Disquisitiones Arithmeticae

James (rock_biologist) found a really cool pic of me in my Nefertiti outfit. This is from Sunday, maybe in the Marriott or right outside. There is also a pic of James' "gumby-off" with Terry Gilliam in that same stream :D

( My outfit is done! )

I stayed up until 530 am thursday to Friday working on the collar, finished the collar by 6pm Friday (well I say finished, I mean enough to wear, but it could use some more beads and tweaking, some other time), worked a bit on the skirt until like 1130 and then crashed, woke up at 430 to work on the skirt but was not finished in time to wear it in the parade on account of needing to do a lot of hemming and edging with bias tape. Oh I also burned a hole in the front of the skirt when I set the iron too high, but it's not too too noticeable I suppose. I marched as Femme Eleven (with my less-than-ideal vest) in the parade which was fun but really hot and also killed my feet. Also met another Nefertiti! And we swapped costume/construction stories.

Got back to the hotel room, got lunch and finally worked out the folds in the front of the skirt. I didn't get to put any crinkle edge layer on my cape or skirt but I wasn't sure I would even get it done at all so this is a win :) Oh except my shoes looked good but were killing my feet by about 1/2 hour in. So that was a lot of painful shoes in one day. My feet still hurt, and I was hobbling.

We did not make it in time for the Brittrack costume panel though, which was disappointing. But I got lots of compliments around the con. Ah I should write more about the day but I am exhausted.

I meticulously put in a bunch of tiny pleats at the top of Nefertiti's cape by the stabilizing ribbon about 2 inches from the edge, and I'm thinking now what I should have done is wide gathering stitches there instead, and put in meticulous tiny pleats at the very top that I could have starched and set. So she has the start of a cape (unfinished) but I'm thinking I could have done better on it. Also the pleats turned out looking better in the back than the front too.
( pics )

It sounds like the next horrible challenge on a reality survival show, it's....



( Snake Painting! )

Note to self: don't drink diet coke as a substitute for real food when you are hungry. Because then your body is short-term tricked into thinking it got some food... and when it finds out about 45 minutes later that it did not, it's one hell of a sugar crash.

I was working on a paper version of the pattern for my Nefertiti hat; which I got done except for the top part, but I was trying to fit it on my head and my stupid hair was getting in the way and I was getting aggravated with it and then all of a sudden I was just DONE. I felt like three-year-olds must feel right before they have a meltdown. So I went downstairs and scarfed some pulled pork rib meat cold from the fridge, waited 20 minutes and then I made myself 1.5 grilled cheese sandwiches with wheat bread and pickles. Feeling a little less loopy right now. Hopefully I'll rally. I want to get the hat cut out with flooring, make a top, and figure out how big to make the snake sculpture on it, and maybe figure out the gold headband.

Tomorrow I have to go to JoAnn's and get boning and a zipper for the bodice. I ordered some coverbuttons in two different sizes (3/4 inch and 7/8 inch) to try for the studs on the bodice. I got a "guide" fabric the other day that had 1/2 inch squares on it to use as a placement (on the underside) for the bodice but I think those are going to be too small, so tomorrow maybe I'll look for a better pattern. Or make one myself.

But anyway, progress! I may have most of a hat before tomorrow afternoon. :D

23 pictures or so starting here (and featuring the lovely instigator and co-conspirator auntiemeesh who started this whole idea rolling): http://pics.livejournal.com/eve11/pic/0009236f/g38

I'm glad these came out; I was worried that the molds wouldn't de-mold. There was also the problem of my mold (the first one) leaking like a mofo after we poured the plaster. The basement floor is now, um, reinforced, there.