Armatures Incoming

So here are a few of those armatures I was talking about starting, Here

It may be 12:40 AM by by golly I made them. I'm a little sleepy now. Sleepy enough to be saying things like “by golly.” I have one more I'd like to make, but it's a humanoid figure, so naturally I'm saving the hardest for last, haha.

So the four legged little guy is my base for my Rowsdower from WildStar. Hopefully when I am done it will look more like the big guy there.

The other two are for my snake habitat I am currently building. They are going to be snake hides to keep the little guy or girl happy.

Me being me, I can't just have rocks and branches and a forest, no no. It must be themed. Everything must be themed! So sayeth I! If I could be a millionaire, and have every room like Disney leveled themed, I would. You bet your sweet ass there'd be a tiki room. Birds would sing words, flowers would croon, the whole nine. Man I really gotta stop writing these during bouts of sleep exhaustion, I digress.

The terrarium shall have a tiki/jungle/witch doctor sort of a theme. Why? One, that's awesome! Two,
I'm going to be naming said future snake “Hex.” Why “Hex” I will pretend you asked? The snake is to be named for both the folklore and stereotypes around snakes AND a terrible awful geometry joke between my husband and I. Also, it's a bad-ass name for a snake.

Anyway, the tube things will be tiki heads, and the low flat thing will be this!


It's a Stumpkin, also from WildStar. It will be a slightly modified version anyway. It serves the purpose of giving my snake a hide, being a tree (which is one of my favorite things to make) and it also still kinda fits the witch doctor theme. Green glowing eyes, I mean come on!


So, that's my pile of armatures so far! Next up, actually sculpting them.



By Goblin Gal


#Sculpting #polymerclay #WildStar #Rowsdower #Stumpkin #snake #snakehide #terrarium #armature #tikiroom #sleepdeprivation

Sauron Hair Sticks and a Status Update

Ever have one of those Fridays where you know you should have gotten enough sleep, and you have plenty to keep you busy, but your eyes just won't stay open?  That's me today, so please pardon the sleep deprived ramble.

I am seriously debating running over to the gas station next door to pick up some caffeine, which is unusual for me. I'm in the that slim minority of Americans who aren't hitting the coffee every morning. (I love coffee, it doesn't love me, so I have to be careful.)

Speaking of drugs, the addiction that is WildStar has been distracting me from being quite as productive as I had hoped for the past week or so, MMO's just get me every time.  But hey, I finally got to level 15 and got my mount (essentially a giant hamster ball) and a house!  Actually inspired by WildStar, I'm working on some armatures to make some figurines from the game, I'm hoping to have them finished by the end of the weekend.

I'm also building my patio garden with my husband. (I spent a good chunk of my time off yesterday staining & sealing the planter boxes he built. Yippee I didn't get enough time painting large flat surfaces with the same color with doing house reno! I kid, (mostly) it wasn't that bad. 

I did actually finish a "sculpture" piece lately, for Fangirl Nation. My first "Goblin Gal's Crafty Corner" column published yesterday.  

http://fangirlnation.com/2014/06/19/goblin-gals-crafty-corner-eye-of-sauron-hairsticks/

It's a how-to article on how to make Eye of Sauron LoTR hair sticks (seen below). I'm pretty excited. I mean, I'm writing for a website all about fangirls and geekiness and I've got my own craft column! I've now got four reviews and this new how-to article published with them. It's been a bit tricky to add in another job to my schedule, but I love writing, and it is so worth it.

Here's a shot of them finished.

So please, go to the article, check them out, try them out and keep reading for my next adventure.

Lots of love, and much caffeine,

~By Goblin Gal

#FangirlNation #Fangirl #LoTR #Grumpycat #Sleepy #Friday #Sauron #EyeofSauron #lordoftherings #hairsticks #Tolkien #WildStar #MMO #Caffiene  #lotrhairsticks #sauronhairsticks

Being a WildStar Wife

You may have heard a little bit about a game called WildStar. It’s a new MMO by Carbine Studios that just hit the market. It’s a great “Space western” game that mixes sci-fi and fantasy with some definite geeky influences.  The art style is beautiful and unique, the content is amazing, the combat system is sweet and super dynamic.  There’s also ‘choose your own adventure’ style 5-man content never before seen called ‘Adventures.’  The media is exploding. I have friends who have only gotten up from their computers for ‘bio’ for the past 72 hours, and frankly, it’s just weird (in a good way).

Why? Well because my husband works for Carbine. For three years I have been in and out of Carbine, going to holidays parties, hanging out with the employees, and listening to my husband whine or brag about his day just like any other job. (And I may have been privy to a few things long the way, which were amazing).  Yes, he has an amazing job. For the better part of the years he’s been at the company, though, it had all been under wraps and under NDA, and well, it seemed so much more like a typical job. My husband would go to work, come home, and rant at me about a bug that drove him insane that day (in tech jargon I didn’t understand). You know, typical.

Before my husband broke into the industry we were already both gamers. We played WoW, heck we even beta-tested WoW and StarCraft. We read PennyArcade, watched review shows and G4. I have tensely waited on bated breath for the next game in a series I loved to release, and I have obsessively played until the wee hours. I’ve spent way too much time on wikis researching loot and gear and the best herb collecting route.  Now I’m watching it from the other side.

The explosion of media and fan reactions is just awesome, fascinating and a little weird. It is just so blasted cool to see the content my husband makes show up on Penny Arcade. (http://www.penny-arcade.com/news/post/2014/06/06/adventures1?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+pa-mainsite+(Penny+Arcade) )

Plus there's getting to watch all the reviews come in, and watching game play wikis and strategy guides form.  All that stuff I used playing my own MMOs. Example: At comic con last year WildStar hosted a party for the fans. My husband signed autographs. Wut. (One of my weirdest experiences to date.) Then on top of the fun of watching the game launch,  I get the added awesome of having my husband do things like thank me in the game credits, oh and, model and name a recurring NPC after me (Sylphia Barkberry, who is at almost every adventure hub.)  So basically I am in the game, in cartoon form thanks to my hubby (so awesome.) 

So yeah, my mind is a little blown, and I don’t even work there! It is a super cool experience, watching a new game launch for the first time, and watching all of their hard work pay off.  I can’t even imagine what it is like for him and all my friends at Carbine, who actually WORK there every day. So to all my friends over at Carbine, congratulations! I can’t wait to play!

~ By GoblinGal

#WildStar #Chua #CarbineStudios #PennyArcade #MMO #gamer #WoW

Writing at Fangirl Nation

Hey everyone!

I just wanted to give everyone a heads up about a new project I’m going to be working on!  I have been asked to write over at FangirlNation! (www.fangirlnation.com) This is an exciting new website made by fangirls for fangirls, covering geek news, events, interviews, reviews, original content and much much more! It will be a great one stop shop for your fan girl fix!

I’m going to be writing a couple different places. I’ll be over in reviews giving you a heads up on what I thought of the latest geek media (movies, books, games etc) as well as heading up a DIY crafting column.  The tentative title is “Goblin Gal’s Crafting Corner.” The first project will hit the page on June 19^th, so please look out for it!

You can go over and check out my bio in the “contributors” section on the top left of the page. You will find me under “Bethany Davis- Geek Craft Goddess.”  It’s not hard to find my picture…I’m holding a goblin…

p.s I did not give myself the title of crafting Goddess, my editor did that, but I’m gonna take it and run ;)

So if you a geeky gal (or guy, no discrimination here.) Please head over and check out Fangirl Nation! I am really excited to be a part of this project (and maybe slightly nervous..I have like.. an editor...and deadlines and stuff.... weird.)

(www.fangirlnation.com) and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/FangirlNationMag

Thanks! By GoblinGal

#FangirlNation #Fangirl #geekgirl #nerdgirl #geeknews #writing #geekmedia #geeklove

Learning Card Weaving- Adjusting from Inkle to Card

This year I decided to make the jump from inkle weaving to card weaving. I’ve been inkle weaving for some time now, and while I greatly enjoy it, I have been feeling that familiar itch to learn something new (Crafter's A.D.D is rampant in my house). Card weaving introduces a whole new warping technique, as well as an amended weaving technique, but provides a huge variance in patterns. The vast amount of patterns possible with card weaving was, in fact, a huge draw for me. Because the shed is manipulated by rotating cards with up to four strings each, you can make more shapes, (actual curves, YAY) and use color more easily. (Tardis trim? Pac Man trim? Soo many options!!)


Obviously, there are a lot of similarities between the two, but there are also plenty of differences, and some of them are more subtle than you might think. The intention of this post is to make a  list of some of the differences I have noticed between the two forms so far, and what to look out for if you are also making this transition.


1) There are many, many ways to learn and understand the concepts. Dig around until you find the right one for you.
Card weaving introduces more strings, and rotational patterns. Now, I'm dyslexic, and for me, rotational direction and right-left relations just happen to be my personal brand of suck, so naturally at first this was really...really hard. The good news is, there are many ways to go about understanding the mechanics. I must admit, I have had been a little spoiled being in the SCA. Weaving is a popular skill, and as such I have had access to multiple teachers. That being said, each had their own style of teaching and weaving. 


For example, one of the teachers doesn't really bother with  the motion of the threads at all, and depends strictly on the pattern.  The patterns always alternates between rolling the cards forwards or backwards. She uses an indicator with one clearly marked end to remind herself if she is turning her cards towards her, or away from her for a particular row.  This is a good technique for starting out for me, I need to start weaving and get the basics down before I start trying to understand the machinations. I always start by just copying an established pattern and established instructions. But then inevitably, I screw up, or I get distracted, or the cat knocks my pointer off the couch for kicks (cause he's a cat). That leads me to woefully stare at my loom trying to remember which way to turn next, which leads the next technique and to our next teacher.


Teacher two prefers to be able to tell which way to rotate the cards nest by looking at the movement of the strings in the shed. In this manner she doesn't need a pointer, and she can pick up and drop off at any time. Great! This can be done by looking at the strings in the warp, and then rotating the cards in a test direction to see if the correct string of the card drops down below the weft.  Hmm. There are four strings on this card, and 36 cards. Which string is supposed to go down? I can't freaking tell. Now I am in a conundrum. I prefer the second teacher's method where I don't need the pointer, but I don't have enough experience to understand what she's seeing when the thread “drops.”


The matter was finally resolved when I found a third way. This technique involves looking at just the cards. Say you have a simple two color pattern. White, and green. You put all your background threads in one pack (white), and all your pattern threads in another (green). Great, now which pack rotates which way? The answer is this, the color thread that will ultimately show in the next row is the thread on the card that rotates up and over the other color. So, say your pattern cards  have all the green thread in the upper back hole.  You need these green to show. Roll the cards towards you so the green comes up and over the white. The white is in the upper front? Roll them away from you to make them go up and the green.   This simplifies matter because you are only dealing with the top of the card.  With my dyslexia, this eliminated my issues with rotation.  It made it about "up and down." (which I have no problem with) instead of clockwise and counter clockwise.

Now, this may not work for you, you may prefer one of the previous methods, but that is exactly what I mean. There are so many ways to go about understanding your patterns and threads. Watch videos on YouTube or other crafting sites. Look at different types of techniques, and then set up a beginners sample you can play on that you aren't afraid to mess up. Play and see what works for you.


Don't forget that unless you are starting with a pattern that is neutral twist, you will have to deal with reversing the pattern every now and then, or pushing the twisted threads back along your loom. This is another new addition when you switch over to card.

2) Your loom and card quality matter
In my eagerness to get started, I dashed in and tried to warp up my new loom right away. I didn't have enough store bought cards. I thought “Hey, I have this shiny, very thin cardboard box downstairs, surely it can make cards.” Turns out, what looked like very thin to me, was very NOT on the loom, and the pack was monstrously large. (Which causes the string to catch on the top edge and not rotate properly. ) I really, highly suggest good old fashioned playing cards. They are still a cheap solution, and they work like a charm. If you are going to try a new material, I suggest putting them in a pile, running some string through them and seeing how they interact before you warp up. (Seems obvious, perhaps, but I always like to challenge myself by skipping the 'obvious' thoughts.


The loom is where it gets a little tricky, and potentially more expensive. I am weaving on a beautiful loom my friend made me, but it is my inkle loom. This comes with a few challenges. My front arm isn't quite long enough for card weaving, and as a result, my shed is a little short to deal with cards and the shuttle. My cards fit in, but I do have to change the shed much more often then I'd like. Secondly, as I will go into more detail below, card weaving requires significantly more tension than inkle weaving, so you have to make sure your loom pegs are up to the pressure. My loom, sadly, is going back to purely inkle only after this little adventure, because one of the bottom pegs is leaning in because of the tension.


All in all inkle looms can work with some fudging, but if card weaving is something you are going to be doing a lot of in the future, it may be prudent to invest in a loom designed for cards. (Or a t least a loom with strongly reinforced pegs. If you or someone you know is handy with woodworking, that is a great option that will save you a lot of money. I myself will be building one this summer.

3) Your tension and selvage edges are even more important then before
Don't get me wrong, tension is always important, but card weaving really requires a good sturdy tension peg and some strong arm muscle. Four times the string means potential for a lot more slack here and there throughout your strings, (even if you thought you warped it perfect and tight), which ultimately means you will need to pull tighter to get everything nice and even. Secondly, loose tension means the cards aren't held tightly in place, and they will have the wiggle room to jump one another or tangle. This is quite unpleasant. Until you tighten it, you will spend every row coaxing cards back into place before you set the pattern and throw the shuttle. Finally, because of all the strings in play, and all the strings that have to hide underneath the top row each pass, loose tension can result in your pattern not coming out as cleanly. Strings that should be hidden pop up and interrupt the pattern much easier than with inkle. The same goes for your selvages. Make sure to pull them nice and snug and firm. Letting it loosen up can cause disruption in your pattern. Trust me, I learned that one from experience.



4) Mistakes are much harder to undo.
My final piece of advice is to walk away and take breaks when needed. If you are frustrated, tired or things aren't going well, walk away. Mistakes in card weaving are much more annoying to back out. That's because unlike with inkle, where it is a simple matter of reversing the shed and pulling the weft back through, with cards you have to undo the rotation as well. If you fail to get the card position back to the previous setting, you will leave a twist in the threads which will then interrupt the pattern. Don't panic! It's not impossible, but if you are already frustrated, it may be best to just take a break.


In the end, I really enjoy card weaving. It did seem daunting at first, but keeping these things in mind, I am definitely getting the hang of it. I hope that my learning experiences throughout this process help other beginning weavers make the transition from inkle to card weaving smoother. Above all have fun!


Thanks for reading. No really, if you got all the way through that, thanks for reading! Have fun and weave on!


~ By GoblinGal







#CardWeaving #TabletWeaving #InkleWeaving #HistoricalWeaving #Weaving #SCA #WovenTrim #Loom #CardLoom #InkleVsCard #LearningWeaving #CardtoInkle