Thursday, November 6, 2014

Clay All Day, Soap All Night

 Although sometimes it's the other way around. Timing is everything. And in November, time is short.

I finished loading the kiln last night around 7:30. I won't have a full day to fire until Saturday, so I am considering doing an overnight firing tonight.

There was a time when that would have been no big deal...those days are gone! On the other hand, it's not like I wouldn't get any sleep; it would just be fragmented. Still, just thinking about it makes me tired.

Usually I have lots of ware leftover after filling the glaze kiln, because I can fit so much more in the bisque. I had several items explode in the bisque this time, though - when was the last time that happened? I can't even remember. That's what comes of hurrying. This time I only had these few pots to left out:

I've also been making soap whenever I get a chance, so much that I ran out of coconut oil, which is my signal to go online and order new scents and colors at the same time. Shopping for soap scents is big fun! I've got several fruity scents, some sweets like Buttercream Frosting, a sea breeze type,and a more masculine musky fragrance on the way. For the first time I have a soap order, which is obviously cool - selling things keeps me in business - but also a little nerve-racking: what if the batch doesn't turn out well? Same concerns, I suppose, that I have when I take orders for pottery.

So, assuming that I do actually fire overnight, I'll be unloading this kiln Sunday morning. Much of it is off to Rochester, NY and to Blue Hill, but I'll still have plenty for the Holiday Pottery Shop.

3 comments:

June Perry said...

Lori, what is the name of the Musk scent; and who is the supplier? I want to make some Christmas gift soaps for the family and I'd like to make one for the guys and the musk sounds ideal!
What are some of your favorite fragrances? I used pikake on my first batch (MP soap) but I added a couple of drops of lavender, because some reviewers of pikake in Brambleberry, said they liked it better with something else, like lavender, in one case, worked better. It's lovely, but I'm looking for other recommendations from experienced soapers like yourself.

Lori Watts said...

I was going to delete that ridiculous comment above, and then I thought, No, I really WANT shitheads like that to boycott American women, and save my friends some trouble. Don't think you'll have much luck with foreign women either, though, dude.

LOL.

Lori Watts said...

I showed the comment above to my best friend, who said: "He also refuses to play shortstop for the Cubs, accept the Nobel prize for literature, jump to the moon or pick the winning lotto numbers."

Nailed it. :)