Monday, September 16, 2013

Cloak Project

Hey, all! So, I have seen some awesome posts recently of friends making costumes for NDK (Nan Desu Kan), and decided I needed to do something to keep my hands busy, especially since I was laid off earlier this week (sucks, huh?). I've always wanted a winter cloak to wear, one with faux fur lining, and could never find anything I liked. With that in mind, I decided to make my own.

This is the inside when it's open. I chose a dark brown fur that mimics bear hide. It has some highlighting on it to give it a multi-layer sheen, and boy is it warm! Keep in mind that I have not done the collar yet. I hope to finish it sometime this week, but depending on my schedule, I may not get to it until much later. Here's a picture of the outside with it closed:

Nice, huh? I hand-stitched everything except the shoulders, which I snipped and resewed to allow for fit. It's a bit bulky because the outer material is stiffer than I expected. Also, I forgot to wash it before starting. Guess I haven't sewn in a long time. Not to mention to numerous times I had to rethread the machine because I spaced how to do it in the first place. THAT was a nightmare. Thank goodness for the Internet, huh?

And now a close-up of the suede I used and of the fur:

This is the beginning of eventual projects where I design cloaks based on the various high houses from Soulbound. The manuscript will be completed shortly and I'll have it sent to beta readers before Christmas, hopefully sooner. After that, I plan to get to work on the animated trailer I've always wanted to do, write some short stories for a collection of tales from Inrugia, start the sequel to Soulbound, and finalize the tee-shirt designs for the release. I am still hoping to go traditional with publications, but I don't know if that will happen. I've started querying agents, too, and will continue to do so until the first of next year. By then, I hope to have sent 100+ queries. If nothing comes back, I will start querying smaller houses and then we'll see. I feel I've worked hard to make Soulbound entertaining and a well-written read, but that's so similar to what authors say that I worry I'm not good enough.

Either way, time will tell. Once I have some sketches of the amuli house cloaks, I will post them. I want to start with the Anys house, and follow with Rybredel. Of course, the material for these things cost butt loads, so I doubt I will be able to afford them for a while. Still, I have the colors in mind and know where to get the materials! Huzzah!

On the agenda for today: Work on Soulbound and then write a short story for the collection. All before 3 p.m. Oooooh, that's about 4 hours. CAN I DO IT? ;) You betcha!