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.

There is nothing but amazing in this kiln. The monster mugs are my favorite, but the ghost mugs are amazing as well. The chicken has so much personality and I am totally keeping her as a decoration for my house. The 3D pumpkin has great color and texture. I look back on the gnome ornaments I made a few years ago compared to these and my glazing has gotten so much crisper. I've also got a better handle on colors on clay.
Everything came out fantastic.

Laguna 60 Mayco Black UG wiped back Hair: Mayco Black Gloss x2 Face: Midnight Ceramics Bogeyman x2 Eyes: Amaco Snow x3 with Mayco Black Gloss Dots Highlights on Mouth and Scar: Mayco Tuxedo	Laguna 60 Amaco Snow x3 Mayco Tuxedo in eyes and mouth
Laguna 60 Amaco Snow x3	Laguna 60 Coyote Papaya x2 Hydra Scale x2
Unknown Clay (workshop) Head and Belly: Mayco Speckled Sunkissed x2, Speckled Orange a Peal x2, Speckled Hot Tamale x2, Mayco Cotton Tail x2 Body and Tail: Mayco Sunkissed, Orange a Peal, Hot Tamale, Just Froggy	Front View
Mayco Tuxedo x3, Orange a Peal x2 2167 Clear	Laguna 60 Amaco Snow x3 Mayco Tuxedo x3, Orange a Peal x2
Laguna 60 Amaco Smoke x3 Mayco Hot Tamale, Sunkissed, Just Froggy x2	Laguna 60 Mayco Black UG wiped back Mayco Hot Tamale x2, Tuxedo x2, Just Froggy x2, Java Bean x2, Blues x2 Rim and Back: Amaco Snapdragon x3 2167 clear
Laguna 60 Mayco Black UG wiped back Mayco Hot Tamale x2, Cotton Tail x2 Rim and Back: Amaco Snapdragon x3 2167 clear	Laguna 60 Mayco Black UG wiped back Mayco Hot Tamale x2, Just Froggy x2, Java Bean x2, Blues x2 Rim and Back: Amaco Snapdragon x3 2167 clear
Laguna 60 Mayco Black UG wiped back Mayco Hot Tamale x2, Tuxedo x2, Java Bean x2, Blues x2 Rim and Back: Amaco Snapdragon x3 2167 clear	Laguna 60 Mayco Black UG wiped back Mayco Hot Tamale x2, Tuxedo x2, Java Bean or Dandelion on Hair, Blues x2 Rim and Back: Amaco Snapdragon x3 2167 clear
Laguna 60 Mayco Black UG wiped back Mayco Hot Tamale x2, Tuxedo x2, Java Bean x2, Blues x2 Rim and Back: Amaco Snapdragon x3 2167 clear	Laguna 60 Mayco Black UG wiped back Mayco Hot Tamale x2, Just Froggy x2, Java Bean x2, Blues x2 2167 clear
Laguna 60 Mayco Black UG wiped back Mayco Hot Tamale x2, Just Froggy x2, Blues x2 Hair: Java Bean or Dandelion 2167 clear	Laguna 60 Mayco Black UG wiped back Mayco Hot Tamale x2, Just Froggy x2, Java Bean x2, Blues x2 2167 clear
Laguna 60 Mayco Black UG wiped back Mayco Hot Tamale x2, Just Froggy x2, Cotton Tail x2 Nose: Mayco Cutie Pie Coral 2167 clear	Laguna 60 Mayco Black UG wiped back Mayco Hot Tamale x2, Just Froggy x2, Cotton Tail x2 Nose: Mayco Cutie Pie Coral 2167 clear
Laguna 60 Mayco Black UG wiped back Mayco Hot Tamale x2, Tuxedo x2, Java Bean x2 2167 clear	Laguna 60 Mayco Black UG wiped back Mayco Cotton Tail x2, Just Froggy x2, Sunkissed x2 2167 clear
Laguna 60 Mayco Black UG wiped back Mayco Hot Tamale x2, Just Froggy x2, Cotton Tail x2, Sunkissed, Orange a Peal Nose: Mayco Cutie Pie Coral 2167 clear	Opulence Emerald x3 Mayco Hot Tamale x2 Tuxedo
Kentucky Mudworks Sunflower x2	Opulence Emerald x3
Laguna 60 Stem: Amaco Ancient Copper x3 Vine: Amaco Matcha Gloss x3 Georgie's Indigo Left two: Georgie's White Cloud x2 Right: Georgies' Zinc Free Clear x2	Laguna 60 Stem: Amaco Ancient Copper x3 Vine: Amaco Matcha Gloss x3 Georgie's Sand and Surf Left two: Georgie's White Cloud x2 Right: Georgies' Zinc Free Clear x2
Laguna 60 Clayscapes Cream Swish Coastal Blue

At the bottom of this kiln are the ghost and monster mugs. I can't wait for this to be cool enough to see them! The new laguna 60 snowmen look great. I forgot to add in the eyes and buttons, but I think I really like it that way.

The glaze on the 3D star ornaments slide right off in places, first time I've had that happen. Very thankful for my advancer shelves!

The chicken is looking pretty awesome. I decided to do the eyes with acrylic because I'm still not great at them.

There is a lot of holiday stuff in this kiln, this is the first of a few of those.

First I make the things then I glaze the things. Glazing is definitely not as much fun as making, but being able to lay it all out on the tables and make it more systematic definitely helps me. I lay out like things together and will also group things that are going to get the same glaze together. This helps make glazing go more smoothly and streamlined.

Everything laid out here is for the holidays and there is still more on the shelves to glaze! I also realized that I need to make more mugs so I'm bouncing back and forth between glazing and mug making right now.