Dude, it’s so hot outside. Seriously, I wore a Victorian bathing suit to a con last weekend, and by the end of the day, it looked like I had actually gone swimming. Just…ew.
With the fast-approaching school year (#imamom), no commissions pending, and a late date for Baltimore Comic Con, I have the option of sleep for the first time in quite some time. Earlier this year, I’d also made the commitment promise suggestion to myself to only work on a handful of meaningful costumes. Clearly, I didn’t stick to that, but I have put joy into what I’ve made so far, and I feel refreshed and inspired every time I walk into my studio. Burnout has been light (KNOCK ON WOOD), and I have a renewed pride in my work. I took the plunge and signed up for a Foundations Revealed/Your Wardrobe Unlock’d membership in an effort to invest in my hobby outside of just throwing some stitches into fabric and calling it a costume. Now, I know that I do more than that, but when you’re up at 1am the night before an event fixing the fit on a gown and wondering why you keep doing this to yourself, taking the plunge to build better habits through professional practices seems like a good idea. I do it for my clients, so why not myself?
When we last chatted, I was raving about Blerdcon. The hype is at a more manageable level one month later, but I will say that our tickets and hotel are already booked, and costumes are being planned for next July. So…yeah. I just received Artemisia photos from the fantastic SF Design, and I now can’t wait to wear her again. The colors are so great!
Another exciting follow-up item from Blerdcon is that I’ll be taking up the mantle of Orko for the 2020 Masters of the Universe group (#motu2020crew)! He-Man posted that the amazing Scorpking Costuming has moved on to Ram-Man for the Great Philadelphia Comic Con gathering and shoot, so I’ll be bringing the little magician to life, based upon the Sideshow Collectibles statue. Progress updates will be posted here, on Facebook, and in my Instagram stories.
Two weeks ago, we made our first trip of the season to the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire (where this blog started over a decade ago). For the faire, I made two gowns in about a week–one for MiniMe and one for Me[Me]. BabyGirl got a pretty purple sleeveless kirtle style that she wore over a farthingale and petticoat. I used The Tudor Child as a guideline. The fabric was a recent purchase from Jomar, and there wasn’t much of it, but I made it work.
Unfortunately (read: Fortunately), my slapdash gown stayed home after I tried it on to mark the hem and realized that the bodice back was completely out of proportion. I really don’t want to talk about it. I know what I did, and I’m going to fix it, but the taste of self-defeat is the most sour. Again, I don’t know why I do this to myself, but I realized that I didn’t have an Elizabethan gown, and my Tudor was too warm for the weather. I decided to use the rest of an embroidered green cotton that I’ve used before, then went into a three-day sewing coma only to emerge with failure. In her place, I wore my first green ensemble from that fabric bolt, a loose gown from the Margo Anderson pattern collection that I’d originally made for pregnancy. After confirming that she’d fit over a farthingale, I added a bit of velvet trim to extend the hem. I also took the time to replace my white linen smock sleeves with an embroidered pseudo-blackwork pseudo-linen from an old Joann’s haul. In the end, I was very pleased, and we had a lovely day at the faire.
Last weekend, we made the annual drive south for Dover Comic Con. This is a one day event that has been growing rapidly in the First State. My Oddity Prodigy team had a booth, so I took pictures of roving cosplayers while working the table. MiniMe wore her new Punk Chibiusa ensemble, and the Little Lordling wore his Blue Toon Link costume. I spent the weeknights preceding the con making an 1885 bathing suit from The Victorian Dressmaker, modeling the colors, trim, and accessories after the X-Men’s Storm. The pattern is very straightforward, but I really need to get a Victorian corset in my closet to get the correct shape. Despite the melty heat, we had a great time.
As previously mentioned, Baltimore Comic Con is later this year–mid-October. I won’t need any new costumes (GASP), so I’m going to attempt to focus on Orko and my 1780s Princess Allura. I’m going to phone it in for Halloween at work this year–after many, many years, my fight has finally left me…and I have 20 years of costumes sitting in my basement that need to be worn more than once. I would like to say that I’m finally becoming an adult, but I really just don’t want to clean the studio after another Halloween explosion. Those are somehow way worse than con explosions, which are controlled piles of chaos, strategically throw into the corners of my workspace. Anyway…
Thanks for hanging out, Team!
Green Linen Shirt 