January Wrap Up

 No. I still don't have my new laptop. Amazon lied to me. Now they say it will be here tomorrow. We'll see. In the meantime I convinced The Mister to let me use his again. He's not a fan of sharing his so I'm hoping my new one shows up soon. In the meantime I am keeping busy packing up soap. The last batch will go out tomorrow so be on the lookout. As you can see I've still got tons left so if you are on the fence- don't be shy, head over to Ravelry and help me out by adopting a bar or two.

See? This is why I need it gone. I am already making spring soap from the new samples that came in the last supply shipment.  Starting on the left is Coconut Water and Pineapple, Strawberry Thyme (?) Lemonade and an old favorite of mine Oatmeal, Milk and Honey. I have no idea what they are going to look like when I get around to cutting them but they all smell divine.

 Now for the January wrap-up. This is how far I got on this month's block of The Sheep Virtues. Tomorrow I will start the February block and see how far I get.

 My winter sampler has a new little tree and the beginnings of a deer.

 Dear Jane has one block done and the second started.

I'm not sure how I did it but the snowflake runner and mini quilt got done.

 The second blue border on the giant blanket is this big. I'm starting to feel too optimistic about getting it done this year. That's never a good thing.

 Pimpeliesse is hopefully nearing the end because that ball of handspun is getting mighty small.

Finally I want to thank Mary for the sweet note about Daddio and this lovely heart. I know I've said it many times but you hooky people amaze the heck out of me. I get a headache just thinking about how this was constructed. Thanks again, Mary, it was very thoughtful!

All is Well-Sort Of....

Oh, dear....I was afraid if I didn't have a post today that everyone would freak out again so I am using The Mister's laptop to let you know I'm fine but my Asus Chromebook is not. It shut down yesterday and won't come back on. I think I've gotten my $127 worth out of it so I guess I'm going to just trash it and order another. Until it gets here, I'll be happily packing soap and doing all the other things I usually do. The only difference is that you won't he hearing about it for a bit-at least until I figure this glitch out. It's always something.
TTYL......I hope!

PS: I can still get to Ravelry on my phone so I can still get your soap messages. There's plenty to go around so don't be shy.

Weekend Warrior

 I miss football. For the last few weekends I had lots of time to myself while The Mister was propped up on the couch with the playoffs. This weekend was all about work. Saturday was tiling. We would have gotten more done but we burned up the drill mixing the thinset and now we have to wait for a new one to be delivered sometime today.

 On Sunday we ran errands so we could get back to tiling on Monday. I did manage to get some of Dear Jane pieced in between doing things that were not much fun.

 Those tiny triangles were no fun. I hope I've seen the last of them but I bet I haven't.

 I got up really early on Saturday so I could get Daddio's quilt sandwiched but that's as far as it went. There was no machine time this weekend. Maybe next. Isn't it Superbowl Sunday? I sure hope so.

And....thanks to everyone who responded to my latest soap adoption event. There is still plenty left so hop on over to Ravelry if you haven't already!

Valentine's Giveaway!

That's 72 little bars of soap waiting for a good home. It's time to toss your blobs of gingerbread men and slivers of Sleigh Ride and open a new bar for February.  

 They've all been made with the same recipe except these two. Patchouli was made with red palm oil and is very lightly scented. Pomegranate Geranium has pomegranate butter in it and smells like roses to me. All the bars have a healthy dose of colloidal oatmeal which makes them nice and scrubby.

 Awaken is a Lush knock off scent. I really like it. It's smells a bit like citrus and is very fresh. I'm a fan. White Thyme and Rosemary is lightly herbal. Note that these two are the only bars that have yogurt spelled correctly on the label. My spellcheck apparently has let me down and I was not about to go re-wrap all those bars to fix it.

 Lavender Woods is a mysterious lavender. I liked it so much I am using it in the lotion bars. Mediterranian Fig is my all time favorite because it smells like my grandmother. She used White Shoulder perfume and this is faintly reminiscent of it. It's pretty strong. I can't get enough of this one and make it often.

 Chocolate Mousse is pretty obvious. It smells like natural cocoa butter which smells like chocolate. I should have called it Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie because I went a little overboard with the oatmeal in this one. It's pretty scrubby but sometimes it's just what you need. Love Spell is a Victoria Secret knock off. It's described as a combination of cherry blossom and white jasmine. The Mister gave me a bottle of this body spray one year for Valentine's Day so it smells like a red doily heart to me.

 Finally Huckleberry Honey which is made from the honey Betsy sent me. I used a berry fragrance oil and it is yummy. I could spread it on bread-but I won't. Remember, no matter how yummy these smell or how creamy they feel, they are soap. Make sure to rinse well and keep it out of your eyes. Stop using it if it gives you the itchies. If a particular one doesn't agree with me I find using it as a hand soap works. My hands can take anything, my lady bits-not so much.

This is another no strings pick two giveaway. I'll send you two bars of mini soap or a soap and a lotion bar of your choice or a soap and a Milk and Honey glycerin face bar.

The tinned lotion bars is the Lavender Woods bar with a splash of real lavender essential oil. It is strong. I like to slather myself in it at bedtime and I want to be able to smell it since lavender is so soothing. In the heart wrapper is the new little pink lotion bars. The fragrance is another Lush knock off called Love. It smells very spicy. Ylang, ylang and caramel is how it is described but I swear I can smell cinnamon. It's an unusual scent for sure.

You know the drill....send me your mailing details on Ravelry and check your messages often in case I have a question. I'll be packing and mailing your goodies this week along with a Valentine from my February card kit.

And look what just showed up this afternoon. Supplies and fragrance samples for SPRING soap! 

Thanks so much for participating. Playing with soap (and cards) is my therapy!

Homecoming

This is going to be a brutal post so family members be warned. You might want to come back tomorrow when I talk about soap.

 This has been a rough 48 hours. The Mister and I had just gotten down to serious tiling when the phone rang. It was the call I had been dreading for two weeks. Daddio's cremated remains were ready to be picked up.

 It was Thursday morning and I was already in the midst of a total cry fest. I always went to see Daddio on Thursdays. I told the funeral home I would come get him on Friday morning since I was in no shape to make the trip on a Thursday. The Mister and I carried on with the tile and got a grand total of two tiles cut. Not much to show for an entire day but they were two hard cuts and I was pretty much useless as an assitant.

 That night I had to rearrange my stash closet because that's where Mom has been waiting patiently for Dad to join her.

Since I sold Daddio's house I had to bring her here. She is tucked away out of sight behind some lovely wool. Now Daddio is with her on the top shelf.

Carrying your loved one's ashes across a parking lot is a surreal experience. I remember how strange it was to go gather up Mom. But as hard as yesterday was, Daddio made it harder. Back at home when I was situating them together I happened to move Mom's bible that I had tucked into the pretty gift bag that held her ashes and her favorite fishing hat. A note fell out. I had never seen it before. It was from....Daddio. He had written to Mom on a piece of hospital stationary " when I get where you are, please don't run, walk slowly so I can catch up with you." 

I pretty much went to pieces when I realized what I had just read. The Mister scooped me up and took me down to the bay with a pack of Kleenex so I could work it out in the place Mom and Dad loved the most. In the spring, The Mister will sail their ashes out and disperse them into the water which was what they both wanted.

I should also add that while going through Daddio's personal papers last week I had found a note written to us days after Mom's death where he talked about his desire to join her. Referencing his own death he ended with...." shed not a tear but rejoice and look upon the stars and we will be smiling down upon you. Mom and I forever." You know I'll never look at stars the same way again.

My old man, who was one of seven boys fostered out to work camps during the great depression and who never went to school, sure had a way with words.

When I got home from my cry fest by the bay, there was a big package on the porch. It was the materials I needed to sandwich Daddio's last quilt. 

For those of you who don't know, Daddio got into quilting after Mom died. He found her sewing box and began to paper piece the scraps of material into a quilt which sparked his passion. That's the leftovers of my first wedding dress-the red gingham (!) and the maternity tops Mom made for me in that quilt. He gifted it to his first great granddaughter.

I know it's silly but that box of quilting supplies on my porch was like Dad's final message to me. Get on with it girl, you've got a quilt to finish. Stop your bawling and get to work. Maybe not today Dad, I still have some tears to shed-but tomorrow for sure.

Getting Ready

 I am spending my nights wrapping all those little bars of soap.

 During the day I've been scrubbing the soap room, the lotion bar jars and all the other whatnots.

I've got lotion bars to make.

 I had these sample bags of butters I wanted to try.

I also had my new heart mold to use for some pretty pink lotion bars and face soaps to make. I'm getting ready for the February giveaway. Are you? Use up those slivers. I've got new stuff waiting to mail out. Details on Sunday!

Better Late Than Never

Since the snowflake pieced mini quilt/table runner project is almost finished I thought it was time to get started on the Dear Jane project.

 It took me a while to sort it all out.

  You get several blocks worth of paper pieces in one package.

Now I have to figure out an over all plan using the material I have along with a plan for the blocks and the sashing. Good times. I really like paper piecing.

Purple Haze

 My poor purple warp is finally on the loom. It's only been two months since it was finished.

 Threading is going to be fun. It's a two page draft. My brain is going to get a work out.

 So is my patience. Look how fine this is. Yowza.

I've got another easier project waiting in the wings if it all goes south. I am going to start warping these simple twill towels, just in case.

Out and About

 We tailgated behind the McDonald's in Bowie yesterday. The doggies had their favorite nugget lunch. I had a diet coke and small fries.

 It was a beautiful 68 degree day and we hit the road early for a day of shopping in town. Pet Smart was on the itinerary so the pups came along.

 It's a long haul up there but I got a lot of knitting done. One terrible sock is finished. Yippee.

 The other has begun.

 I needed more Valentine's paper. I scored big at both Micheals and AC Moore.

 I needed floss for the February block of The Sheep Virtues. I wanted it all. I love buying floss.

 I was tempted by the yarn sale but The Mister was waiting in the car with the dogs so I didn't even start to browse. Now I have non-buyers remorse. I really could have used some more Patons sock yarn. What was I thinking?