Dead Dog Draught Excluder

So. There was a draft, and I needed an excluder.


I really wanted something awesome, like a sausage dog... in some cute fabric....

.... but I couldn't find one within my budget. In fact, my budget was 50p, so in fairness, I was never going to find one.

So I cut up 3 old pairs of cords, used a recycled zip, and some wadding I bought to make the quilt I ended up not making and using the fabric to make a sofa cover (which, coincidentally, you can also see in this pic)...

....and made this guy. 

Only slight problem is, I feel kinda guilty putting him on the cold tiles in front of the door. 

See. 

He looks cold.

Spiced Banana Muffins

So. Tonight I made muffins for the first time. It wasn't half as hard as I expected. I'm not completely certain why I thought it would be more difficult than say... cake. But I did. And they turned out great! 

It was a little stressful, but by following the top tip of the guy who looks a lot like The Bandit, I managed to make hygienic, tasty muffins. Obviously he has a driving hat and a cooking hat.

Banana Spice Muffins

This recipe is from the Genuine American Cookie and Muffin Book.

Line a muffin tray and set oven to Gas 6/200C

Sieve the following together in one bowl: 

12 oz plain flour

1 tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

In another bowl combine the following with the whisk: 

(add the milk last, cos it goes funny with the hot butter)

2 eggs

240 ml milk (just under 1 cup)

6 oz soft brown sugar

4 oz butter, melted

1 tsp Vanilla essence (I hadn't got any, they're still edible, but prob better with)

2 bananas mashed, but still chunky

Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, just until they are combined. 

Put 2 tbsp of mixture into each muffin cup. 

Bake for about 18-24 minutes, until the muffin tops spring back when gently touched. Allow to stand for a couple of minutes, then put on a wire rack to cool.

Sixties inspired rag rug

Been cracking on with my rag rug tonight - as a result, my right wrist is rather painful...

The piece on the left is not yet connected. The two new pods from today are made of plain cotton, and don't have the sheen of the satin.

The rug is being crocheted from a kingsize duvet cover someone gave me; it has a pleated satin side and a smooth cotton side, both in the same rich red. I'm stitching them together as I go with shiny ribbon yarn my lovely sister gave me.

Making Rag Yarn:
I'm ripping it into 1/2 inch wide strips, and joining them by making a slit in both ends of each, then passing the end of piece B through the hole in piece A... then passing the other end of piece B through the hole in piece B I've just shoved through piece A and pulling tight. I usually rip off about 12 strips and join them up, rolling them into a ball as I go, then I have a nice neat ball to keep the cat off, rather than a hank of strips she can steal from!

Swings and roundabouts

So, Celtique I died a horrible death during drying... next time I'm going to try drying very very slowly inside a plastic bag, and also designing the knot first and lining the mould with clingfilm so it can slither about a bit easier....

But on the upside, the windchime is lovely, and so is my little fish! woop!

Celtique I

Celtique I

*insert up own arse prose here about returning to one's celtic roots*






So I'm not entirely sure whether this will survive drying out, let alone the kiln... but here's hoping.

It's a celtic knot, based on 5 strands - as far as I know, it's not a real knot (see what I did there?) as I suspect it's a bit too lopsided for any self respecting Celt. I built it from strips of rolled out clay, weaving them into a glass bowl to begin with, and then when (due to extremely bad planning) the blasted thing was draping all over... I balanced it on a card sheet with a hole in it gaffer taped to the outside of the bowl.

Next time I'll try a) designing the flipping knot first and b) building a ridiculous structure to hold the sides BEFORE the edges start falling all over.

That is if this one survives drying out. And the flipping kiln. And glazing. And the flipping kiln again. And me carrying it around. Who am I kidding... there will never be another!

And in other news... the windchime is back in the kiln, sponged with various autumnal underglazes and then brushed with overglaze rather than dipping (I'm hoping like hell this will mean it is a thin coat - minimising drips and support marks, while still making it stronger and shinier).

Unconsidered Trifles I

Well... I sneaked back to the studio tonight and finished this off...

It's now drying out, waiting for sanding and firing. I'm thinking about buying some posh glaze, assuming it survives the kiln... maybe something like this Mayco Elements glaze; or some Crackle; or  maybe splash out on importing some of this Duncan Courtyard Rustic Sunset.... although in fairness, the Hearthstone colour might look better.  So many choices! God I love ceramics...

My first artwork

  

Woop! Spent the evening building this slab/coil pot thingy to the accompaniment of loud music and bad singing.

It was a GREAT night.

I've decided to call it 'Unconsidered Trifles I'

If you like I'll explain the motivation and emotionality of the piece....

...which is as yet, unfinished. I'm thinking I'll add more height tomorrow.

Button Factory

I may have got a leeetle over excited at the button factory... but they went through the washing machine, so I was fully justified!

Plus, not all of them are buttons. Some of it is a windchime :)

Only one more test for the buttons!

Well, the buttons made it through the kiln - the next test will be to tack them onto an item of clothing and shove them through the washing machine.

I definitely like the textures - next time I'm trying different types of fabric and a wider range of stamps. I've managed to get different shaped cutters in the right sizes too.

Tomorrow I have plans for more buttons, and also for a wind chime type thingy...

I made buttons!

Tada! I made buttons from my clay! And they've been through the kiln once without exploding... And now I've glazed them, so fingers crossed, they'll go through again tomorrow, and I'll be able to see if they worked :) I'm SOOOOO pleased!

...also, I started crocheting a rug from strips torn from a second hand duvet cover in a silky red fabric - it's really rather fabulous, but I'm torn between making a simple circular rug, and making one that's like all kinds of bubbles joined together. Watch this space...