I was checking out some of the questions over at glasscommunity.com’s forum and came across a good one that I bet a lot of kiln formers/fusers have trouble with. Sometimes as I look around etsy and other sites where people sell their fused pieces I see the same situation. To me it looks like the piece was fired either too fast or too hot or both. I think this was the situation with the piece pictured at the site. I don’t necessarily want to post this picture since it is their “problem” piece. I’d rather show the solution since I want to show things in a good light. If there were before and after pictures that would be different. Have you had the problem of the sides pulling in when you’ve fired a piece? Doing a dog bone kind of thing? You’ll need to ramp it up a bit slower, fire it cooler and you could hold it longer, especially when slumping. Check out the answers to this persons question. It may help you with one of your fusing/slumping projects…
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Designer Spotlight: Goffin Design
Even though their patterns cover a wide range of seasons, holidays and motifs, there’s just something about the designs from Etsy seller Goffin Design that evokes spring to me.
The colors are bright, fresh and cheerful, whether they’re used to illustrate four seasons of windows, Santa at his workshop or a pair of potted citrus trees.
A great many of the designs on offer have to do with the seasons, and quite a few of them are sets of four patterns that are related, such as the above-mentioned windows, or there are seasonal mice, hearts with the season’s word in the middle each stitched in a different color, and all sorts of seasonal birds, birdhouses, landscapes, cats…I could go on and on. The point is, if you like patterns that evoke the seasons, or a set of patterns that can keep you stitching on a theme all year long, you’re going to want to check those out.
The photo above is the vintage yard cross stitch pattern, featuring a teal doorway and a pink bicycle. Of course you could change the colors if you want but I really like this combination. And, again, with all the flowers and bright colors I think you can see where I’m getting the idea that their patterns feel like spring.
This particular pattern is 109 by 101 stitches and measures 7.79 by 7.21 inches, or 19.78 by 18.32 cm, when stitches on 14 count fabric. It uses 24 colors and has whole stitches and back stitching.
They also have a lot of flowers and cacti featured in patterns. There are several patterns for cross stitched orchids, for example, and botanically correct fruit shown on the plant and in cross section, including pear, peach, apple, orange, strawberry, pomegranate, cherry and apricot. These would be so lovely in a kitchen or dining room!
I can only scratch the surface in these reviews, but if I’ve piqued your interest, go check them out on Etsy at Goffin Design.
[Photo: Goffin Design]