Playing with patches of colour

Playing with patches of colour is a great way to spend time, quite a long time sometimes!  It doesn't matter whether its bits of gorgeous fabric or squares of glazed ceramic.  I mix and match, and mutter 'Yesss!' at one colour combo and then 'Eeek, No!' at another.  

Tiny ceramic tiles.  Available to order from www.catherinedanielceramics.com

And one thing generally leads to another, so that the little ceramic tiles then become patches on a ceramic quilt bowl.

Ceramic patchwork bowl from www.catherinedanielceramics.com

A while ago now,  I started playing about with these beautiful vintage fabrics below.

Vintage 30's and 40's fabrics

And during that little play I mused upon how lovely they would look as the basis for a range of traditional quilt block patterns.

The 'Right Hand of Friendship' block used in our Homewares collection

And then, as usual, one thing led to another and the new homewares collection was born.

Available from www.cathydaniel.co.uk

And when they ask, you say, "It may look like I'm just playing about but there's serious stuff going on here!"

Playing around with stuff is where it all starts - but then you all know that because I bet you all do it too?

x Cathy

Schoolhouse Block

An adaptation of the 'Little Red Schoolhouse' block - not done this one before and I actually found it quite tricky.

Little Blue Schoolhouse ?

Had to make a template and everything!  No 'winging it' on this one!

Making the template gave me the idea of making a little hanging house

Wanted to make the houses all kind of merge into each other, and quite like the higgledy-piggledy look of the finished pattern.

Now available from:  www.catherinedanielceramics.com

Added a kind of brick-wall effect as a border, along with the usual little ceramic button.

Brickwall detail around border

 And, of course, a little bit of sewing up was needed, as always.  I put my potter's mark above the doorway of each house - it's an overlapping C and D - not very inventive really!

Enjoyed using this block and will definitely make more in different colour combos.  May even put 'Home Sweet Home' or similar, in the border?  Might make a nice house-warming gift, maybe?

This must be a result of having houses on the brain at the moment.  We've sold ours and have yet to find another and I have looked at so many online, they are all merging together - a bit like this pattern!!

We haven't moved for 15 years - any tips welcome!

x Cathy

1718 Coverlet Ceramics in Pictures

I took the 1718 ceramics to the Quilt Museum last week whilst they were setting up the exhibition and I got to see behind the scenes.  The actual Coverlet was not yet up but I did see the reproduction, made by members of the Quilters Guild, and even that was just stunning.

I shall return in a few weeks to see the exhibition in full swing.  Here are the last pictures of the pieces which are now on sale at York.

The Fleur de Lys corner block.

 

 

 

What IS that shape top left??  A crab?  A spider?

 

The motifs and silk fabrics used suggest that EH was from a well-to-do family

The border above was done with my forky-spoony thing.  

I shall miss working on these, but I do have a backlog of 'normal' quilt bowls to catch up on, and my pre-Christmas stocks have run dangerously low!  Added to which, my kiln may soon be in the back of a furniture lorry headed to some as yet unknown destination!!  

Oh, well.  Too much certainty is not good for a person!  More of all that to come, probably ... possibly .... maybe ..... who knows!

Have a great week.

x Cathy

Making the 1718 Coverlet Ceramics

So having said 'Yes' to making the series of pieces based on the gorgeous 1718 Patchwork Coverlet, only THEN did I give some thought as to how I would go about it!

I studied the online image of the whole quilt (see my last post) and contacted Susan Briscoe, (author of 'The 1718 Coverlet'), who sent me her own master plan of the quilt on which she had numbered each individual block, making it easy for me to identify the close-up images I required for the pots.

There was no point printing off the images, as they would not be the size I needed for my pieces, so I just drew the online image free-hand onto card which I then cut out to make a template.

Template placed into position on the clay slab.

The template was then placed into position on the already rolled out clay slab so that I could mark out the image with a clay tool.

Design completely marked out and border being added

 

Obviously, for some blocks, I didn't need a card template.  Geometric shapes are ok - geese are another matter!  I wanted to set the whole design off with a decorative border and, appropriately, used a lace imprint.

Fired once, glaze applied and awaiting second firing in kiln.

The picture above shows the same design but with a different lace-patterned border (photographic consistency not my strong point!).  This would then come out of the kiln all finished except for the thread and button detail.  You saw the finished version of this one in the last post.  Here are some of the others.

Large and small bowls out of the kiln, but not yet with thread and button attachments

I wanted to concentrate mainly on the blocks around the name and date block, as I felt that was significant.

Close-up of the original name/date block, courtesy of Sue Briscoe

But who was EH?  Did we ever find out?  I seriously wondered about her (him??!!) whilst I was making all these.  I thought about joyful colours, detail, imagery, perseverance, patience, skill, talent, creativity, fulfilment, history, life in 1718, and a thousand other things ....  even whether she was up there watching me!

My potter's mark centre top in the border

Can you see my potter's mark here on this piece?  CD and EH - working together!
Now you get the process, my final 1718 post next time will be few words and many pictures.

Have a great weekend.  Getting Autumny .... back to school .... sharpen those pencils!

Cathy x

1718 Silk Patchwork Coverlet

Back in May this year I was asked by the National Quilt Museum in York (to whom I supply my ceramic quilt bowls) if I would be interested in making a series of pieces based on one of their exhibits, the 1718 Silk Patchwork Coverlet.  For those who don't know, this is the oldest dated quilt in the country and the Museum are mounting an exhibition around it in September.

The 1718 Coverlet

I took one look at the image of the Coverlet and immediately replied YES!  I mean - just look at it!  How could you not get involved in something as crazy and beautiful as that?

There is a book entitled The 1718 Coverlet, by Susan Briscoe, (foreword by Kaffe Fassett),  which has just been published, which researches the background to the piece and gives full patterns and instructions on how to make the 69  blocks from this. 

I got in touch with Susan, pre-publication,  to see if she could help with close-ups of the blocks I wanted to use so that I could work from them.  She was incredibly generous and helpful and sent me all the images I asked for -  like this one:

image of original panel from 1718 Coverlet courtesy of Susan Briscoe

and this one:

image of original panel from 1718 Coverlet courtesy of Susan Briscoe

Once I had these close-ups, I was able to work in detail on the ceramics and produce in total 20 pieces which will be dispatched to the museum in the next few weeks, in time for their Exhibition.  Below is just one of the series - I will bore you rigid show you more in the next few blogs and go into detail about the making process.

Ceramic Bowl based on the 1718 Coverlet.  www.catherinedanielceramics.com

All the pieces have my trade-mark mixed media threaded bits and attached buttons, and I added my own border to frame the block.  It's very much my own interpretation, rather than an exact replica, but I am pleased with the results.

I had the most fun making these.  It has been both fascinating and fulfilling to interpret images from this historic quilt onto ceramic bowls.  Do go to the Exhibition in York if you can (5 Sept to 13 Dec) and they're doing all sorts of workshops, etc around this for you clever quilters! 

More to come next time!

x Cathy

When Life gets on top of you!

When life gets on top of me, as it is at the moment, I automatically work small.  It isn't a conscious choice, but I've noticed that's the way it always goes.

Tiny ceramic tiles - 5cm square - so cute!!

So I found myself making little ceramic tiles in my favourite colours and patterns and though they're only little and I've no idea what I'll do with them, I felt like I had at least achieved something!

But then even more 'stuff' intervened and the work got even smaller ..... and I used just the central pattern from the flower tiles to make these - don't quite know what they are/will be, but that didn't matter at the time.

Ceramic flowers - pendants?  Something!

Then .....  life and stuff and everything crowded in even more and the pottery got REALLY TINY!  These little buttons are just over a centimetre in diameter.

Itty bitty buttons - to sew onto my BIG patchwork bowls

Sometimes, though, it's enough that you do something, however little, and just carry on in a small way, until things get back to normal, (whatever that is!).

And I hope that happens soon, because if the work gets any smaller than 1cm it will be invisible!
But don't worry - it's nothing serious, just 'life and stuff and everything'.  This too shall pass.

Is this phenomenon familiar to you or is it just me?

x Cathy

Blog Award - part two

So, back from my week away, and ready to tackle part two of the Liebster Blog Award in which I answer the11 questions which Penny has asked me.  To vary it a bit, I shall intersperse with photos I took while we were away.

Tintern Abbey - absolutely enchanting!

Who or what inspired you to start your blog?
A need to keep a log of what I'm making in my pottery and a wish to share my working methods and results with other like-minded people is what first inspired me.  I then created this new blog to include our recently launched quilty homewares news too.

My Ideal Friday Evening?
Cosy on the sofa under my homemade quilt, with glass of wine - one eye on the ipad and the other on the telly.

My favourite room in my house and why?
Easy - the kitchen.  It is large and welcoming, always Aga-warm, with a big table where people drift in and out and sit and chat, and drink tea and eat cake.

The fairytale tower which was our holiday cottage.  'Rapunzel, Rapunzel, .....'

Do I have a signature bake?
My date and walnut cake is very good.  Made from a secret recipe handed down through our family, which I can't divulge, but I can say  .....  it's got dates and walnuts in it.

My favourite fashion era and why?
Not sure really ....  I loved growing up in the sixties and wearing zip-front mini-dresses made by my mum from seriously psychedelic fabric!  Oh, and red hot-pants with a heart shaped bib!

My favourite piece of music?
'My One and Only Love' - John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman.  The saxophone interlude sublime.

A good real-ale pub within WALKING distance - happy hubby!

My most loved book as a child?
'The Golden Treasury of Poetry' selected by Louis Untermeyer and with gorgeous pen and ink drawings by Joan Walsh Anglund.  I still have it and still love it.

My least favourite household chore/task?
Cleaning the windows - never get them smear-free.  Too much of a perfectionist maybe.

Where and when do I like to read?
Don't get nearly enough time to read - but have a book by my bed and sometimes read before sleeping.

Cottage complete with it's own drawbridge!

Do I harbour a secret ambition that would surprise my family and friends?
Yes!  But it's a secret!!

Am I a make-up every day girl or do I prefer bare-faced beauty?
I tend to wear a bit of mascara and blusher every day, just so as not to scare babies and young children who may cross my path.



And that's my 11 questions answered, and well thought out they were too, Penny! I've enjoyed taking part in this award and will nominate my own award winners in due course, once I've had time to put some questions together.

And now I am going to catch up with you all as I have been a bit remiss lately!  Have a great weekend!

x Cathy

All about Me !

The lovely Penny at The Homemade Heart has nominated this little blog for the Liebster Award which I am sure you all know about, if you've been blogging for any length of time.  Thank You Very Much Penny!
It is basically a blog promotion system but also a nice way of getting to know more about the individual blogger.

Norfolk flint wall

I don't really post much information about ME in this blog, only about what I MAKE.  The first thing I have to do as part of this award is to give you 11 random facts about myself - brace yourself .... I said 'random', not 'interesting'!

1.  I love taking photos - always have, since a very young age. I photo everything, as you can see here!

2.  I like flint walls, which is a good thing as we are surrounded by them in Norfolk!

3.  I am a great believer that things look better in groups - even mop-buckets.

A gaggle of mop-buckets

4.  I speak three languages, reasonably fluently - French, German and Yorkshire.

5.  I have been a 'Yorkshire Lass' for 55 years now and have never once uttered the words "Eee bah Gum".

6.  I love watching wildlife.  It can be anything from the birds in the garden, whale-watching off Cape Cod or seals in North Norfolk - it is completely absorbing.

It's the eyes, isn't it?

7.  This is one of the most difficult blog posts I have ever written!!!  It feels like I don't know anything about myself at all.

8.  There are so many other crafts (apart from Pottery) which I NEED to have a go at, that I fear I shall run out of time!  

9.  I hate getting 'dressed up'.  I still look like a student most days.  I was a child of the 'party frock' era, and have been rebelling ever since.

Complete with fluffy little cardie!

10.  It's a cliche, but the best thing I've ever created is not my pottery, or my homewares designs, or my blog, or my home - it is my three brilliant, gorgeous, wonderful children.  They would insist they are no longer children, but they always will be to me!

11.  I am taking a break from everything at the end of this week and have loads to do in preparation, so that is my excuse for pretty much doing this post off the top of my head - yes, I know you can tell!!  

So - I think that's enough about me for now, but if you're still awake and want more, tune into the next post which is part two of the Liebster Award, in which I answer Penny's 11 specific, original and rather quirky questions!  Thanks, Penny, I enjoyed it really ;-)



x Cathy



 
 

Threadkeepers

A while ago my friend Rose at handstitchery.blogspot drew my attention to something called a 'threadkeeper'.  She has been stitching a long time and had only just become aware of them, and needless to say, I had never heard of them before!

If you google images for 'threadkeepers' you will see hundreds of examples.  

Spaghetti junction - this is how I 'keep' my threads!

And if your threads look more like a plate of spaghetti, it may be that a threadkeeper could be the answer!

Ceramic Threadkeepers

So, I had a go at making some.  Basically they can be anything, so long as there are holes to keep your threads tidy.  I decided on little birds, but hearts might be good too.

Baby Bird Ceramic Threadkeeper

You'll have to tell me if I've done this correctly, because I have no way of knowing, but I am assuming it's meant to go something like this above??

Is this an American thing?  Have you heard of them? Do you use one?  Would you use one? If  not, how do you 'keep' your threads?  I personally think I am too lazy to actually bother threading them through one of these, but maybe that's just me!!

At any rate, I am sending one of mine to Rose for suggesting them as something that might fit with my 'brand' quite well.  Thank you Rose!

xCathy

Friendship

The mugs are set up on old bushel boxes - good for carrying and for showing!

So, we're back from the Quilt Show and I can honestly say it was exhausting but also great fun.  The thing that stood out for me over the two days of the show was how friendly and helpful everyone in the world of quilting/sewing/making is!
Obviously I already knew that from blogging with you all, but it was lovely to chat for real and to meet new quilting-mad friends!

Quilt-block wrapping paper in 'Summer Winds' pattern

The lucky draw was drawn - congrats to you, Freda!  Parcel in the post!   It was a good experience and we didn't forget anything, afterall!  So, we will probably do it all again in the Autumn.

'Right Hand of Friendship' ceramic quilt block bowl 

It was also a useful way to get feedback on our new homewares products.  The most popular pattern range amongst customers seems to be the 'Right Hand of Friendship' items, which is also the case for the handmade pottery. That is surely because quilters are such a thoughtful, friendly bunch of people and the sentiment strikes a chord with them.

Friendship gifts.   www.cathydaniel.co.uk

So, lots of these were bought, even for Christmas presents,  (in May!!).

But now, I have to put my pottery hat on for a few weeks, (do potters wear hats??), to catch up with a backlog of orders from some very patient people!  Some of my bowls were seen at the recent Loch Lomond Quilt Show, and as a result, a flurry of orders has come in from north of the border!  And I have also been asked to work on a very special project, which I am seriously excited about, but which will have to wait til another blog post!

x Cathy