Wednesday WIPs: A June Finish

 

The June panel of the Doodle Cowl was finished on time. I thought that big snowflake would take me into to July but it didn't. I'm picking a small doodle for July because on Saturday the TdF begins and I'll have other things to do. 

I've only got these Uneek socks in progress right now. The purple ones from Miss Babs went to the frog pond. Life is too short to knit with naughty yarn even if it was expensive. They really irritated me. 

Row One of Section Two has begun. I was looking forward to bringing in the blue but this dark blue is hard to work with. I need a bright day or a bright light. I can barely see what I'm doing which is something I can say about a lot of things right now. 

TNT: A Big Finish

 

Woo hoo! Funky Flower is finished! I can hardly believe it. What's even crazier is that I started this just a year ago last March. 

I've already put my first sad attempt at needlepoint back on the empty frame. This was not a good one for a beginner. It's still a bit advanced for me but since I've accepted the wonkiness of my stitches it's been fun to work on again. I had no idea that I'd like needlepoint so much but I do. 

I also finished another panel on the Garden sampler. I added another bird and a bunny to the top curlicue thing and a few more trees up there. Now I just have to add some more trees to the bottom of the forest and all the leaves on the curlicue. 

I know I said Soap Week was over yesterday and it almost was until I thought about making some unscented milk soap. It's made with plenty of coconut and goat's milk with a splash of buttermilk. It's the one I use the most so it's good to have plenty on hand. At least that's what I tell myself but the truth is that I just like to make soap. It's hard to stop once I get going.

And of course I re-made that ugly Apricot and Honey soap. I still had some good stuff to use up so why not. Now everything is clean and tidy in the room so I won't be tempted to make more but....I do have one more small container of pre-measured lye so this might not be the bitter end but it will be a break at least until we get past the holiday.

Oatmeal, Milk and Honey AND Lavender and Sage

 

 Soap Week has finally come to an end. We're off Grand sitting again this week so it was time to clean it all up and put it all away.

This was another crazy pour as you can see by the plop top. I was scraping it out as fast as I could. No time to get fancy here. 

Like the name implies, Oatmeal, Milk and Honey has colloidal oatmeal in it and I always forget that it thickens up quickly because of it. No harm was done by the looks of it but it was another good workout for my reflexes. 

Lavender and Sage was also made in the last few days. It was the new recipe but it performed just as well as the old one. There were lots of good plops.

Not bad. The purple stayed purple and the green stayed green. Yay.

Freshly Zested Lemon

 

 I don't have any photos of this soap in progress because it was a very hectic morning around here. Trying to squeeze in time for soap was a challenge.

I had The Mister up on a ladder on the roof (!) trying to figure out why the gutters weren't draining. I wasn't happy about that. One slip and fall and his new hip and knee could be history. I lived through that with my dad and DO NOT want to go there again. All this was going on as an Ikea delivery truck slowly crept towards us all morning. I do appreciate the mapped tracking but the waiting and watching makes me a nervous wreck. That's my new mattress and new recliner (!). Yet another sign of old age. I need a special chair to sit in and a firmer hybrid type mattress both to support my aching back. Oy...

Making matters worse was that it was also lye day. I had to open a new container and do a lot of measuring. I hate doing that. The lye part is my least favorite thing about making soap. It's scary.

I like to pour out several days worth at a time into small containers so I don't have to fool with measuring it out every day. If it wasn't for Cindy from Delighted Hands I wouldn't be making soap at all. She talked me through it back in the very beginning. 

I had high hopes for the new Sunday Funday yellow mica but that's a rather bland yellow. It's still better than some of the other yellows I've tried. The search continues. Color issues aside, I always look forward to throwing this one in the pot. It makes the whole house smell amazing for days.

Herbal Essence

 

I saved the fragrance oil that started the herbal quest for last. I'm sad to say I've run out of new fragrances to try but I'm not done making soap. Since I still have some ingredients left, I'm going to be making some oldies but goodies for the next few days.

Here's the plop photo proving that from start to finish this specific recipe has been a winner. 

Tomorrow I've got to change up the recipe to phase out ingredients that I've run out of and bring in some that I didn't use this time around.  It'll be interesting to see if my luck still holds out. As for the Herbal Essence fragrance....it's a big no. It's too sweet and fruity. I can't tell you what the original smelled like but I'd know it if I sniffed it and this isn't it. Too bad.

Swedish Dream Sea Salt

 

I have no idea why I bought this fragrance sample. I didn't know it was a "thing".

While writing this post I just discovered that this fragrance is a knock off of the original scent made by the soap makers at KalaStyle. They describe it as smelling like cool, crisp ocean air. The fragrance people say it smells like cucumber, lavender, balsam, lime and oakmoss with a hint of musk. That's a nose full of scents.  

Sea salt? I've got it. I used to sprinkle it on the tops of all my soap until I realized the salt would draw moisture from the air and make the tops sticky. I gave this loaf a dose of it anyway because how could I not? 

Here's the plop photo before I smashed it all in and gave it a sprinkle. All these batters have been behaving so beautifully. I don't know where all this good juju is coming from but I'll take it. 

Taking it out of the mold the next morning was interesting. After tipping it out I realized the top was covered in water. I had taken the soap out of the cooler and sat it by an open window while we took the dog for a walk. Bad move. I didn't even think about all the early morning humidity coming in on the ground floor. It melted all the sea salt and gave the loaf a nice bath in sea water. I had to hold it upside down for a while to drain before I could cut it.

Each bar then had to be dried off but it didn't seem to be an issue. Some people steam their bars to remove soda ash so a little water never hurts. I'm hoping that's the end of the sea salt drama because I love how these turned out. I've even started liking that strange scent. It grows on you. 

Clementine and Lavender

 

If you guessed that the purple had gone wrong, you'd be right. It turned an ugly gray. Argh....I hate when that happens. I tossed that packet of mica right in the trash.

I had to re-work it with another purple I had and that took time which messes up the timing of the pour. Think instant pudding. Once it firms up there's not a lot you can do. I'm also working in heavy gloves that are covered in batter which means washing them off so I can take them off safely to dig through my stash of colors to find another purple. The clock is ticking.

Oh, dear. No pouring phase this time. The plop phase happened a bit early. Nothing to do now but pound the mold on the floor and hope that it all evens out. 

So far so good. I did manage to scrap out the stiff leftovers from the cups to get some on the top. 

That was a pretty hair raising adventure. It was also a messy one. You don't have time to stop and clean up behind yourself when you're racing the clock. 

Was it worth it? It sure was. Everything somehow managed to do what it was supposed to and smell great at the same time. My favorite new scent so far. A big win. Whew.

And I forgot my usual Wednesday WIPs post because here's the only interesting thing going on. I finished section one of the Hue Shift. Now I have a million ends to weave in before I head to section two. I'm excited because then, we get to start using the blues.