I am in the "complicated" process of grouting the table I have been working on. This entails each section being pre-grouted, cleaned, flipped, and carefully placed into the thin-set coated Hardi-backer. I then soak the backing paper off, sponge the tiles clean, and prepare to repeat with the next section. It really is quite complicated, but it seems to be working out nicely. I finished laying the top today, so tomorrow night I will be able to re-grout the entire table top. I will leave it to cure for a few days before I finish the edge. I do believe it's going to look nice!

I spent a few hours this afternoon working on the coasters for the grout study. Since the weather has remained nasty, I set up a wet space in my studio. It actually worked well and I didn't make a huge mess. And it was relatively warm, too!

For the coasters I used the same unglazed porcelain tile and stained glass as I used on the table. I mixed up a batch of thin set and then my first grout sample which was charcoal. After pre-grouting and cleaning the lizard mosaic, I spread thin set on the tile base. I also back-buttered the mosaic with thin set to even out the difference between the tile and glass thicknesses. After aligning the mosaic on the tile, I laid another larger tile over it and tapped carefully with a hammer to set the mosaic into the thin set. I then wet the backing paper and peeled it off a few minutes later. The mosaic was then carefully cleaned again to remove excess grout. When the thin set and grout have had time to set (a couple of days) I will re-grout the top surface. The grout colors are charcoal, natural grey, and tan. As expected, I like the charcoal best. The natural grey simply mutes the whole thing. Tan looks good. I could actually consider that one also. I'll make the final decision tomorrow. I'm ready to get the table finished!

All the rainy weather we are having is getting in the way of me finishing this table! I am ready to get into the "wet phase"-- thin set and grout, but it is too cold and wet to work outside. My studio is warm with the space heater cranked up, but it's hard to do the water work in there. I may have to commandeer space in my husband's shop. I could fire up the wood stove and be nice and toasty. Who would think it's the end of May? It feels like March.

I have made a set of coasters to match the table. I will use these to do a grout study and determine the grout color for the table. I love to use charcoal (almost black) grout, but I won't decide for sure until I see the finished coasters. Will post pictures when I get them done.