the picture above is an example of beautiful glass art. It’s by Steve Immerman of Clearwater Glass Studio. His vast experience working with glass has given a library of knowledge that he shares with you on his tutorial page. Today we’re looking at devitrification. No one wants devitrification on their fused glass. Over at Clearwater Glass Studio Steve has a tutorial that goes over what devit is, how to prevent it and options for what to do if it does occur. For those that don’t know what devitrification is, it’s a crystalization on the surface of the glass that creates a kind of haze or what looks like a film over your pretty glossy glass. Not good. And not easy to get rid of. I know I’ve taken pieces out of the kiln and had my heart sink when I’ve seen the tell-tale signs. It’s not pretty and more important it’s not professional. So here’s the information you need to overcome this glass fusing problem.
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Knit a Blanket with the Texture of a Ceiling
Knitwear designers can get inspiration from almost anything when it comes to re-creating a color scheme, an image or a texture in stitches. Sometimes the inspiration isn’t always obvious in the finished project, but sometimes it’s more literal.
That’s the way it is with the Tin Ceiling Blanket from Purl Soho. Not just because the inspiration is in the name, but if you’ve ever seen one of these old ceilings you can see that the design of the blanket is quite similar to the pattern of the tin tiles.
This is also a good example of the idea that you don’t have to use fancy stitch patterns or lots of color to make a big impact with your knits. This single-color blanket (designed by Gianna Mueller and inspired by a washcloth and towel set designed by Sandi Rosner) is made completely with knits and purls, other than slipped stitches at the beginning of rows to make neater edges.
The pattern is written out row by row, but there’s also a chart, which means this project is a great opportunity to practice reading a chart where you can check your work against the written pattern if you need to.
It comes in two sizes, a crib blanket and a throw. The yarn used in the sample is an organic cotton sold by the cone, which is a great way to get a large quantity of yarn and have fewer ends to weave in. In fact, you can knit either size of the blanket with just one cone of yarn, which isn’t inexpensive but makes you a great, sturdy, heirloom quality but still washable blanket you’ll use for years to come. (Of course you can use any sport weight yarn you like to make this blanket.)
Check out all the details and grab the free pattern from Purl Soho.
[Photo: Purl Soho]