Long Story, Not So Short

 

Remember these? I made a few of these melt and pour type gingerbread men for the Grands. I wanted to make a lot more of them and some other glycerin type soap for gifting but my supply order got delayed and arrived on Christmas Eve just as we were leaving for the family dinner. I was left with $70 worth of soap blocks so...

...I've been making lots of soap with it.  Coconut Lime is on the left. If you like a scent that stays with you, this one does. Lemon is on the right. It's very light and fresh. 

Vanilla is on the left and Persephone's Kiss is on the right. The glycerin bases I've used are Olive, Aloe and Tussah Silk. There's a mix in each.  As usual, I need help in re-homing them. I've got a lot.

I also have my usual cold processed soap to give away. Oatmeal, Milk and Honey is on the left. It's made with goat's milk, buttermilk and coconut milk. Lavender Sage is on the right. 

Red Maple is on the left and Blackberry is on the right. Both of these are the strongest of the fragrances. Red Maple smells nothing like maple. It's a woodsy floral. 

Sea Salt is on the left. It's colored with all natural sea clays. It has a very light fragrance that can best be described as....um, soap? Lemon is on the right. Once again my yellow mica let me down but it smells wonderful.

Honeycrisp, a sweet apple scent, is on the left. Enchanted on the right is a light musky Oudh fragrance. Very exotic.

Winter Wonderland is on the left. It smells like a walk in a pine forest where someone in the distance is baking snickerdoodles. Beeswax and Honey is on the right. The beeswax soap is the first one I've ever made with actual beeswax. It's...different. It's a harder bar. It's the same light scent I use for the Oatmeal, Milk and Honey bars. Beeswax in soap is supposed to have lots of benefits for the skin. One of which is to be a "breathable shield against environmental damage". Well now. That's something.

Showgirl is on the left and Opalite is on the right. These two have a double dose of hard oils and plant butters in them as well as a pinch of tussah silk. Their fragrances are light floral.

I've also got a few bars of a loaf that only a mother could love. It doesn't look like much. It was an experiment I conducted when I was hemming and hawing about the price of cocoa butter. I tried mango butter just to see what it would be like and I absolutely love it. It was the big surprise of Soap Week. It even smells great although it looks rather....ugh. 

So here's the deal. As usual, pick your 3 favorites from my list of regular soap and your 2 favorite scents from my glycerin soap (the Lemon, Coconut Lime, Vanilla or Persephone's Kiss bars at the top) and I'll see that you get one of each. My stock of regular soap is a bit small right now due to holiday gifting so having the glycerin soap to add to this giveaway turns out to be a very good thing. 

The soap supply company sent me a coupon for 30% off my next order to apologize for the delay in shipping so more supplies are already on their way for even more soap making and hopefully an early spring giveaway. 

You know what to do. Message me your choices and your mailing details on either Ravelry or my soap email. Both are over on the side bar. I'll be mailing these out after the 18th so I can avoid the holiday shipping rates. 

Thanks again. I've got some new fragrances on the way that I'm excited to try so I really need to clear my shelves!

Done and Dusted

 

Literally dusted. I spent yesterday removing Christmas and cleaning up the aftermath. The tree is back in the holiday closet and the spinning wheels are all back where they belong but in need of some attention. The drive bands slipped off with all the moving. Adjustments need to be made.

I did all this very early in the morning while the house was quiet, meaning The Mister was still asleep. I took the time to organize the ornaments this year although this box doesn't look like it. It's my star and soft ornament box. Daughter gives me a star or a snowflake every year. I have a lot of them.

The glass ornaments are all wrapped in tissue and tucked away in these boxes. 

Now I can get to this again. I hate this project btw. I can't wait to get it off the loom. I've ordered a new kit that should be here soon. It's for a dishtowel. It seems to be what I do best and I need something to bring the joy back to weaving. 

The sewing room got a good cleaning after I cleared everything out. I can get back to the Color Wash blocks now also. 

The heap of stuff that was on Dear Jane is gone so I can work on her again but not today. Today I've got a sweater to assemble. The Mister's Riddari sleeves are done so while he's busy with football I'm going to lock myself in the sewing room and have a good think. Putting those sleeves with the body always makes me a bit crazy. It doesn't make sense but somehow it works as long as I can get my brain in the right "zone".

Taking the Plunge

 

In spite of the freezing temperatures and frigid wind, the Plunge was very well attended. It was 31 degrees at noon. We'd had a dusting of snow overnight. The water temperature was 39. 

We got there early while they were setting up. They had these heaters everywhere but with the wind they weren't doing much good. 

They had a bonfire on the beach with marshmallows and hot cocoa stands run by the Ladies Auxiliary from the church across the street. 

The Mister used to take the plunge but with the new hip and knee he isn't willing to take the risk. He just watches now and I know it bothers him to not be a part of the action.

For the past few years we've had drones overhead but this year there was something new. A guy out in the water with a video camera. He had to be cold. I took my mittens off just long enough to snap a few photos and fingers felt like they were going to fall off.

Off they went. I can't even imagine doing this. I'm always impressed by the oldies out there. They are some brave folks. The rescue squads are parked on the road right behind them. I need an ambulance just thinking about jumping in that cold water. 

And...look at Betty. While we were gone I left her in the microwave with a hot water bottle not wanting to leave her alone on the heating plate. It's hard to see but she's grown over the top of the band. It's just a little bit but it's a start. She's alive!

 

Watch This Space

 

I know I said that I would announce the soap giveaway today but The Mister has had other plans for us. Yesterday we spent the day with his ailing sister who has been in and out of the hospital lately after being diagnosed with leukemia a few months ago. It's the same kind that took my mom so it is time well spent. Today we have the annual Polar Bear Plunge to attend. The Mister looks forward to it every year. He used to be a plunger but has thankfully retired from it. Now we just stand in the cold and watch.

As for those curious about my sourdough adventure, Betty (yes, she has a name now) has a new warmer. I got tired of filling up hot water bottles all day. She had a beautiful false rise on Day 3, nicely doubling, but since then has shown no signs of life minus a few bubbles. I'm told to keep with it. She's now getting two feedings a day per the schedule but is still sluggish. I'm getting worried but having a crazy science experiment going on in your kitchen is still a lot of fun.

Betty isn't the only one who got a New Year's present. I liked the red version of these Crocs so much for Christmas that I bought a blue pair for the rest of the winter. They are helping me take my Advent socks out for their maiden voyage. They are now my official New Year's Socks even though the only date I had was with a bag of lightly salted potato chips and the Stranger Things finale.

 I'll have to put on a lot more layers for that plunge. The high today will be 32 with water temps of 39. Yikes. Not the best year for it. 

Anyway, the giveaway will be this Sunday. By then I should have it all sorted out.

Happy New Year!

Wednesday WIPs: New Year's Edition

 

What's on my needles you might ask? Well.....too much as usual and I had a not so great idea to pile it all up and spend a rainy day binge watching the first two seasons of Only Murders in the Building while putting some mileage on EVERYTHING. Bad idea. Now I have knitting elbow and am unable to make a fist with my right hand...lol. It used to be champagne that would put me out of commission over the holidays. Now it's knitting. Sigh...

Happy New Year! 

TNT: Old Things, New Things

 

I don't have much progress to show off on this last TNT of the year. I finished the honeycomb section, the snowflake under it and started a geometric motif under the tulips on the Christmas Quaker. I won't put it away until that section is finished. Santa on the other hand is going in time out until the Christmas bug hits me next year. 

Plum Pudding is going along with Santa. I didn't get too far this Christmas but I did learn a lot about Victorian cross stitch. 

What's new is that I have reclaimed my dining room table for a day at least. As soon as The Mister broke down his Christmas puzzles I jumped on it. 

Until the tree comes down I can't get into the sewing room to work but I really wanted to get the Patchwork into a sandwich. I spent a ridiculous amount of time yesterday wrestling with it. I really dislike this part of the process but the pool noodle method does make it a bit easier. I was hoping to not have to drag them out but my first attempt without them was pitiful.

Now it's all hooped up and ready for me to start working on it. I struggled to make the decision to hand quilt it but I told myself that it took over a year to do all this paper piecing and appliqueing so why am I rushing the quilting?

My machine quilting is abysmal. My hand quilting is not much better but at least I can control the outcome. This is an example of one of my great grandmother's quilts I have. Look at all those tiny stitches. This is how high the bar has always been for such things. I wish I knew her secret.

Starting Out

 

For those of you that guessed that I have been bitten by the sourdough bug, you were right. I'm trying to up my bread game since my last few loaves were pretty meh. This is day 3 of my starter. So far, so good. It's growing as you can see and smells.....sour. I'm following along with some bread vloggers on YouTube because I have NO idea what I'm doing.

Right now it's living its life in a cooler aka my soap incubator with a hot water bottle to stay warm. We keep the thermostat at 68 which is too cold for growing yeast. I've been able to put all my soap tools in use since it seems sourdough and soap share a lot in common minus that whole scary lye thing. 

Speaking of soap, in case you were wondering what happened to all that soap I made back in October, here it is. Those are the ugly ends I keep for myself. It's all been tested and it's all wonderful. Look for giveaway details on the first. I won't be shipping until after the holiday rates change on the 18th but I can get started wrapping your "orders" in the meantime.