Thursday 28 May 2015

Busy garden season keeps one away from other projects. But now the garden is almost entirely planted and pot trimming commences.
 I never seem to remember to take photos at pottery. maybe because my hands are usually dirty!
 I may take a table at a farmers market later in the summer to try to sell crochet and pottery items. I thought I had better get some suitable things made. Mugs are always useful and usually salable too so I threw a few last week. Here they have been trimmed and handles attached. Once they are dry enough it is into the bisque kiln for first firing.  I also threw a few bowls, but I need more and bigger ones. Big bowls are usually a hit at sales, at least here at the guild.
Two shallow bowls, with Rorschach patterns!


Everyone sees the design as something different. To me it is like seaweed, others say trees. One person saw ghosts!

Sunday 24 May 2015

It IS possible to turn back time.
Or at least to fix a crochet piece which did not turn out the right way.
I have ripped out, right to the first stitch, before; but if most of the piece is good, then that can be very discouraging. I crocheted a shawl/scarf from a free online pattern and started with one yarn then changed to another part way through. I thought they were closer in character than they turned out to be though, and in the end I did not like the first few rows.
I posted an appeal for help to a facebook group I belong to " Make it, wear it (crochet and knitting) " and a reply led me to a Utube video  which gave me enough help that I could figure out the rest.
The white part was a thicker yarn and somewhat scratchy. It also did not have the flexibility or stretchiness of the variegated yarn so it pulled the shape in.
To remove it I first had to be sure the wanted stitches did not unravel. I threaded a cord through each stitch of the first desirable row, cut away the unwanted parts, then pulled a "good" piece of yarn through to replace the cord.
Then, still following the Utube instructions I crocheted a row of single crochet and chain. In this case I tried to mimic what should have been there.
It now looks as though the first row was crocheted into a row of chain.
I may add a row of single crochet or of some matching kind of edging to make the top end a bit more sturdy, but overall I am pleased with the results.
A new summer shawl/scarf. Truly a ta da moment!


Wednesday 13 May 2015



The first weekend in May was our spring pottery sale, no payout yet but it seemed to go well. I also have a couple of items done just too late for sale.
hand built mug




















hand built rectangle bowl

wheel thrown plates




















And a small "lantern"
 The camera just ran out of battery , again, so these were taken by dumb cell phone.


Saturday 9 May 2015

Weather
In spring is variable.
Very variable.
May 6 2015



Perhaps a ma nature opinion on our election?

But even under all that very wet snow....
there are green things growing.











And inside the yarning goes on.
I am working on two crochet tops, for others, and there may not be enough yarn for either one. Which would lead to ripping out again.  As may be obvious I am not following directions carefully!

crochet side to side


For the purple one, and yes that is not black but purple, I am following a pattern from the distant past but with different yarn and hook size, so some modifications are required.










 
left and right upper front. beginning of upper back


 The aqua one is using the shape of pattern pieces in a book and filling in with my own stitches.










To relax in between bouts with these I whipped off a few hats, probably to try and sell, or donate.
baby size "turban" style hats


Adult/teen size slightly slouchy beanie














Collars, supposedly a new thing, but rejected by some!














Pottery buttons, crochet collars











And finally a sort of wearable,












sort of being worn.