Favorite Little Princess

I know you must have thought I disappeared. Well, I did sort of. K1 and I went to Spain for a week and had quite an adventure.  It was not the trip we were hoping for, but we made the best of it. Next time we will go without a tour group. I don't speak Spanish at all, so I was anxious about being on my own, but we were given so much "free time" that we might as well have been on our own. Lesson learned, but I'm glad to have had the experience. When we got home, it was a mad dash to get ready for school to start. Supplies to buy, teachers to meet, and K2 got braces. She was such a trooper and has really been good about keeping them clean. I'm so proud of her! As if getting the kids ready for school wasn't enough, I had my own course to get ready for. It's a class I've taught many times, but we just got a new learning system at the university so I had to adjust to that. Fall is always crazy with new hires and it seems like something always happ...

By the skin of our teeth, we finished the backpack in time for Tampa Anime Day . Ok, so it turned out a lot bigger than planned, but she can stick lots of stuff in it. I've always over-estimated for seam allowances. My thought is that it's always easy to cut out, but you can't add back to it. K1 seemed to be ok with it being extra large and we were out of time, so we can downsize at a later time if she wants. Maybe someday I'll get better at making up my own patterns. We started with cutting out our half-ovals and then sewing the two colors together - twice, one for the front and one for the back. Then we sewed the panel piece to the lower green part. We could have just sewed the front and back together, but opted for the side panels to give more room and depth. Function!  My new rotary tool came in handy for this part, especially since we were piecing together two different colors. I also found that my walking foot was easier to use with this bulky material....

This Saturday is Tampa Anime Day. Yes, I do recall saying that I was done with making costumes for K1 and her anime conventions. It will never happen. At least this one is fairly simple. Back in March I posted my pattern for the Adventure Time Fiona hat .   K1 already has the wig and now has the clothes. Tonight we need to find shoes and then pick up a zipper to finish making the backpack. Once again, I'm trying to come up with something without using a pattern.  I found this picture online and this is similar to what we are trying to come up with. I'll post pictures of the making of the backpack and the final costume next week. Hope you find some time to be creative this weekend, too!

Pinkamena decided to attend the MetroCon Gala in her new dress. All I can say is that I'm glad it's over. I don't mind sewing, but making these costumes without a pattern is not my cup of tea. It's hard enough to teach someone to sew WITH a pattern. Not to mention that K1 swore she wouldn't make another costume. I knew she was lying when she said it the first three times and I said it before here . This time it started with her drawing. We started with the top. It began as a tube top, but turned into a tank top when she remembered how awkward she felt in the last costume without straps. Let me tell you...making stripes diagonal is no easy task! After deciding that fur would be too hot and itchy, we went with a soft tulle around the neckline and finished it off with a stuffed bow . A simple bow was added to the shoe, which already had a bow on top. I'm glad knit doesn't fray, because I was getting tired of finishing all the edges off and we wer...

K1 swears that she is done making new cosplay outfits and will only improve upon the others we have already made. Uh, right. That promise didn't last long. This is her drawing for her latest idea for the upcoming Metrocon . For those of you who don't know about all this "con" stuff, it's a convention for anime.  Some conventions also pair up with sci-fi, but this particular one is just anime. These conventions are huge and almost everyone comes dressed as their favorite character. I have seen some pretty amazing costumes over the past few years, but I refuse to let K1 invest that kind of money into it. Very few people buy their costumes, although you can find many for sale on the Internet. Costumes usually must be self-made to be eligible for the costume contest and the creativity is unbelievable. K1 created this  Pinkamena  costume for Megacon in Orlando this past spring. She actually sewed a lot of herself - she's learning. This  Organization...

My 15-year-old is very creative, even if it's in a way that I'm not very interested in.  She is an avid Fan Fiction writer and Japanese anime fan.  Thus said, she loves going to the anime conventions.  We have several in our area, so this travel isn't inconvenient.  The entry fee and shopping are a pocket drainer and don't even get me started on the costumes.  Yes, costumes.  I try to keep my girl reined in, but you would not believe at how much time and money are invested to these creations. The majority are handmade because only non-purchased costumes can be entered in the costume contest. My Little Pony Cosplayers We have been attending MegaCon in Orlando for the past 3 years.  This convention is a combination of Anime, Comics, and Science Fiction.  It's huge.  Really.  Almost everyone dresses up as their favorite character.  In fact, you feel quite out of place if you go sans costume.   One of this year's special...