muted

I promised exciting making news last week, and here it is - I bought a kiln! 

I've been stalking Ebay for ages now, waiting to find a secondhand kiln that didn't cost very much and could work on domestic power. I love the idea of being able to experiment at home with my ceramics, which is why I accidentally got that pottery wheel too.

The less exciting news is that it will take time to get our wiring adjusted and put in a dedicated circuit so that I can finally plug the kiln in. So in the meantime I will still have to fire my work at the local ceramics shop which means a long drive and a wait until they have a full load for firing.

That first batch of bisque pieces have had their final glaze applied and gone back for a last firing. Luckily batch two, the newer pieces that just needed bisque firing came back in a few days.

For those of you that don't know, bisque firing is the preliminary firing that sets the clay hard. A second, hotter glaze firing is needed to really set the clay and the glazes and give the piece its finish. So its quite a looong process. Hopefully it will all be quicker when I have a working kiln and hopefully I can show some finished pieces soon!

I made up some rough test tiles to use in my kiln when its ready, for a first test firing. These sample my stock of underglazes (I got a few colours for mothers day!) at different strengths and with different finishes.

Actually I quite like these as little pendants or decorative tiles. I must make some more.

Recently I also caught up with the ABCD social girls at the Etsy Craft party. We had fun gossiping while we embroidered and modified old photos. Its always fun to see everyone, craft people are nice people, so if you are local and haven't been I recommend it. Its always nice to be among like minded craft addicts!

sampler

Inspired by my baby steps in embroidery on Carina's blog hop, I picked up this neglected Alphabet Sampler kit a few weeks ago. I bought it from Alicia Paulson's Rosy Little Things shop way back when. The kit sold out but if you are interested the pdf pattern is still available here.

I am in love with the base colour of the embroidery, and love that the design is screenprinted on to the fabric. It is helping me practice my embroidery stitches without too much thinking as the colours and stitches are all specified in the notes.

One thing I changed from the supplied kit was the needle. I found the short thin embroidery needle a pain and kept pricking myself. I wasn't enjoying it. I don't think that the work suffers for using a larger needle and it keeps me happy. 

I'm also liking the embroidery crewel that comes with this, for those of you who haven't used it its a yarny sort of thread, different to the flosses I've used before, it doesn't separate as much as the floss and seems more immune to snarls, I like it. It looks much like the floss in the embroidery too, despite its woolly feel.

I've discovered too that embroidery is a great travel craft! Small, portable and involving minimal tools. Check! Perfect in fact for throwing in the bag as you walk out the door. Just the thing for our recent Hawks Nest trip.

I would be interested in knowing what needle the rest of you use. And your preference for floss or crewel? Or any clever advice. As usual, don't look too closely, and yes it is crumpled, from the travel you know!