Vitrigraph: Gravity and Hot Glass

Have you ever seen vitrigraph glass? Hot about a pot melt? Similar techniques for handling melted glass. Basically glass is placed in a terra cotta flower pot ( german made so it can handle high temperatures) that has a hole in the bottom, placed in a kiln, raised up to allow the glass to flow through the hole once it reaches the proper temperature. With a pot melt there’s a mold or kiln shelf under the raised pot to catch the glass as it flows out. For vitrigraph the kiln must be raised up rather high to allow the glass to almost drip out of the kiln. The kiln used for this must have no bottom. It’s placed on kiln shelves that have been separated enough for the glass to pass by. I’ve seen the kilns raised up with a forklift. Also on a scaffolding unit. One of my glass buddies, Larry Cunningham has come up with a unit that attaches to the wall so you can almost do this at home. HIs unit is the Turbo Lift.

leigh-larry

I’ve been fortunate enough to participate with Larry and my other glass buddy, Leigh Adams in a class we like to call “Extreme Vitrigraph”. When Leigh and Larr do it it’s called “Dancing with Glass’, when I’m there it’s Extreme…we add my torches to the mix to embellish the pieces that are pulled from the kiln. Check out this web site, www.glass-fusing-made-easy.com to get a bit more insight in the process. I’ll talk with Larry in a future blog to have him explain his vitirgraph kiln. In the meantime enjoy the dance with glass. Check it out with this video of the Turbo Lift, his vitrigraph kiln.

It feels like it’s too early to be thinking about back to school, but as I write this my daughter has just a couple of weeks of summer left! So let’s get in that school and fall knitting spirit by looking at some apple knitting projects.

If you have a 22 needle circular knitting machine, knitting an apple is one of the easiest things you can do. I have an apple pattern over at Our Daily Craft that will take you just a few minutes to knit and they’re a great addition to your fall decor.

Apple hats are a classic, and whether you want to knit a hat that looks like an apple or one with apples on it, we’ve got you covered. For hats that look like apples check out the rolled brim version from Emma Crochet Design 4 U, which uses worsted weight yarn and comes in sizes for kids of all ages; and the ribbed brim version from Hand Knit Hugs. This one also calls for worsted weight yarn and comes in four kids sizes. Both include a stem and leaf.

If you’d rather have apples on your hat, try the Red Apple Hat from Little Red Window. This one is sized from newborn to 2T and calls for four colors of worsted weight yarn.

How about apple socks? You’ll find Ariel Chang’s Apple Picnic Socks as a free download on Ravelry. These use three colors of sock yarn and come in three sizes. Stone Knits also a pair of stripey apple socks that show the inside of the apple. These also have three sizes but they use six colors total, with the main color being a self-striping yarn.

If you want a little apple accessory for the house, the apple potholder from Nifty Knitter Designs is cute and a great way to practice double knitting. It uses two colors and you’ll find the colors in the reverse on the other side. The pattern only uses about 50 yards of each color of worsted weight yarn, so it’s a great use for odd balls, too.

Once you’ve got your double knitting skills sorted you can also try the double knit apple scarf from Crow and Chai Shop. The Winter Apples scarf is shown in red and gold, but you can use whatever colors you like. There are apples, stars and random stitches in the design, which calls for DK weight yarn. There’s also a matching fingerless glove pattern.

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