DRAGONMOUNT

I hope everyone at Dragonmount celebrated the holidays and welcomed in the New Year with hopes and dreams. Nevermind resolutions!   Many of us have holidays that are rooted in religious traditions. I found something I thought quite interesting about Robert Jordan. This comes from an overview written by our own Jason Denzel about his time spent with Mr. Jordan during the San Diego ComiCon in 2004.         Members have been busy at Dragonmount's Social Groups engaging in a multitude of activities. The White Tower and Warders have been occupied with the White Ajah's Wheel of Time Winter's Carnival! The Warders are discussing New Year's resolutions and playing games. Plus there was a raising! The Kin are critiquing movies and discussing our weekends. The Ogier are busy adding to their "Memory Tree." The Wolfkin are having "Healer's" discussions and games. The Band of the Red Hand has discussed "Christmas Markets" throughout the world and have put up their "Matrims Nominations for 2017." The Black Tower has hosted a discussion on 2016 and "Goals." The Aiel had both light-hearted and serious activities: "The Book Game, Weird Cultural Oddities, and Prison Systems." Wishing a prosperous and busy New Year for Dragonmount and all of its members. 

Nynaeve and Lan can forever guard each other's backs - and yours - with the newest tee shirt design now available for preorder from Ta'veren Tees, www.TheWheelofTimeStore.com.   "The Gateway," illustrated by Ariel Burgess, shows Lan and Nynaeve Traveling via gateway, standing ready to fight and protect each other. The front features Lan coolly guarding Nynaeve's back, while the back of the shirt features Nynaeve ready to unleash her fury on any darkfriend foolish enough to attack.   "The Gateway" is available in an unisex tee and a ladies' style tee. Both are soft, comfortable 100% cotton shirts. Sizing information is available on the product pages.       Preorders receive a discount and will ship on February 10, as soon as the shirt is in stock. All items ordered alongside the new shirt will be held and shipped at the same time.   Unisex: TaverenTees.com/gateway Ladies: TaverenTees.com/gatewayladies

Americans are looking forward to their Thanksgiving holiday, others are experiencing inclement weather, and some are even going into summer! Dragonmount has members from all over the world.   More Robert Jordan trivia.     Apparently he was quite the outdoorsman and enjoyed fishing. Dragonmount has always been important to me not only for the members and activities, but as a place to remember and honor Robert Jordan and his books. The White Tower is busy with Thanksgiving events and celebrating members' birthdays. The Black Tower has welcomed back some old members who have returned, have several active games, and are tempting members with brownies. The Band of the Red Hand celebrated Halloween in a big way and have also had old members return and new ones join! Shayol Ghul is writing their own "Adventure" story and updating the Wiki. They have also welcomed back a returned member. The Wolfkin are engaging in a "Healer's Discussion" and the Aiel hosted Veteran's Day Activities. The Structured General Wheel of Time discussion is still going strong. We are all awaiting word on the TV series. Nothing yet. Can't wait!!! For the time being, we can experience the Wheel of Time world right here. See you next month!

Upcoming from Tor, a new Wheel of Time eBook bundle!   This new set, available December 13, 2016, will include the first four books of the series.  It's the perfect introduction for someone who hasn't started the series, or a great addition for someone who is looking to expand their Wheel of Time collection.   You can preorder it on Amazon, and it will also be available in the Dragonmount eBook store.  The bundle will include high quality versions of the original cover art.  Though there are not plans at this time to make the rest of the series purchasable through a bundle, it is likely to happen.   Are the first four novels not enough?  A complete series bundle is already available, here.  It only includes books 1-14, and does not include New Spring.

From our friends at Ta'veren Tees!      

Fall is finally here! Some of you are experiencing a gentle cooling while others are experiencing inclement weather. Halloween is almost upon us and whether you have children or enjoy cosplay, this can be an extra special time of the year.   While continuing my “search” for Robert Jordan, I found this bit of trivia:   “He had a secretary whose main job was to keep the facts straight in the elaborate world he created that spanned 11 books and almost 7,420 pages. Some critics questioned his wordiness, yet he could sum up the series' driving force in three words: 'Life changes. Deal.'" (From the obituary of James Oliver Rigney Jr., Los Angeles Times)     Many of us would have cherished that job. I know I would have.     We have been introduced to new readers of the series and it is touching to hear their thoughts and wonder about a world we have all inhabited for quite some time. Vicariously, we can pick up the series anew and remember our own journeys through The Wheel of Time.   The Kin is flourishing in its new location, The White Tower and Warders. The Kin is a relaxing place where we build friendships and engage in fun activities.   The Band of the Red Hand is offering multiple threads for Halloween!   Debates and Discussions are heating up as we near the American election. The plus side is that members can post their own views and read those of others, some who reside outside of the United States.   The Black Tower is getting into an election mode, with sign-ups for a Trump vs Clinton 2016 Mafia game.   M’Lady Lefluer is at it again posting a beautiful collage that features Nynaeve.   Shayol Ghul is seeking a new Cuen’Shaidar. Do you have what it takes?     See you all next month!

Welcome back to a special Halloween edition of "Fandom Flair." So many of my craft ideas can be applied to Halloween costumes, so it was difficult to pick one to highlight for the month. Since I've done a lot of sewing tutorials, I wanted to do a sew-free craft this time. Here are a couple of different ways you can incorporate Harry Potter, or Hogwarts Houses, into a simple Halloween costume!   Witch or Wizard Wand   For this project you need: Paint brushes (for the wand) Paint brushes (for painting) Oven baked modeling clay (I used the Sculpey III brand) An oven Paints in various shades   First select you wand. I did this project with my sister, Mavin. We had an assortment of brush sizes and we each picked different ones.     I chose a thicker one; Mavin picked a daintier one.     Starting with the bristles, cover the brush in a layer of clay. The bristles will be the wand's handle, so you may want to make that area thicker.   This is completely customizable! You can design your wand to fit your personality however you see fit.   For mine, I made the handle smooth and rounded. But for the top portion, I wanted it to mimic rough wood. Mavin, on the other hand, kept the brush free of clay on the top--giving her an incredibly smooth finish--and only used clay to sculpt the handle and a decorative swirl.     Any color of clay will work since you will be painting over it. We used white, but brown may have been the best choice since we painted them brown in the end.     Once finished, bake in the oven as the directions state. You want to make sure they're fulled baked before you paint them. Allow them to cool as well.   Again, with painting, you can customize! We had an assortment of browns, with white and black to lighten or dull the colors. I painted my handle a darker brown than I did for the rest of the wand.       I painted all I could while holding it, then allowed it to dry by placing the end in a Styrofoam holder.     Once that dried, I painted the rest. I added in darker veins along the length of the wand to give it a wood look.     Mavin's did the same, but also used the darker color on the decorative swirl!       They turned out amazing, and were very simple to make!   DIY Hogwarts Uniform   Another super easy way to do a costume is by buying iron on patches. You can find several patches at in-store locations, like Spirit, or even Hot Topic. I was able to get a Ravenclaw patch on Amazon in the book colors of bronze and blue.    From there, iron on the patch onto a cardigan, or a shirt, and you're all done! I bought a cardigan for $5 at Goodwill and it turned out great!     Pair it with a button-up shirt, a tie, and a skirt or slacks. Easy Hogwarts uniform!     This costume is so simple, and very kid friendly. I can wear it to the elementary school where I work with no problems!   Next time we'll stick with the no-sew theme and see a different way to design Wheel of Time inspired shoes!  Thanks for reading!

Exciting news!  The first official Wheel of Time coloring book, Patterns of the Wheel, is set to be released on October 25, 2016.  The volume is illustrated by Amy Romanczuk—the wife of Team Jordan’s Alan Romanczuk.  Here are the details from Tor Books!     Mrs. Romanczuk had a first edition of this book at JordanCon 8 earlier this year, however Tor Book’s official version has an additional twenty images, a black and white map of Randland, and quotes from the series that correspond with each picture!    The book is now available for preorder.  You can find it on Amazon, here, or from Barnes & Noble, here.   Dragonmount is very pleased to be able to give away one free copy of Patterns of the Wheel to a reader!  If you would like to be entered into a drawing to receive the copy, comment below.  One winner will be selected on October 25, 2016!  You have from now until then to comment for a chance to win!  Unfortunately, only residents of the United States and Canada are eligible for this giveaway.   You can find more of Mrs. Romanczuk’s work on her website.

Welcome back to another edition of "Fandom Flair."  As promised, but a little late, here is a tutorial on how to make an incredibly easy Pokeball.     Materials needed: Red fleece White fleece Black fleece or felt Sewing machine Thread and needle Stuffing Hot glue gun     This is a simple project because fleece is a great fabric to work with.  It's also possible to sew this completely by hand.  It would be more time consuming, but the fleece is thick, which makes it easy to stitch.  The whole project took about 30 minutes total.  In an afternoon, you could craft a whole poke-arsenal.   The Pokeball--as a ball--can be intimidating to tackle.  But it's actually quite effortless by using four triangles to construct a dome.  I started by cutting out four rounded triangles in each color (red and white).  I made them about 3 inches wide and 3 inches high.     Next, focusing on the white ball first, I sewed the triangles together, right side to right side, along one edge.  The color of the thread doesn't matter since all these seams will be concealed within the Pokeball.     Sew all four together in this fashion.     Then, sew the two edges to each other.     Repeat for the red half.     After that, put the white part inside the red--right side to right side--and stitch along the edge.  Leave an inch or two open.     Flip the ball inside out and stuff with stuffing.     Now, hand-stitch the rest of the opening close.  Again, thread color doesn't matter.  It will all be covered in the end.     With the black fleece or felt, cut a long rectangle, about an inch wide, and long enough to fit around the circumference of the ball.      Use a hot glue gun (or other fabric glue) to fasten down one end of the rectangle along the middle of the ball.     Carefully glue the rest of the rectangle down and trim the edge to fit snugly.     Next, cut out a black circle and glue it down over the seam.     Finally, cut out a smaller white circle and glue it atop the black circle.      And that's it!  You have a great, palm-sized Pokeball to do as you please!  I used mine to capture a couple of Pokemon around my house.       Next time, we'll take a look at a great Halloween costume idea.  Thanks for reading!

Greetings all!  Hallia here once again for another rendition of Fan Art Friday!  This month is on a topic dear to me as a desert dweller.  We will be taking a peek at a few very talented concepts of the Aiel!     Our first begins with one of the most popular members of the Aiel - Aviendha!  I absolutely adore the shading used by this talented artist.   Heartlines ~ unefleur   The artist in this next piece puts so much action into his art!  They were able to perfectly capture a moment in time and translate it into this work!   Mat vs Couladin ~ hamdiggy   What I like most about this next drawing is the way they were able to capture the differences and similarities between two of the paths Aiel women can take in life: the Wise One and the Maiden of the Spear.  Their clothing styles may be dissimilar, but the confidence they exude certainly isn't.   Aiel Women ~ nazg   When one thinks about the Aiel, it isn't just who they are, but where they live that comes to mind.  This take on the Waste is unique; I especially love the coloring of the sky!   Sunset in the Aiel Waste ~ strangledbyart     The final piece for the week is a rendition of the ever deadly Maiden of the Spear.  The coloring in the eyes is stark and lovely contrast to the darkness of the rest of the work.   Maiden of the Spear ~ Etherick     That's all for this week; I hope you all enjoyed! See you next time!