MY BEGINNER CERAMICS PROJECTS

Back in the fall when I was beginning my third trimester of pregnancy, and having just bought a house that was about to be renovated, I wasn't sure that taking a pottery class (or ceramics, the less utilitarian term) was a very good idea. Maybe my precious evenings should be spent organizing all our stuff, cleaning or generally fretting about the baby about to be born. Or, what the hell kind of pendant lamp could offset the ugliness of the metal railing leading upstairs that we can't afford to change just yet. Luckily, my hubs suggested I go through with it- and thank holy crap he did. Was I any good at it? Meh. Not really. I mean, the good thing is that it's hard to make a clay bowl with a hole in it, so it will be functional no matter what. Was my stuff pretty? For a beginner, it was ok. But it's a fussy medium for someone who likes more pristine results but without a lot of fuss. The best thing about a class like this is that you focus on the work. Just like my beloved cross stitch, everything else fell away for a couple hours. It's so hard for a lot of people to focus on just one thing these days, especially me, and something tactile like this that involves a little planning, a little trial and error, is God-sent.

We started doing slab work, which is clay cut from a big block with a wire, and then made into vases, bowls, boxes... I kept eyeing the wheels behind me, wanting to jump on and make round things, as I prefer them to square angles. So the instructor let us try after about 6 or 7 classes, and I lasted about 20 minutes. I then realized that if this was to be my last class before baby, I would be better off focusing on simpler slab stuff, and maybe even a little sculpture for fun, and then some other time try the wheel again. The pottery class episode of Community was a little misleading in its portrayal of the ease of use of ceramic wheels. Oh, those little blueberries!

I ended-up getting really into texturing my clay with this one old 70's afghan, which gave a very modern big floral pattern to the objects. Some of my work suffered because I dipped the pieces into the glaze too long and lost some of the detail. Oh- but glaze does kind of make everything look a lot more professional. So here are my favourite pieces. My bookshelf mushrooms, square/round bowl, "bathtub" catch-all thinger (shown at two angles) and a little box that I earmarked for our Frida, in which I keep her barettes.

SO LONG 2011 (AND 2 PROJECTS IN THE CAN)

Not much posting went on in 2011.... it was a pretty busy year, here. Finally finished the cross stitched stocking... just in time for our daughter Frida to arrive on December 15th! So much can change in one measly year...

2010 Christmas Cards

These were my Christmas cards for this past season. Martha paper punch with vintage wrapping paper and/or Anthropologie catalogue images of white birch trees, and rubber stamps, and gold pen! Easy peasy, and liked how each one was a little different.

Cross Stitch Stocking Project

Dudes... I have spent well over 30 hours on this I would say. Cross stitch is a time sucker. But the results are so worth it, so I keep doing it.

I have started this stocking to give to a future progeny at some point; a child that in no way exists yet but I am hopeful that when I do eventually become pregnant, have a kid, send it to high school and listen to it tell me that my music is "lame and old fashioned" or whatever kids in the future will say, that the stocking may get done. And then the child will be so in awe and grateful that he or she will sit down with me, look at the stocking lovingly, and we will listen to Sonic Youth together and eat Christmas shortbread. That'll shut 'em up.

I cooked a turkey

It wasn't massive (9 lbs or so) and the brining process definitely helped make it tasty (lots of sugar, salt, thyme, sage, apple, celery, carrot, onion, bay leaf etc, for 24 hours sitting in the fridge, marinating the turkey). But it really is a little daunting when you keep brushing past the oven and the too-sensitive knob keeps turning the temp down to 200F. And you are trying to time the cooking with the 4 sides one must make with a dinner such as this. I must salute my aunts and grandmothers for their turkey-making for up to 20+ people over the years, and to my in-laws for being my guinea pigs for my very first one! (And to my vegetarian hubs for not vocally getting grossed-out by the carcass- because they are weird). All that said, I look forward to doing it again!

TERRORDOME!

Well, actually, terrarium, made with old mason jars and plants from the cottage. Terrordome sounds more exciting.

EASY CLOTH NAPKINS WITH A SERGER

One of the first projects I knew I wanted to undertake for the wedding was cloth napkins for the tables. I settled on using the several colours from our invites and found gingham fabrics in different sizes of checks that matched as the main focus for the settings. I thought it would be easy enough to find a lot of different colours in a decent weight of cotton fabric, but it was not the case. Yellow was almost impossible- I ended up buying 3 yards from someone in Wisconsin on Ebay. But I was very happy with what I ended up finding, colour-wise, in the end.

I tried making 6 napkins at first, to get a real sense of how long it would take. After washing (pre-shrinking) the fabric, then ironing it, cutting it, and hemming 6 napkins, I was a little worried. The hemming especially took a very long time- about 20 minutes a piece using an iron and double fold. Oy. Could I really make 140 in this way?

Then my gorgeous and talented friend at (skona life) who is a proud owner of a serger (remember those crazy-looking contraptions from home ec that cut and sewed fabric at the same time to create easy and solid seams?) suggested I use it if I wanted to make quick(ish) work of them . That is exactly what I did and was very happy with the process (so fast!) and results (professional-looking seam without any bulk). The mix of bright colours really popped and looked casual and pretty.