It has taken a lot of persuasion to get Maize to appear… she is extremely shy!
Maize, partner to Trout, is a Corn Singer. She plants, waters, and cares for the tribe’s corn crop. She sings to the stalks so they grow tall and strong. She sings to keep away pests. She sings so the corn provides a bountiful harvest for the tribe.
Maize takes her coloring from the dried ears of native corn. She often takes her winnowing tray with her on outings because it is very handy for carrying lots of things, including the smaller fish Trout catches.
This is Trout. He is one of the tribal hunters. He specializes in fish tickling and various aquatic foods. Fish tickling is a skill that requires immense patience, and careful movements. His coloring is designed to camouflage him so he can glide through the streams, rivers and lakes to find his prey.
This Impkin has Type 2 Arms* with the Standing Body Type 2*. His head fin is actually two Fin Ears* stitched together, back to back and then sewn to the head.
This is my current Impkin. He’s in a partially completed state because I didn’t get anything done last week. Instead, I’ve been riding the Vertigo Merry-go-round, which is a lot of no fun.
However, I am pushing through, slowly, to what is normal for my life.
So far, this Impkin has Type 2 Arms* with the Standing Body Type 2*.
I loved this yarn as soon as I saw it in Hobby Lobby. It is I Love This Yarn brand, color Amber Honey. I love to make Impkins from varigated yarns that are more mottled, making each stitch slightly different, rather than those yarns that change color abruptly. While both will work and can be very effective, this type is my favorite.
This is a Sky Singer. Sky Singers are the keepers of the day. They watch the skies for signs, to pass on to the Earth Keepers and the Plant Growers.
I often see many mythical creature impkins posted in Megan’s Crafty Intentions Facebook group. However, most of them are elven, forest, or magical beings from more northern European ideology.
I wanted to take this mythological concept in another, more tribal direction. When I saw the Painted Canyon color way from I Love This Yarn at Hobby Lobby, I knew exactly what I wanted to make.
I’m so happy to introduce you to Ellowyn Hortensia Elephanta, a Prima Ballerina. If you know her well, you may call her by her nickname, Ellie.
She has Type 2 Arms* with the Standing Body Type 2*, along with Large, Round Ears*, and a lovely curved Snoot*. She also has a small, thin improvised tail with a few hairs at the end.
Since she is constantly dancing, you will usually find her dressed in her favorite Tutu* and wearing a Wide Crown* with golden touches.
Meet Pinkie Pony! She’s a very outgoing MLP** Impkin Cosplayer. She loves to dress up and appear at various Comicons across the U.S.!
Pinkie has Type 2 Arms* with the Standing Body Type 2*, along with Pony Ears*, and a Unicorn Horn*. She also has a lovely, rainbow colored, Long Curly Mane*, of which she is very proud!
This little impkin demanded a “party dress”. I didn’t have the heart to say no, so after several attempts, I came up with this lovely blue dress.
This is Toby Faraday. He’s an old, curmogenly type who’s currently trying to figure out where he put his glasses. They’re probably sitting on his desk, in his study, but he can’t find them… because he’s not wearing them!
This impkin has Type 2 Arms* with the Standing Body Type 2*, which is my personal favorite. He also has a Panel Belly*, Cat Ears* and a Cat Tail*.
Toby is often seen with one of his collection of scarves because he’s always too cold. The Scarf* in this case was made using warm, fall colors.
This is Charles. Actually, his full name is Charlemagne Puppington III, but he doesn’t like to tell anyone that, preferring everyone to just call him “Charlie”!
Charlie is an Entomologist and an upstanding member of the Royal Canine Entomological Society. He spends all of his time outdoors hunting down new and interesting species, and often testing them for their culinary adaptability… by eating them! So far, only a few of his subjects have bitten him back, but he has suffered through a few trips to the doctor for bad reactions.
Who’s your favorite fashionista? I’m sure Brie Blanc knows all about them and has some strong opinions about their clothing choices!
Often, Impkins tell you want they want to be, and what accessories they wish to have while they are being made. That was certainly the case with this one! She wanted an outfit that was high design and was hot pink trimmed with green, and I had no idea how to make it.
While she’s a bit out of season, today I’m introducing Pumpkin Spice. She’s a fall kind of gal, venturing out to collect her latte from Starbucks, and gathering up cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla spices and flavorings which she stores in her every-present Sachel*.
This was the third Impkin that I made. She has Type 2 Arms* with the Standing Body Type 2*. Like every proper pumkin, she wears her Pumpkin Stem Cap* atop her head.
Please say “Hello” to Cherry, a Wood Nymph Impkin. Cherry is most often seen in the Spring and early Summer playing and gathering herbs and flowers in meadow openings, and beside small brooks, in between the trees.
This was actually designed by my 13-year old! She sketched out everything she wanted and then gave me the drawing. She did a great job, incuding detailed information.
I let her pick out all the yarn colors and went to work.
I’d like you to meet Elvis, an Impkin Dragon. Elvis is a musician, and loves to DJ for the other Impkins!
I started this character with Arms, Type 2* and Standing Body, Type 2*. My intention was to create a dinosaur, because that was what that skein of yarn was crying out to be. I did add the Dinosaur/Dragon Tail* before this little one woke up and his personality emerged.
Periwinkle is my second impkin. We’re not going to talk about the first one. It was a “learning experience”, LOL!
I wasn’t exactly sure how she would turn out, given that I chose the yarn for her body and her hat before I had a clear image. I just knew I wanted to use those yarns. I chose the Arms, Type 2* and Standing Body, Type 2* for her, picked up my hook and began.
Today, I wanted to introduce you to the Crochet Impkins book by Megan Lapp , owner of Crafty Intentions! .
Megan is a gifted pattern designer who specializes in unique, fantasy-based crochet designs. Her patterns are very well written, clear, and easy to follow. While she suggests that you have a good grasp of basic crochet stitches, and be at about an intermediate level, she actually has patterns that suit every skill level from beginner to advanced.
Now comes the fun part!
I am in the process of pulling out everything that I might be able to use. Of course, this will be too much stuff! But that’s OK. It’s fun to have lots of choices.
For fabrics, I want a variety of textures and colors. I’m going to stick to one group: black, white, grey, red, gold (metallic) and golden yellow. I may end up with a tiny bit of others, just to make things pop… we’ll have to see. For variety, I have velvet, metallic, denim, calico, plain, and printed fabrics.
I want to make each piece of fabric a bit stiffer. I hope this will allow me to stitch and embroider without using a hoop.
I found a piece of Pellon Craft Fuse in my stash. I’ve probably had it for years. I chose it because, unlike regular iron-on interfacing, the face of it seems smoother, like it would move under the presser foot much easier, without sticking.
I cut a rectangle for each of the pages that was the size of the finished page, without the seam allowance. Then I ironed onto the pieces.
The next step in my process is to select the order the pages are in. Half of the pages will be double-page spreads. The other half will be single. This has to do with the way I plan to assemble the book.
If I put the front and backs of each signature together, and then stitch each one down the center to the spine, the outside layer will end up next to the outside layer from the previous (or next) signature.
I’m starting an experiment. I want to try making a micro, A8 size, art journal using fabric and various fiber art techniques. I’ve never done anything like this before, so this is a totally new adventure.
What you see here are the blank, inside pages for the book. I cut them all out yesterday. These, currently, include a small seam allowance. I am thinking, eventually, I will stitch them back-to-back and turn them right side out. If I end up making them bulky, I will abandon that concept and stitch them to each other without turning, after I trim off the extra.
I went to the Phoenix Museum of Art yesterday. While browsing in the gift shop, I came across this little book. The title is "Urban Scrawl Pocket Notes" . It is sold for $5.95. The measurments are about six inches high by a little over four inches wide.
Inside of the book, there are many 2-page spreads featuring a variety of urban photographs.
Some of them are fairly simple.
Some are more complex.
I wanted to participate in Project Pack #6 from Zentangle, but I couldn’t purchase anything extra right now. However, after seeing what was in the kit, I decided to make my own small book!
The pages are made from Canson Multimedia paper. And the cover is made from Stonehenge Kraft paper. I thought it would be fun to tangle on the cover and the brown color should work nicely.