crazy dreams

my canvasswork project is coming along nicely. i went to the ufo club last thursday for an afternoon of stitching with the ladies. three hours just flew by. the ufo club will continue in march as well. i was glad to hear this as i really enjoy these afternoons of stitching and chatting. not to mention the convenience of having all those threads available when a new type of thread is called for. one of these afternoons i will leave the shop without buying something! this is the work done so far. i'll keep you posted as more work is done.

first out of the kiln

pottery class was devoted to trimming the pots i had thrown in the last two classes. once again lots to learn/relearn. the most important if it is too dry just rehydrate and then trim, this will save your trimming tools from wearing down too quickly. i borrowed a large circle and triangle tool from c. and is it fantastic! i'll get one from the sounding stone along with a few other tools and some batts for throwing larger bowls and plates. i learned i was being too timid with the trimming of my pots. i was unsure how much clay to take off. s. showed me how to check the thickness of the bottom and walls before trimming and to mark the pots with your nails ( whats left of them) so you will have a better idea how much clay needs to go. this made trimming more fun for sure. these mugs are my first creations.actually they are the first mugs ever. i shied away from making mugs when i took classes years ago, i thought they were too fiddly and i wanted to get to the big bowls and plates. i did enjoy making these mugs. and as s. says you can only have so many pencil holders! the glaze on these mugs is called mamo.

sea wool vest

i bought this fleece artist sea wool with a vest in mind. i decided to use a pattern that i don't know the name of or have an actual pattern to follow. i just know what it looks like so last night i got some extra wool and needles and set to work trying to figure out how to make a square by decreasing stitches on either side of the middle of the row. after three false starts/experiments i had it figured out. yahoo! i decided to use a higher gauge needle than the yarn called for as i want to make this yarn go a long way. i'm hoping one skein will be enough for the front and one for the back. we shall see if i am an optimst or right on the money. i'll do ten of these squares across and hopefully ten sqares up. i actually started knitting this vest while i was visiting rosemary at her studio this afternoon. we met there at 11 and went downstairs to the underground cafe for a spot of lunch, very tasty. then upstairs to chat and listen to cbc while i knit and she painted. a splendid way to pass the time.

pottery class

my pottery class this morning was very rewarding. there is a technique used to center the clay and remove air pockets from the clay called coning. i ignored this technique for many years as i never learned how to do it properly. today i learned . as with many practices the energy, strength required comes from the core not from the shoulders, back and arms. what a revelation! once i engaged my core, the stomach/solar plexus area, i was astonished how easily my hands were able to manipulate the clay to achieve the centering of and the removal of air pockets in the clay. once again i spent the better part of the class in the beloved zone.as a result i was able to make two lovely shaped bowls. i also noticed that during the process of pulling and shaping the walls my eyes became unfocused in the same way required to see 3d pictures. this unfocusing seemed to free up my mind and allow my muscle memory to come to the fore and simply do what was required to produce the desired effects on the clay spinning beneath my hands. oh my but i do love throwing pots.

a new pair of socks

i finished the "knotty pines" socks for sarah tonight. i hope she is pleased with them. as you can see i still do not have a digital camera but must rely on photobooth for digital display of my creations.
earlier today i went to the ufo club at kathryn's stitching studio to work on my canvasswork project in the company of some very experienced stitchers. i enjoy very much the time spent with these women. they are all very interesting and an inspiration to me, the stitching novice. i started doing this embroidery on canvass last winter and am now thoroughly addicted. the piece i'm working on now is called "crazy dreams". it will eventually become a cushion. the finished piece pictured is called "parallel dreams". it is still not a cushion despite the fact i have purchased the cushion form and have a piece of fabric for the back leftover from having my chairs recovered. a project for another day!

knitting afternoon

i hosted the knitting group this afternoon. we were six today with lots of interesting projects. S is knitting scarves with fun wool, i'm not sure what it is called, that looks like a fuzzy caterpillar. she has knit three alreadyin black, orage and blue. T is still working on the "simply garter" vest from "folk vests" by cheryl oberle. she is knitting it up in a gorgeous royal purple mohair. P is working on a baby blanket in baby blue cotton. the blanket is made up of squares using five different patterns. she ismore than halfway done and the blanket looks so beautiful. D is knitting a cardigan in a fine gauge chocolate brown wool. she was working on the left front today. i look forward to seeing the finished sweater. K relearned casting on and made a dish cloth from end bits of cotton she had on hand. i worked on the sarah socks. we enjoyed some delicious home baking from T and S. T brought along the recipe for her sweet potato cake. it is so moist and flavourful. quite yummy really. let me know if you would like the recipe and i'll send it along to you. i thoroughly enjoy these knitting afternoons with friends. there is always interesting and often lively conversation on a wide variety of topics. a splendid way to pass the time.

the zone

well a very successful morning at pottery today. i learned a new way to wedge clay and passed on the method that i had learned over a decade ago. i also was able to reach the zone four times and produce four reasonable vessels, two small cups and two well shaped pots. i love being in the zone as time and surroundings just slip away and it is just you and the clay spinning about. i get a similar sensation while i'm spinning yarn. years ago when i took a drawing class we were given an assignment to draw a corner of a room in our homes. i ended up in the zone for about four and a half hours that time while i rendered a reasonable facsimile of a corner in the living room. when i got home from pottery i had lunch and then sat down to knit while i watched democracy now! and managed to finish the first sock in a pair of socks for sarah. i'll post a picture when i finish the next sock.

spinning yarn

i'm about to start spinning up the hand painted roving i want to ply with the aldo, chowxcollie, blended with polworth yarn that has been patiently waiting for me to spin up its partner. i have already knit up a vest of aldo plyed with a hand painted roving in a different colour way. here is an extra skein of that yarn. please excuse the photobooth picture. i haven't purchased a digital camera yet. i am feeling a bit overwhelmed by all the projects racing around in my head. the best tack to take is to just start somewhere and carry on from there. perhaps a list is in order so i can check off the ufos and the new projects as well.

with both feet

well
i've just jumped into the water and gosh darn if it doesn't feel fine.
i am a luddite in learning so please bear with me. i'll get better for sure.