[deathbeforedishes]

I received my package from deathbeforedishes!!!

Magnets that I've put on our mini-fridge:


Two notebooks (lovin' the fez and bowties):


MOAR KEYCHAINS!!! XD (the one on the far left I already had):


A beautiful hoopla that I've put on the wall:


And a wonderful 'book' bag!! XD

  In honor of the 7th series debut, I decided to throw together a fem!Doctor cosplay. 11 is my favorite (even though 10 was my first), and for those who don't know, 11 wears a variety of different shirts throughout his era. The bowtie and suspenders usually switch back and forth from maroon to blue.
I finally decided to go with the ensemble he wears in the episode 'Closing Time', which is a light blue shirt and maroon bowtie and suspenders. He wears his greatcoat and also gets a Stetson at the end. Unfortunately, I don't have either of those things, but I plan drafting a pattern for a 'female' version of the greatcoat. The stetson...to be honest, I HATE stetsons, so I'll just keep my eye out at flee-markets, peddlers malls, yard sales and whatnot. Because I'm not paying $20 for a cowboy hat. Maybe $15, but that's pushing it.


*Jacket (Goodwill)-- Nothing was changed, but I'm considering putting an inside pocket on the left. The brand is 'Hot Kiss'...whatever that is...

*Shirt (Goodwill)--- Literally nothing special. I bought it white and used Rit Dye (Navy Blue). The trick is to not add too much dye to the water and only dunk the fabric in once or twice. I'll be changing the buttons. I also need to alter the sleeves so they don't stick out of the jacket.

*Shorts (Goodwill)--- The ugliest things on the planet. The pictures I have so far are of them before they were altered. Believe me, they look a lot better now. I'm getting rather fond of high-waisted bottoms. They are so dang comfortable. You can easily find tutorials explaining how to alter them. just look it up on YouTube.

*Shoes (Goodwill)--- Originally from Rue 21. When I bought them, they were a bright tan color. The material is made with leather-look-a-like, and I wanted them to look blackish. First I tried black polish. It made the color darker, but not what I wanted. It was too shiny and not dark enough. I then painted it over with black acrylic and that did the trick. However, the paint is chipping off, so I'm not quite sure what to do about it. But it gives it character, so I might not paint over it or anything.

*Tights (Target)--- On sale for $4. Bullseye.

*Bowtie (Handmade)--- I used this tutorial: http://www.angelaosborn.com.au/diy-bow-tie-free-pattern/
And this to learn how to tie: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OoUre0ugkmI
I've ordered a pre-tied bowtie from amazon, but I'm getting attached to the one I made~

*Suspenders (Claires)--- Found them for half the price: http://www.claires.com/store/goods/Tweens/cat890002/Suspenders/p43936/Tape-Measure-Suspenders/
I had already had them before deciding on this cosplay. Of course, they are not maroon. I tried two different methods before deciding on the last. First I tried dying with watered down acrylic. Didn't work at all. Then I tried simply painting the color on there, but it looked pretty bad. So I just settled with this method (who knew it's so difficult to find maroon suspenders?!)-- I took the same fabric from the bowtie and put the fabric over the suspenders. They don't stretch, of course, but they look the part and that's all that really matters. I hadn't modified them yet when these pictures were taken, but I'll have pictures redone soon.

*greatcoat--- I'll be drafting a pattern from a trenchcoat I already have: http://compare.ebay.com/like/270832990285?var=lv&ltyp=AllFixedPriceItemTypes&var=sbar
(I've got the orange one). It'll need modifying, of course, but I have a feeling it will be a while before I even think more on this.

Thanks for looking, everyone!!!

Phase 2 of 4 completed on the ____. Yay. On another note, I repainted pleather shoes from Rue21 and made them black. Does anyone know what I can glaze on them to keep the paint from washing off? But I don't want the shoes shiny, either (although I really enjoy shiny things).

Did anyone watch Dinosaurs on a Spaceship?! haha! My favorite part was-

Bahaha! I'm seriously laughing so loud! Gotta be quiet! I'm in the classroom! I think I 'bout died when I watched it!

  This month, all I’ve been able to think about is Doctor Who. I’m getting excited for the upcoming DW Swap, and also for the seventh series this fall (which I won’t be able to watch. Oh~ the quirks of being poor).

And so, I embroidered myself a Doctor and put him on a purse:

 Look! He’s in space. Aaand it’s TARDIS blue! It took me about an hour to draw him up, and then two days to embroider. The stitches I used were stem and some backstitch. I don’t know what it is, but I just love stem stitch! It’s so clean and nice.

The purse is reversible, which is pretty awesome.

 There’s a little something special about the colorful fabric—During my very first Summer Reading Program at the library, the kids took paint in squirt guns and went to town on that fabric. Pretty soon I’ll be heading out to college, which means I’ll be leaving my job at the library. This makes me sad, but every time someone says something about my purse, I can tell them a wonderful story about my first—and best—job ever.
Thanks for looking!

I learned not long ago that you can color an embroidery piece simply with crayons (ALWAYS use Crayola). You color your piece before you embroider it.


Then you iron it, colored side down on a piece of paper. Doing this protects your iron, board, and fabric. The excess wax will then be transferred onto the paper. After that, I rinsed it with cold water and got this result:


For you Sherlockians, you'll immediately know who these fellow are. The original design is NOT MINE, but I thought it was so dang cute, that I just had to put it on fabric! Since I would color it, I re-sketched it on paper first, just to see where the shading and what-not would be.


Here we have the finished project:

Stitches used-- stem (my favorite), back, and french knots. Just a note: The colors will fade (as you can see). If you really want the color to show through, I suggest you color more than one layer.

Now we wait for 2013, when we learn how Sherlock survived Reichenbach...But we Wholocks know what really happened: The TARDIS appeared on top of the roof and out stepped the Doctor and had the Tessalecta take Sherlock's place. The End (I wish).
ARRRGH! MOFFAT!

My next embroidery project hint: 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1... GERONIMO!

I was recently at Hobby Lobby when I happened to pass a pendant with the famous saying "Keep Calm and Carry On". If you don't understand the meaning behind it, I suggest you google it.
Walked around some more and found other little british inspired trinkets. Someday, I'm going to add a TARDIS charm, teapot charm, and an IOU apple charm...because it wouldn't be complete without Doctor Who, tea, and Sherlock!!!



First time ever making anything jewelry related. Enjoy!

It all began on a crappy Saturday evening. I'd gone to the craft store in vain, wasting two hours and gas for the car. I was so dissapointed to find that the store had closed before I could get there, so you know what I did? I splurged my money on a book. Ouran High School Host Club, in fact. (Fangirls now may squeal with delight)
The cashier saw what I was buying and she went: "Squee! Ouran host club! that's my favorite anime!!!". haha! I'd been having such a crappy day, and then this lady, without even knowing it, made my day in an instant. I had decided on my way back home that I would make her something. So I made this:

She loved it.
These pictures, sadly enough, were taken when it wasn't finished. Here are close-ups of the characters:

Hikaru and Kaoru. Kaoru, where's your face?! haha.


Kyoya Ootori. He is my least favorite character, but I wouldn't tell him that!


Haruhi (my favorite character) and Tamaki. His hand looks like an octopus....


Mori-senpai and Hani-senpai. Hani-senpai is holding both Usa-chan and Berezenoff.
Most of the stitches are backstitch (my first time with that).
Someday I'll post pictures of my Haruhi cosplay. We'll see you then!!!

Remember that hint from chapter 2? If you guess Iorogi, then you are correct!


Ah, yes. We all gotta love the hot-tempered, fire-breathing stuffed animal.


Iorogi was (at one point) a mascot for CLAMP artist, Tsubaki Nekoi.
But he made his debut in the Kobato series. As a main character, he helps kobato on her mission to fufill her wish. Any time she makes a mistake or irritates him, he calls her Dobato(which means "dirty bird", where-as Kobato means "baby dove") and scorches her with fire. In the anime, Ioryogi has the same voice as Kurogane. Since the two have similar behaviors, it leads Fai to believe that 'Ioryogi is the Kurogane of this world'.
(uhh... if you don't understand that last sentence, it's okay. If you really want to know, just ask and I'll explain.)

And this, folks, is where we have our connection with Tsubasa. Hmmm....

CLAMP in EmbroideryLand will be on hiatus. I'm currently working on embroidery projects for Fullmetal Alchemist and Ouran High Host Club. Stay tuned!!!

Here's Mokona!!!


I would have posted this way back in August, but I sliced both of my thumbs really bad while cutting up watermelon. I couldn't embroider at all-- too painful! TT.TT
I finished W!Mokona first, and then I had the thought that I could color her ears with crayon.
Bad idea. I had to start all over...
(I did not design these pictures. They belong solely to CLAMP.)

Here's the White Mokona, also known as Soel. She is holding a sun, not a flower...


Mokona made her first appearance in Magic Knight Rayearth. She is also a main character in Tsubasa, whisking away her companions to other dimensions.

Now for the Black Mokona, also known as Larg.


Mokona makes his first appearance in xxxHOLiC. His job is to keep communication with the White Mokona. You might see the Mokonas in both HOLiC and Tsubasa, since they are sister series. You might be wondering-- "why do you call them both Mokona?! How can you tell if it is a girl or a boy?" We'll... there's really no explanation for it. Mokona is Mokona. They are both the same, but not the same...
Mokona doesn't have a gender, but W!Mokona tends to dress on the girlish side, while B!Mokona tends to have a boyish behavior.

Both Mokonas serve as a kind of mascot for CLAMP. If you pay close attention, you might find them in artwork not related to HOLiC or Tsubasa. Take this, for example--
http://gallery.minitokyo.net/view/475236
Summer Wars- CLAMP Style!!! Did you find the Mokonas?

Coming Up: CLAMP in EmbroideryLand Chapter 3
What'll it be?! Hint: This main character was once a mascot for Tsubaki Nekoi.

Thanks for looking!

 My favorite mangaka of all time are CLAMP. Those gals are absolutly amazing! So I thought that I would make something from one of their works--Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle. TRC, in my opinion, is their best. Such a beautiful story. I recomend that everyone read it !
 There wasn't much to making this. It took me a long time to find just the right pictures. I gathered various pics from online (believe me if you search for them, you'll never find them!). I took the pictures and modifyed them to what I thought would be appropriate. For example, I found a chibi of Fai, but the clothing was way off. So I traced the basic outline, and re-drew him. I did that with all the characters. With Syaoran, I practically had to start from scratch!
 Each of the characters have a little something special about them, except Sakura. I had planned to add jewels to her, but I ran out of time. Maybe in the future I'll fix that.
Amount of time stitching for each character:
Kurogane- about a week
Fai- a month, or two (I have no idea why this one took the longest )
Syaoran- a couple hours
Sakura- two days


heh. That's my Wooper next to the finished project.


character names (for those who don't know) from top left, clockwise: Syaoran, Sakura, Kurogane, Fai


Title of the series. I traced it, then, handpainted the black letters on the back of the glass.


Syaoran. I cry every time I think of this character. I wish I had a close-up of the feather. Feather is made with satin stitch, with red symbol carefully stitched on top of that.


Kurogane. I attempted making the ties look somewhat 3d.


Fai. This character has such a "light" atmosphere. Completely different from Kuro-pu. It's really hard to see, but the edge of his coat is all french knots. After stitching Fai, I can now say that I'm a master of french knots!

The pictures that follow show the process of stitching the character Sakura.


carbon copy image onto fabric.


stitch over with selected colors. I think the main stitch I used was the stem stitch (it's basically the only one I know besides french knot!)


Sakura. For some reason, I don't have a close-up finished version of her. Strange.

Thanks for looking! Next project: Embroider the Mokonas!