Steve, the Intergalactic Fruitbat
So I got back from Dragon*Con a week and a half ago, and I've been so busy since that time that I've been up pretty late almost every night of the intervening time, haven't done any of my laundry yet (don't worry; I have way too many clothes, so I still have oodles of clean ones to wear before I run out), my office has turned into even more of a disaster than it was before, and I haven't actually finished half the projects I've been working on. (Among other things, I am designing a web presence for the band, writing music, and doin' secret stuff.)
But I have, at least, whisked all the detritus from my pre-Dragon*Con sewing project away from the downstairs, leaving Andrew once again with a dining room that does not look as though a Jo-Ann's has exploded in it.
So I figured I'd take a moment to elaborate on the costume, for people who saw it and didn't know what it was, or who didn't get to see it.
lamia_prime, ceosanna, and I, collectively, dressed as the Goddesses of the Internet. You see, last year, lamia_prime had constructed a bustle gown, all Victorian-like, with Cthulhu's face as the bustle, adorned with wings, done up in the sort of color scheme which at once suggests tentacle-y monsters and the sort of shrieking insanity that only a Miami prom can bring on. And lo, it was good.
So this year, she had the idea to expand this to a group-- she constructed a second bustle gown for ceosanna, the bustle topped with His Noodly Appendages, complete with adorable puffy meatballs and googly eyes onna noodle. She trimmed various parts in this white, pasta-like fringe, with brown pom-poms buried in it as meatballs. The fabric for most of the gown was a piratey black and white stripe. (I boggle at how much effort it must have been to do so much matching on so much fabric with such narrow stripe. But she did it, boy howdy.)
So where do I come in?
Well, Cherie Priest, blue-haired, internet-savvy author of steampunk zombie novels (and other things, it's just fun to say "steampunk zombie novels") has a blog, and on this blog she wrote an entry about a deity that she and her companions dreamed up after some hours in a car and being introduced to the Californian phenomenon that is fruit checkpoints. This has since led to a small following on the InterTubes (for Steve-- Ms. Priest had the following beforehand). If you see someone say "Hail Steve!" or "by His fuzzy wings" or suchlike, this is what they are talking about.
So I was the third Internet Goddess. And I got to make a Victorian gown! I made it pretty much entirely out of polyester, and there are zippers, buuuut... I made this: http://www.flickr.com/photos/carbonated/236244686/
lamia_prime found me the pattern used for the bodice, helped fit it, answered about a zillion questions on construction how-to, and came up with the plan for how to bone the wings, and, well, basically the attack plan for the thing. I... did a lot of sewing. And a lot of removing of stitches I shouldn't have sewn, and a lot of re-stitching. And the end result (prize to have_inner_lady for best picture of the costume) was Steve the Intergalactic Fruitbat in Victorian form. (Note the Doritos. They are part of the costume, and if you don't know why, you should read the link above, silly.)
This is probably the most ambitious and most successful thing I've sewn to date. So... yay!
But I have, at least, whisked all the detritus from my pre-Dragon*Con sewing project away from the downstairs, leaving Andrew once again with a dining room that does not look as though a Jo-Ann's has exploded in it.
So I figured I'd take a moment to elaborate on the costume, for people who saw it and didn't know what it was, or who didn't get to see it.
lamia_prime, ceosanna, and I, collectively, dressed as the Goddesses of the Internet. You see, last year, lamia_prime had constructed a bustle gown, all Victorian-like, with Cthulhu's face as the bustle, adorned with wings, done up in the sort of color scheme which at once suggests tentacle-y monsters and the sort of shrieking insanity that only a Miami prom can bring on. And lo, it was good.
So this year, she had the idea to expand this to a group-- she constructed a second bustle gown for ceosanna, the bustle topped with His Noodly Appendages, complete with adorable puffy meatballs and googly eyes onna noodle. She trimmed various parts in this white, pasta-like fringe, with brown pom-poms buried in it as meatballs. The fabric for most of the gown was a piratey black and white stripe. (I boggle at how much effort it must have been to do so much matching on so much fabric with such narrow stripe. But she did it, boy howdy.)
So where do I come in?
Well, Cherie Priest, blue-haired, internet-savvy author of steampunk zombie novels (and other things, it's just fun to say "steampunk zombie novels") has a blog, and on this blog she wrote an entry about a deity that she and her companions dreamed up after some hours in a car and being introduced to the Californian phenomenon that is fruit checkpoints. This has since led to a small following on the InterTubes (for Steve-- Ms. Priest had the following beforehand). If you see someone say "Hail Steve!" or "by His fuzzy wings" or suchlike, this is what they are talking about.
So I was the third Internet Goddess. And I got to make a Victorian gown! I made it pretty much entirely out of polyester, and there are zippers, buuuut... I made this: http://www.flickr.com/photos/carbonated/236244686/
lamia_prime found me the pattern used for the bodice, helped fit it, answered about a zillion questions on construction how-to, and came up with the plan for how to bone the wings, and, well, basically the attack plan for the thing. I... did a lot of sewing. And a lot of removing of stitches I shouldn't have sewn, and a lot of re-stitching. And the end result (prize to have_inner_lady for best picture of the costume) was Steve the Intergalactic Fruitbat in Victorian form. (Note the Doritos. They are part of the costume, and if you don't know why, you should read the link above, silly.)
This is probably the most ambitious and most successful thing I've sewn to date. So... yay!