Inktober and Fright-Fall 2021

For this year's challenge I decided to combine two October drawing challenges. Inktober 2021 and Fright-Fall 2021 with the Inktober challenge prompt followed by the Fright-Fall prompt

10/01 Challenge prompts: Crystal Skull

Pigma pen, Prismacolor pencil, sumi ink on Canson Mixed Media paper

10/02 Challenge Prompts: Suit Ghost or Ghost Suit

Pigma pen

10/03 Challenge prompts: Vessel Haunted House or Haunted House Vessel

Pigma Pen, Watercolor pencils, Sakura Gelly Roll Metallic pen

10/04 Challenge prompts: Knot, Devil or Devil Knot

Pigma pen, sumi ink

10/05 Challenge prompts: Raven, Ben Copper Costumes

Pigma pen, watercolor pencils, gold metallic Gelly pen

10/06 Challenge prompts: Spirit, Full Moon or Full Moon Spirit

Pigma pen, watercolor pencils, white Gelly Roll pen

Whatcha Doin?

 

Vincent has gathered the tools that I will need to participate in the Inktober and Fright-Fall challenges. He watched as I lettered the title page with a fun cat shaped alphabet I found online.

Mr. Spock reminded me that eating or drinking beverages is forbidden at this work station. Excuse me while I bring my teacup to the galley.

Whatcha doin?

T Stands for Which Challenge

 

Last week, I was preparing my journal so I could participate in the Inktober 2021 challenge. Then my friend, Andy, mentioned on his blog another challenge that ran during the month of October, Fright-Fall 2021 sponsored by Retro-Supplies

Inktober usually has prompts generated by a random word generator. So the list may have more concepts for drawing like pressure rather than something concrete like moon.

The prompts on the Fright-Fall list are seasonal for Halloween. Cool! And fun to be celebrating my favorite holiday. Retro-Supplies was also doing a contest where you could win an iPad or Apple pencils.

But now I was torn. Which challenge to do? This would be the fourth year I would participate in Inktober, but I liked the challenge prompts from Fright-Fall, too.  What to do?

Inktober is a challenge to oneself and even thought Fright-Fall was offering prizes you didn't need to enter to win in order to participate.

Over "coffee" (the term used to describe a break from work whether or not one drinks coffee or another beverage, in my case, tea.) my studio assistant, Ben Dover, said, "Why do you have to pick one challenge?

"Because, I'm not sure I can keep up with one challenge let alone trying to do two challenges."

 "Why can't you combine them and do both?"

Light bulb! Ben Dover is so brilliant. So that's what I'm doing. Combining the prompts from both lists.

Drop by hosts, Bleubeard and Elizabeth's blog to find out what the rest of the T Stands For gang is up to. If you want to play, include in your Tuesday post a beverage or container for a beverage. Don't forget to link your blog to Bleubeard and Elizabeth's page.

Single Page Coptic Stitch Binding.

 Since Inktober was set to start on 1 Oct. I was going to use this Canson Mixed Media journal (6" x 8.5"), but the wire spiral gets in the way. If only I could bind single sheets using a Coptic stitch to bind the book. Enter YouTube and Sea Lemon and her Single Sheet Bookbinding Tutorial.

I removed the wire from the journal. The advantage would be I wouldn't have to punch holes in the paper or the cover.

I covered the cardboard cover with cover stock. I used a white PVA glue and a brayer to make sure everything stuck down tight.

Corners were mitered and the edges glued down. 

Decorative paper was cut to size and glued to the inside covers

Sea Lemon used clear packing tape along the sewing edge of her pages to make the pages studier and to hold up to the stitching. The packing tape I had was too wide so I thought I could use Reinforcements instead. 

The binding in the tutorial had 6 sewing stations (3 on each end). I thought that might not be sturdy enough so decided on 8 sewing stations (4 on each end.) I stuck the reinforcements on the front side of the page. I had hoped I would have enough to do all 18 sheets of paper, but

I ran out of reinforcements so the last couple of pages I used some Washi tape. Not the neatest way to handle things, but the book is for me and will be functional for my needs.

The Young One had some colored crochet thread (size 8 or 10. Note the smaller the number for crochet thread, the finer the thread is) I only had 4 book binder's needles so would have to change needles to sew all 8 stations.

Sewing can be done with the straight bookbinder's needle, but it is sometimes difficult to maneuver between the pages to make the chain stitch. The Young One had a curved needle, but only 1 curved needle so the process was incredibly slow.

I used about 4 yards of thread. The thread was not waxed. In Coptic stitch (that is any binding that has exposed stitching) workshop I took a couple of years ago, the instructor cautioned using waxed thread in a climate where it can get hot and humid as the wax could melt and stain the book pages.

In hindsight, I wouldn't have used such long pieces of thread. The thread kept tangling, and I spent more time undoing knots. I also ordered 8 curved needles for next time.

To decorate the front cover, I had some Halloween themed scrapbook paper. One of the pages had cutouts. They were cute, but of course I had to decorate my book with a black cat. Fortunately the Halloween paper was decorated on both sides and the reverse side was plain. No spiders, or skulls.

Stitching completed outside and 

inside.

The cover was decorated.

How Does Your Garden Grow?

 Short and sweet this week and in reverse order.

Brilliant blue skies and leaf color

After months of the rain gauge not communicating with the weather station, it's magically working. Also I forgot to notice at the Autumnal Equinox that the tree on the weather station changed to yellow-green from green.

Some bunny had an itch behind the ear

Early morning skies. My late father-in-law would have called this color Sky Blue Pink

Unusually warm and wet weather, the morning glories re-seeded themselves and are making an appearance.

Inside porch decorations though the Witch with her sign, "Yes, I can drive a stick." and the Ink o'lantern and

this sign, stay up year round.

How does your garden grow?

Saturday Morning at the Library

When I was 5 years old, I was forced to take dancing lessons while the Brother was forced to take accordion lessons. I hated dancing class. The Knights of Columbus Hall where the classes were given had no heat or it wasn't turned on. I hated wearing the pink beginner tights. I liked clacking around in the tap shoes, but Ma wouldn't let me practice inside the house on the wood floors. I spent most of my time in class being miserable and crying. Eventually, I was taken out of class.

While the Brother still had to endure accordion lessons, Dad took me to the library. He would leave me upstairs in the children's library where I could look at the books and choose to take some books home with my own library card. As I got older, I would go downstairs to the adult library and wander among the stacks enjoying the scent of the books before going to find Dad in the reference area consulting the law books and catching up on his work.

So for the next several weeks, a list of my favorite books, some I have read as a child, others as an adult and some  I have read more than once.

This week, Pet Sematary by Stephen King. What's the story about? Sometimes dead is better. If you haven't read this book, you can find it at the library or at your favorite bookstore.

The Friday Five Good Things

 Five good things that happened this week

1. Started the single page Coptic binding stitch for the Inktober journal

2. Decided to try using a curved needle for the coptic stich binding. Fortunately, the Young One had a curved needle, and it worked so much better than the straight needle.

3. Wild thunderstorms. A power surge occurred and tripped a circuit breaker, but we didn't lose electricity to the entire house

4. Finished binding my Inktober journal

5. At 4am the Young One, finally trapped the mouse that was running around in her room. Took him outside and let him go.

How was your week?