After two weeks walking in various parts of the south of France, it's good to be back in my workshop for a rest! (Christine's blog shows the areas we walked in).

I decided to do a firing straight away so as to to finish orders with an end-of-September deadline. The plates in question (part of complete dinner services) came out of the firing a creamy blue - absolutely stunning with their black borders. All the other pots in the kiln came out dark blue as usual. The clients wanted the reverse - isn't this always the way with an order?

This is not the first time this problem has arisen and I've been considering changing my clay body to one with a somewhat higher iron content. Also with a little more grog - or, as we say in the trade, 'tooth'. I telephoned one of our suppliers, from whom I bought my latest kiln but who do not supply me with clay. To my surprise, they gave me 5 different clay samples in 10 kgs blocks. I've thrown some large gratin dishes as trials since this is an article which can warp or crack and has a mind of its own. With a good clay this shape is perfectly well behaved.

While throwing these mundane objects, I discovered that there seems to be a feeling of a good quality clay with two of the samples. I think I'll be able to work with one of them. The next firing will be the deciding factor.