Thursday 22 December 2011

Auguries of the Winter Solstice

A dear friend of mine's birthday falls on the winter solstice.  Every year, I usually send him a text message with something witty or poetic, but this year, he went down south with his gf, so his phone's probably not functional over there. I instead decided to send him an email, and I ended up writing a poem! I had fun with it, so I figure it would be a waste if I didn't share it with others too.

It recounts the day I had on the 21st-- it was supposed to be an evening of 'break' from all the plushie-madness I've been going through... but in the end, it was so friggin' stressful and I felt completely awful!  But writing about it seemed to cheer me up a little bit, so here it goes:

Wednesday 7 December 2011

YES Montreal Art Expo 2011


So last thursday and friday, I assisted my friend Laurence Vallieres at an art expo organised by YES montreal.  It was held at the lovely Marché Bonsecours, in the old port of Montreal.  Very scenic, but cobblestone streets are definitely a bitch to drive on, especially with a carload of ceramic sculptures, lol!  But Laurence of course packed everything very neatly, and the unloading went really smooth.

Tuesday 1 November 2011

Japan Round 3

I can't believe I've been back for nearly 5 days, and have not written a proper report until now. o_0 Actually, I've been terribly jetlagged and SICK. Gah~ I was actually sick during the latter half of my trip, but whatwith the adrenaline rush, I managed to ignore it. So now that I'm at home, it all came crashing down on me.

All in all, it was a very good trip! I managed to do lots of stuff (but there was a lot more that I didn't do, lol).

The flight there was rather excrutiating. I was flying out of Vancouver and somehow, it took forever.  I honestly don't remember it being that long, but anyways, I managed to watch 3 movies before passing out.  One of which was Usagi Drop! ^_^ I was very pleasantly surprised because I've read the manga, but didn't know they made a live-action film. It was actually just so-so.

My first night was spent at my friend Hitomi's place.  Her parents were so welcoming; they didn't speak a word of english, but we somehow managed to communicate in the end, lol.  It was nice spending time in a Japanese household... it kind of reminded me of my homestay experience 2 years ago.

So the next day, we were quickly off on our trek to Tonosho, on Shodoshima Island, Kagawa Prefecture in Shikoku. Really, a random place in the countryside! LOL We took the Shinkansen to Okayama, which is further than Osaka but closer than Hiroshima.  From there, we took another train to Takamatsu (the mainland of Shikoku in Kagawa) and from there, we had to take a ferry to Tonosho.  Gosh, what a trip! I think it was like 10 hours of travel/transit time... Oh, one might wonder WHY I went to such a place: it was to visit my Calgarian friend Lori who is teaching english as a JET and was placed on that island. 

I was lucky to catch their aki-matsuri (autumn festival). 



Friday 28 October 2011

Japan Fabric Haul

So Japan Trip #3 has come to an end. After some issues with my flight (my luggage getting lost), I finally got it back and was able to go through my findings. Onto the haul!


Kyoto

Fushimi-Inari

I didn't spend that much time in Kyoto, so I couldn't indulge in all the glory of the Dye Capital. I only went there to meet up with my parents and their friends (which btw, they paid for a real expensive dinner).  However, before meeting up with them, my friend Hitomi and I went to fushimi-inari, a place that I visited two years ago and really wanted to see again.

Tuesday 27 September 2011

Plushie Supplies

A list of ressources
by Pheleon


Where do you get your materials?

I've been asked this question one too many times, so I think it's about time that I give the LONG answer.

Firstly, I inherited my grandmother's and mother's collection of fabric, so there is a lot of stuff that I use that can no longer be found (or I can't even tell you what it's called because there are no labels). I've also been collecting my own stash for the past decade, and they include fabrics that are even hand-dyed by yours truly (also making them one-of-a-kind).

Secondly, I try to recycle and re-use the most I can.  Mostly old clothes where the fabic is still in top shape, but the style or size is outdated and just doesn't fit (in which case, I just cut it up and make it into something more useful!).  Search your house. You might find lots of handy things.

Thirdly, if you're really starting from zero or simply cannot find the right material in your collection, it's probably time that you go and buy it! Where? Here's my LONG answer....


Sunday 18 September 2011

Arashi Daiko Workshop

So today I delved into yet a new (and very different) activity: Taiko drumming!

Image taken from Montreal Mirror

The workshop was organised by Montreal's Taiko group, Arashi Daiko. http://www.arashidaiko.org/home/home.htm

Wednesday 31 August 2011

FanExpo 2011 Con Report

What a long~~~ weekend. I'm home early. Kind of drama with my family. I'm still totally exausted though. I'll try to keep my con report short. ^_^

I got there on wednesday to pick up the badges. Reg was simple since I was there in advance. I actually brought a lot of work to do with me: paints, glue gun, and ample amount of felt. Wednesday was spent giving hair to the 10 plushies I didn't have time to give hair to, and I actually didn't finish it all. ^_^;

Thursday was the first day of the con. It was so slow~~


Sunday 14 August 2011

Otakuthon 2011 Con Report

[Warning: LONG ENTRY! Image-heavy post ahead!]

Oh boy, what a weekend. Here's the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.

But before that, here are some pics of my merch~~~






Tuesday 9 August 2011

Updated production & Otakuthon table location

Wahhh! The con is in a few days, and I'm NOT READY!!! *cries and dies*

Hopefully, by the end of this day, I will at least have some completed plushies, but at the moment, they look like this:

My sister and the army
And that's actually not all of them. o_0 That's only 63 of them, and I have 80 planned. It's supposed to be for Otakuthon AND FanExpo. I haven't made any of my lycra plushies, so looks like I won't have any for Otakuthon. :( I'm also working on some dango plush-pillows, some daifuku plushies, and I'm going to bring back my no-face keychains.

Monday 1 August 2011

Plushie Production

Ughh... My production isn't going all that well. :( I've been very distracted with lots of other things, namely updating my online portfolio. So far, I've only tackled the chibi-plushies. I'm aiming at making 80, and they all have pants so far.


I still gotta give them shirts, stuff their heads, and then design eyes+ glue hair. I'll definitely get it done (despite Otakuthon being less than 2 weeks away), but there was another list of things I wanted to make, and it doesn't look like I'll be able to get to them done. :(

Monday 25 July 2011

HeavyMTL Day 2, Trims & Vans

As mentioned in my previous post, I wasn't quite sure if I'd attend day # 2 of HeavyMTL, but alas! Yes I did! It's great having connections~~~ ^_^ I got to see Opeth. Holy crap. I love them. I really forgot just how much I love them. 0_0 I told my bro's roomate who I was hanging out with: I was ready to make-out with ANYONE around me, be it female, fat, grimmy, whatever. That's how much Opeth turns me on~~~ LOL

This makes me lean towards the decision of still going to Youmacon. Ok, seems like the topics aren't related, but they are. Opeth is playing in Detroit on October 29th (they aren't coming to either TO or Montreal for their tour). Youmacon is from Nov 3rd-6th. And in between, there's Halloween. :D Now this all depends whether my guy wants me around, lol.

And totally random, I sticked around for KISS who were headlining. My bro's roomate really wanted to get up front, so we got pretty close. I don't know any of their songs, but they were pretty entertaining!

Sunday 24 July 2011

Youmacon AA reg= FAIL

I've been looking into getting a table at the Detroit convention Youmacon  http://www.youmacon.com/ because I have a place to stay in Windsor (about 20 mins away from the con) and it'll give me the opportunity to see my friends and also finally take a stab at an american con!

The reg was really not well announced, so I've been stalking the forums for the past few weeks. Finally, they said it'd open on saturday the 23rd (yesterday) but couldn't tell us the time.... Lately, I've been working on my online portfolio (which is going really well), so I was on the computer anyways. I was checking back every 30 mins or so.

Wednesday 13 July 2011

Guilty Pleasure

I was a bad girl the other day, and splurged on some clothing items. o_0

At first, I hit up Underworld (skate shop) because I had a gift certificate that my brother gave to me three or four years ago. If you like streetwear and skate shoes, they've got a stylish selection. Here's their online shop:  http://www.underworld-shop.com/

I was really drawn to the clothes by Element Eden.  http://www.elementeden.com/

I bought 2 dresses/tunics; they're very knitty and good quality material. :D Here's a pic of one of them (I couldn't find the other one on the site!):

Looks like a shirt, but it's quite long.
 
The one I bought was black.

Tuesday 5 July 2011

Whirlpool of Despair

What a morbid title, but that's what a friend of mine was calling his own city.

I spent the past 10 days on a random trip to Windsor and then back to Montreal. I guess it was to chase after my dose of romance for the year (seems to be an annual trend, lol)... But it was also to fulfill the fortune I got from the chinese restaurant I went to for my cousin's kid's first birthday.

Saturday 25 June 2011

Otakuthon 2011 Artist Alley Confirmation!

Woo-hoo! I got a space reserved for the AA at Otakuthon 2011. It's montreal's local convention, meaning I don't have to pay for tranportation and accomodation! ^_^  Here's the site, in case anyone is interested in attending: http://www.otakuthon.com/

It's from August 12th-14th which is roughly 10 days before FanExpo. I have a feeling that August is going to be another hectic month, much like May was for me. o_0

I therefore gotta redo my con merch list. I probably won't change the characters all that much, just the quantities. I'm also thinking of making some bigger items, like pillows and cushions.  The one thing that sucks about Otakuthon is that we're not allowed any free-standing displays, meaning I can't bring my shelf that clears up table space (and therefore allows me to show more stuff). Any overhanging display can't be over 4.5 feet either. I'm sure I'll manage something though. ^_^;;

But alas, before all that, I gotta concentrate on the endeavour straight ahead: I shall be on the trek to Windsor this evening. I'm arriving at 5:30AM sunday...so looks like it'll be a lovely all-nighter on the bus. *bleh* I'm bringing my guitar too (which will be a first on a bus), so I hope he doesn't get damaged or else I will be seriously pissed off. *is really protective of my guitar*

My sexy guitar
I also gotta clean, pack, and see if I could squish in more time to work on plushies. ^_^ I shall report my trip when I get back. The plans aren't set in stone, but I should be back roughly around the 4th.

Tuesday 14 June 2011

FanExpo 2011 Merch List & Tentative Cosplay?

I swear I'm not being overzealous or anything. It's good to plan ahead, right?

So I was thinking of all the characters I felt like making (or remaking) and this is what I came up with. Feel free to let me know if you've got any suggestions because, like always, it's tentative.

[I put in bold the NEW characters that I've never made before]

10” Chibi plush (craft velour) 
ShizuoX2, Izaya,
RussiaX3, AmericaX2, GermanyX2, JapanX2, EnglandX2
Death the kid X4, Soul X3, MakaX2, SteinX2
Ed ElricX3,
GrimmX2, Szayel,     
NX2, BiancaX2, MistyX2, AshX3,
Yami BakuraX3, YugiX2, Seto KaibaX2,
YamatoX2, TaichiX2
GokuX2, GohanX2, VegetaX2, TrunksX2
HieiX2
Asuka, Rei
LX2, MattX2, MelloX2,
LinkX3
=> Quantities are subject to change

Chibi-standard 10” (deersuede)
HitsugayaX2, Ikkaku, Yumi, GinX2, Kyouraku, Ukitake, ByakuyaX2,
Hisagi, Ichigo- getsuga, Shinji, Aizen,

Specials (different patterns)
NightcrawlerX3, GambitX2, WolverineX2, VenomX2, SpidermanX2
GatomonX2,
PanteraX2, Ulqui-releasedX2
HowlX2, Chihiro, Haku, No-face, Medicine seller, San (Princess mononoke)

Standard 10”(lycra)
Grell, Undertaker, Sebastian, Ciel
Lavi, Kanda, Allen
Squall, ZackX2, Vincent
Fye, Sesshoumaru, Inu Yasha
Yue, Sakura, Li Shaoran  

I'm really looking forward to making the "specials". I'm not sure if I should make Venom and Spiderman because I think they're heavily copyrighted and stuff...same goes for X-men, but there doesn't seem to be an official Nightcrawler plush, so maybe it's fair game? Ghibli also has copyrights, and it does feel weird to pimp Miyazaki's designs, but I love those characters so much and there aren't that many plushies of them out there.

I really want to make the Clamp stuff, especially Yue. He has wings. I liek wings.

I'm currently working on a Sesshoumaru plush. I figure it would be nice to make another one to spread his love, lol.

Anyways, so about the second half of my title: tentative cosplay. I got a DARE from my friend Alice that I wouldn't be able to pull off Hiyori from Bleach. I've got the short stature and the pissy attitude, but she can't see me blonde and says I smile too much! I'm taking up her dare, and within this year, I'm gonna do it~~ Although I hate getting my picture taken, being Hiyori will be AWESOME because I can point the middle finger at people!

While searching for ref photos of her, I came across this one:


It looks like Fanart, anyone know where it came from? That'd be fun to replicate her shirt...because I also love Shinji. <3

On other news, I'm officially running off to Windsor, Ontario next weekend. I'll be gone for a week or so. ^_^

Saturday 11 June 2011

Presents in the mail

Last week, I got a lot of things in the mail, despite the CanadaPost strike. Surprisingly, ONE of them was an actual gift from my friend in Japan! She visited me at the beginning of May, and I took her to Niagara Falls, Toronto, and Montreal. We were also supposed to go to NYC, but she got sick, so we never made it. She sent me something super pretty.... It's kind of not my style, but I really like it because it's too pretty!

It came in a set of 5.

Friday 10 June 2011

First Post!

I've decided to start up a blog in order to keep track of the more personal side to Pheleon
Creations. I do a lot of random things aside from sewing... The title of this blog is "Text in Textiles" because I'd like to record the behind-the-scenes of my textile work.

Therefore, this will not only include all the random chapters of my sewing/dyeing process adventures, but also my inspirations and experiences that lead me to my work.