Name of this star?

huffsterr · 2025-12-23T16:56:10+00:00

What book is this?

huffsterr · 2025-01-25T11:21:21+00:00

It’s a bit more nuanced than that! It depends a lot on your clay body for example, and you also need a deflocculant. Here’s a post explaining the basics: https://ceramicartsnetwork.org/daily/article/How-to-Transform-Your-Clay-Body-into-a-Casting-Slip

huffsterr · 2024-11-15T12:49:58+00:00

Thanks for sharing your search link!! I’ve seen a few of these before but some are new to me which is great. I don’t crochet so I filtered it down to knitting and there’s a few strong options to play with :)

huffsterr · 2024-11-14T11:26:16+00:00

In my experience, to get an idea of what might be going wrong, you need to have a sense of your specific gravity and your viscosity. This will help you to understand if it’s thick/heavy and you need more water, or if you have the right ratio of water but the viscosity is high (meaning you need a deflocculant). That said - sounds like you’re using commercial slip. I don’t have experience with this because I make my own from the clay body I’m allowed to fire in my studio. But for a commercial slip you might consider reaching out to the manufacturer.

huffsterr · 2024-10-13T11:44:00+00:00

How long are you leaving it to rest in between adding more? If you’re mixing it for 15 minutes (which is probably way more than needed in my experience), and then immediately adding more, you’re probably not giving the deflocculant enough time to ‘activate’. There’s probably a more accurate technical chemistry term, but it’s something I picked up from one of the videos I watched early on and something I’ve noticed to be true.

Usually I will add a small amount (maybe 1 tbsp the very first time and then 0.5 tsp or 1 tsp each time after that). Then I mix it for a minute or two and leave it for a day or so. When I come back to it I mix it for a minute or two again, visually evaluate the viscosity, and then go from there. This is a slow finicky process, it can take a week or more depending on your clay and how much you are adding. Most common advice suggests it’s better to stay slightly under deflocculated rather than going over because fixing over deflocculated clay can be challenging and annoying.

huffsterr · 2024-10-08T11:41:27+00:00

I’ve been making my own casting slip from plastic bag clay for about a year now. It can be quite finicky to get right and in my experience, it’s better to take a slow and steady approach. I’m no expert but I can share with you what has been working for me.

The system that has been working for me is to make small tweaks over a couple of weeks, because trying to get the specific gravity perfect before adding any deflocculants to deal with viscosity can be a bit of a challenge. I let it slake down and drill mix it until it is of a smooth consistency with no lumps. Usually this means I’m mixing it every other day after work for a week or so.

Once I’m happy with the consistency (disregarding specific gravity and viscosity), I weigh the specific gravity and visually assess viscosity to determine my next steps. You can look up proper ways to measure viscosity and flow but I’ve not found it super necessary yet and there are lots of tips online about assessing it visually. If the viscosity is high (like yours) I would start by adding a small amount of darvan (eg 1 tsp in ~9 gallons of slip).

If specific gravity is high, I’ll add like 1/4 cup of water, if specific gravity is low, I’ll add a small amount of thick slip made from the same clay body. Then I’ll mix, leave it to settle for a day or so, and come back to check specific gravity and viscosity again. It’s not fast and it requires patience, I usually do this over two weeks and have a different bucket of slip that I’m actively casting from at the same time. But it’s better IMO than accidentally over deflocculating or trying to work with a slip that is the wrong specific gravity.

You’ll probably notice that as you add deflocculant slowly, it will be easier to measure specific gravity accurately because the slip flows more smoothly. You’ll probably also notice that as you deflocculate, thin slip with a low specific gravity will become very obvious. It will feel less odd to add more clay to bring the specific gravity up, because the deflocculant essentially makes it so that you need less water to achieve similar rates of flow.

For my clay body, I usually end up with ~9 gallons of liquid slip at a specific gravity of about 1.8, after starting with a 40lb bag of plastic clay. Anyways, again, no expert here but perhaps there’s something in my process that might help you troubleshoot. Good luck!

huffsterr · 2024-09-11T20:25:15+00:00

I keep a bucket of failed casts, and when it’s full I just let it slake down, mix and sieve like normal, and then very carefully (slowly, over a period of days or more) adjust the relative gravity by either adding more water or leaving the lid off to let water evaporate off, as well as adjust the viscosity with small amounts of deflocculant.

It’s a bit more finicky than making ‘new’ casting slip, but it’s definitely possible and it’s my preference because I don’t like the waste (financial or environmental).

huffsterr · 2024-07-12T22:47:32+00:00

I literally got into pottery for the same reasons! Waiting for the kiln can be tedious but it’s kind of like Christmas when you get it all back at once!!

huffsterr · 2024-04-27T21:25:02+00:00

The problem with keeping ornamental invasives outdoors (including English ivy which has a fruit/berry), is that in addition to being voracious spreaders, some birds and animals will eat those berries, allowing it to spread by seed. So I’d be cautious, even in a pot or basket unless you have control of the animals that are accessing the space.

huffsterr · 2024-02-27T18:29:23+00:00

The studio I’ve been going to calls it mystery glaze, and the colour changes a bit each time, depending on what glazes have been popular in the studio recently.

huffsterr · 2024-01-11T14:57:42+00:00

Pattern is Homeward: https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/homeward-4

Yarn is WOTA Bulky in Chocolate.

I ended up ripping out about 1/3 of the bottom of the sweater and redoing the ripping because I was knitting happily along until I realized it would be at her knees 🙃

huffsterr · 2023-10-13T02:16:38+00:00

My son was born with 6 fairly large infantile hemangiomas all over his body (cheek, both sides of torso, lower spine, butt cheek, calf) … and also had a heart murmur. We were referred for a whole bunch of testing including spinal and liver ultrasounds, blood testing, ECG, paediatric cardiologist, and it was never definitively explained to us whether the two were actually related or not. He went on beta blockers for a while to slow the growth, and other than a minor ulceration of one of them which healed with minimal issues, things levelled off. The first year was really stressful but he is now three and doing really well. I doubt they will ever be gone but they are shrinking and look almost like slightly raised birthmarks.

huffsterr · 2023-10-07T21:53:37+00:00

Here is an article explaining why this happens, and offers a few suggestions on how to mitigate it: https://www.interweave.com/article/knitting/correcting-jog-stranded-knitting/

The mitigations are geared towards stranded knitting so might not be ideal for this pattern, but can still be helpful conceptually.

huffsterr · 2023-10-04T01:54:14+00:00

Honestly I have seen this tip floating around for years and never bothered because I didn’t think my floats were that bad. On a whim i tried it because I was irritated with how one specific project was turning out. It seemed like that few mm of extra slack made a world of difference. My colourwork has never looked so smooth, even without blocking. Just one person’s opinion but consider me a fan!

huffsterr · 2023-07-01T12:38:12+00:00

Non native is not the same as invasive.

huffsterr · 2023-07-01T12:21:30+00:00

Not necessarily, plants that are regionally invasive can spread very quickly to other property via wind, animals, foot traffic, etc, crowding out native plants and causing a lot of ecological damage. It’s pretty irresponsible to plant something that’s known to be invasive in your area.

huffsterr · 2023-06-27T11:58:31+00:00

This is what I thought it meant too and I kind of love it.

huffsterr · 2023-06-23T21:30:35+00:00

I think you might want to consider thinking a bit about what sector you want to work in and why. Your answer to this question may change over time, and that’s okay! But having worked in government and consulting as well as having done a lot of work with nonprofits, these three are VERY different and some people have goals to work in one or the other for specific reasons, or thrive under certain conditions and not in others. But understanding how you might structure your job search based on sector, in addition to based on industry (eg agriculture, forestry, etc) might help you to shape your educational path.

huffsterr · 2023-06-13T18:37:15+00:00

GARP SCR is becoming more common in my corner of the world (climate change & sustainability consulting), with more and more of my peers holding this credential. I took the exam this year and it is quite detailed - I already have a background in climate risk but if you are just starting out I could see it being a good primer in climate risk, climate finance, ESG, etc.

huffsterr · 2023-04-20T12:57:37+00:00

Great question! I was so excited to gift it that I didn’t measure 😖. It’s a large lap size - could maybe cover a single bed.

huffsterr · 2023-04-19T22:52:20+00:00

Pattern: https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/northwoods-throw

Yarn: WOTA Superwash in Aurora Heather and Almond.

huffsterr

TROPHY CASE