• In Which I Have Crocheted a Blanket

    : Blue and cream crochet blanket arranged in an artful spill over a putty-colored fabric couch. The blanket is made up of hexagonal abstractly floral motifs in cream, beige, and several shades of blue. Each motif is outlined in beige. A simple pattern in blue edges the whole blanket.

    I realized I haven’t posted about crochet for a while! I finished a big project this summer, Janie Crow’s Delft Blanket in the original blue and cream colorway. Very happy with how it turned out!

    Close-up photo of a blue and cream crocheted blanket arranged on a putty-colored fabric couch. The blanket is made up of hexagonal abstractly floral motifs in cream, beige, and several shades of blue. Each motif is outlined in beige. A simple pattern in blue edges the whole blanket. The close-up shows a few motifs at the edge of the blanket.

    Her projects hit the sweet spot of fun and challenging for me. I always learn something new and I enjoy watching the motifs take shape round by round. Even though there was one motif pattern, the three different color arrangements provided interest.

    Photo showing entire blue and cream crocheted blanket from above as it is pinned and drying on interlocked blocking mats (one does not see the mats except for at the edges of the photo). The blanket is made up of hexagonal abstractly floral motifs in cream, beige, and several shades of blue. Each motif is outlined in beige. A simple pattern in blue edges the whole blanket. There are five horizontal rows of motifs, each row containing either seven whole motifs or six whole and two half motifs.

  • In Which I Learn to Throw a Pot

    My youngest and I had a lot of fun learning to throw pots last weekend at a local pottery, the Clay Co-Op. 2 hours, we each got to make 2 pots, all materials included. (I’ll show you the pots once they’ve been fired in another couple weeks.) My next book has an important secondary character who’s a potter, so there was a whole second level of interest and enjoyment for me. Very difficult to take notes with hands covered in clay, but I tried to imprint as much as possible on my memory for later!

    Check the studio we took the class at, The Clay Co-Op. They also have members’ work for sale. Also check out the Clay Collective of St. Pete. Wherever you are, consider making an effort to support your local artists and craftspeople, if you don’t already. There are lots of people everywhere making beautiful, intriguing, and useful things.

    The inside of a pottery studio. In the center is a potter’s wheel. The wheel consists of a low, irregularly shaped table. The horizontal surface is yellow plastic. The three black plastic legs rest on red bricks. On the low table on the left side is a wheel, a mostly black circle with a steel border. On the wheel rest a metal scraping tool and a wooden pottery knife. On the table to the right is a plastic bucket filled with clayey water. A large clayey rectangular sponge is draped over the rim. On the speckled concrete floor is the pedal for the wheel, connected to the wheel and table by a cord. A low gray stool is to the left of the pottery wheel table. Toward the upper right, two more wheel stations can be seen. In the upper left stands a sturdy wooden table holding tools, not fully visible.
    A pottery wheel station at the end of class, after we cleaned our spaces!
    Table displaying some of the class’s finished pots. Visible are four finished but unglazed and unfired pots of red clay on flat wood squares. The are two small pots, fully glazed and fired, one yellow, one blue. In the bottom right corner is a crock holding several paintbrushes of different sizes and shapes. In the upper left are three objects like dark cake stands. A red pot on a wood square sits on a fourth stand, for easier painting. The pottery teacher’s red and white striped apron is visible, as is one arm steadying the wood platform. One can just see the blowtorch she is using to quickly dry the surface of the pot to ready it for painting with glaze.
    Some our class’s finished but unglazed pots. The teacher is quick-drying the surface of the pots with a blowtorch so we can paint on the glaze.
    A look at finished but unglazed and unfired pots from class. On a wooden table surface, in the center of the photo are two bowls set on thin wood squares ready to be painted with glaze. One can see the edges of two others along the right side. At the top of the image, from the left, are a plastic tub with tools, a green go-cup, and a white rag.
    A closer look at some of our pots before applying glaze. It will be fun to see what they look like after firing!

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