This weekend 10/19 and 10/20 is the Havre de Grace Art Show. I was there two years ago and it was a great two days with spectacular views. I'm looking forward to it again this year and hoping for good weather.
I've been busy making and glazing to get ready for all of these shows. This kiln has the first of the Christmas Trees. I always breathe a big sigh of relief when they come through the kiln. The trees are so fragile until they're glazed. Well, they probably aren't as fragile as I think they are after bisque, but I still worry about knocking leaves off.
I think I've finally gotten the kinks out of the kinks making my globes. I've been extra careful with the joins.
It's not visible here, but this is the first of several kilns of a whole lot of crabs. I made a whole lot of crab things (and I'm still worried it's not enough).
This is my second poncho made with a Fusion 1000 kit from Cat Mountain Fiber Arts. These come as a kit with 10 different yarns of a similar color but different textures. This one is blacks and greys and I used almost all of it.
I wanted something that would match a lot of things, but that I could also wear at work.
This pattern uses a 5 mm hook.
Stitches:
ch - chain
sl st - slip stitch
sc - single crochet
hdc - half double crochet
dc - double crochet
bobble - yarn over, pull up, yarn over, pull up, yarn over, pull up, pull through all the chains
inc stitch - whatever stitch you're doing two in the first inc, ch 2, two in the second inc
I started with the softest yarn because that's what I would want on my neck.
Chain 30 and sl st to join making sure you haven't twisted the chain.
Mark 15 stitches apart.
Row 1: ch 3, dc until your first stitch marker, in the same stitch (2 dc, ch 2, 2 dc), hdc to the second stich marker, in the same stitch (2 dc, ch 2, 2 dc), hdc until the end and sl st to join
Row 2: ch 3, sk st, *bobble, ch 2, sk st. In the increase stitch do hdc not bobbles. Repeat from * all the way around, sl st to join.
Row 3: ch 3, 2 dc in the chain space. In the inc stitch do your dc. Sl st to join.
Row 4: ch 2, hdc all the way around except your inc stitchs. Sl st to join
Row 5: ch 2, hdc, ch all the way around except your inc stitchs. Sl st to join
Row 6: ch 2, , hdc all the way around except your inc stitchs. Sl st to join
Repeat rows 1-6. For the first yarn I made sure to save some because I wanted to go back and do the collar so I only did 5 rounds before I switched. For all the other skeins, I used them until they were gone and then just wove in the next yarn. I didn't worry about only doing it on a new row.
For the arm openings I went with row 18. You might want do to it earlier or later depending on how where it feels comfortable for you. I decided which side I wanted to be the front and then experimented with where the arm holes should go. They ended up much wider than I thought, but that was where it was most comfortable. I had the arm holes start 19 inches from the inc, including the inc stitches but not the chains - mark it. Then I counted 12 stitches inward and mark that.
When you get to the first marker chain 14 stitches loosely then join at the second marker with whatever stitch you are on. Do the same for the second arm hole. In the next row treat the chain stitches as if they are normal stitches for the row.
Boarder:
Save the last skein for the boarder. I ended on a hdc ch row and I think that made for a nice alignment with the boarder.
Boarder row 1: ch 6 (counts as a dc and 3 ch), sk a chain space, *3 dc in the same chain space, ch 3, dc in the chain space, ch 3. Repeat from *. Sl st to join. It worked out perfectly for me to do 3 dc in the inc stitch so I went with that.
Boarder row 2: ch 4 (counts as sc and 3 ch), *in the second dc stitch (2 dc in the same stitch then ch 6 then sc in the 4th chain, ch 3 then 2 dc in the same stitch), ch 3, sc in the next dc stitch, ch 3. Repeat from * around sl st to join.
I had just enough of the boarder yarn left to add a row of hdc around the sleeves. No particular reason other than asthetics. I also added a button on each one to be able to close it.
The last thing to do is add your collar. I had enough yarn for 4 rows. For the first 3 I did hdc skipping a stitch every 10 stitches to decrease it a bit. The last row I did hdc then chain.
The gingerbread houses are amazing! Nothing stuck where it wasn't supposed to and they're sooo cute!! I couldn't resist taking pictures of all 4 sides of each of the houses. I was pretty sure I wanted to leave them as bare clay on the sides so I only did 1 with clear. I'm happy I made that decision, I think that it looks better without the extra shiny glaze everywhere.
I had a commission for a bowl that is also a strainer and those are both in here and look amazing.
What didn't work are the reindeer. I managed to forget to use ug to outline them and they're just really hard to see. I'm going to try to add it and then reglaze. We'll see if that works or not.
I had a commission for a bowl that is also a strainer and those are both in here and look amazing.
What didn't work are the reindeer. I managed to forget to use ug to outline them and they're just really hard to see. I'm going to try to add it and then reglaze. We'll see if that works or not.
I will be at the Catoctin Color Fest this weekend October 12-13 in the American Legion Parking Lot at 8 Park Lane in Thurmont, MD. I've never been to Colorfest, but everything I've seen seems like it's going to be huge. I'm really excited and hope to see you there.
In prep for this and some other upcoming shows I've been making things like crazy. This kiln has the gingerbread houses! You can just barely see them in this pic, but I couldn't really get a good picture that shows the details. The wait is killing me!
If you've been following for a while or if you've looked back to last year, you know that mugs are a big part of my business. Last year mugs were 27% of what I sold and this year they are on track to be an even larger percentage. I made a plan for this year based on what I sold last year, but then started to realize that I need more. So these last couple weeks has been A LOT of mugs.
I'm appreciative of making all of these mugs though because it's been great practice. Making the same shape over and over has really let me refine what I'm doing and continue to make my process work for me.
This isn't it though. This is it for the mugs I make in Laguna 60, but I still need to make more camping mugs in Kentucky Mudworks Brown Bear too. I've gotten in the habbit now of only working in one clay body at a time and the deep dive into brown bear things is next.
Still looking at making some dark solid sweaters I can wear for work that will match a lot of things. This cardigan is very soft, and will work with a lot of different outfits.
The pattern is based on a stitch I found in a book - shells and arcs that was really easy to do.
Cast on in multiples of 8 + 5
Row 1: sc, * ch 5, sk 3, sc. Repeat from * to end with the sc
Row 2: ch 3, 3 dc in the ch space, * ch 3, sc in the next chain space, ch 3, 3 dc in the ch space. Repeat from * ending with a dc
Row 3: ch 6, sc in the 4th dc from the previous row, *ch 5, sc in the 1st dc from the previous row, ch 5, sc in the 4th dc of the previous row. Repeat from * ending with a sc
Row 4: ch 6, * sc in the ch space of the previous row, ch 3, 3 dc in the chain space of the previous row, ch 3. Repeat from * ending with a dc.
Repeat rows 2-4 until you get your desired length.
This pattern is like most of my cardigans - make a back panel then male two side panels that are slightly smaller than 1/2 the width of the back panel. Sew together leaving arm holes. Then pick up stitches for the arms to your desired length. Then add a collar and pockets.
Posts
