Pottery for the Royal Easter Show
This year I am entering a piece of pottery for the Royal Easter Show. The first time ever. The platter is called "Ethnic Blue" and is decorated with under glazes and clear glaze on top. They have a special theme this year which is "Clay on Display" Several other groups from in and around Sydney plus us the Port Hacking Potters will be there to do demos on the day. It is always interesting to see what other people are doing. So if you can, would be nice to see you there. Grab the kids come along and have a peep and a chat!
For the next month there will probably not a lot happening on my blog. I am going to Switzerland to experience what a real winter feels like LOL. I am planning to take a few pictures though to show you. I am having difficulties deciding what to take. There is very little in my wardrobe suitable for below zero temperatures. That's what it is at present. Fortunately my girlfriend will lend me some warm stuff like coat, jacket and boots. I am leaving tomorrow, so "see" you later!
Garden news
I always like to have at least a small vegie patch. There is nothing nicer than being able to harvest your own produce. I must say that here it is a bit of an uphill battle since there is not much soil on top of sandstone and the position where the garden beds are is very exposed. At the moment I have tomatoes, lettuce some herbs, plus of course a lemon and lime tree. I just harvested a couple of miniature pumpkins which I grew from seeds collected from some pumpkins which I bought last year. I made them into individual servings filled with cream cheese and lots of herbs. We also had to re-concrete a little drain at the base of a retaining wall. The water just sat there in puddles and did not drain. Not good so close to the house since termites need water to build their tunnels. It is a lot better now but still not perfect. See how we go in the next heavy rain. Otherwise we will have a professional in to do something about it.
We also have a few frangipani which are in flower. Aren't the colors just beautiful!
Refashion
My girlfriend gave me this Top in a peasant style cut. It is some sort of Missoni like material, probably sinthetic. I really liked the color and feel of the material and was looking at making something out of it. The pattern is a simple T shirt which I copied, do not remember where it came from originally and cut out a body and short sleeves. Since the body was to short for my liking I had to "patch" some leftover bits on the bottom. I do not have an over locker, but my Bernina has several stitches suitable for stretch Material. There you have it, pretty happy with the result!
Bag project
Since I started making bags I hardly ever use "normal" handbags any more. The shoulder straps are very convenient and leave the hands free also they are roomy enough to carry a couple of items home from the shops.I needed another bag for summer so I started digging through my boxes of upholstery material (from when we used to work in a friends upholstery business) and came up with
a couple of colorful scraps of material just right for the project. For the lining I cut up a silk blouse given to me by my younger sister many years ago which had a couple of stains. In the first picture you can see the little inside pocket which is actually part of the cuff of the short sleeve. I do not think there is any need for detailed instructions since it is very straight forward. The size of the material dictated the size of the bag, as a matter of fact this one is slightly smaller than my previous ones I made.
I actually started making bags and other items to sell at pre christmas sales but after the initial rush I only sold a couple and then started giving some away. I still have about a dozen packed away, pictures to follow. Also I found when we had a stall at any of the markets there are so many bags and some of them dirt cheap that I hardly sold anything.
In the meantime I am fiddling around to adjust a pattern to do FBA and having a bit of difficulties getting it right. More to follow on
that later on. May get a friend of mine to help me. As you know it is sometimes a bit difficult to pin a back seam etc.Hope you all are having a lovely festive season!
Bye for now,
When I fired my last lot of items I also did a trial run for some buttons which I decorated with tissue transfer. I do not know yet what to use them fore. Perhaps even something knitted, we shall see.
My friend Anna, another potter from Annasceramics has been making buttons and jewelry for a while and is quite successful with it.
That is the view from my sewing table to the "grotto" in our backyard. The fern trees look so much better now. When we first moved in three years ago, everything was overgrown with weeds and needed a lot of TLC. I also painted and repaired the table and chair set which I collected in the council clean up.
My black cat, Mrs Plum often keeps me company when I am sewing or doing other things in my craft room. One of her favourite spots to sleep is on the cover for my sewing
machine, a Bernina of course, (being originally from Switzerland). I love my Bernina!
Compared to some of you girls, my stash is extremely moderate. Picture below, just two shelfs, plus a few items that need altering, or may eventually end up in Vinnies! No plans to increase the stock and change that in the future. I am very much for "Unclutter your life" and I am in the process of doing just that. From clothes, shoes, books to kitchenware, everything will be sorted out. Feels good!
Thats it for now, some more from my corner of the world another time!
This was the last sale for the Port Hacking Potters Group for 2012
Just as well we had the stall in Cronulla Mall yesterday, today would have been rather unpleasant due to the strong wind.
The pieces in the fotos are examples of what I am producing. Being a cat lover I make the cat wind chimes and a lot of other dishes with cat pictures. Except for the small blue pet bowl there is nothing left. Everything "catty" is very popular. I not only love throwing on the wheel but hand building as well. Nowadays my work is rather colorful since I am decorating a lot.
We, Anna, Rhonda, Fran, Helen and myself, have sold quite a bit and our stock needs now replenishing for next year. I have been a potter for about 20 years but since sales are not as good as they used to be my production has diminished. Also my kiln does not work as
well anymore since we do not have 3 phase here. So I have to go to Cronulla where our group has 2 kilns where members can fire. I am still using up material and clay and we shall see what the future holds in this respect. I have been thinking of doing a silver jewelry course or drawing, or learning to weld etc etc. I just love making things! So, now I am of making cookies to give away in one of my bowls. Talk to you later!
As promised a couple of pictures following our blogger get together. It was lovely to meet you all and have a bit of a chinwag.
I am still struggling to get the whole thing going and need to learn quick smart. My husband helped me put it together but he is not experienced either and besides he is not a very patient teacher.
Anyway, I will persevere and get there. I have
a lot more I want to talk about and am happy to have found a great group of girls!
Next Saturday we have the last sale this year for our group The Port Hacking Potters. It will be in the mall in Cronulla, the whole day on Sat 8. December. Again pictures to follow!
Cheers,
Therese
