Nana's table runner

Nana's birthday is today.  Happy Birthday!  X B and I both made her something for her birthday using our new-found crafting skills.  LOL!!!   I made her a table runner using blues, lime greens and yellows.  She uses navy blues and yellows in her kitchen so I thought she might like this. 

XB tried out his new pen and pencil skills.  Love the result and hope she will too!



New glazing method

I tried a new glazing technique that Pam taught me, overlapping two glazes when painting a design on the plate.  I made these 4 tapas size plates, decorating them with whimsical floral designs.  They didn't fire flat, but I love the glaze combinations.

This was a fun little technique and I plan to use it more often.  Think I'll gift these plates.

The patch

So, here's a photo of one of the patches on Natalie's quilt.  Doesn't it look sad and awkward?  If anyone has a suggestion about how I could have fixed this better, I'm all ears.   But one thing is for sure, I won't scrimp on those seam allowances next time!

Quilt Fraying

I decided to wash Natalie's quilt before giving it to her.   Part of the reason was that I love the "puckering" effect that you get after washing the quilt.  I thought Natalie would like this "vintage" look.  The second reason was that I was a little nervous about the width of some seams on the edges of the quilt.  I really scrimped when squaring up the quilt, not wanting to cut off too much of the edges...what a mistake.  In a couple of areas, I knew this would mean I would have about 1/8" instead of 1/4" seams when I added the binding.  Even after completing the quilt, it kept nagging at me.  I was afraid the quilt would fall apart the first time Natalie washed it.
So, here's what the quilt looked like after I washed it:



Uggh.  Just what I was afraid of.  But, what to do.  I opened the binding on one of the frayed areas and tried to iron on some Stitch witchery-like stuff (it wasn't Stitch Witchery, but I can't remember the name of the stuff...it something you use when appliquing) to the area.  I thought I could kind of "seal" the fabric and I could then somehow reattach the binding over the edge.  That was my second mistake.  The iron melted the applique stuff, the edge curled, and the whole area was stiff.  It was worse than when I began.  Desparate, I thought I could take off the whole piece of the affected block.  But, the more I analyzed it, I realized that this was impossible.  I would have to remove all the quilting in the area...what would I do about the now unquilted area on the back of the quilt?  The stitching holes would show and look terrible!  So, I decided to add an applique over each of the frayed areas.  Honestly, I couldn't think of another solution and I have never appliqued before, never ever.  I had a piece of fabric that I had wanted to use for the quilt but when I decided on solids, I had set it aside.  It was the Erin McMorris Grey Bicycles from the Weekend Collection.  I loved those little bikes with pink flowers in the basket and I had grey in the quilt. 



So, how did I do?  Not too well.  Shouldn't applique be a cinch?  It wasn't and the whole thing just looked like a stupid patch after I was through.  But, I had committed to this fix and had to follow through on the other frayed area.  I haven't uploaded a photo, but will show it next time. 
Oh well......isn't it the thought that counts?  I hope Natalie still loves the sentiment behind making her quilt. 

Natalie's quilt completed

 I decided to add a print to the back of Natalie's quilt and found a floral print that was in both the gray and blue colors from the quilt.  I added a few pieces of the solids from the front and then in one corner of the quilt, I put a smaller piece of the solid red as a pop of color.  Then I bound the whole quilt in the red.  I am happy with the result. 

I hate warping!

Ok. I guess everyone has something about working with clay that frustrates them.  For me, it is warping.  My understanding is that it is worse with handbuilt pieces which is what I work on.  I just took some pieces out of the kiln in which warpage raised its ugly head. 

In the Brooklyn red clay I made a few pieces.  I hadn't done any coil weaving since I've been back at Pam's so I decided to copy one of her pieces.  She's a pro at the weaving!  Actually the weaving was the easiest part for me.  I still have problems with making my edges smooth and attaching feet so my pieces are level.  This piece did end up level, but the edges still need improvement. And, my strips aren't exactly straight.  Hey, it's handmade....give me a break.  This is fired at cone 6 and glazed in my favorite opal:

I also made a textured platter/bowl which is glazed in overlapping Opal and Randy's Red.  I didn't put a foot on this piece and it's a tiny bit wobbly, but not bad.  Warping was a little problem.

Also in red clay, I made a piece similar to the one I gave my friend's daughter when she announced her engagement.  It's a simple oval platter which is glazed in overlapping Randy's Red and Nickel Matt.  I added a small amount of Opal drops on top. I like this piece.

I wanted to try sgraffito carving on the white clay.  I made some slip colored with chrome and brushed it on the soft clay.  Then I carved.  I think I should have let it get a bit harder before carving, maybe leather hard. This piece warped pretty badly on the ends.  Arggh. The warping happened during both bisque and glaze firing.  That surprised me a bit.  Here's a picture after bisque firing.  The slip color is pretty accurate. 

 Now here's a picture after applying a clear glaze and firing to cone 6

The deep green color really surprised me.  I loved doing this sgraffito, especially on the white clay.  I plan to keep working on fixing the warping problem. 

Blood Cancer facts and statistics

Blood cancers are cancers that affect the blood, bone marrow, lymph nodes, and other parts of the lymphatic system.
Did you know:

• Every 4 minutes, someone in the U. S. is diagnosed with a blood cancer.
• In 2010, an estimated 137,260 people in the U. S. will be diagnosed with leukemia, lymphoma or myeloma.
• These new cases of blood cancer will account for almost 10% of all the new cancers diagnosed in the U. S.
• Every 10 minutes, someone in the U. S. dies from a blood cancer...that's 6 people every hour, 148 people every day!
• Leukemia causes about 1/3 of all cancer deaths in children younger than 15 years of age.
• In 2010, 447 children under the age of 15 years were expected to die from leukemia in the U. S.

(data from the Leukemia Lymphoma Society, Facts 2010-2011 brochure)