spring flowers and good food

[chuck123wapati]

My sanity has always been questionable lol. So i watch my share of your tube videos and ran accross a guy who makes wild clay pottery. So now I have to learn to make some pottery. I found about four different types of clay so far and am testing them all out. Man, i have dirt and mud everywhere lol. But i think i found decent clay and have made some test pots. dont quite know how i can use clay and leather together, but I'm thinking. Next week, maybe do some rock hunting too. Lots of Jade, agate, fossils, and even opals close by.

[Handstitched]

My late Mother made and taught pottery for many years.Her work is everywhere around the house .The oldest piece was made in 1977, she named and dated most of her work. Apart from gas fired kilns,she also used a technique  called 'raku' , a wood fired kiln . A lot of her tools, glazes etc.are still in one of our sheds, as well as her wheel. Have fun chuck, 👍 😁  

[chuck123wapati]

7 hours ago, Handstitched said:

My late Mother made and taught pottery for many years.Her work is everywhere around the house .The oldest piece was made in 1977, she named and dated most of her work. Apart from gas fired kilns,she also used a technique  called 'raku' , a wood fired kiln . A lot of her tools, glazes etc.are still in one of our sheds, as well as her wheel. Have fun chuck, 👍 😁  

Man, your mom was the coolest!! I did a bit of sculpting in high school as well as some ceramics throughout my life, mostly beer mugs lol, enough to spark my interest. I have an old electric kiln I scrounged but have never used. I plan to use wood for now to make low-temperature fired earthenware/raku.  If I like it or the kids like it, I will be making a wheel also lol. i gotta do something, I've been in a funk and have had no motivation to do much of anything. i haven't even picked up my sketchbook or camera for months, it seems. Oh well, now i can look for clays while fishing as well as rock hunting, foraging for food, and metal detecting, at least i won't get bored lol.

Have a great day and say hi to Pops for me!!

[Sheilajeanne]

I had an interest in moulding clay when I was in junior school, but it never stuck. As for now, I don't need another  hobby...lol!

The lady who owned this house before me worked with clay, and there was a 220 amp outlet in the laundry room where she used to plug in her kiln. She also had a special filter over the smoke detector to keep out dust from the clay.

In addition to clay, she worked with fabric a lot - had FIVE sewing machines, and also did metal sculpting. My neighbour has a couple of her metalwork pieces decorating her lawn. 

She was single for many years, after her husband died of cancer, so was free to indulge in her hobbies. Her kids were already grown when she bought this place. 

She accumulated SO much stuff for her hobbies that her children needed two dumpsters to hold it all! I'm sure a lot of her craft stuff just got thrown in the dumpsters.  

Here's where she kept her sewing thread and shears - I pulled the nails out so I could burn the pegboard. There were over two hundred of them! 

I really like that she had the electrical outlets moved to where she could easily access them for her machines. That's come in handy for my leatherwork!
 

Edited June 28 by Sheilajeanne

[Handstitched]

@Sheilajeanne it was be a shame that so much was thrown away. A lot of it would be of value to other crafters, i would rather give stuff away than throw it away.  My Mother's sewing room is exactly how she left it , messy ,but she knew where everything was, I rarely go in there perhaps for an occasional piece of material .

@chuck123wapati I'm sure you can get  your creative juices going to combine leather and clay , I reckon they will go well together. 

I had my first bbq in almost 3 years yesterday. I have a cheapie wood fired brazier that has a bbq plate . After  a good clean  and re-seasoned  , I cooked up  few lamb chops and a few snags, cooked up really well. My ye'olde gas bbq that i bought back in the mid 90's is really looking  its age now rusty af. I did think about buying a newie, heaven forbid. There's only me a Dad, not worth buying a newie just for two of us. The oldie has cast iron burners and cast iron plates,quite rare these days. Just needs TLC 

HS

[Northmount]

On 6/28/2025 at 11:12 AM, Sheilajeanne said:

220 amp outlet

That will be 220 Volt (VAC).  Current (amperage) may be around 40A to 80A.  You can check your breaker panel to see what the breaker was rated at if it is still there.

Just for comparison:  Dryers are typically on a 30A circuit (220 VAC).  Electric ranges are typically 40A.  For the past 50 years or so, most houses had a 100A service.  Many now are 200A.

[Sheilajeanne]

Northmount, you can tell I'm not an electrician! :D Yeah, 220 volt. We reused the line for the stove when I put a full kitchen in the apartment that's overtop of the garage/laundry room. 

[Handstitched]

We have 240v in Oz and 415v 3 phase.

@Northmount I have reported it but some nut job has totally trashed  the site

[Sheilajeanne]

4 hours ago, Handstitched said:

Northmount I have reported it but some nut job has totally trashed  the site

Wait - what did I miss here? :O 

[kgg]

7 minutes ago, Sheilajeanne said:

Wait - what did I miss here? :O

Earlier today (~6:30 am Ontario time) the forum was trashed with spam but seems to be back up and running properly. Thanks to whoever fixed the problem.

kgg