Monday, December 19, 2011

Shalom Cardigan pattern now available in Hungarian!

Many thanks to Eszter Sarkadi Nagy, who volunteered to translate the Shalom Cardigan pattern into Hungarian! The translation can be found here, or in the sidebar on the right. köszönöm!

Two years in the making

I interrupt this long blog break to show a huge finished project!

I started this navy and white zig-zag quilt about two years ago. The cutting and piecing went very quickly, but I stalled out on the quilting. Life got really busy for a while, but luckily things have slowed down so I was able to concentrate on finishing this.

I'm so pleased with the end result!

Zig-zag quilt

The quilt is queen sized and composed of navy and white rectangles sewn together in a zig-zag pattern.

Zig-zag quilt, with circular hand quilting

After failed attempts at free-motion machine quilting, and machine quilting in the ditch, I finally decided to hand quilt 3" circles in each square. I used matching thread on the front, so it alternates on the back.

Colorblock back on zig-zag quilt

The back is a very simple color block that I think could look pretty good on its own.

Zig-zag quilt

I originally wanted yellow binding, but this cheery blue caught my eye, and adds to the nautical look of the design.

I have to say, I was really intimidated by the idea of hand-quilting a queen sized quilt, especially since I had never hand-quilted anything. It did take quite a number of hours (and days and weeks) but I actually enjoyed it. It definitely adds something special and makes the quilt look handmade.

Sunday, April 10, 2011

New pottery

My pottery has been getting better and more consistent. One of my friends told me they looked more 'confident,' which I thought was a good assessment. Here are a few of my latest favorites.

green & brown pear-shaped mug
green & brown pear-shaped mug

caribe & white simple mug
caribe & white simple mug

assorted cereal bowls
assorted cereal bowls

blue & white plus bowls
blue & white plus bowls.

Monday, March 21, 2011

Homework

Doing my homework
I spent last weekend trying to figure out the taxes and laws that would apply if I started selling my pottery. After hours of reading and confusion, I finally figured out that selling pottery, for me, would likely be considered a 'hobby' by the IRS because I wouldn't expect to make any money--just enough to cover the cost of my classes. What a headache! In any case, I'm glad I finally understand all this 'cause I think it'll come in handy. I borrowed the books above from the local public library. Libraries are pretty amazing.

Custom-made bowl set
I invited some of the girls over a few weeks ago for a housewarming with Moroccan food. I managed to finish enough bowls and plates that everyone could eat off of handmade pottery. One friend liked her soup bowl so much that she commissioned me to make a set of 6 for her. I delivered them today and she was really pleased! The shape and the rough quality of the turquoise glaze reminded her of the Japanese tea bowls she studied in college.

Handmade ceramic plate
I've also had a lot of luck lately with a new (to me) glaze--Arabia green. I'm playing with layering glazes and seeing how different loose applications of design look.

Sunday, March 6, 2011

Still here!

Life has really been getting in the way of blogging for the past few months. I moved to a new apartment (in the same city) after discovering a major mold problem (and terrible lying property manager) at the last place. I worked on a surprise project at work that was big and exciting, and came with lots of media coverage. I had a few visits with my loved ones. And luckily, I've still had time for creative projects. My pottery continues to improve in leaps and bounds, and I have so many ideas that I can't keep up with them. Thanks so much to everyone for their wonderful feedback on my previous pottery posts. I do hope to sell things online at some point, and will certainly post here to let you know when that happens. Until then, here are a few of my latest favorites.

Ceramic bowls
Bowls with designs in slip. I loved making these, and plan to make more.

Handmade ceramic plate
My first dinner plate!! I really adore this one. If only everything came out so well!