Anime Boston: The Aftermath

Well, technology was not working for me yesterday.  We weren't able to charge my phone overnight because we were charging four other phones, and one of the phones used the same charger as mine. And I had to use the phone as my GPS on the way down there -- the phone is weird in that it won't charge unless it's completely off, and I had it plugged into the car charger on the way down.

I also learned another valuable lesson -- "smart phones" use a lot of juice.

What I did get I will put up soon.  I just need some time to sort through what I have that I took pics of.

If you have pics you'd like to submit, let me know and I'll post them.

But overall, had a great time.  I don't think I'd want to try to do it all in one day again -- next year's plan is for the entire weekend. I found myself rushing from here and there just to get to panels.  The cell service in the building was a little spotty at times, so keeping track of the kids I had with me at times was a challenge.  But overall, the experience was great, and I can't wait to do it again next year.

Highlights -- Masquerade was great, and the Evangelion panel was a blast.  And if you weren't able to get into the "Kuroshitsuji" panel, you missed out -- what I saw of it, Jackie Grande did a great job with the information and organizing it. When I got there, there was a line starting at conference room 309 and ending at 301.

Next year, we're going to make a contingency plan in case of low coverage areas. And with being there over the three days instead of just one, I think I can take some time and just relax instead of feeling "rushed."

Anime Boston: Coverage Update

Well, I just got news from my husband that the only laptop I could take with me needs a new power adapter, and he asked if I could just run it off the battery only.

Unfortunately, for the best option on coverage I'm not going to be able to do that.  So, no posts while I'm at AB tomorrow.

Good news is that I will have my husband's Android phone on me, so I will be twittering from there.  You may have noticed the new little addition I put up on the site tonight -- "Twitterings from Anime Boston."  Although I won't be able to do full length posts, I will be tweeting while I'm there so you can follow along on the feed.  Ignore the current posts -- I also run the ConChrist blog which is more politically motivated, so those twits are related to my more political interests.

And also remember that I'm going to be posting videos at my You Tube channel throughout the day, as well.

Anime Boston Starts Today!

Starting today and ending Sunday, otakus all over New England will be meeting at the Hynes Convention Center to discuss important matters in relation to anime, mangas, J-pop, and other aspects of Japanese culture. Yippee!

I am going down with four teenagers first thing Saturday morning (yikes!).  The three middle schoolers will be dressed as Akatsuki ninjas, while my 16 year old stepson will be Sebastian from "Black Butler" in the peacoat.

So today, no reporting from the convention, unfortunately.  But expect some posts from the event starting tomorrow afternoon.  And I'm also going to be putting up some raw videos up on YouTube, as well, throughout the day.

So stay tuned!

Update: Here is the You Tube channel that I will be posting video to tomorrow.  There will be a finished package up there within the next week after I get all of it together, but at least you'll get an exclusive look at the video before it's edited.

One Week Until Anime Boston...

Updated Schedule Below

And I did the deed last night...dyed my hair blonde for the week.

Here are some pictures that I took of myself in the full Julia Silverstein costume.

I think I might have to find a way to adjust the top a little more when I put it on the day of...just a LITTLE more cleavage than I really want to show in this shot.

I should probably iron a few things before going anywhere.

I'm going to be there on Saturday, and am planning a few special surprises in the coverage of the convention.  So keep on the lookout on this site.

In the meantime, expect to see me attending these panels:

11:00am -- Kuroshitsuji, Demons, Shinigami and Horror -- Oh My!
12:00pm -- Last half of the Funimation Sneak Peek Panel
4:30pm -- Autograph session for the English voice cast of Evangelion 2.0 -- I'll be taking pictures
5:00pm -- The Dark Side of Pokemon (time was changed)
7:00pm -- Bad Anime, Bad!

Feel free to say "Hi!" when you see me.  I don't bite.

The Weekend Project: The Akatsuki Cloak

This weekend was a time for me to get another Anime Boston project done.  And I think I might have set myself up for this one because now my stepdaughter's friends want me to do stuff for THEM ,as well, before we go down.

This was the weekend project: The Akatsuki cloak for my stepdaughter Rachel.

I had decided not to do the dimensional paint on it when I realized the clouds didn't really need to be outlined, and it would have added to the cost of the project.

I worked on the clouds first, which you can find the details on in a previous post.

Instead of using a pattern, I did it a way that I saw at a few sites where one wasn't required.

1) Measure from the shoulder to mid-shin, and add 2 inches. Cut the black and red fabric at that length, then sew the two pieces together at the sides only.  Sew only at the sides and turn inside out.

2) Measure from one side of the collarbone to the other, then add an inch.  Cut this hole on the middle of the piece you just sewed.  You will probably want to sew the neckline at this point to reinforce it..

3) Using your wearer as a mannequin, measure from the edge of the fabric to the tip of the fingers.  Add 2 inches.  Then measure around the wrist to where you want the sleeve cuff to hang, and add an inch. Have your mannequin take off the cloak.

4) Cut the lining and sleeve and sew together on the short edges.  Sew with black side facing on the middle of the fabric piece on either side.

5) Have your mannequin put the cloak on again, and pin together the sides and sleeves.  Sew and turn around.

6) Cut down the middle of the front. of the cloak.  Baste lining and outside together.

7) Measure from the nose to the collar on the wearer, and add an inch. Cut a rectangular piece from both outside and lining as long as the collar and as high as the nose to collar measurement, adding an inch.

8) Place the fabric on fusible interfacing, using an iron on medium heat to fuse the interfacing to the fabric.  Cut from the interfacing.

9) Sew the two pieces right sides facing each other, interfacing facing out, along the top only.  Turn inside out and iron. Sew on to collar area.

10) Doing a reverse hem facing out, fold over on the outside about a 1/4 inch, then fold over another 1/4 inch, then pin.  Sew with red thread.

11) Hem the bottom about an inch, then sew.

12) Iron on the clouds in the placement in the previous post, then sew around the edges to keep from curling.

13) Wash, dry, and you're done!

If I ever have to make this cloak again I'm going to try it with a pattern next time, because I think I actually found it harder doing it without one.

Thoughts?

I've Been Busy

I haven't posted as much as I would like, but I assure you that will change once Anime Boston comes around.  Because of budgetary issues I'm only going to be there on Saturday, but I will be sure to get some good interviews since I've been approved for a press pass.

But here's a picture explaining why I've been so busy as of late.

Welcome to my cosplay costume for Anime Boston!

I still have to fix some things on the coat and the skirt, but otherwise expect to see me in this outfit if you happen to be there.

For those who aren't aware of who I'm supposed to be, it's Julia Silverstein from "Blood+."

I decided to go as her because despite going to two previous conventions this will be my first time cosplaying, so I wanted something that would be simple enough to put together.

The lab coat and the skirt were both made by me.  It was my first time sewing clothing, which is why I have to make some minor changes to it such as topstitching along the top of the skirt and fixing one of the facings on the lab coat.  There's also no interfacing on the collar or the facing, so it's kind of flopping around.  But that's something I'll think of for the next time I make this lab coat.

If you look at Julia's profile picture, you'll notice that the skirt is pretty short.  Since I'm just south of 40 and have "mommy legs," I wasn't about to go that short with the skirt, so I made it just long enough for me to be comfortable, which is just above the knee.  And that would be my intention with any skirt that I make for cosplay from this point on.

I tried to make a top, but every time I tried to fix something, it would get screwed up, so as I was about to try again I found a bathing suit top that fit the costume.  And since I needed a new bathing suit anyway, I picked up some bottoms as well.  I just have to tighten up the top a little more when I wear it so that "the girls" don't make a sudden appearance when I have to bend over for anything.

I'm going to point out that the picture of me is just of the outfit, no accessories except for the clipboard (which will not only serve as a convenient place to put my notes from interviews, but also will hopefully help in identifying my character because there will be a "medical profile" of the main character Saya on there).  I still have to get the following items: black pantyhose, high heeled shoes (but not so high that I can't walk in them), a belt, a red hair tie, and some costume jewelry.  I will most likely make the necklace(es?) that she wears because it looks ridiculously simple. But I have a friend who is going to look through her costume jewelry for some clip on earrings that I can possibly wear. I'm planning on wearing my own glasses, since that was part of the point of why I chose this character was so I wouldn't have to go without my glasses.

The last thing I'm doing is dying my hair. It just so happens that my natural hair is roughly the same length and style as hers, so I'm going to go to a salon the week before and have my hair bleached and dyed to her hair color.  I don't want root showing before we go down.

When the whole costume is done, I will post another picture up here.

My stepson is planning on going as Sebastian from "Black Butler." He's already got most of what he needs for that.  My stepdaughter's costume is next.  Since I don't watch "Naruto," when she told me she wanted to go as an Akatsuki (I had to ask her to spell it for me), I thought it was a particular character.  Didn't realize it was a whole group. So that's going to be this coming weekend's project.