Class: Silver Clay

August 25, 2009 by Vikram Goyal

If you live in the Silicon Valley area and are interested in Silver Clay, you might me interested in Cynthia Scott’s class at the Adult Community Education center.

This class is intermediate and teaches the following:

In this intermediate class, you will learn to make and embellish fine silver rings and hollow forms. Torch firing, patinas, and stone setting techniques will also be covered. Prior experience with metal clay or art clay silver is required.

However,if you are new to metal clays, she is a friendly and interesting teacher and does offer beginning classes as well, so sign up for the mailing list. I have taken one of her classes myself, and though I am a trained jeweler, I had never before used silver clay, and really learned a lot and enjoyed myself.

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Cross Stitch Ideas for Your Holiday Table

We love to make crafts to decorate our homes for different holidays, and it’s always fun to add a handmade touch to the table if you can. I specifically went looking for Thanksgiving themed cross stitch napkins and other tableware, and while I didn’t find a lot I hope these ideas will inspire you to use these or other patterns to stitch for your Thanksgiving (or other holiday) table.

Cross Stitch Coricamo is a great source for cross stitch napkin and table runner patterns, though many of them are Christmas or winter related, or florals that feel more summer than fall. I did find this pretty napkin with wild vine pattern that would be nice for Thanksgiving, as well as a fall leaf table runner.

The napkin pattern calls for 10 colors and has a different design in two corners that are flipped for the other two. If you have a bunch of napkins to make you could just stitch in one corner if you like.

The table runner is meant to be about 15.7 by 39.4 inches, or 40 by 100 cm and it uses nine colors. You can adjust the sides as needed to fit your table, and you could also use individual leaves or leaf clusters to stitch on napkins if you want a set that matches your runner.

If you’re looking for a project that’s a little smaller, now seems like a nice time to remind you that you can also cross stitch napkin rings. They’re about the size of a bookmark, and while the one shown is in spring colors, you can use any little motif that will fit. My version is 2 inches/5 cm wide, so anything that can fit in that space would be great.

And if you want a more involved project, check out this post on how to cross stitch a tablecloth. It’s a bigger commitment but a project that you’re sure to love and use for years to come.