So, curtains.

Friends, I have a problem.  My problem is that my windows are large and sad and bare.

Now, most people would shell out for some store-bought curtains and be done with it.  I could go to Target and solve all my problems.  But unfortunately, I have the kind of mind that says, "dude, you make your own Star Wars costumes in your free time.  You can certainly make your own curtains."

I've been trying to make this happen for a few weeks now.  I mean, I could go to JoAnn's at any time and buy fabric, but they tend to be a little pricey.  And I do live in Los Angeles, home to an amazingsauce fabric district, but they tend to only be open when I'm at work.  I took a day off to explore when my sister came to visit, but I really can't do that otherwise. So I turned to my fabric website of choice, Fashion Fabrics Club. They have a great selection of discounted fabrics, and when it takes 6 yards to make one window, every discount helps.  The only drawback is that apparently they don't keep very good track of what has sold, and if you order near the end of a bolt and are ordering a lot, well, it's a crap shoot as to whether or not you'll get the fabric you wanted.

Right now I'm on my third attempt to order. I've ordered 9 yards of this lovely fabric:

It's a wine cotton gauze.  Rich colour, but nice and lightweight for the summer.  I'm thinking about getting some ribbon to experiment with trim towards the bottom, too.  Probably in blues and greens- my colour inspiration for the common space is my Alice in Wonderland poster:

As you can tell from the picture, I've got a lot of beige to contend with.  The walls are cream, the carpet is a very drab blue, and I've got a large, squishy couch that is super comfy but boooooring.  There's also a blue futon that will be leaving with my roommate when she gets married in October, as well as a coffee table that is probably too large for the space- also leaving with my roommate.

I clearly have my work cut out for me.  But hey, it'll be fun.  If, you know, my curtain fabric ever exists.  Third time's the charm, right?

Follow Up: Feminism and the Slave Leia Costume

So, I wrote a post for FFB a while back on why I won't be making the Slave Leia costume.  Not long after that, I suddenly found myself being asked about it more often.  And it wasn't by people who read the post, I guess I just started doing more events, and as a non-slave Leia, and one who could carry off the costume, I get asked a lot why I'm not doing it.

I've been impressed, for the most part, with the acceptance of my views on this one.  The reaction I get the most is, "Wow, you've really thought this through.  I don't think most people think about it that much."  And it's true, they don't.  And especially now that convention season is upon us, lots of Slave Leias will be coming out of the woodwork.  It's a costume anyone with enough money and comfort with one's own body can do- $300 for the hard parts, and the sewing is minimal.  And it's a big attention-getter at cons.  Everybody loves Princess Leia, but you'll get a lot more fanboys stopping you if you're dressed in the metal bikini.

This leads me to two interesting stories from Wizard World Anaheim.  Sunday, I dressed in the classic dress with the hair buns.

Fantastically fun and comfortable costume.  Absolutely love it.  I can't believe it took me this long to do it.  Anyway, I was sitting at the Rebel Legion table, minding the shop, when a random guy walked by and asked me, "Why aren't you wearing the metal bikini?"  Without a missing a beat, I looked up at him and replied, "It was a traumatic experience."  He just stopped in his tracks, looked confused for a moment, and then said, "Yeah... I guess it would be, wouldn't it?"

Second, I was wandering around Artist Alley, checking out the various booths, when someone in a Power Girl costume stopped me to tell me how awesome she thought it was that I was wearing the classic Leia and not the slave Leia.  Apparently Saturday's Leia got a similar comment from someone.  I guess it shows considerable hope that the fully clothed Leias are being applauded for it.  I did joke with one of my friends, after she texted me about the Slave Leia booth at Wonder Con, about starting a Fully Clothed Leia booth at cons.  Maybe there's an actual market for such a thing.  Who knows?

In any case, interesting all around.  I am heartened to know that when my position is explained to people, I'm not dismissed as an angry feminist.  The worst I've gotten is someone who insisted that my willingness to make one skin-baring costume but not another was based on a subtle difference, but even so, 'subtle' does not mean 'unimportant.'  I do think context matters, and I will take the time to explain that to anyone who has a problem with my choices.  So far, understanding has been had on all sides, so I think only good things can come of it.

Not dead yet...

*blows dust off blog*

Well, it's been an interesting few weeks.  My team lead's wife had a baby, we've been ramping up production, and I discovered that I was borderline anemic and had a severe vitamin D deficiency, which meant I was left with approximately no energy. Oh, and an infection. I got one of those, too.  Clearly, I've been having a fantastic month over here.

So I haven't done much writing in the last month, but I did take time to consider what I'm even doing with this blog.  I started it to keep myself accountable for what I'm wearing, and did it for long enough that good habits were really sticking.  And the fashion feminist posts were some of my favourites.

Truthfully, there will be a lot of touch-and-go with this blog for a while.  Work's getting busy, weekends are filling up, I have one less hour a day to do things for fun.  I also want to focus in on home decorating and organizing, which I also hope to do with some amount of style, so I'll probably document some of that process here.  I also have a project I want to do that involves a hybrid of fashion and costuming, so if that gets off the ground you'll definitely see it here.

Mostly, I'm here to say hey, I'm alive, and I haven't forgotten about this blog.  But I've been a little busy lately.

Some of the busy, however, I'm not arguing with. :)