Curiouser and Curiouser

I Wear Glasses Now: A Triptych.

Turns out I've been nearsighted for a few years, and my left eye is a different prescription from my right. I put them on and I was like "HOLY CRAP how did I live before this?!" So now I can read street signs and see things in the distance and whatnot. I don't need to wear them 24/7, but I'm trying to wear them for long periods to get used to having frames in my vision and something sitting on the bridge of my nose. Once I get used to them, though, it'll take all my willpower to not buy a hundred different crazy cool frames. (Also, $150 for exam and lenses and frames? Good deal.)

First thing I did was duck into the bathroom for five minutes and take obligatory proof snapshots, of course.

Also, first one to make a hipster comment gets kicked in the nuts.

Hey, writer friends. Fanfiction or otherwise.

How do you deal with public criticism on your work? In comments, reviews, etc.

Do you feel like it keeps other readers from leaving positive feedback? Opens the door for more criticism? Happy that someone took the time to point out weaknesses?

First shoot in Okinawa~! =D

Anyway, I found Dominique on Model Mayhem. She had a gorgeous look but no really interesting photos in her portfolio, and Audriana, the makeup artist, needed photos of her work to get her Mac pro card. Sweet!

So, using netting and twine and accessories from the dollar store and interfacing (yes, the skirt is shredded interfacing, there's a reason for it), I draped the skirt and costuming on her while her hair and makeup were getting done. Two and a half hours of prep, then a 45-minute drive to Miyagijima, where I'd found this really neat secluded cove that one time and where was it again? (Luckily, someone with me at the time pointed to it on google maps. xD) We shot in the hour and a half just before sunset. It was beautiful out.

It was easily the most physical shoot I've done to date. I got waist-deep in the water, covered in sand, and tromped up along rocks to get shots. Dominique was a serious trooper, and one of the most expressive models I've ever worked with. So much fun.

I love the results. And I'll stop rambling now.

( Pictures below the cut! )

So that's what November looks like here.

I have a lot of close favorites this time around. Input would be greatly appreciated, as I seriously cannot put like, five of them in my portfolio.

(Also, I've been advised to start watermarking my images. So I did.)

EDIT: I'm only half-kidding when I refer to #11 as the "Katara shot." Because really.

I've been recommended to Archive of Our Own and have thusly joined.

This is where I am, and I'll update as I go!

Who else lives in that neighborhood?

EDIT: I will still be crossposting to my place on FFnet.

14k.

And I'm only three chapters in. I plan for 20. The math is not good.

I told elenuial last night, and he pointed out that I am writing the Silmarillion in length.

First step in the editing process after this, the "DUMP ALL THE TEXT" phase? Cutting out massive chunks where I can.

14400 / 50000 words. 29% done!

I did it.

I joined fanfiction.net.

I told elenuial I was doing it, and though he teased me about writing fanfiction, he commended me for being totally unapologetic about it. And, naturally, reminded me that he had suggested I try my hand at it years ago.

I found an awesome beta who was happy to give my story the once-over, and I posted it after a few rounds of revision and creating a blurb.

Me at 5:00: OHMIGOD I JUST POSTED SOMETHING I WROTE ON THE SITE OMG OMG I FINISHED SOMETHING WHAT IF NO ONE LIKES IT WHAT IF NO ONE READS IT I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO WRITE ON MY BIO

And then I went to buy ingredients for dinner. I came back to my browser to check the recipe I was trying, and saw a notification in my FFnet filter.

Me at 5:15: OHMIGOD SOMEONE ALREADY READ MY STORY AND REALLY LIKED IT AND LEFT AN AWESOME REVIEW AND ADDED IT TO THEIR FAVORITES :D :D

I was, and still am, fully aware that this is what people do on that site. But 15 minutes? And added to her short list of favorites? I hummed to myself as I cooked, bouncing through dinner, and PMing my beta reader to share my excitement. She said I was super cute and I could pretty much hear her laughing at me through the text. Or it could've been elenuial actually laughing at me from my left. But I didn't care. Because it kept coming.

Me at 7:00: SOMEONE ELSE ADDED IT TO FAVORITES AND TWO PEOPLE SUBSCRIBED TO ME BASED ON ONE STORY AND THAT MEANS PEOPLE ACTUALLY WANT TO READ WHAT I WRITE SHOULD I LEARN TO WRITE SMUT NOW THIS IS SO COOL :D :D

I didn't think anyone would actually read anything I posted. I thought it would be like LJ, where friends who shared the fandom would go to hang out. The idea of a total stranger who is not obligated to be nice to me actually taking the time to read my story?

Pretty fucking great.

Something really small and dumb to be excited over, but this is new and fun and really silly. And I'm sure the novelty will wear off eventually.

But for now?

Me five minutes ago: ANOTHER REVIEW AND SHE REALLY REALLY LIKED IT

elenuial: Huge. Dork.

Me: :D

Worn a couple of different ways. =)

I wanted a nice, long tea skirt. I also wanted to work with Japanese fabrics. I thought "Let's go to a place that sells fabric, maybe they'll have some interesting prints."

HOLY. CRAP.

Not only do they have prints, they have prints, man! And of every color and thing you can imagine. Tons and tons of flower patterns. Color blocks. And the colors here are intense, like looked-directly-at-the-sun-for-a-second-now-visible-spectrum-all-screwy intense. Especially red, gold, and pink. Those are the big guys.

Anyway, the place I went (a department store in a mall, except they don't have walls in the shopping centers here, just a bunch of stores out in the open on each floor and it's super neat) was cool enough to put little maps on the price tags of each section, telling you which region the fabric came from. Some from Hokkaido, some from Aomori, and a bunch of traditional Okinawan fabrics (which are really goddamn bright, let me tell you). And of course, cartoonishly bright novelty prints. Just try to stop me from making a bright yellow Power Rangers party dress once I get a pattern.

But I fell in love with this super bizarre linen-y blend that was patterned with deer, birds, rabbits, squirrels, etc. and grabbed a couple yards. It's so light! And I grabbed a polyester shell fabric because, since it's so light, it's just the teeeeniest bit see-through. And I love me some colorful underwear.

I heavily modified a beginner-friendly skirt pattern that _dragonwolf_ had made a red silk dupioni from as well as my own earlier quick version to see how the pattern suited me. I made some heavy modifications: added pockets, made the waistband thicker, used loose pleating instead of gathers, shifted it down to hip-hugger, added liner, made it tea-length. Made the pattern from scratch - my body don't fit nobody's sizes.

If you'd like to make your own, I highly recommend either following along with _dragonwolf_'s posts on the subject or using the original pattern! I did take a few pictures along my process (labeled!) that give you a better view of the print and what I did. =)

Please excuse my ugly stitching. It's functional, I swear.

( WOODLAND. CREATURES. )

I always hated how polyester and satin pucker with stitching, so I just hemmed the lining with the super-efficient Japanese version of Stitch Witchery, which works/looks great.

So yes, it is incredibly comfortable and I'm super in love with it. It took me a couple hours, hand-stitching everything, shopping time not included.

Feel free to ping me about my methods, how-tos, whatever! I'm happy to share. =)

Moral of the story: POCKETS IN EVERYTHING

Redid my layout. Needed a change. Maybe icons later, but...

I was just happy to use my balloon-loving octopus friend for something else. And now I want to draw all sorts of cephalopods with balloons.

Keri and I live near each other now. Pictures had to happen.

So we did two mini-shoots, both completely found by accident.

Shoot number one: a '37 Pontiac and a Studebaker we stumbled across in front of an old garage. They were completely rusted and absolutely beautiful.

I left her freckles. I love her freckles.

[hair and makeup by me, as usual.]

( Foliage and fenders. )

This is my clear favorite of the two. Though I like all the pictures for different reasons. This might be the hardest set I've had to pick portfolio shots from. Comments super welcome.

I decided to try sewing from a pattern for the first time ever. I've been lamenting my lack of a good wrap dress for as long as I can remember, so I picked up Crepe from Colette Patterns. It's adorable, easy, and lightweight, so... why not?

I stopped by the fabric store and stood drooling over the silks for half an hour before remembering that this is my first time sewing from a pattern, and cotton is breathable too. So I picked out a really cute olive green toile and matching khaki for the waist tie.

Although there were some dragging parts (AGH CUTTING OUT PATTERN PIECES AGH), it went pretty quickly. Fusible interfacing is your friend. Your best, very best friend.

I started the dress at about 6pm, and worked on it on and off until about 3am, so... from absolute start to finish, 9 hours? I think, in the future, it should only take me 3 or 4.

First off, the skirt and back is super comfy (huge pockets!) but I hate the way the neckline looks on me. It makes my boobs look even bigger, if that's possible. I'm not sure what I'd do to it (lower it, maybe? Cut it up?) but the sweetheart neckline is just as bad. Looks great on other people, not so much on me.

The cotton is super flowy and lightweight, though, so I'd love to make another cotton version. Maybe a bigger, bolder print, like a floral. And move the pockets up a few inches.

But seriously. Neckline veto.

( Images below the cut. )

Verdict: Easy, comfy, would definitely make modifications next time.

Edit: As requested, pictures (albeit crappy, makeup-less, impromptu) pictures of me in the dress.

( Fotoz. )