A Well-Traveled Cow

Who doesn't want to see the world?

...okay, so I'm not much of a traveler. Vacations are paradoxically stressful! But I love to read and hear about other parts of the world, and I'm happy to say that I'm hosting quite the adventurous guest for a few weeks. Say hello to EDNA!

Yes, that's a cow made out of a sock. Her name is EDNA. This probably requires some explanation.

I've been a fan of the webcomic Stand Still Stay Silent for about four years now, and I've been a part of its fan forum for almost as long. At one point, one of the forum members, ginger, acquired a kit to sew an adorable cow from a sock. A few others suggested that this little cutie could travel to all the far-flung regions of the world our fellow forumites call home, and EDNA was born! She's been to so many countries now! East-coast US is probably not the most exciting of those locales, but it's a good thing she's making a stop with me, because her next destination is a wedding! And she needs something nice to wear, doesn't she?

I'm not accustomed to freehanding a pattern, but there weren't exactly published patterns on Ravelry sized to fit sock cows. So I just started to crochet a tube out of thread, varying the stitches as I saw fit to give the emerging dress a little texture.

I was going for a bit of a 20's flapper-dress style (because who isn't excited for it to be the 20's again? I know I want some of that fashion to be back in style!). So just a little flare at the bottom, with some strategically placed spiraling holes for a little added interest. All that was left to do was to add some straps, and EDNA had a custom-made dress!

She looks awfully good in it, too!

But that's not all. EDNA also has a variety of coins from all the countries she's visited, along with a cute purple bag to hold them. The thing is, she's been so many places that the bag is now too small! I decided to make her a new, bigger container for all her keepsakes:

What's the best storage for a gal on the go? A backpack!

Now EDNA's all decked out and ready for her next adventure! But first, let's do a photoshoot with her in all her new stuff. The trees are just starting to change color and....

...And it's rainy and miserable. Right. Well, an indoor photoshoot is just as good!

Bovine fashion is going to be all the rage next season, you guys. I'm calling it. But this cow here is an adventurer first and foremost, and she's ready to go forth into the world yet again. So long EDNA! I hope to see you again someday!

OC (Outrageous Colors)

Hello hello! I've been having fun with colors, lately. Specifically, color palette challenges. If you've never heard of the color palette challenge, it's when you're given a small set of colors (usually 4-5) to use to make a drawing. You're not allowed to use any colors but the ones you're given in the palette, though blending is usually allowed!

If you're an aspiring digital artist, I really recommend trying these challenges out. I've been using this palette from Death in Heavens on Tumblr, but there are a thousand options out there, and you can make your own too! I thought it might be fun to use my OC (Azure) from an RP game I've been playing as the subject for a series of palette challenges. She's not usually a mermaid or a fairy, but hey, the colors spoke to me! Here are the results: warning for some totally non-sexual exposed breasts if you're bothered by that sort of thing.

Tutorial: Pine Guard Patch

So... remember when I said there would definitely not be any more patches for a while?

I lied.

After all, what's a TAZ Amnesty cosplay without the all-important Pine Guard patch! It lets everyone know that Aubrey, Duck, and Ned mean business! (And, you know, keeps them from going crazy while they're in Sylvain). I can't complete an Aubrey cosplay without one. And if any of you want to be part of this abomination-fighting society, you can make one too.

Supplies:

• Black felt
• Small embroidery hoop (not technically necessary, but it'll make your life so much easier, trust me)
• Embroidery needle
• Embroidery thread in green, yellow, yellow-orange, orange, red, and dark red
• Small piece of chalk
• Scissors

Instructions:

First, put the felt in the embroidery hoop. Make sure that the entire inside of the hoop is covered in felt: this will keep the fabric taut and let you maintain an even tension with the thread. You can still do this without an embroidery hoop, but it'll be a lot harder to do.

Next, take your chalk and draw a sketch of the patch. For the Pine Guard, this is a pine tree in front of a retro-style gradient. I went with a very geometric, simplified design, but if you have the skills and/or the patience, go ahead and make it more detailed. At this stage, you'll want to make sure that your circles are circular and your lines are straight, or else they'll be crooked in the final product.

All pretty obvious so far, right? Well, if you've never embroidered before, this next one is a step you might've skipped over. Next, you'll want to go over all of your chalk lines with a simple back stitch, in colors that match (or are similar to) the ones you'll use for the fills. It doesn't have to be super pretty, as long as it makes a neat outline. These are the lines you're really going to use to guide your embroidery. 

Then start filling! It's best to use 2-3 strands of the embroidery floss, instead of the whole six-stranded piece: the fill will come out more even. Use the satin stitch to fill in the areas bordered by your backstitched lines, taking care to ensure that each stitch is parallel and runs the full length of the area. I started with the tree first, since it made the most sense to me to work from the inside out.

You don't need to knot each thread as you add it: just leave an inch or two of tail and hold it in place until you've made a few stitches. When you're done with the thread, weave each end into the back of the piece and snip off the excess. And try to orient the direction of the stitches so that no individual stitch is longer than about half an inch. They tend not to lie flat to the fabric if they're too long, ruining all your nice detail work. For this patch, this meant that the tree threads ran horizontally, while the background threads ran vertically. 

When you're finished, you should have a pretty little pine-tree patch!

Remove the embroidery hoop and cut the felt so that there's a small border around the embroidery. This is why we used felt: you can cut as close as you like, and it won't fray. Be careful not to snip the embroidery thread though! Weave in any remaining threads, and your patch is ready to wear! Here's the back of the finished product:

And the (much nicer) front!

And with that, you've now been inducted into the Pine Guard. Who knew it was that easy? Now we just have to find some abominations to fight!

Pattern Review: Falling Water

I like making puns, and this pattern beat me to the punch! I had a skein of lovely bright turquoise fingering weight yarn from Mad Tosh that I needed a project for. The sensible thing to do would be to make myself a pair of socks, but socks are no fun. (Apologies to those who enjoy making socks). Plus then 70% of the pretty yarn would be hidden inside my shoes! No, I needed a project that let it all show, loud and proud! And I found that in the Falling Water scarf by Bonnie Sennot.

I'm a sucker for some lace, as I've probably demonstrated often enough, but I'm still not super well-versed in the ways of knitting. This pattern was a good compromise. It has a relatively simple lace pattern that is easy to understand and memorize, but the result is quite stunning. Take a look!

Isn't it pretty? The subtle variations in the yarn really emphasize the impression of waterfalls and flowing rivers. The scarf is just long enough for me to double up to wear, though of course with a repeated pattern like this, you can make it practically any length you like!

Cons are few and far between on this one. If you're looking for lace because you like to be challenged, this will be a little boring. The repeats are short, and so you need a lot of them to make a wearable scarf. And like any lace, it needed a good thorough blocking before the pattern could really shine, so don't work this pattern in a yarn that's hard to block. Other than that, it's a great little scarf pattern, especially for people looking for a first peek at lace!