Last year I decided we needed a gazebo in Chaumont. We went to the gazebo place and the guys said- you don't want a gazebo right now. They are currently twice the price with a half year wait time. But the time you get it prices will probably be down you should wait. So I waited. Yesterday we went back to the gazebo place and the same guy said I have an old one at 2019 prices that's sitting there want to see it? And so we did and I was all set to buy it, but it did not have screens or a screen floor. He said I have some bigger ones so we went and looked. We went inside it and I said to Craig it's huge! We should get it. It's bigger than I intended, but has anyone ever said - you know I wish we had less space in this gazebo.




The will come and do site prep in a week or two before delivering it. Today we spent widening the road so they can get it down here (also it needed it). Still have more to do, but my arms needed a rest. I am so excited for this gazebo. I already have plans for a fire pit and a pizza oven. Now we just need the house to go with it.




Willow is growing up this week. We don't have to keep her on the leash 100% of the time. She's figuring out that if she comes back when we call, she gets more freedom. If she doesn't listen, she gets leashed.




Craig finally got the window in. It's been sitting on the floor for nearly 2 years. It has immediate cooling effects. Making me rethink needing to replace the existing windows. I think one more window above the bed and we will get enough airflow.

It was so amazing being back in person for the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival, but I did actually expand my yarn horizons during the pandemic. First, online yarn sales meant that I could peruse all the web sites (and yes I really did click on all of them). I discovered fiber artists and sellers I probably never would have otherwise.
The other thing that I learned about were special colorways specifically designed for an event. I'm positive I've seen signs, walked past yarn, maybe even been told by someone at checkout - but it never actually sunk in that this was a thing. Being back in person for the festival this year I was looking for it and bought several.
The yarn in this design is a special from the Sheep and Wool. It is by Dragonfly Fibers (who I did know about and love pre-pandemic) and is called Welcome Back. I love the name and love the yarn. This was worked up with their Pixie yarn which is a fingering weight superwash merino. This pattern is super simple with some nice edging. I did play yarn chicken and that's why there is only 1 pocket - if you have more yarn then certainly there could be 2. :)
Can you tell that we're up in Chaumont at the cabin? I was searching for the right place to take pictures and I'm really happy with how the dog pen fence looks. Just had to avoid the poison ivy - that's a different kind of project for another day.


I used a 4mm hook.
Stitches in this pattern:
ch - chain
sk st - skip stitch
sc - single crochet
dc - double crochet
v-stitch - dc, ch 3, dc
picot - ch 3, sc into the same stitch




Back Panel
Chain 80
Row 1: sc in the 4th ch from the loop, *sk st, dc, ch 3, sk st, sc, ch 3. Repeat from *. End the row on a dc
Row 2: ch 3, *dc in the sc, ch 3, sc in the dc, ch 3. Repeat from * to the end of the row. End the row on a dc
Repeat row 2 until you reach your desired length. This is 48 rows.

Side Panels (make 2)
Cast on 36. Follow the rest of the Back Panel instructions




Sew together the back and the sides. I left 15 rows for the arm holes and 3 rows at the bottom seem (just because I like the look).




For the arms I picked up the stitches around the edge and used the same pattern of sc, ch 3, dc, ch 3 for 6 rows.
Row 7 and 8: ch 1, sc all the way around in each stitch. Slip stitch to join
Row 9: ch 6, dc in the same stitch, sk stitch, v-stitch. Repeat the v-stitch all the way around. Slip stitch to join
Row 10: ch 1, sc, picot in the middle of the ch 3 of the v stitch, sc until the next middle, picot all the way around. Slip stitch to join

For the trim of the main body I started on the bottom left side with it still inside out. This is the same edging as the arms.
Row 1 and 2: ch 1, sc all the way around in each stitch.
Row 3: ch 6, dc in the same stitch, sk stitch, v-stitch. Repeat the v-stitch all the way around.
Row 4: ch 1, sc, picot in the middle of the ch 3 of the v stitch, sc until the next middle, picot all the way around.

Weave in and trim all ends and flip right side out.




I really wanted pockets, but wasn't sure if I had enough yarn. I had enough for one so that's what I made.

Chain 16
Row 1: sc in the 4th ch from the loop, *sk st, dc, ch 3, sk st, sc, ch 3. Repeat from *. End the row on a dc
Row 2: ch 3, *dc in the sc, ch 3, sc in the dc, ch 3. Repeat from * to the end of the row. End the row on a dc
Repeat row 2 until you reach your desired length. Mine is 48 rows.
Sew the pocket on the side for your dominant hand. I'm a left so the pocket went on the left. The right length for me was 3 rows from the bottom and 3 rows back from the sc of the edge.

Enjoy! Let me know if you make it, would love to see pictures!

As I start doing shows I thought that maybe I should have some more Maryland wares. When De La Designs put up this adrobable crab I knew I needed to have it. I got it in both sizes and alternated it around the mug. I think I'll make some bowls with it soon as well. I like that the Laguna 60 is going to make it a bit like the crab is walking in the sand. Oh! I'll make the liner look like the ocean. A plan coming together!

When we were in Chaumont over Memorial Day I collected a lot of leaves to press into clay. I keep them in my refrigerator. The delicate leaves from ferns still wilt and turn brown within a few days. The maple and oaks, however, are still as green as when I picked them. I'm finally getting around to making something with the maple leaves now that I've worked my way through the other leaves.


My thinking is that I'll wipe back something that will enhance the tecture like an underglaze then either do a clear coat or just leave it as bare clay on the outside.




I'm not sure that this print inside will end up coming through or if the liner glaze will obscure it too much, we'll see. On the other bowl I made I put it on the bottom like I normally do.

I signed up for the annual Chaumont Craft Fair coming up at the end of July. As I've been to the various shops I haven't seen any Chaumont mugs or bowls - so I decided to make some! I actually really want to call the mugs "Chaumugs", but multiple people (including my husband) have told me - no, just no. This is the first time I've used my new alphabet stamps from De La Designs and I really liked them. This font is "salty."


I didn't make quite as many bowls as I did mugs, but I thought a coffee mug and cereal/ice cream bowl would be fun. I went with a fishing/woodsy theme for all of them.




As I was planning the design for these I realized how diverse the waterways are in the area. Lake Ontario is right there, but there is also the Chaumont Bay and of course the Chaumont River. Our property is along the river so I always think about it as river, but that's just a small part of the overall water area. I got this new stamp "lake life" that I really thought was cute with the fish. I want a river life one too!






More mugs drying.

I've made myself a list of the things I'm supposed to be making for my upcomong shows. However, I went a little off script. As I was pulling out the template for the bowl I was going to make, I saw my calla lilly candle holder template and decided to make that instead. I feel like the more I make these the better I'm getting at them. I really want the flower to be expressive.


I cut the flowers from the template, but I also freehand a bit because I do want them to be similar and yet not identical. As I was veering off my plan I also came to the realization - these should be on my plan. I need to add them to my list for what I'm making for the upcoming fairs and price them. I can't decide if I want to sell them individually or as a set of two. Buying a single candlestick seems weird, so probably a set of two, right?

I'm a big fan of the Good Elephant blog and in one of her posts Mea Rhee talks about having price markers vs price tags. I was really intrigued by the idea. As I prepare for these upcoming large shows I am continuing to try to narrow my voice as an artist. How do I make things that have a cohesive voice? This will enable me to have cohesive pricing.


I rolled a coil and then cut the top at an angle. At first I thought that I needed to make them all exactly the same, but as I made the first few I thought they were more visually interesting if they were a little different. My current thinking is that I'm going to glaze the bottoms in some of my common glaze colors. Probably no more than 5 colors, but also not one single color. What do you think?

One of the amazing yarns I found at the Sheep and Wool festival is from A Hundred Ravens. I purchased their Yaksha Mini Set in Phoenix which is 20% Yak (also 70% SW Merino and 10% Nylon). I've never had Yak yarn before and it's super soft. At the Sheep and Wool it was pouring when I was in their tent and the wind was blowing hard. There was another woman looking at the same yarn, in the same color set, and we ended up buying it all.

I wanted a good use of the yarn so I learned another new stitch. This is the Nexus stitch and it shows off the yarn really well. You know what else shows off the yarn well? The gorgeous Red Oak buttons from Favour Valley Woodworking. I started off making a shirt, but I wanted to use all of the colors and it just got too long for a shirt and thus it became a poncho.


This is a fingering weight yarn and I used a 4.5 mm hook. You will need 2 sets of Yaksha for this - approximately 950 yards total.

The Nexus stitch is cast on in multiples of 8 + 7 stitches. I cast on 103 (96+7) which worked out to be about 24 inches.

Stitches:

Sk: skip stitch

Ch: Chain

sc: Single crochet

dc: Double Crochet

Shell: Double Crochet, chain 3, double crochet, chain 3, double crochet

V-stitch: Double crochet, chain 3, double crochet

Spike stitch: insert hook into the double crochet 2 rows below and single crochet in the will be the middle stitch of the shell and around the chain 5 from one row below.




Row 1: dc in the 7th ch from the hook, * sk 3 ch, sc in the next ch, sk 3 ch, shell. Repeat from * across, in the last chain v-stitch

Row 2: Ch 1, sc in the first dc, ch 2, *v-stitch in the next sc, ch 5, sk shell. Repeat from * across sc in the 3rd ch of the turning chain

Row 3: Ch 1, sc in the first st, * Shell in the ch 3 space of the next v-stitch, spike stitch in dc 2 rows below. Repeat from * across sc in the last stitch

Row 4: Ch 4, dc in the turning stitch, *ch 5, sk next shell, v-stitch in the next sc. Repeat from * across dc, ch 1, dc in the last stitch

Row 5: Ch 6. dc in the same stitch, * spike st in the top of the shell dc 2 rows below, Shell in the Ch 3 space of the v-stitch. Repeat from * across v-stitch in the last stitch.




You will have 12 shells in the shell rows. Repeat rows 2-5 until you run out of yarn. As one color finished, I switched to the next yarn even if it was mid-row. The colorway makes it so that it flows fine. I decided I wanted it to end on a shell row (row 3 or 5) for the edging. Make 2 panels.

Line up the two panels. Mine ended up being 34 inches long - this becomes your top and bottom. I made the neck about 10 inches wide based on personal preference. So I went to 17 inches (the middle) and then pinned 5 inches in either direction. Sew from the end to each pin.




This poncho really called out for some buttons and these felt like the perfect ones. I went with 3 on each side. I wanted the arm hole to be 8 inches - so I put the first button there. The second button went about an inch from the bottom. Then the last button midway between the two. Put them about an inch in from the edge.




Seriously love these buttons. I'm really happy with the final product and I feel like it's light enough to wear when its not oppresively hot any more.

Sneak peak of the new kiln! My lamp is in here! I started this months ago and I finally decided on a color - purple (no surprise)! It's in the top right of this picture. My fairy house is finally glazed and in this kiln as well.
Also in this kiln are more planters and a lot of lemon plates.




I did not manage to clear my kiln shelves, but I only have a couple of plates and my star tree on the shelf. They're already glazed, but I've got to do a bisque and do more glazing to fill up the kiln.

I went downstairs to make stuff the other day and I was just so tired. I don't know about you all, but the process of making slabs via the slab roller is a mini workout. I stood there staring for a moment and decided that it just wasn't happening. It had been a few days since I had done stuff though and I did want to play with clay. I sat down with a bag of clay and before I knew it - Gnomes!




As I was making them I made some mini-gnome parts. I had seen someone post not too long ago that they made gnome wine stoppers. I thought they looked adorable and decided to make some small gnomes to try that out.




Gnomes are super easy to make and a lot of fun.

Just finished a new top that I'm calling Buds on Stems. I have this amazing book Crochet Every Way Stitch Dictionary by Dora Ohrenstein. I was looking to create my next design and was flipping through pages and found the Buds on Stem stitch. I had actually already previously put the book cover in because it was such a pretty stitch.

I had 2 skeins of Sojurn in Moss from Miss Babs which is a fingering weight yarn.






I used a 4.5 mm hook.

Stitches:

Ch = chain

sc = single crochet

dc = double crochet

sk 2 ch = skip two chains

Buds = double crochet 3 together, ch 3, double crochet 3 together






The cast on for this stitch is multiples of 6 + 3. I cast on 63 which gave me 10 buds going across.

Row 1: Buds in the 6th chain from the hook, sk 2 ch, *dc, sk 2 ch, Buds, sk 2 ch. Repeat from * across, dc in the last chain.

Row 2: Ch 5, *sc in the next ch 3 space, ch 2, dc in the next dc, ch 2. Repeat from * across ending with dc.

Row 3: Ch 5, dc 3 together in the first chain, * dc in the next sc, Buds in the next dc. Repeat from * across. In the last chain dc 3 together

Row 4: Ch 1, sc in the first dc, * ch 2, dc in the next dc, sc in the next ch 3 space. Repeat from * across, dc in the last ch.

Row 5: Ch 3, * Buds in the next dc, dc in the next dc. Repeat from * across.

Repeat rows 2-5 until you have your desired length. I ended up wiht 14 rows of buds.

Make 2 panels




The next step is to sew the panels together. I wanted a fairly open neck so I sewed in 3 buds on each side. For the arm holes I left 5 buds. I also didn't sew all the way to the bottom because I like how it looks when shirts have a little bit of an open bottom.

This pattern is for an adult medium. You could easily adjust to make it wider or longer to adjust the size. I used almost all of the yarn so if you're going to go larger you'd need another skein.

It's been a while since I've had kiln results and there was a backup on my shelves. There is another kiln already cooling while I post these results. This kiln had some WOW! and some Meh.
There is a lot more vinyl resist in this kiln load. I'm still making bear stuff. Bears on Brown Bear clay makes me smile. The bear on the pitcher is my favorite piece in the kiln. I really wasn't sure it would work because it was so ornate, but it came out amazing. I also had never used Midnight Ceramics glazes on Brown Bear and took the risk - they did not disapoint!
The Meh is my chip and dip platter. I don't know what happened to the pigment, it just didn't pop at all. I might try to reglaze or maybe just make another one. If I reglaze I'll lose the texture, but if I can make it something I don't hate it might be worth it. Also this pretty much takes up a whole shelf so is it worth it if it doesn't work? I don't know, thoughts?

Midnight Ceramics Sexy Mermaid x2	KY Mudworks Brown Bear Clay Midnight Ceramics Boxed Wine x2 Sexy Mermaid How cute is this bear! Also the colors!
Opulence Red Shimmer - Inside x3, Outside x2 (It needs 3)	Mayco Light Flux - Ws x2. Mayco Teal Next Time, Bluebeard, Fruit of the Vine, Jaded - Dots. Mayco Norse Blue x2 all over
Midnight Ceramics Sexy Mermaid x3	Mayco Winterwood, Sand and Sea, Celedon Bloom I love the "water", but the sand is meh
Coyote Peacock Green x2 Turquoise Lake x2	Brown Bears made from Brown Bear clay - hehe. Coyote Oatmeal x3
Laguna 60 Mayco Rasberry Mist x3 Galaxy x2 The lines weren't as crisp on the words as I'd like, but this combo is a keeper	Cardinals are Speedball Red (too thick!) Outside Georgie's Tree Bark wiped back Zinc Free Clear x2 Inside Amaco Snapdragon x3
Amaco Mulberry x3 Seaweed x2 Squid are Mayco Foundations Black Amaco Seaweed x2 This came out so sweet	Mayco Frosted Lemon x3 Night Moth x2
Inside Amaco Blue Rutile Outside Mayco Dandelion, Java Bean, Caribean Blue, Just Froggy	Same mug other side!
Mayco Norse Blue x3 Celedon Bloom x2 This was thrown by my grandaughter Izzy	Outside Georgie's Autumn Foliage Zinc Free Clear x2 Inside Amaco Seaweed x3
Top Georgie's Autumn Foliate Zinc Free Clear x2 Laguna Green x3 - this lost most of the texture	Laguna 60 Laguna Green x2 - this was deep texture and it was still lost
Georgie's Autumn Foliage Zinc Free Clear x2, Mayco Saphire