Shall we begin?
Jul. 9th, 2004 11:43 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
windelinaThe mighty convention reporting shall begin.
I really need to start taking notes.
So, Tuesday I was "sick" so I could work more on the costumes. This was a Wise Choice on my part. I got alot done and it was the point where the costumes went from Emergency Levels to Manageable by Showtime.
Mom, of course, was invaluable. But my nephew Brandon proved a valuable resource on exact Zim details. And he discovered a strange talent for shaping foam with scissors.
Most of the work done on this day was on Membrane's coat and on the heads, of course.
Now I can tell you stories about doing this entry.
1. I start the costume building about...2 weeks before the convention? Perhaps a little less. I know I asked Barb about doing the heads I think the Wednesday the week prior to convention week. Smartest thing I did. While I had ideas, Barb had actual ability. And I threw in a few thoughts (using window screen to cover the styrofoam) that were helpful. So, we start getting the heads the weekend before the convention. Brandon and Mom show up Saturday morning and we immediately get the fabric for his costume.
I'd made a good start on Gir. Gir would now have to wait for the head to be done, mostly. (Although I still had to put the zipper and tail on.)
Dib was done except for the head. But then we had to make a collar adjustment once we got the head.
Membrane's coat was started, but after the Dib collar I wanted to wait till we got the head to put on the collar and do the finishing work.
And there were the boots to make for three of them. (I'm most proud of Membrane's.) And the gloves - yes, I made those. Thank god I had a glove pattern from YEARS ago. Thank god all three of them have small hands.
Anyway, throughout the weekend, we were getting successive heads from Barb. First was Dib - which was good because Dib's was the most involved, as he has the most features: eyes, nose, ears, teeth, hair plus HUGE hair-spike. Then we got Zim's. Then Gir's. And Membrane's last. By the time we got Membrane's (on Monday?), we were running out of space for everything. 2 guests in the apartment, plus space-consuming costumes and now giant styrofoam heads. Aiy! Did I mention that they were wanting to show the apartment to potential renters too?
We said no.
While building, we watched alot of my Invader Zim dvds, of course. Plus other movies. It must've been pretty boring for Brandon, but he didn't complain. He DID complain about having to be in his costume for over an hour while Mom sewed on the black ribbon.
So, anyway, Tuesday. I sewed madly all day. Then the final Board Huddle that night. Up late sewing. I vowed that everything would be done by Thursday morning come hell or high water.
Wednesday, I worked. Tried to get the concom book to work and failed on many various attempts. Sewed Wednesday night into the wee hours. Costumes not done.
Got up Thursday morning. More sewing. Dyed hair. Packed for the convention in the most slapdash way - but it was the fastest I'd ever done it! Packed up the car with everything except the three biggest heads (they wouldn't fit. We had to borrow a minivan to transport them for the weekend.). Got to the hotel about 10:30 (only a half-hour later than I'd hoped - yay!). Got the Best Bellman Ever. Got into the room (Yay for super-early check-in!). Unpacked everything.
Started Brandon on putting up posters. Started Mom on setting up/getting ready for Volunteers. Went to the Hotel Staff Huddle. Went back to room and sewed. Membrane's head by this point had only skin and hair. He needed goggles. Gir still needed big black stitches at arms and legs and on head. Head still needed to be attached. Membrane's coat still needed a collar and the black ribbon and buttons on the front. Dib, at least, was done. As was Zim. But for all of Thursday through Friday, everything I did had a subtext: "Costumes still not done."
Then there was Volunteer Pre-reg. Then more sewing. Then the Guest of Honor Reception. Then the Mark Time rehearsal. Wherein it was discovered that Petsnakereggie pronounces "scheme" in the British fashion - which makes Windelina giggle. David Ossman was back - yay!
Oh! I forgot. I also finished up Jules' Jessica Rabbit dress on Thursday afternoon. I put in the hem. And then I helped her put on her fake eyelashes. She looked fabu. Yes, the slit is naughty. Easily fixable. Although I contend that anything Jules wears gets instantly naughtier by an exponential factor.
So, after Mark Time rehearsal was done, Mom and I were back in the room sewing. It would be Done That Night by god! So, Mom worked on the collar of Membrane's coat. And I put the stitches in Gir's body and head. And then we pinned them together and discovered about 2am that the zipper we had was too short. And my plan of having the suit and head sewn together wasn't going to work...it would have to wait till tomorrow when I had a chance of getting out to buy more zippers. I went to sleep disheartened and unsure of what to do to fix it. Costumes still not done.
Somewhere in the night, my brain provided the answer: zippers all the way around. Seems obvious in retrospect, but it was quite the eureka. Mom stayed up and got the collar on the coat.
I think I finished Membrane's head on Thursday. It all runs together. Basically, I had to soft sculpture the googles on with batting and cotton lycra, hand-sewn on of course. The glasses were foamcore, hot glued on and then the fabric sewn around them.
Let's see: I met Larry Niven, about the only time I got to chat with him. I got a bit more time with David Gerrold, who didn't kick me when I started acting like a Sleestak (or however you spell it). I got quite a bit of chat in with Vincent Truitner and Chris Colquhuoun, who I at first thought was yet another Consuite kilt-freak.
Oh, and we had the Volunteers Huddle real quick on Thursday night. It was quite the busy night!
Oh - and I got the 24 Invader Zim buttons made on Thursday and started handing them out. For those who know my methods, it was an instant give-away (along with the posters). OH, well!
I really need to start taking notes.
So, Tuesday I was "sick" so I could work more on the costumes. This was a Wise Choice on my part. I got alot done and it was the point where the costumes went from Emergency Levels to Manageable by Showtime.
Mom, of course, was invaluable. But my nephew Brandon proved a valuable resource on exact Zim details. And he discovered a strange talent for shaping foam with scissors.
Most of the work done on this day was on Membrane's coat and on the heads, of course.
Now I can tell you stories about doing this entry.
1. I start the costume building about...2 weeks before the convention? Perhaps a little less. I know I asked Barb about doing the heads I think the Wednesday the week prior to convention week. Smartest thing I did. While I had ideas, Barb had actual ability. And I threw in a few thoughts (using window screen to cover the styrofoam) that were helpful. So, we start getting the heads the weekend before the convention. Brandon and Mom show up Saturday morning and we immediately get the fabric for his costume.
I'd made a good start on Gir. Gir would now have to wait for the head to be done, mostly. (Although I still had to put the zipper and tail on.)
Dib was done except for the head. But then we had to make a collar adjustment once we got the head.
Membrane's coat was started, but after the Dib collar I wanted to wait till we got the head to put on the collar and do the finishing work.
And there were the boots to make for three of them. (I'm most proud of Membrane's.) And the gloves - yes, I made those. Thank god I had a glove pattern from YEARS ago. Thank god all three of them have small hands.
Anyway, throughout the weekend, we were getting successive heads from Barb. First was Dib - which was good because Dib's was the most involved, as he has the most features: eyes, nose, ears, teeth, hair plus HUGE hair-spike. Then we got Zim's. Then Gir's. And Membrane's last. By the time we got Membrane's (on Monday?), we were running out of space for everything. 2 guests in the apartment, plus space-consuming costumes and now giant styrofoam heads. Aiy! Did I mention that they were wanting to show the apartment to potential renters too?
We said no.
While building, we watched alot of my Invader Zim dvds, of course. Plus other movies. It must've been pretty boring for Brandon, but he didn't complain. He DID complain about having to be in his costume for over an hour while Mom sewed on the black ribbon.
So, anyway, Tuesday. I sewed madly all day. Then the final Board Huddle that night. Up late sewing. I vowed that everything would be done by Thursday morning come hell or high water.
Wednesday, I worked. Tried to get the concom book to work and failed on many various attempts. Sewed Wednesday night into the wee hours. Costumes not done.
Got up Thursday morning. More sewing. Dyed hair. Packed for the convention in the most slapdash way - but it was the fastest I'd ever done it! Packed up the car with everything except the three biggest heads (they wouldn't fit. We had to borrow a minivan to transport them for the weekend.). Got to the hotel about 10:30 (only a half-hour later than I'd hoped - yay!). Got the Best Bellman Ever. Got into the room (Yay for super-early check-in!). Unpacked everything.
Started Brandon on putting up posters. Started Mom on setting up/getting ready for Volunteers. Went to the Hotel Staff Huddle. Went back to room and sewed. Membrane's head by this point had only skin and hair. He needed goggles. Gir still needed big black stitches at arms and legs and on head. Head still needed to be attached. Membrane's coat still needed a collar and the black ribbon and buttons on the front. Dib, at least, was done. As was Zim. But for all of Thursday through Friday, everything I did had a subtext: "Costumes still not done."
Then there was Volunteer Pre-reg. Then more sewing. Then the Guest of Honor Reception. Then the Mark Time rehearsal. Wherein it was discovered that Petsnakereggie pronounces "scheme" in the British fashion - which makes Windelina giggle. David Ossman was back - yay!
Oh! I forgot. I also finished up Jules' Jessica Rabbit dress on Thursday afternoon. I put in the hem. And then I helped her put on her fake eyelashes. She looked fabu. Yes, the slit is naughty. Easily fixable. Although I contend that anything Jules wears gets instantly naughtier by an exponential factor.
So, after Mark Time rehearsal was done, Mom and I were back in the room sewing. It would be Done That Night by god! So, Mom worked on the collar of Membrane's coat. And I put the stitches in Gir's body and head. And then we pinned them together and discovered about 2am that the zipper we had was too short. And my plan of having the suit and head sewn together wasn't going to work...it would have to wait till tomorrow when I had a chance of getting out to buy more zippers. I went to sleep disheartened and unsure of what to do to fix it. Costumes still not done.
Somewhere in the night, my brain provided the answer: zippers all the way around. Seems obvious in retrospect, but it was quite the eureka. Mom stayed up and got the collar on the coat.
I think I finished Membrane's head on Thursday. It all runs together. Basically, I had to soft sculpture the googles on with batting and cotton lycra, hand-sewn on of course. The glasses were foamcore, hot glued on and then the fabric sewn around them.
Let's see: I met Larry Niven, about the only time I got to chat with him. I got a bit more time with David Gerrold, who didn't kick me when I started acting like a Sleestak (or however you spell it). I got quite a bit of chat in with Vincent Truitner and Chris Colquhuoun, who I at first thought was yet another Consuite kilt-freak.
Oh, and we had the Volunteers Huddle real quick on Thursday night. It was quite the busy night!
Oh - and I got the 24 Invader Zim buttons made on Thursday and started handing them out. For those who know my methods, it was an instant give-away (along with the posters). OH, well!
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Date: 2004-07-09 07:11 pm (UTC)Now relax for a bit, because there's more stuff coming. :)