Just picked up my pottery from the studio, where Frank does a wonderful display job for the whole studio…
Just table after table so we can compare glaze results and asdmire and ask questions to the assembled masses.
I’ve been working on those handled vases, a refined version of them I’m very happy with. Here’s this crop.
And I also kept working on my quatrefoil bowls, which please me immensely.
Okay, these people opened up this year and already have a direct link to my checking account. David and I both love the eclectic mix of antiques and modern, functional pieces featured at Smith & Chang General Goods (www.smithchang.com).
And I would have said that even before they started selling my pottery there (honestly, check my Quicken log. Smith and Chang has it’s own category).
I was joined by Steph and Phil and Rob for this year’s Jersey City Artist Studio Tour. How could it not have been a resounding success surrounded by such talented friends?
A closet full of vases…
A table full of bowls…
Some of Phil’s photography (www.roamingpixels.com)
One of Steph’s giclee prints (www.bookteacher.com)…
Just some of the art Rob had on display (www.crutonia.blogspot.com)…
Join us next year!
…I know the site has gone moribund for too, too long. But I haven’t knit anything in about five months, I’ve been production-potter in the studio (just making things with an eye toward sale), and the house, well, if you follow the saga, you know there have been ups-and-downs in the basement.
But before I disappeared, there was some great knitting, so let’s post a photo, shall we?
This year’s winter hat for Mia, done freehand. The pompoms were a particular favorite of mine…
And it looked fantastic on…
Amigurumi, again from Hansi Singh’s book. Incredibly life-like, and actual size. A one-night project, and a fun one at that. And it taught me some more new techniques.
It’s been 16 months, no, maybe longer. Really, David and I stopped counting somewhere along the time of the home equity loan… but we’re so excited and pleased with the results. Sure, we still have a few small things to take care of, but who thought we would ever start bringing furniture into the basement?
VIRTUAL TOUR! Let’s start by walking down the staircase from the main entry to our house…
Which brings us into the new apartment…
The bedroom is to the left of this entrance…
which has next to the exposed brick a large closet for clothes (and eventually a washer/dryer, hence the hook-up)…
…as well as a utility closet…
Which is next to the exterior door which takes you to the street, which is next to the next two utility closets, the first for the hose hook-up and the electrical panels, as well as the first sump-pump which is connected to the French drain which protects the perimeter of the building…
…and the larger utility closet for the boiler and the hot water heater…
But who wants to see those? Let’s keep those doors closed…
We wouldn’t want to distract from the beautiful bathroom next to it (just opposite the door you came in from as you entered from the central stairs, for those playing the home game)…
…with the fantastic tile work in the shower…
..and coming out you’re faced with that door again up the central stairs, and two more closets down the hall space…
The first is another clothes closet…
…the second, an elaborate pantry we designed with U-shaped shelves to allow maximum visibility for the storage…
A nice pantry for a nice kitchenette, just opposite…
…with the marble counter and the glass tile back splash…
…and those adorable small appliances, the dishwasher…
…and the four burner gas stove…
…which transitions us into the living space next to the old cast iron stove we reclaimed and have now refinished (thanks, Steph, for giving us the head’s up about it at a garage sale years ago. It’s been sitting waiting for its debut all this time, and was well worth the hernia-inducing process of toting it fifteen blocks, and then carrying it down to the basement!)
…which we thought originally would live in the fireplace, but when we redid the tiling, we just couldn’t bear to cover it up (plus we have an electrical outlet inside the fireplace in case we ever install a flat screen inside, as well as for some subtle accent lighting)…
The fireplace is all cleaned up now, and someday could be made functional again (look up inside it, so clean!)
But right to the side of the fireplace is the bar area, with the leaded glass doors we designed…
And the shelf designed to store the wine refrigerator and the wheeled bar table with stools for an intimate eating nook…
And note the long-needed full-sized window we had installed. A real boon (along with the retractable screen doors in the front and back of the building, a real life-saver for cross breeze).
Outside through the back door…
…to see the barbecue area with the railing and gas hook-up on the deck…
But back inside, okay, for the living area…
with a huge storage area underneath the stairs behind that pocket door…
That’s the apartment, or the summer kitchen as we think of it. And a lovely home for some of our Mission furniture…
We’ll have a bed put in soon, and then you’re all welcome to stay!
From Hansi Singh’s amazing new book of amigurumi knitting, meet Smucker the Jellyfish. I lot of new techniques for me, all brilliantly explained by Hansi. I’m in awe of her talent, and can’t wait to work my way through her patterns.
Not for infants, this one (sorry, Mia. Maybe Ben will let you play with it when you’re older. And, no, this isn’t a set-up. Sheesh… so suspicious, you parents of remarkably cool children who should only be so lucky as to meet each other and fall in love when they’re of age…). Well, I suppose I’ll just have to keep making them as my beach-loving infants mature.
During a particularly unnecessary meeting yesterday (I sat for 90 minutes before my two minute item came to the agenda), I found myself writing down various words, apropos of nothing.
And now, in some way trying to find meaning in the activity, I ask you to read the list, thus justifying those 90 minutes I will never see again…
Infarction
Evanescent
Piccolo
Starfish
Carbuncle
Spaetzle
Coruscant
Flapjack
Proboscis
Febrile
Dendrite
Bootlegger
Snogging
Gratuitous
Braggadocio
Avuncular
Diddling
Funicular
Haberdasher
Juncture
Lubricious
Meritricious
Namby-pamby
Quotidian
Retrodict
Salacious
Tchotchke
Venal
Zippy
Undulating
Wamble
Since Steph guessed correctly, here are the photos. Another creature from the Australian wildlife book of patterns from Cleckheaton. Oliver measures 18″ from bill to tail (the bill hides a squeaker, naturally), 5″ tall, and 8″ from webbed toe to glorious webbed toe. I placed him atop a soup container to give better swimming poses 🙂
Let’s look at the close-up of the webbed foot again, shall we?
Now, Oliver is a bit larger than my usual projects, so it may be awhile before I knit his mate, Sylvia Platypus (thank you, Jim!). I’m sure I will in time, but for the next project, I’m looking towards a smaller, more intricate companion… but not right now. Knitting with US3 needles takes an awfully long time, and those increases and decreases were causing calluses!
Ok, this is just a teaser shot… another completed stuffed creature, but unless Steph promises she won’t peek, this is all you’re getting. I have to give some enticement for her to return from the glories of Switzerland, don’t I? If you can’t wait, and you have access to Ravelry, you can see the complete details there…
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