New Wheel

I bought a new wheel. Not a potters wheel, a spinning wheel. For making yarn.

Now to figure out how to restore it!

Odile's Loop Scarf

I've noticed a lot of women wearing soft silky scarves looped, the fringes dangling. I don't like regular keyhole scarves, but I wanted a looped scarf. So I came up with a scarf pattern that imitates that. I named it for my cousine Odile, who is French, chic, and unfussy, like this scarf.




The problem I had in designing this scarf is it needed to be grafted, and grafting in rib is ... difficult. After thinking about it and looking at some online tutorials I realized that grafting in rib is just grafting in stockinette. From both the front and the back.









Thank you to Laura for modeling my scarf at the preschool playground.










Read the directions, make the scarf, and if you have difficulty (or better yet, think of a better way to graft in rib), let me know.

As an aside, this scarf can be made in garter stitch and have no issues with the grafting.

Download here

Ruby Hat

Sabine and I were at Joann Fabrics and she picked up this yarn and asked me to make a hat. I came up with this simple pattern to show off the stripes, and it's stretchy enough to fit every size head from three years to adult. It's great for a striping yarn, but I've also used Wool-Ease for charity donations.

Yarn: Lion Brand Amazing, 1 skein (Aurora is on the left, Ruby on the right)

Needle: 8

Gauge: 9.2 sts = 2"

co 80 stitches and join to work in the round.

work k2 p2 rib for 6 inches

work stockinette for 8-9 inches or until nearly out of yarn

bo as follows: k2tog each stitch as you bo. Use tail to stitch together top of hat in 4 lobes.

Blog Changes

It's not that I haven't been doing clay work, it's just that ... I haven't been doing anything that I felt like blogging about. What I do want to blog about is knitting. Rather than continue to post about knitting on my "family newsletter" blog, or start a new blog (how many blogs do I really NEED, after all?) I decided to revamp Exile Art to cover my knitting, both projects and my own designs.

Since I started knitting six years ago I have been revamping patterns and coming up with my own designs. Rather than produce hand-knits with my own designs, I'd much rather share those patterns with other knitters.

In addition to knitting patterns and projects, I'll still be posting pictures of my ceramic work, especially as it relates to fibers.

Summer Project

Self-Portrait as Modersohn-Becker

Self-Portrait as Kirchner

Crack that Whip

I have been getting a little studio time in over the past few months, but not as much as I would like. Is it ever as much as I would like?

But I have to get moving on some projects, as I have a few commitments to attend to. Nothing to show in pictures yet, so I will insert a recipe instead, from the Glaze Handbook,

Colored Stain
EPK -- 1 part
Frit --1 Part
Oxide -- 1 part

My favorite way of mixing this is with Frit 3124, and copper carbonate for a celadon green in oxidation or some flashing in reduction. I also use it with Mason Stain, like a cobalt-bearing Black. It works with low-fire and high fire, oxidation and reduction, with or without a glaze. It is more economical and has a nicer surface than oxide alone.

Tile Ideas

We've been planning to tile the kitchen backsplash since we bought our house last year. I have had a hard time deciding what to do, but saw these tiles on the floor of the Irvington Lodge, and liked them. I like the use of different tiles, and the designs are kinda medieval, which fits with the way I see our (barn) house.

In other news, I have been travelling, giving demos, and getting a little studio time. I have a sculptural project in progress, but I would rather wait until it is done to show images, so you will have to make do with pretty pictures of tile instead.