Cosplay and Catkin

Today's update is going to be heavy on pictures, light on words. First, to finish off the update I promised from the other night, I have pictures of my very first cosplay ever made.

Loki from Marvels 'The Avengers'

I started in June, and finished the night before Chicago Comic-Con 8/9/12 (granted, I really drug my feet and got nothing accomplished until mid July, so some of that time was spent doing absolutely nothing!

The jacket :

That jacket is made of a heavy faux leather lined with green cotton and striped with a random gold scrap fabric in my scraps bin. Three nights were spent putting all the little gold squares around the entirety of the edges of the coat. The sleeves were originally attached to the tunic, but wound up moved to the jacket so I could take the whole setup off if I got too hot. Which happens real easily!

The tunic :

So many crisscrossing pieces of leather, and tiny gold pieces to fix in place...lets just keep adding layers upon layers, right? XD

The pants and boots :

The pants unfortunately didn't survive the convention, and I'm back to the drawing board on them.The boots on the other hand, I'm super proud of XD

The props :

I have a functioning Tessaract, just to add to the nerdisms XD It's just a baseball box stuffed with crumpled wax paper, submersible blue battery strobes from Michaels, and some frost spray paint to diffuse the light even more.

All in all, for a version one, on my first attempt, I'm proud with how this turned out : 

Update on Catkin:

I actually just closed up the shorter blooms, so I'm a few rows further, but my goal is to bind it off this weekend. I think I can do it! XD

Been a while, huh?

Well... I guess it's been a while, hasn't it? ^_^;

I've accomplished quite a bit since the last time this blog was updated! The header has obviously changed, and yes, I've been bit by the cosplay bug. But knitting will still be featured, no worries! ^_^

Life has been absolutely crazy, between my grandma passing, my ex leaving, my moving into a new house, and a new roommate, my head is still sorta spinning. Bu~ut, I have pictures to prove I haven't been lazy, ladies and gents!

 
My Buddha has gotten huge! And he's still growing. He's near to 200lb now, and stands on his hind legs as tall as my 6'4" brother! He's the biggest baby in the world, and he and Daisy are so good together. I couldn't have asked for a better pair of dogs than them.

Then we have my knitting update!

Yes, it seems I got bit by the Catkin bug as well. A friend and I are doing a private little KAL to kick ourselves into gear on these shawls. Now I want to knit another one! XD This was started last week Monday, 9/17/12, and I'm halfway into the last chart now.

Knit on size 4 Addi lace needles, in Madeline Tosh - Composition Book and Dragonfly Fibers Pixie - That Ol' Chestnut, this is so squishable and warm and just amazing. The nerd I am, I'm already planning a second one (all in MadTosh this time I think) in green and gold with black buttons... you'll understand the nerd reference in my next post, I promise!

The charts for Catkin aren't difficult. They're time consuming until you pick up the rhythm, because yes, there is a simple pattern to this whole thing, if you're smart (not me!). The garter stripe section goes by in a flash, and so far, the last chart is going super smoothly. That middle chart with the chevron pattern was a bit time consuming and tricky, but well worth it.

Since it's gettin chilly here in the northern Illinois, and we work with the front door open till January (no fooling) I can't wait to get this baby off the needles and on my shoulders! And I can't wait for it to get colder, because my house has a fireplace, guys! Knitting in front of a fire, around Christmas time? Oh I can't wait!

To cap off this update post, I leave you with this image set :

 Yep, I got my first tattoo. I've wanted one for forever, I love the idea of art, especially something I had a large part in designing, being with me forever. But I'm a coward when it comes to needles... unfortunately, my grandma dying was the catalyst that brought this piece about. Done by Dan at Private Ink in Libertyville, IL. It took about 4 hours worth of work but it was worth it. Dedicated to the memory of Joyce, one of the most badass women I've ever had the honor to know, on the outside of my arm is her birthday, the inside is the day she passed (unfortunately also my brother's 18th birthday...) and the ribbon has her initials, J.A.B. This is an absolutely addictive art form, and I already have many many more planned out. How bout you guys? Anyone else out there sporting some ink?