LinR

Re raku firing. The first one I was involved with was in my teacher's basement. A 10 cu ft electric kiln with pulley that lifted the lid. The shelves were built up so that only the top layer was used. Once the pots reached the required temp the lid was lifted (I don't know if the kiln was turned off) and the pots were tonged into garbage cans through the basement window. How many rules does that break? It never happened again and the house didn't burn down (miracle) and no one was hurt (another miracle. Lin

You might want to make the extra long foot even longer. My first one was short like you suggested and the local raccoons would put their paws on the edge and their weight would tip the bowl right off. Also glaze the inside of the bowl. I didn't. Really hard to clean thoroughly. Lin

Denice, While you are deciding what to do with your hand, Here is something that can make your hand less sore in the morning. We tend to curl our fingers while we sleep.To avoid this make a little cloth bag and stuff it with soft foam or other filler so that it is just the size where your fingers feel like they are in a neutral position. Put this soft ball in your hand when you are about to go to sleep and pull a sock over it. Your hand won't go into that clenched fist over night. The sock keeps the ball in place. Cheap trick. It might work for you . Lin

If it's Canadian it could be Estrin. Out of business for many years now. Lin

The group that I work with have found that B mix 5 really doesn't like to be fired to cone 6. Lin

Just an item on CBC (Canada) today that the post office is having almost as much business right now as it usually has at Xmas. L

A 2 mile walk weather permitting every day best recent time 33 min 33 sec. Not bad for a pair pushing 80 very hard. Good weather has also meant the garden getting a lot of attention. Good thing because there was a lot of neglect over the past couple of years. Wednesday 3 yards of garden soil will be dumped on the driveway. That should keep us out of trouble or kill us. Lin

I make oat bran porridge in a 4 cup measure which has had it markings worn off. 1/3 cup oat bran plus 1 cup water makes 1 serving. Micro on high for 1 minute, stir, micro for another minute, stir, micro for 15 seconds stir, micro for 10 sec. Sounds fussy but at 2 minutes 25 seconds it is pretty fast. This method was originally for quick oatmeal (not instant). The oatmeal boils up fast and if you try to do the whole time at one go you will have oatmeal all over your turntable. L

I am curious as to what you mean by ornaments. Are these something you would hang on a wall, keep on a table or are they for a Xmas tree? If the latter, keep them as thin as possible. 1/2" clay tree ornaments are really heavy. Good luck with your explorations. L

Ha! I'm also baking. Making enough to stash some cookies and cakes in the freezer for the heat of the summer. I also make my own sourdough bread but don't have a recipe. I've been doing it for so long that I more or less do it by feel. But I also use some white flour, some whole wheat, throw in some ground flax and some sunflower seeds and if I have anything else appropriate that goes in too. I make 2 loaves which last us a couple of weeks. The bread is usually baked by sometime in the evening at which time we each have a fresh slice with butter. It gets plastic bagged over night and is easy to slice in the morning. Then I use strips of plastic between each slice, double bag it and pop it into the freezer. Bought bread tastes really bland now. L

Looks like I have some testing to do. Thanks.

Thanks for that. Lin

Callie, I am understanding from you that it is ok to use Frit 3124 and 3124 interchangeably in an underglaze but not in a glaze?

How about attaching a pendant with the appropriate name?

I have fired chips of glass stuck into the raw clay near the outside top of a mug and then bisqued it. I expected the glass to pop out but it melted and then when glazed gave a nice run of glass through the glaze. I have also used it in flatish wall pieces fired flat in the glaze fire to give an interesting highlight to an area. If the glass is too thick it can cause the clay to crack either in the firing or much later on. Tension problems I would guess. Lin