Posts Tagged 'yarn bell'

Better late than never?

Published March 26, 2012 Pottery , Yarn Bowls and Bells 3 Comments
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Remember this guy?

Someone ordered a yarn bell from me, oh, last summer ish. I literally just got it out of the kiln. Murphy ruled this yarn bell; every iteration of it either broke, was damaged in the kiln or had it’s handles fall off. I have never encountered such an ill-fated yarn bell.

Well, guess what fate, it’s done, she likes it, and I’m delivering it soon. Except that she likes it so much she wants a matching bowl…. and for no rational reason this makes me cringe. Of course I’m making it, after all, the bowls have already been thrown and if I can get red glaze I should be a month from completion. Besides, she’s been lovely and demonstrated godlike patience, how could I say no? What could go wrong ? (Crosses fingers).

I also got other goodies from the kiln, which have been delivered to the Purple Purl:

I love this angle, the blue-greens are so delicious!

I’m definitely in fail mode on other fronts, a bunch of tiger lilies, carnations and chrysanthemums that I had preserved for jewellery went bust. It reminds me what a delicate process this is. I’m trying again of course, stay tuned for (what I hope will be) brilliant gerber daisy jewellery!

Speaking of Fail, tonight I’m taking another crack at lampworking, wish me luck, and thanks for all the positive and encouraging comments from folks who saw my broken bead post :)

The Artful Life

Published March 12, 2012 Glass , Photography , Pottery 5 Comments
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Here are a few photos of my works in progress over at the studio – life has been such a bubble of busyness that making studio time has been next to impossible! I had to get in there though – I promised the Purple Purl a bunch of yarn bowls in time for the knitters frolic next month.

yarn bell

This one is a yarn bell for someone who ordered one from me, oh, forever ago. I’m using the shellac technique described here for the filigree detail.

yarn bell

Next up is a froggie yarn bowl that’s being sent to a convent in Boston. Normally I don’t ship pottery anymore, but honestly, how could I refuse nuns? The lady I dealt with was so sweet I decided to make an exception for her, and what her Mother Superior wanted was a froggie yarn bowl. I’m actually quite flattered by this.

Yarn Bowl

Incidentally, all these photos are being taken with my new instagram app, with which I am hopelessly obsessed. I mean, I’m a graphics professional, you’d think an app with built-in filters and false bokeh would feel cheesy to me, right? But seriously, I love this app. I think the photos are lovely. Of course the baby ferret is my favourite subject matter :)

Other happenings in the artful life include a new series of resin jewellery that’s curing now, a print series I’m doing out of my recent aurora photography and the fact that tonight I’m finally getting in some lamp working studio time after a very long wait.

Tuckered Out

Tito and I are debating about another late night photo shoot tonight to see if we can catch more aurora but after 5 nights in a row of 3am shooting I’m totally burnt out. And it’s a work night. When I was a kid sleep was like bank overdraft; you paid it back once and you were good to go. Now sleep is like a high interest loan, and recovering from too many late nights takes me at least a week ;)

However I’ve got to say that on top of all the other great artsty stuff we’ve got going on those late night trips have been fun. I love living creatively!

Swirly Summer Yarn Bell

Published July 18, 2011 Pottery , Yarn Bowls and Bells 7 Comments
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This beauty came out of the kiln earlier this summer, but I haven’t been to the studio in a while to get it. I took the summer off but will be getting back in this September.

**Post Update** – I finally decided to try selling these babies on Etsy – click the Etsy link on the right to see what’s available!

For those of you who haven’t seen one yet – the bell holds a ball of yarn and keeps it turning smoothly as you work. They are being sold at the Purple Purl here in Toronto and knitters/crocheters love them :) This bell uses the same technique as my swirly mugs from last spring, which is how I achieve the relief in the design.

I also finished up what will be, for now, my last of the froggie bowls. I’d like to start exploring new avenues of design so I will only produce these on request.

The froggie was a good companion to folks needing to ‘rip it’ back, but we’re definitely due for some fresh design :) Anyone looking to purchase a yarn bell or bowl can visit the Purple Purl or email me hello@thebluebrick.ca

Yarn Bells

Published December 7, 2010 Crochet , Knitting , Pottery , Yarn Bowls and Bells 5 Comments
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New yarn bells out of the kiln today! Two of them are in rustic blues, browns and greens and one of them was a custom order for a lovely lady that sent me pictures of the fabric in her sunroom and asked me to match it for her.

Yarn Bell

This was my first time trying to match colours using underglaze – I think more blues and greens could have been used but the resulting bell is still very pretty. I’ve also learned a few things about the behaviour of oxides during firing – a similar bell in purples came out patchy while the yellow in this one is nice and strong.

Yarn Bell

Pre-fire – looks pretty much like post fire. A nice, predictable result.

Yarn BellAnother view showing the plate.

yarn bell

This is the purple one I was talking about – you can see there is a double coat of strong purple on it.

yarn bell

And here it is after glaze firing – looks pretty inconsistent. The girls at the Purl still liked it but I had that enemy of all potters – the preconception of what it would look like out of the kiln. I will be experimenting in the new year with other purples, it’s the Purple Purl after all ;o)

Yarn Bell

These bells are also fresh out of the kiln – and are done in earthier tones.

Yarn BellAnother view showing the plate.

These bells (not these particular ones but other lovely bells) are available at The Purple Purl on Queen West here in Toronto.

Don’t live in Toronto? I do have an Etsy Store where I don’t typically stock pottery because of the challenges of shipping. If you would love one of these yarn bells however, please email me your mailing address and I will get a shipping quote for you. There is no purchase commitment to request a shipping quote. If you approve the quote then I will bundle it up very carefully and send it your way =o)

yarn bellSome more of my beauties

yarn bellI call this one ‘the Bishop’

Yarn BowlI also make yarn bowls =o)

Yarn Bowl

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