Quick update of the Time and Space Hunter costume for the 2017 Big River Steampunk Festival.

The grand majority of the costume is the same, right down to the accessories, but now that I have the ruffler foot and can ruffle again, I’ve added the missing ruffles to the hem of each layer. Because I made it to be full-length even without the ruffles, it’s now a little too long, so I’ve added a second set of bustling ribbons in the channels on the under-layer.

Is “ruffles” turning into a funny word for you, too?

While I started out in the brown pleather “snakeskin” corset from 2015, I made another trip through the Artifixer booth and came away with a genuine leather corset that has even more of a steampunk aesthetic. It’s not exactly the corset I’d been dreaming of (that involved those swingy chest-latch hooks, but when I found the shop with those, they were every bit as expensive but clearly full of rigilene!), but I’m still quite fond of it:

This year’s afternoon tea theme was a trip through Victorian India, hosted by Doc Phineas, and each place at the table was set with a silk-flower lei. Neither orange nor yellow are colours I’m particularly fond of, but my roommate loves orange, so as I told him, “Of course that’s the seat I ended up with!” It’s growing on me, though. I also earned my medal for Heroic Tea Service at last, as Cook and Maid had forgotten to put sugar out! Someone clearly needed to set things right, so naturally, I volunteered to make the mad journey to the kitchen and politely request a sweeter afternoon. Success!

Last and probably least, I’m wearing a nail polish that I designed myself. As it’s not quite perfect yet, it’s not yet available in the shop. It’s primarily a bronze hue with a green iridescence (though the latter doesn’t come through so well in photos) that I’ve been calling “Clockwork Heart”:

Farewell, Festival, until we meet again! Next year.