Hide and Seek

 

Well, that was fun. I made my first batch of soap in my new soap space yesterday and spent most of my time trying to find all my stuff. It was so neat and orderly that I ended up pulling everything out and re-organizing it so I knew where it all was. 

The first batch was an easy one. Oatmeal, Milk and Honey. It always behaves. 

After an uneventful pour, it spent the night in the cooler I use for an incubator. 

Not bad. It feels a bit softer than it usually does when I use cocoa butter but I'm thinking that a six week cure should sort things right out. 

Wednesday WIPs

 

I said I was going to start something new this week but I thought I better finish up some old things first. 

Audun was assembled using a continuous joining method and I had goofed it up but good last spring and had put it away until the weather cooled down. It has finally cooled down.

My boo boo was to attach the last row forgetting I needed to then go down the last side. I thought I would fix it by just adding one more row. BUT when I made the new blocks they were all too small. I must have used the wrong hook. I was not happy. So now what I've decided to do instead is just rip out the top joining row and do it right. Audun doesn't need to be any bigger. She's a real monster just as she is.

Tiny Needle Tuesday

 

I had a lot of things to do this weekend that kept me away from stitching but I do have something new to share. A long while back I bought this very expensive punch needle and.......

...this kit but I never could figure out how to make it work. I don't think I had the right fabric or yarn to get the job done with that particular needle.

While I was on Pup Watch I got hooked on watching people make the cutest punch needle coasters. They made it look so easy so.....

....I bought a kit. It has all the needles, yarn and fabric to make that coffee cup coaster that I want to surprise the coffee addicted Mister with. I'm hoping by using the right materials this time I can finally figure out how it all works. 

We'll see. 

Time For a Change

 

I gathered up some of the girls the other day to get them out of their summer clothes. I had a pile of unopened outfits that I've been meaning to try on them. 

Skipper had a new school uniform to wear. I love the socks. 

Rock Star Barbie got a new gown to match her hair. This gown is so gorgeous, I could hardly believe my eyes. Say what you want about Chinese goods but they know how to make doll clothes. They put Mattel to shame. And the prices....unbelievable with free or $1.98 shipping. They do take time to arrive but are always worth the wait. 

I don't know if I ever introduced you to Curvy Kayaking Barbie. The Mister found her on clearance. She's the only one that doesn't have a warmer outfit to put on for fall. I guess I need to go shopping again. I haven't given up on making some clothes for my little friends. I've been gathering material. I just need to find the time. 

And.....it seems I owe quite a few of you a big apology. I went to check my soap email account last night and found so many lovely messages that came in over the summer. If I don't have a giveaway going I don't tend to look there but I promise from now on to do better. Forgive me, please. 

Unboxing

 

That big pile of boxes that has been sitting in my foyer for two weeks now is finally gone. It was mostly soap making stuff and it's all where it belongs now.

I had a terrible case of sticker shock when I went to order cocoa butter. The pound bag I usually buy was $35. I used to pay about $10. Needless to say I'm reformulating my recipe to do without it. In its place will be kokum butter which is as hard as cocoa butter so I think it will be a good replacement. We'll see. The sharp increase in cocoa butter is due to crop failures. The same thing happened to olive oil. It's scary expensive now too but I splurged on a big bottle from the grocery store.

With new soap on the verge of being made, I cleaned off my soap shelves and found all these orphan loaf ends. They are not very attractive so I usually keep them for myself. I have way too many so if anyone's interested in re-homing an unidentified ugly bar let me know by the usual method. They are not labeled or dressed up. I'm just going to unceremoniously shove them in a bag. I have no idea what the scents are anymore and tbh most the scents are pretty faded but they are soap and they will do what soap is supposed to do. If you prefer, I also have a box of actual unscented goat and buttermilk soap that I keep separate so the scents don't transfer. It's first come, first serve but I promise more in the future. It'll take about two months to get back up to speed I'm afraid. There's no rushing soap.

 

Inktober 2024

 

I haven't forgotten about Inktober but it's been very hit or miss this year. For starters, I hate some of the prompts and have given myself permission to skip them. 

Some years I've done a theme. One year I did them all Zentangle style. 

Some years they were more like a journal with running commentary. During the lockdown years they were like therapy. It seems I had a lot to say.

For the past two years I've put them all in one journal since I was running out of room to store them all.

I'm back in the journal again this year but it's not my favorite way to do it. It is the fastest way since time seems to have sped up lately in a most concerning way. I'm just happy I've managed to get at least a few days done this year. This may be as far as I get.

And...a big thank you to Sandra who found a website that is dedicated to the knits you find in horror movies. Now I have a better photo and a direction to go in if I want to duplicate this look. The website is Knit Two, Stab One and you can find it here. It's a brilliant site. 

You Don't Know Jack

 

Well, some of you might. He's been around for a lot of Halloweens. I take him out for a few weeks and then put him away when it's time to take out the turkey. He's out now.

Since I've got seasonal October, November and December rugs to work on, Spiral Chicken won't show back up for a while. I did make some headway on her this year.

Speaking of pumpkins, the ice cream shop on the boardwalk has PUMPKIN ICE CREAM. I live for pumpkin ice cream even though ice cream and I don't get along as a rule anymore but I will make an exception for it, one tiny spoonful at a time. This pint will last me until the New Year.

And....I can cross seeing the aurora off my bucket list. Like most of the US it came dancing over us late last night. 

We didn't get the lively technicolor version that the folks up north got but what we did get was darn pretty while it lasted.