OUCH!

So, I was doing a bit of quality control on some mugs for my friend Matt from high school... I've been having so much trouble with these stoneware mugs lately. First, the glaze crazed so much the mugs leaked. Then, once I got the new, better glaze, I had troubles with them breaking somewhere in production. I have orders for 8, 6 for Matt and one each for Janie & Luke. I started out with 18. In trimming, I lost 6. In the bisque firing, I lost 6 more. I was down to 6, got them all glazed, they looked great when they came out of the kiln. I didn't get to take a good look at them for a day or two, too many other things going on. So, this morning, I went to pick one up, and it broke in my hands! The result is this lovely cut on my left ring finger. Or as the kind doctor at Urgent Care called it - a de-lamination of the skin... The worst part (aside from the 2 1/2 hours at Urgent Care) was the Lidocaine shot, IN the cut, to numb it! OUCH! I almost passed out! The Tetanus shot was a piece of cake! Yeah, I'm a woos that way!
Anyway, I now have to make MORE mugs to be able to get Matt his 6! But I have to wait until my finger heals over a bit first.

**No, this is not one of the 'fun' pictures I said I hoped to share this week...

Brrrrrr! (And a link to a give-away)

We had some icy/snowy weather here this weekend. I was doing a small show for the Electric City Shag Club in Clemson.
Though it is only 4 miles down the road, I ended up staying there, not knowing what the road conditions would be like. Thanks to friends for making sure I was safe.
The show went OK, about the same as I did last year, and, considering the economy, that is a good thing. I really enjoy this show, there are so many wonderful members of the Electric City Shag Club and other Shag Clubs in the Southeast. It is so nice to see the familiar faces each year and I have made some good friends.
Now it is time to get some much needed rest... just waiting for my laundry to finish drying...

About that give-away...
February is my younger sister's family's 'Birth Month' celebration. She, her hubby and their Munchkin all have their birthdays in February. They celebrate every day with a small gift in the pockets of a wonderful quilt. She is doing a Birth Month Give-away on her blog, just stop by there to see how to enter. She has a photo of the quilt on there, it is so bright and colorful!

I hope to have some photos of some fun things coming up later this week.

Am I seeing things?

Last week I was moving a piece of furniture with a very low clearance, hence difficult to clean well underneath. There was a piece of paper that had been under it which had collected dust bunnies.
Can you please tell me what you see (besides dust bunnies on a piece of paper that is...)
I see a woman's profile... am I seeing things that aren't really there?
No, I don't plan on using it as inspiration for creativity, I was just amazed that I saw this. If it sparks your creativity, or clears the dust bunnies out of your creative thought pattern, great!
I have seen cartoon bears in the folds of a plastic grocery bag, dogs in the knots of a wooden floor, and I don't even remember what image I saw once in the kitty litter. (Yes, EEEEWWWWW!!!!) Not to mention the numerous cloud formations that bring to mind all sorts of things. No, I am not preserving it and auctioning it off on Ebay. It is long since sucked up into the vacuum! Do not call one of the gossip tabloids. I do not want a stream of gawkers knocking at the door to see the 'Dust Bunny Lady'. Show's over, Elvis has left the building, yada, yada, yada...

Sand Fibers Give Away

Thanks to my friend Jo of Dogmaw Glass, I heard about this fabulous give away over at Sand Fibers. I just discovered her blog, but love it already! She has beautiful bead work and sells on Etsy. I look forward to following her and seeing her work. From what I see, she works primarily in Peyote stitch, one of my all-time favorite stitches! Even if I don't win her give-away, I am just glad that Jo led me to her work! (Jo posted it to Facebook - yes, I have fallen into the abyss of facebook as well... )

Starting off the New Year

This is a bracelet I designed for a class at The Mercantile. I was inspired by a totally different bracelet in a recent magazine. I was trying to modify and make it my own... this was the fourth and final attempt. It looks absolutely nothing like the bracelet that inspired me. I had no name for the bracelet when we made up the class schedule. Terri dubbed it the MMX bracelet (for the Roman numerals for 2010).
I have been a little creatively challenged the last several weeks. Partly because of all of the holiday hustle and bustle, then I had a sinus allergy that left me nearly voiceless for Christmas.
My mom had a biopsy on some nodules on her back and neck, that turned out to be breast cancer cells. She fought it 10 years ago, she's determined to fight it again. And yesterday we found out that the PET scan shows no signs of it being anywhere else. YAY!!!! (She goes to the Oncologist Monday to find out her treatment and treatment schedule... she has a cruise planned for early April!)
I have orders to fulfill with mugs, and a show to do at the end of the month. Saturday I hope the weather allows us to go to Atlanta for the Gift Market.

(Sorry my post rambles a bit... I'm tired and ready for bed... good night all!)

Hoping your 2010 is a wonderful year!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

I have been lax about posting lately.
I want to wish everyone a very merry Christmas. Try not to over eat too much! Enjoy the company of the loved ones around. And if you do not practice a christian religion, I wish you a very happy, safe and enjoyable day. To everyone, a wonderful 2010!
(I hope to be better about posting in the new year!)

Please be patient with me...

For those of you who are getting some of the stoneware mugs, I should have them ready by the end of next week, or beginning of the following week. I had some problems with the clear glaze on the inside and am expecting the new glaze to arrive soon. I checked with the 'experts' and they are recommending this new-to-me glaze for this clay. I didn't think anyone wanted to have mugs that leak... or maybe you do... (PS - Phyllis, the problem occurred because I didn't want to have to fire twice like I did yours...)
But, as a result of this set-back, I need to make a BUNCH of new mugs to glaze with the new glaze. The decorative glazes on the rim are no problem, so those of you who have specific orders, I can still do those. I know Rick needs his 2 for guessing the Carolina Wolf Spider with her babies, and Matt wants 6 or so for a gift, Janie wants one for her mug collection, and I need to get some more over to the Arts Center in Clemson for their Holiday Show & Sale.
It was so hard for me to literally throw away a dozen mugs and a sugar/creamer set the other day. But I can't sell them or use them, so I just took a real deep breath and dumped the whole tray into the garbage can...
I am working on finishing up some custom bracelets for a customer to give for Christmas, but I am working on the mugs in-between.
Oh, by the way... where in the world did 2009 go?
(I repaired the link to the Arts Center... typo will mess it up any day...)