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Thank you both.  I am an inveterate scrounging packrat.  I think I watched a little too much Monty Hall's "Let's Make a Deal" as a youngster.

I did sleep in it the other night, and it was comfortable and effective.  Bonus!  I had play in mind when I made it so, if sleep is the result, I'll need to adjust waaay up or waaay down.  The next one will have eyeholes, just to see if I can do it.  I don't think I'll make the outline the same way, but I would like to make it inside out and then invert it.  I'm kind of struggling with how I'll do that with the eyeholes.  I get a cramp in my brain trying to visualize how to do it in one turn.  Or even more turns.  I'm open to suggestions.

Inspired by my new friends, motivated by sticker shock, and encouraged by Suu and others to post the results of my work, I offer this short description of my latest craftwork.

I love toys and games and I have quite a collection already.  But my overdeveloped DIY (in)sensibilities wouldn't permit me to pay $30 to $40 or more for a nice leather mask.  So I began a search for the ingredients to make my own.  This is the result of my second attempt.  The first one was kind of pretty, but more for decoration and function.

I started by scanning for some nice leather to work with in my regular trips to the thrift stores in the area.  I settled on these boots, which I got for $6.  I can't wear a size 8, and don't know anyone who can, so I had no aversion to putting them under the knife.

Here's what I started with:

The boot.  And the toes.  I notice my floor resembles Suu's and that we both shoot there for the light and the room.


There is a seam right across the top of the boot, a perfect template for cutting, which I did.  By the way, the boots are still perfectly functional, just a lot shorter.  They would need to have the tops finished and stops put on the zippers, but otherwise fine.

The other boot, after harvesting the soft wide upper.


I then freehanded half of the design with a pair of scissors, folded it in half and followed it along to make the halves identical.  This is what remained after cutting out the mask:

The remains of the upper after harvesting the pattern of the mask.  There's enough left for another one, but it will have a seam across the center, which could be interesting.


Now I have the two layers completely cut out.  I wanted something fanciful, and this is my first approximation.  Perhaps there will be other designs to come from the remaining material.
Back to the sewing machine, before sewing the two layers together (and before engaging macro mode, sorry). The boot upper was leather and leather lined.  I just cut through both layers.


The goal was to make a little pillow so that it would conform to the wearer's face and more securely seal out the light.  To do that I first needed to make a pouch of it.  I left the sitching exposed on this one because there is no way I could ever turn this one inside out.  I will try that for the next one though if it has a simpler outline.
Sewed and macroed.


These decorative points look nice, but they were very difficult to sew.  My very basic machine doesn't have a secondary throttle control and what I wound up doing was barely engaging the power at all and then practically hand sewing it with the handwheel as I tiptoed around these corners.  It turned out "ok".  Since the wearer will be blind anyhow, I'm not that concerned 
Detail of simple stitching.  I had originally hoped to put a finished edge over the edges, like a ribbon.  I failed miserably.  The complicated edge was tough enough to sew plainly, never mind trying to manhandle another two layers of satin ribbon.


Pillow stuffing, bra padding, fish tank filter media.  Marvelous stuff.  I buy it in bulk at the pet shop.

Polyester batting, for padding the mask.  This makes it more comfortable, and more effectively seals the mask to the face.


One stuffed mask!
I left a small opening in the seam, then stuffed bits of batting into the mask.  I used a long pointy tool (a scalpel handle, to be precise) to push the batting into the tips as far as possible.  I made several test fittings as I went, and when it was comfortably full (not too full), I sewed the last inch shut.


The finished product and my amateur model.  It's really comfy and effective. I can't wait to give it away!

I added an elastic strap and a smile.

Revised Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast by Pojar and Mackinnon, commonly referred to as "Pojar".  I love this book.  I use it as a reference, and also as an escape, remembering flowers I've seen, and noting flowers I will see.

Today, I identified three beautiful white flowers:  Dwarf Dogwood, Coast Boykinia, and Bear-Grass.  I'll try to organize a link to the pictures.

Don't worry, Epithemeus, I read them enough for the both of us.

As beautiful as these laments are, they are only a dim and distant projection of the incandescent inner beauty of Nigel's heart.

The Loving Dominant by John and Libby Warren.

They didn't have BDSM for Idiots at my local love shack, so this was the next best thing.  I figure with the stakes in this scene as high as they are, I'd be better off (and so will she) if I RTFM first.

Details another time...






maybe.

No, he just has a wide stance.

Like most things, it's possible to get too much of a good thing.  Here is a cautionary tale for those with wide stances.

A young woman had been taking golf lessons all week long. She'd just begun her first game of golf when she suffered a bee sting. Her pain was so intense, she couldn't continue her game. She decided to go back to the clubhouse and get some medical attention.

Her golf Pro saw her enter the clubhouse and asked, "Why are you back so soon?" What's wrong?"

"I was stung by a bee," she answered.

"Where?," he asked.

"Between the first and second holes," she replied.

He nodded his head knowingly and said, "Then your stance is too wide."

That's true. In real life, most people get only one shot to be a hero or to make a real change.

You're not a parent, are you?

Greetings Suu:

Thanks for asking, I was wondering where to put this post. 

I'm listening to an enthusiastic tribute to Koko Taylor, The Queen Of The Blues, who died this week.  My local radio station (max awesome) is dedicating the whole three hour show to her today.  You can listen live now and it will be available in the archives for two weeks.  I recommend both.

kexp.org

Next question:

Is it possible to attach a file (*.jpg, etc) to a post?  If so, please explain how I would accomplish this.

Thanks in advance.

Awesome, all of them Cramulus.

It's weird...--snip--

Phoenix egg hatching.

http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2009/05/12/police-arrest-man-for-taking-photo-in-rei

Man snaps pics of Loomis guards opening cash machine in local REI.  Cops are called and arrest him.  Man refuses to produce ID.  Good on him.

Police and Loomis are gonna get the dirty end of this stick.  REI has emphatically stated that Man was not trespassing.  There's no expectation of privacy in public.  What were they thinking?

fifty-two fuckin consecutive pages of win.

Thank you.

I don't offer any kind of competition, but my "I can make that" urge is exercised well enough to recognize the effort and skill you have in obvious abundance.  I couldn't tell from your "looking fat" shot on the stairs if you actually did cry a little, but I almost did.  Dahling, chjew looook MAHVelous, and the costume is *brilliant* as well.  You earned your cry, happy tears only.

I put in a couple months of work preparing the two costumes for my son and I to wear to the local anime convention.  Your banquet table for cutting is nice, but I already have one of those.  I want to know where you get your apprentices.  Or at least the singing mice.....

oooooohhh... I can feel the make coming on me again.  You've inspired me.  P'raps I'll assault you all and insult myself with some pictures of the results.

Awesome work, Suu, but, of course, you already knew that.

Wow.  Tough room.

I was just making a light post connecting my current avatar and the thread title...

+1 for me for being n00bly-interesting enought to warrant a riff on my post by (you know, when you have "The Great.." already in your title, applying any other complimentary adjectives, no matter how sincere, begins to sound a bit like a Monty Python skit.) The Great (but you already knew that) Reverend Roger.

+5 for me for His TGRR-ness's estimation of my potential!  But, perhaps I am deluding myself.  He may not have meant for me to kill myself either.

Have a nice day!   

Thread title potential vastly exceeded thread content.

Fail.

What rat should have said was "generally behaving like an unfunny asshole is stupid."

Okay.

At work, I'm all like 

and then my crew is like 

Every day at 11:30 is rant time in the welding shack.  They talk politics, I get all riled up, blow my stack completely and puke out some sick shit, then they start arguing whether I should be killed by blowtorch or not.

They have VERY high standards when it comes to venting.

Is it possible that your continued success/survival is due to the the fact that you put the ASS in  ASSBESTOS?