Of Resolutions and Dreams

It's a little early for New Year's Resolutions, but there are several long-held dreams of mine that seemed like they would make good resolutions. In fact, I've already started on some of them. Although fulfilling any resolution or goal requires effort, these particular ones are the kind that don't seem like work at all (all though they definitely are, I can attest), because they mean so much to me.

Even so, sometimes these aspirations seem more far off than ever, so I thought making them into formal "resolutions" might spur me on. I know that often, making up your mind to do something, or taking the first step, can be one of the hardest parts of meeting a goal. So I'd like to invite you to think about any dreams of yours, lolita-related or otherwise, that might seem a long way away, and let's both try to get closer to that final goal in the coming year.

Some of my resolutions:
~Turn more of the stories in my head into rough drafts of novels
~Make demo recordings of some of my songs (songwriting is a hobby of mine)
~Keep improving my drawing, and learn how to properly color with Gimp2
~Expand my lolita wardrobe, thereby improving my sewing in the process.

Recently there was a post on Daily Lolita in which a lolita mentioned her intent to wear the fashion everyday for three weeks, as part of "breaking a social norm" for Sociology class. This inspired a narrowed down version of "Expand my lolita wardrobe." By next Loliday six months from now, I would like to have made (or loli-fied) enough clothing so that I can wear lolita for three weeks straight. Just thinking about it now is making me go all dreamy-eyed...

And when I start this ambitious project (the three weeks of actual wearing), the Era of Daily Outfit Snaps shall begin! In the meantime, be sure to expect a steady stream of sewing related posts. Of course, I'll be wearing lolita more and more as my wardrobe expands, so I do believe the Era of Slightly More Often Than Not Oufit Snaps will segue nicely into the other, aforementioned Era.

In other news, sadly I shall have to neglect this blog for a few weeks around Christmas. Every year my family takes a trip to visit grandparents and cousins, and its a bit hard to update when you're in a house with 24 other people.  (Oh yes, I'm the oldest of 15 cousins...and I love every one of 'em.)

So if I don't post again before we leave, I hope all of you have a wonderful Christmas!

Of Loliday and the sewing it inspired

Oh my, over thirty followers? Thank you all so much! <3

I must say, this week I've been dying to show you my Loliday coordinate, and now that the time has come to post again (what's this? Dusk Rose has a semi-schedule?), I can. The lighting wasn't great, so I messed around with it just a tiny bit in Gimp2.

I stayed home all that day, so excuse the lack of shoes.
My new petticoat really seems to bring out the potential in that skirt, both in poofiness and, well, I just like how it looks over this petti a lot better than my other, more casual one. All in all, I'm happier with this coordinate than I've ever been with one. (I've been saying that for the last several coords, actually, so let's hope the trend continues!)
And a rundown:
~corsage and necklace: handmade
~bow: Hot Topic
~blouse: Walmart possibly? I've had it for ages.
~bustier top: Charlotte Russe
~skirt: handmade
~socks: Target

Loliday made me remember just how desperately I want to work on new pieces for my wardrobe, so this week I finally set to work on that blouse pattern (New Look 6599). Here you can see it almost finished.

Ta-da!

One of my favorite parts of of this pattern is the lace-up section across the back. I haven't laced it up yet, but here you can see the loops.

I've also begun making my first shiro piece, from one of the thrift store blouses I showed you before. Let's see if I can find that picture of the unaltered blouse...

And after a few alterations...

As you might have guessed, I borrowed the sleeves' pattern pieces from the black blouse.
I hadn't yet unpicked the pockets (you can't really see them here), but they're off now. I'll have to add some lines of thin white lace and ribbon to disguise all the tiny holes where the thread attaching the pockets was.

I mean to finish at least the black blouse before Christmas, so I can wear it on our annual trip to visit family back east. At any rate, I hope those of you in cold climates are staying warm, and those of you in the Southern Hemisphere, try not to let the Daystar get you down. <3 I know summer can be hard for us loli and gothic types!

Of other places to find me

I hope everyone had a good Loliday! If you like, tell me how you spent your day in the comments.
Partly because my non-loli plans for the day were canceled, I went ahead and dressed up (thus debuting my new extra-poofy petti) even though I spent the day at home. I'll be sure to post pictures soon.

But for now, this is mainly a quick post to ask, are any of you on Tumblr or Twitter? I've started trying to become somewhat active on both, but I'm a little networking-challenged, shall we say (or we could say: shy). I'd love to get to know all of you better, and in general to meet more lolitas online (or gothic types, or non-lolitas, just to make sure none of my dear followers feel excluded). So if any of you are on said sites, drop me a link in the comments and I'll follow you.

Speaking of links, here are mine:
~Twitter~Tumblr

Hopefully those links work. If not, let me know!

Of my new bow!--and some personal Loliday musings

You know, I had the strangest dream last night. I was in my living room, conversing with two of my favorite gothic lolita bloggers, namely akumaxkami of Les Fleures Noires and OpiateVampire of The Dark Victorian. (No, I don't usually dream about the blogosphere, really--I don't even remember most of my dreams for that matter!) We were chatting about whatever lolitas usually chat about, as though it wasn't at all peculiar that we were all there in person (we live very far apart in real life).

I suppose this unusual (but rather pleasant) dream had to do with an obstacle many lolitas face, especially when starting out--that of being isolated, outside of the internet, from others who love our fashion. You'd think I could get involved in my local community in no time, seeing as we have a lot of lolis where I live. But it's been surprisingly difficult to keep an eye out for meetups I can attend, not to mention amassing enough of a wardrobe so that I don't always have to wear the same outfit.

At any rate, with International Lolita Day fast approaching, I suspect many of us may feel that we're going to be left out of the festivities for one reason or another--whether it's a schedule conflict (it is for me), or not having a lolita community in your area, or for some other reason. On the one hand, it can be quite rewarding at such times to do something that brings lolita into your own life, even without a meetup to go to. Others have beat me to this topic, so I'll wait to give my thoughts on making bringing lolita into one's daily life (though as a lifestyler, you can be sure I have a few ideas on the subject--or I should). But like many others have, I encourage you to keep on the look out for a hobby or activity that makes you feel like the world of frills and whimsical beauty is a little closer, whether you're a solitary lolita or no.

Still, I know that even so, it can be very hard to be alone in what you love. And to those who are, I want to say: I know how it feels. I'm there too. Let's wish ourselves good luck that we won't be as solitary by June's Loliday. And in any case, I hope all of my readers have a wonderful Loliday!

And a note: there was certainly some amount of truth in the above-mentioned dream, because I must confess I've been wishing there was some way to meet up with all of my fellow blogging lolitas in person, gothic or not. Well, if and when I have the funds to travel alone, perhaps I'll try to come visit your cities/countries. I'd certainly like to!

Speaking of the fabulous akumaxkami, you may recall that I bought a bow from her Etsy (The Funeral Parlor). A couple of days ago, it arrived! And I have battled through Japanese homework, college transfer applications, and an irksome cold in order to finally take pictures. Behold:

And on my head:

(Sorry, it's a bit blurry, and the lighting isn't perfect.)
The center part of the bow has a nice open slit in the back where some kind of attaching-to-head device can be slipped in, so I've been thinking about how I'd like to attach-to-head. I've decided, although it's a bit of an unusual method (of course, your ballroom host is not known for being usual), that I'll try making a cloth headband that can be tied under my hair--a bit like a bonnet. Except with the ties in back rather than under my chin. Although, a "bow-bonnet" might be interesting.

Now I'll leave you with one more shot, in which I succeed in balancing the bow on my head.

Yay!

Once again, a wonderful Loliday to all of you!