Friday, January 28, 2011

Clay Solutions for Small Problems


Sometimes, a problem can be solved using a clay design.

On occasion, I do quilting and it seems I was always reaching for the large white thread spool. It never seemed to be in a convenient place. So, I designed this thread holder. Now, I can reel of mass quantities of thread when needed with very little fuss or searching.

Just made of a slabbed stoneware, I cut out a paper pattern first. The piece is a bit longer than the spool plus the length of the front and back which are bent up, slots are cut with a fettling knife and smoothed out in both ends. This makes for easy removal and replacement of the spool and spindle.

Add a springy piece of bamboo (a skewer will do if the pointy end is cut off) to hold the spool.

The holder keeps the thread in one place, like on a table top within easy reach. It makes it easy to recharge your needle and doesn't look too bad just sitting there.

Now if I could just figure out how to mount a pair of scissors...........Better yet, an Exacto blade glued into a pre-made slot offset somewhere on the side for a thread cutter.

Next time!

3 comments:

Sister Creek Potter said...

In your 'record keeping' post you mention a combination firing--bisque/glaze. Which I suppose is lowfire. Does that work? I've been told not to combine those as burn-out from the bisque work could harm the glazes. Is that your experience? I've done the combination a time or two and have not noticed a problem--but that was before I was warned against the combination.

Clay and Fiber Artist said...

Yes, I've fired both bisque and low-fired glaze pieces in the same kiln. Not often, but I have done it. So far I haven't had any problem mainly, I think, because the low-fire glaze was pretty inert. No exotic, adventurous stuff that might bubble and erupt.

And I usually separate the pieces onto different shelves so that barriers exist during the firing. The low-fire is in the lower part of the kiln too, since that's the coolest area.

Sister Creek Potter said...

Thanks, Jeanette. You are a source of inspiration and valuable information for me. Great blog.