Thanks for your enthusiasm, Sue.  Right now the quilt parts are sitting neglected on Cecil Faye because I have been sidetracked into an online polymer clay class with Dan Cormier and it is a doozy. Dan is a demanding instructor and I keep muttering to myself that I was a doofus to sign up for this particular class but I must soldier on because I've invested lotsa money in the course. 

Results might be spectacular .... or a disaster.  Time will well.  A design with twenty-four layers of clay is supposed to wind up only 1.25 inches thick on the first project.  Hmmmmph!  I'm trying, I'm trying.

Your process makes me think of a Great British Baking Show episode I watched last night.  The baker started with about 1/4" of dough and an inch thick slab of butter.  He beat, rolled out, folded, rolled out again about 20 times.  The result was a paper thin layer of puff pastry that became a shell for a chocolate tart.  It looked wonderful!  So I hope your project of many layers has a fantastic outcome as well!

Sue in IL

My 24 layers of polymer clay missed the mark. Photo shows they wound up 1 3/8 inches thick, not 1 1/4 inches thick. But I am too frazzled to start over again.

Plus my layers are not picture perfect like those of the other students.  I am convinced that some of the other students must be robots.

Judy

Frazzeled can not be spelled with a,e,j,l,n,o, r,x,y. Relax and enjoy can, that is what this hobby is about.  Remember older hands may not be as nimble as younger ones, and if there have been injuries well that adds to. So maybe you need to give yourself a percentage off error ratio.

Dont give up some times less than perfect is more beautiful.

Jo

Keep trying to glean all the good info and techniques you can but in the end remember that is just one version. In the end make it yours with your own twist. 

I love to learn how to do stuff and then go break all the rules and make my own version.

You have a great philosophy, Jo. 

The instructor of the polymer clay course I am taking is a classic OCD personality and most of his students merrily follow in his footsteps.  If he was a quilter he would make those quilts with precisely pieced tops with millions of pieces that are obsessively quilted to death and he would win the prizes at the biggie shows.

But claying is fun in that if you make mistakes you can squish the clay, start over and re-do a piece.  LOL  (Okay, maybe not if there are 24 layers.) 

I love the ombre effect!  Slice, put a hole near the top, and make some to-die-for rectangular beads.

Sue in IL

So, what is to become of this fine stack of skinny little layers?  Will it really matter if you are 1/8th of an inch off?  I know in quilting that if a few of you seams are 1/8th of an inch off it will mess up your block, but if you are consistent all the way through, you would be OK.  You are learning and doing fine, don't worry about your OCD instructor or fussy fellow students. 

Hah!  Looks like the old grump has given me a thumbs up.   

Today we will get a lesson on how to slice this striped cane with a carrot peeler gadget . We will create thin slices to make veneers that we will bake. 

Dan Cormier

11 hours ago

Reply

 

Good work, Judy. You’ll be fine with 1 3/8”.

Have fun with it.  We will be looking forward to seeing the final product!