Sunday, June 29, 2008

mmm...smells good

Okay, so here is the story behind my soap making. As with any new craft I learn about, I get all excited about something and buy all the stuff that goes along with it. So I got the lye and the oils and the stick blender...on and on. Tried my first batch. I was going to re-batch, which is when you make a base batch and then remelt it and add your scents and stuff. So, I did the base. Cut it into small pieces. Put it into the crock pot and started melting. Things were looking good. Got everything melted, added scent and color. Poured into molds. Allowed to dry. What did I get...mold. Yes. Mold. Yuk! Never giving up, I tried again, just did things a little different. What did I get this time? No mold. That is good. But no smell and no suds. Try, try, again. Still no mold, but still no smell or suds. I give up! Well, no totally. I still like to make soap. I just can't make the base. I'll let someone else do that for me. Truthfully, it ends up being cheaper any way. You can still use additives and smell with the "melt and pour" stuff and these actually have suds and smell. Yeah! Oh, and yes I know that there are tiny bubbles in my soap. I actually like this and try to produce this when making by stirring a lot which adds more bubbles. I think this is actually no proper, but I like the look so I don't care. Above is some soap I made for my mom scented with Sweet Orange essentials oil and with added ground blueberry seeds for look. Below is the one made for Dad with Sage and Tea Tree essential oils and the ground blueberry. Also made the washcloths to go along with the soap. Made a nice little gift and they liked it.


Saturday, June 28, 2008

WIGP - Bath Mitt

Bath Mitt with "melt and pour" soap. This was a great project using odds from my the washcloths.
About the soap. I have tried many different times to make soap from lye and oils. This has never worked for me. It just doesn't make any bubbles. And to have to make such big batches when doing this means wasting alot of expensive olive oil and ending up with soap that I can't use. So, I am just going to use the melt and pour stuff you can buy at craft stores. This allows me to make soap without all the big mess and expense. I will post some pics later of the soap I am making.

06-28-08

Motivation alludes me. I can't seem to get motivated to do anything. There is plenty of stuff around here to do. I need to go make some coffee. That would give me the jolt to get up and get going. But, that means getting my ass up off the couch. Paul had to go work this morning and here I am sitting on my ass. I am such a bum.

Alright, I am getting up to make some coffee and clean the house. Ugh!

Sunday, June 22, 2008

WIGP - washcloths

I have been bitten by the warshrag bug. I meant to make a couple of these and ended up with 5. It doesn't stop there. I went to the store and bought several more balls of cotton yarn and a 1lb cone of white cotton. I am thinking about trying to dye some cotton with rit dye.
I was showing Paul my washcloths and he made the comment that he would not be using one of these. I bought some black and white yarn and made him this Hidden Mickey washcloth. He actually likes it and now he is agreeable to using a hand knit washcloth. It is hard to see the Mickey patterning in this but it created using purl bumps.Here is the collection of washcloths.

Patterns used:

Garterlac Dishcloth (washcloth)

Grandmother's Favorite Dishcloth (washcloth)

Mouse washcloth

Round washcloth

Saturday, June 14, 2008

WWKIP day

I am spent! We had a really great day together in Winter Haven Central Park. Thanks to the gals from Central Florida Stitches for coming and helping to get this together. And super thanks to you for making the cutest little hats and booties. Keep an eye out for an article about the event in the Sunday Lakeland Ledger. Also ckeck out the Poke Magazine site for the article that was recently published.

Sunday, June 8, 2008

Weekend Instant Gratification Project (WIGP)

I have notice a trend in my knitting. During the week I am more than content to sit and knit on my sweaters, shawls, or socks. On the weekend however I look for quick easy projects. So, instead of arguing with myself about really needing to get the sleeves to my sweater finished. I am going to let myself have these little projects. And they are going to be called "Weekend Instant Gratification Projects". No guilt. Now they have a name and a place in my knitting time. This WIGPs were Coffee Cooler Cozies.

Made from cotton or cotton blends to absorb all those little droplets of condensation that drip on my feet or wet my hands. This moisture then has to be removed before continuing with knitting or typing. Now Paul wants one too...in black of course.