a theme

i tend towards blues, creams, and browns in pottery. i don't think i do this with a specific purpose; more an inclination towards those hues. red is my least favorite color, followed by orange, but i do like pink rather a lot. primary and secondary hues aren't really my cup of tea (outside of yellow), they are just too strong and bright when used other than as an accent hue. tertiary hues and pastels though, those are lovely. give me a yellow-green, blue-purple, blue-green, or red-purple any day and i'm a happy kid. whites and creams allow me to admire the green shades of my tea, one of the nicest parts of drinking it. an explanation for the celedon color would be it's traditional, so you come across it a lot.

my collection of tea preparing pieces (clockwise from top left): bamboo chasen with celedon stand, tokoname kyusu, stoneware chawan for matcha, water cooler (my grandmother's), tea cup for sencha, hand thrown tea cup for bancha, tea chest in the upper right corner, chakin in lower right corner, teaspoon in lower left corner. it's a mishmash of pieces, i know, but i like each one and they make me happy (the only one i have to impress is myself, any how).

bigger, but better?

now for a full sized version! here is my second egg basket, a little asymmetrical, but it works. i'm pretty sure it could hold a few bricks, but i'm not really willing to try out the theory. there are a couple of other varieties i would like to construct; nantucket, onion, coiled, oh whichever catches my eye. we'll see.

pattern books

i've decided to part with some of my japanese pattern books, and have listed them in my etsy shop. i haven't made anything from some of them, so i thought it would be a good idea to pass them on to someone who will.

...

i've watched the final harry potter, and it was brilliant (i still think they could have squeezed it into one movie, or at least separated the two halves at a different point in the plot then where they did). but, all in all, quite good entertainment.

wrapping

since watching the movie "the tourist", i've been infatuated with the wrap angelina jolie's character wore in the first half; so elegant and warm. when i was in asheville, i picked up 3/4 yd of double faced wool coating with the intention of making something similar.

i wanted it to be reversible, so i sewed the pieces together with a zigzag stitch so there isn't a seam. for some shaping i added a pleat to the back.

the wrap is off centered for flair, and i'm thinking of adding magnets as a closure, but i'm not 100% sure. for now, it's too hot to wear it, so i can keep collecting ideas.

how does your garden grow?

with the immense heat and little rainfall my garden isn't growing as quickly as i hoped. but, these past few days we've been getting afternoon rain showers, and i noticed a tomotillo hanging in the lower branches. the flowers are really pretty as well, like dragons.

weaving in three dimensions

since becoming a weaver i've started to pay more attention to baskets. i love to find them in yarn stores being used as display; they feel good together with fiber (a pb & j relationship), their natural hues being a perfect backdrop to the vivid colors. i want to start incorporating them more into my personal life, perhaps even into my artistic life.

my friend bonnie is a basket maker and has many of them about her weaving studio. one particular shape, the egg basket, has garnered my attention the most. she offered to teach me how to make one, and i gladly jumped on the opportunity.

yesterday, we started on a medium sized basket, getting the handle and rim together, but had to put them aside to wait on further supplies. after lunch, we got to making a small egg basket, which enabled me to understand it's construction, and near instant gratification. it's so dainty, it fills the palm of your hands when held together! i love small things.