A New Wheel of Time Scarf: Min Farshaw

So I've started a new Wheel of Time-inspired scarf. (The first one was my Pevara Sedai scarf.) I didn't actually mean to cast this one on; I received a gorgeous blue yarn ball from leahsimone through the Yarn Ball - Surprises! swap at Swap-Bot.

I didn't have time to wind the yarn into a center pull ball when I received it, so after unwinding just a bit of it, I shut it firmly in a drawer and pretended it didn't exist until I had time to enjoy unwinding it! So when we went to Columbus (Georgia) for my nephew's first birthday party, I took advantage of the long car ride to unwind it, and rewind it on my nostepinde (a beautiful one I bought from EwenMe a few months ago).

And then there were stitches cast on my needles…don't know how they got there.

It's a beautiful medium blue, very soft, but only twenty-seven stitches wide on size 8 US needles. The center part is based off the Street Urchin pattern from the 2008 SnB calendar, and the first four and last four stitches are just like on my Pevara scarf. So far, I'm very happy with it!

A New Road or a Secret Gate

So, there's something very different in my art journal. Thursday night, I wasn't feeling well, so I surfed for something easy to do in my journal. I came across some paint-scraped backgrounds at A House on a Hill, along with a link to the tutorial for it at Something Two Crow About. I did three spreads with backgrounds, then put waxed paper between the pages and left it to dry.

While in Chattanooga the next day, we visited Art Creations on Frazier Avenue. And I bought ACRYLIC GEL MEDIUM! (Golden Gloss Gel Medium, to be exact.) So when I got home, I hopped on the internet and found some ways to use it. First I adhered some layers of crumpled tissue paper along the bottom. While it was setting up, I found some reversed laser outputs of my favorite Tolkien quote, which I had typeset in a fit of geekery one day. (I do that a lot; typeset quotes, I mean.)

I transferred it right there at the top left, using the directions posted by Paul Fujita, then realized it looked like a hillside and sky. So I added clouds, and then some details with my Pitt pens.

A little pigment ink the next day, and it was done! Only then did I realize that I had done a spread on exploring new roads the same day I had explored Chattanooga...

Supplies: Plaid Folk Art paint in Bayberry, Baby Blue, and Silver; VersaMagic Dew Drop pigment ink pads in Niagara Mist and Sage; Golden Acrylic Gel Medium; Faber Castell Pitt Artist Pen in Black, XS width. Moleskine sketchbook.

Loving my art journal

I took an art journal class with Jessica of cre8it.com and Gallery Different, and I loved it! But I still have lots left to do; I want to fill this thing up, and start a new one!

I'm particularly happy with this page; the assignment was to create a composition using envelopes. Since I'm swapping so much on Swap-Bot.com, that's what I journaled!

See more progress on: fill my art journal

Baby Fluffy Tribble

Remember what they say about never feeding tribbles? Well, I fed Myrtle, my first tribble. I ended up with Mac...


Supplies
Lion Brand Fun Fur, Red (a little less than one half skein)
Yarn Bee Wild Child, Pecan (a little less than one half skein)

K hook
Yarn needle

Polyester stuffing


Top half
Round 1: Using the magic adjustable ring, ch 1, then sc 8. Join.

Round 2: Ch 1 for the turning ch, then sc 2 in ea sc. (16 st)

Round 3: Ch 1 for turning ch, *sc 2 in next sc, sc 1 in next sc* repeat 7 more times, then join. (24 st)

Round 4: Ch 1 for turning ch, *sc 1 in 5 next sc, sc 2 in next sc* repeat 3 more times, then join. (28 st)

Round 5: Ch 1 for turning ch, sc 1 in ea sc, join. (28 st)

Round 6: repeat

Round 7: repeat

Leave a very long tail on this, at least four times the circumference of the piece; you'll use it to sew the tribble together.


Bottom Half
Round 1: Using the magic adjustable ring, ch 1, then sc 8. Join.

Round 2: Ch 1 for the turning ch, then sc 2 in ea sc. (16 st)

Round 3: Ch 1 for turning ch, *sc 2 in next sc, sc 1 in next sc* repeat 7 more times, then join. (24 st)

Round 4: Ch 1 for turning ch, *sc 1 in 5 next sc, sc 2 in next sc* repeat 3 more times, then join. (28 st)

Round 5: Ch 1 for turning ch, sc 1 in ea sc. (28 st)

Leave a short tail; weave it through a couple of stitches, then forget about it.


Assembly
Once again, this probably isn't the best way to sew a tribble, but it works.

First, decide which side you want to be on the outside. Every time I've made one, the wrong side has been fluffier. If that's the case for you, use a yarn needle to pull the tails from the adjustable ring to the less-fluffy side. From now on, the fluffy side is the right side.

Place the fluffy sides together. Thread your yarn needle with the long tails from the top half. Line up the stitches, and whipstitch the two pieces together using one or two stitches per pair of single crochet stitches. (The diameters of the two halves may be a little different, but you have the same number of stitches, so it will work out fine.) If the tails from the bottom half of the tribble are on the inside, pull them to the outside so they'll be hidden once it's turned and stuffed. Leave enough of a gap to turn your tribble right side out.

Once you've turned the tribble, stuff it. You don't want it packed firm, but you will probably need more stuffing that you think. (Unless you've made lots of stuffed toys.) Once you like your results, stitch the opening shut.

Knot the ends, then thread the needle with only one strand of the yarn. Squeeze the tribble flat, then push the needle into the seam near the knot and pull it out through the top or bottom of the tribble. Still squeezing the tribble, trim the end close to the body of the tribble; this is a little tricky, since it's so fluffy! Once you let it go, the end will disappear into the body. Repeat with the other strand of yarn.

The seam will probably be very visible, but you can fix that. The long fluffy pieces will be stuck in the seam. Use your needle or fingers to pull the fibers loose, and the stitching will disappear. Take care, though, that you don't snag the body of the yarn (the thick part you crocheted with.)


*About yarns: You can use any eyelash or fuzzy yarn you want! My first tribble used two strands of Wild Child, and the result was a blended, tonal look. (One strand was a solid, the other was two tone.) Mac used two different yarns: Lion Brand Fun Fur and Wild Child. The Fun Fur is longer, so it really took over; the brown yarn recedes, producing an undercoat. I just finished a tribble that uses two strands of Fun Fur, and it was a nightmare! The longer, unruly eyelashes tend to tangle horribly! But it's still cute as can be. :)

Recycling in Paper Arts

I have to admit that I've never approached ATCs and the like with a deliberate intention to use recycled materials. But in truth, most of the stuff I use for them is reclaimed materials. I'm a graphic designer for a printing company, so most of my cool papers are the trimmings from jobs we've printed; I've also claimed leftover parent size sheets (read: really, really big sheets) that would otherwise go in the trash. I've taken to dismantling paper swatch books, too, which would normally go in the trash once the new version comes out.

And I end up using lots of little bits of my leftover fancy papers from bookmaking, too. And all those images I can't bear to throw away...and all those supplies I never got around to using. In the end, ATCs (and inchies) have turned into an environmentally-responsible art form.