bleeding beef and he absolutely REFUSES to eat any of the above.  I tried prying his mouth open but, between him having strong jaws and me being afraid of hurting him, that didn't work so well.

On the upside, the liquid antibiotics were much easier to administer - I figured out early on that if I drip the liquid on his nose he licks it right off.  Goodness knows we would both be better off if I could jam a pain pill down his throat, but if I can only get one thing past him, I'm glad it's the antibiotic.

Besides the usual "there/their/they're" and "are/our" mess, I REALLY wish the internet would learn the difference between bare and bear.

Bear: big fuzzy animal.  Also used to describe: actions of support, reproduction and/or possession, among other things.
Bare: lacking clothing or other form of covering.

The phrase is "BEAR with me".  Unless you are speaking of running naked through the park, in which case please do carry on with using "bare with me".

Amazon has copies of Digital Devil Saga (image shows the deluxe box set, so I might spring for a copy even though I already own the game) *and* Nocturne for sale.  AMAZON.  Not their zShops or merchants or whatever.  Selling below list price!  Prices on eBay are also WAY down from normal.  Did they re-release the games while I wasn't looking, or did someone find a giant truckload in a back lot somewhere?

Very tempted to pick up a couple copies while they are (relatively) cheap so I can spread the love. =D

Dear Neko: Do you want a copy of Nocturne for Christmas, or are there other things you would prefer?

Edit: And they're re-releasing Persona 2.  SHINY! =D Or they did re-release Persona 2, but evidently Amazon sold out in a few hours.  How much do you want to bet a few people grabbed most of the copies to re-sell on eBay?

I suddenly want to do a SMT Cu Chulainn costume.  Nevermind that my armor-making skills are almost nil, it's CU CHULAINN.

Yeah, someone should slap me.  Subaru should come first, dammit.

Hey guys!  D*Con registration is $60 through this Friday.  After that, badges will be $70 until about mid-February, when they will have another price-hike.  If you want 'em, best to get 'em now!  Remember: if you find out later can't go, your badge can always be transferred to someone else.

To Neko: If you can, I would see about getting time off NOW. Wednesday through the following Tuesday (can't be arsed to look up the dates) would probably be best.  Also: I will be buying a badge in Mum's name; if she decides not to go, I will pass it on.

Thunder!  Rain!  (well, okay... light sprinkle)  GLEE!

Southern Arizona sucks eight months of the year, but when it's good, it's great. =D

I only wish I had family or friends to enjoy it with.  Unfortunately, everyone is working or otherwise unavailable today.  I can't even call and badger the parents because they had the nerve to leave the county for a week. =P

Arizona 102 passed, California 8 may very well pass.  Separation of church and state?  What's that?  Religion in my politics, dictating love and denying basic rights?  Everyone say "yay!"  I feel crushed by such overwhelming loathing and intolerance.  Surely there were more people that opposed such measures, that support equality for all.  Where were they?  Why didn't they vote?

Any joy I might have felt over the announcement of the presidential election has pretty much been wiped out.  Every single pro-102 or pro-8 comment I have heard or read makes me that much more sick of the human race.  What's worse are the people celebrating the fact that they get to maintain their way of life while denying others the same rights and privileges.  They are taking joy from another person's sadness.

Meh.

Back from Disneyland, did not die.  Couple SNAFUs, but ultimately a ton of fun was had.  And now: time to VOTE! =D  Friendslist and video games to come whenever I finally make it home.

I have GINORMOUS assruffles right now. ...They aren't supposed to be on my ass though. D=  *turns skirt around* Much better! =D

Small mistakes aside (like forgetting I wanted to gather the front on a seam - DAMN), I think this is the proudest I have ever been over something I have sewn.  Yes, it was simple.  But I tackled a few new things and went from no idea to complete garment in a month despite the job trying to kill me.  And did I mention ruffles?  They will eat your face. *nods solemnly*

Still need to pack and finish the bodice.  Eek!

EEEEEE DISNEYLAND!


Edit: No really.  My skirts EAT things.  Current tally is half a dozen straight pins, one needle and half of skirt clasp.

Trying to contain the urge to keyboard mash in glee - somewhat succeeding, but I figure I will edit this post half a dozen times tonight in an effort not to flood my friends with posts.

Edit2: When did it get to be 12:30am?  I still need to do the bodice and gather up crap for the furball. D=

Edit3: I HATE ZIPPERS.  This one would have gone well except I forgot I had already trimmed down the seam allowance so my measurements were off. ARGH!

Edit4: HOLY FUCK I LOVE MY BODICE! =D =D =D  If people do not get pictures of me, someone (who is not me) is walking home.  GLEE.

( Progress! )

Edit5: 5:30am.  All done (minus some accessories for Gwen, but you can't win 'em all) and all packed.  So much for a good night's sleep.  But at least it's DONE and I am very proud.  ONE OF THESE DAYS I will finish a costume early.  One of these days...

I cannot work without a to-do list.  I forget what I was supposed to do, I get distracted, fifteen minute gaming breaks turn in to three-hour marathon gaming sessions, I lose inspiration, I lose hope, nothing is finished.  SO.  Less than a month, brand new costume to make, a to-do list is necessary.

( Gwendolyn )

I should know better than to let myself think, do or type anything late at night when I'm sleep-deprived and PMSing, as the combination tends to make me extremely self-critical.  A good night's sleep and a brand new day and I'm back to thinking I might actually have a shot at finishing the dress for Halloween.  Finished the front bodice panel (unless I decide make and add in another row of ribbon) and I must say I am very proud.  Now to construct and line the rest of the mess. =P


Also, I have a rant building about the economy - specifically foreclosures - but I don't have the time to sit still long enough to think about it and type it out.

In short:
- Investing in houses is like any other high-risk investment: a gamble.  We don't expect the government to bail out everyone who loses money in Vegas, do we?
- There are despicable predatory lenders, yes.  But if a person was making $2000 a month, he/she should know damned well he cannot afford a half-million dollar home.  COMMON SENSE, people!  This would lead to another rant about how most Americans have no concept of a budget.  (Sub-rant: quit worrying about standardized test scores and start teaching some useful information and life skills in high school.)
- On the flip-side, I do wish banks would take some pity on people with adjustable-rate mortgages.  If they would lock the rate at something reasonable, people could afford to keep their homes and the banks wouldn't lose so much money on repossessions that sell for significantly less than what they are worth.


So looking forward to post-Halloween.  Not that working on the dress hasn't been fun, but I am dying to catch up on my reading, video games and TV shows/anime.

From /cgl/:

Pants? That shouldn't be too hard~

One leg here, one leg the----WHAT THE FUCK?!

Yeah... Yeah...  I've been there.  There's a reason most of my costumes involve skirts.

Enough procrastinating.  Back to work.

Instead of sewing, I spent most of my day dozing fitfully.  On the upside, my car has all-new everything that it could possibly need all-new of.  On the downside, I'm out $630 (labor costs are ridiculous), my head hurts and I have made no progress on my Halloween costume.

I'm also slogging through a fair amount of PMS-related "aaaangst. wooooe. miseryyyy. watch me be emo and type in lower-case." right now.  This makes it very hard to sew, as I have a hard time planning out pattern alterations and become overly-critical of every little mistake or perceived imperfection.  If I were smart, I would give up now.  Lay the dress aside, get plenty of rest and enjoy the next few days off, wear some other costume for Halloween and finish Gwendolyn when I have more time.

Notably, I'm not very smart.

After an entire day of cutting, ironing, serging, gathering, gathering, more gathering, pinning, swearing, un-pinning, gathering, re-pinning, more gathering, sewing, more fussing with the gathering, swearing because fabric got caught up in the machine at the VERY END of the sewing, ripping seams, and a last little bit of re-stitching, I am finally DONE with the ruffles on the overskirt.  There are a few places where a bit of the hem got caught up, but these are very tiny things a person wouldn't notice unless they were three inches away from my skirt and I don't ever plan on entering this into any contests, so I am calling it DONE.  And ZOMG! are the ruffles ever fabulous.

That leaves: waistband and a quick rolled hem on the underskirt, a waistband on the overskirt, hemming and very simple gathering on the hip skirt, actually making the bodice (this is the scary part), and the accessories (cut bangs into the wig, make the feathered hair pieces, make gloves if I have time).  Overall, I'm fairly optimistic about this.  I may actually pull this off for Halloween. =D

But, uh... it's 8am.  I have to be at work in eight hours and I have not had any sleep to speak of.  Eep.