Goodbye 2024

Looks like it's that time of year when I force myself to make time for blogging - the annual year-end wrap-up post. But here's a secret: if you're reading this close to New Years 2025, it's like you're getting exclusive access to my costumes (since I've barely posted anything to social media this year)
​...so yay?

​As is tradition, let's start with this year's new cosplays:

Photos: Rosalina and Team Rocket: Elemental / Butterfly Fae: Paul Hillier / War: LeslieTheBestie

It wasn't a big year for sewing (again). Of the 7+1 new cosplays here, only the two on the left were constructed from scratch, with the rest being a combination of closet costumes and purchased pieces with varying levels of customization. 

"Mario NasKart" Rosalina was a very fun project in my (apparent) collection of Rosalina cosplay. I made it specifically for the Single Pattern Contest at Costume-Con 42 in Colorado, and won best in pattern for my interpretation of a flight suit!  
The blue and pink dress has been dubbed Butterfly Fae, and is an original design I made to wear as part of the wedding party at Ragz Cosplay's wedding this year! I also ended up wearing it for Halloween and hope to give the wings an upgrade and wear her to cons or renfaires in 2025.
If you attend a lot of cons, or just shop for cosplay online, you'll probably recognize my Vaporeon bodysuit/hoodie. This year YetiCon was all about silly group costumes for my friends and I, so a whole bunch of us bought the Eeveeloutions suits, added lights, and wore them to the glow parade. In the photo you can see the "butt waterfall" light-up skirt I designed and made for mine.
Speaking of silly YetiCon groups:  Team Rocket. Literally just raided closets/costume bins to put together vaguely grunt-like fits, and then added the R's (provided by the other Jen) at con. Very extra fun.
War was the pre-pandemic project that I finally finished this year, and got to take for a test-run in Colorado. I'm happy with how the wig turned out and with the new pants, now I just need more places to wear her.
Leela and Zapp are Halloween party projects. I bought all my Leela components (unfortunately ran out of time for her wrist thingy), and Clay ordered his costume online. Unfortunately it didn't fit him at all, so I ripped out the salvageable gold bits, and made him a new velour uniform using the rest of the original bits. It was a huge hit at the "Futurama" theme party we attended. 
Finally we have one more Halloween thing: Hela. I started learning aerial silks this year, so I bought a printed Hela suit as something to wear to class for Halloween, and maybe also use for a con. TBH, I'm not sure if the fit/quality is where I want it for convention wear, but it sure was fun to toss around Mjolnir while suspended in a roll-up LOL

How does this compare to my plans at the start of the year? I'd say mixed success.

I finished War at the beginning of the year, which was great. Then my Blanca Flight Suit (AKA Rosalina) which, while simple, took a lot of planning to execute plus learning how to use a Silhouette.  When you add in that I made Amity's winter outfit at the end of 2023, I definitely burned myself out on costuming by the time I went to Costume-Con, so my great progress basically came to a full-stop. I missed my YetiCon target for Princess Buttercup, and the Mario witches got postponed for another year. Midna, particularly sadly, did not get any attention. All my creative energies in the fall went to Butterfly Fae and nothing else from the list was accomplished.

Much like last year, I've been spending my time on (maybe?) less creative pursuits: staying active between running, dance, and silks; reading; videogames; and D&D - on top of trying to see friends regularly. And thank goodness all the apps track that stuff for me these days *insert eyeroll here*

I did make (some) time for cons - I participated in Con-G again, travelled somewhere very new for Costume-Con 42 (and mountain adventures), hit up SPCS for a day with friends, and of course the perennial favourites Anime North and YetiCon. I hadn't expected Yeti to be the finale to my cons if you'd asked me a year ago, but also the wedding had so many of my cosplay friends attending that it felt like that was the actual last con of the year.
Halloween aside, Meagan's Hug was the only other cosplay-centric even that I did, which was lovely to return to, even though I (once again) ended up with a terrible choice of footwear.

​Coming next: What's new in 2025?