A Breath of Fresh Air

Look at that. An open window. It's been ages since we've had the AC off. On Tuesday morning I noticed it wasn't as hot and muggy as it's been so I took advantage to air out the house for almost the whole day. It was wonderful.

 Being stuck in the house has done wonders for my knitting mojo. Watermelon is on the toe.

So is Mermaid.

And looky here. Twins. I've got some man socks going just in case a man decides he needs a pair this winter. Ah....winter. It sounds wonderful now but you know we'll be complaining about the cold before you know it.

 I hope you can stand just a little more soap talk. Someone asked me a question about it yesterday and since Blogger doesn't let me reply anymore this is the only way I have of answering.

The question was about the soap tops and why I was making them all "choppy" this time around. This rather flat but colorful top is my usual method especially when I am using the little molds which give you no room to work.

I just pour on the remainder of the different soap colors and pull it out into swirls with an old double pointed bamboo knitting needle I keep for that purpose while it's still pretty thin. It's easy, fast and always looks great but.....

....a beautifully textured top is really the crowning glory for most soap makers and I am really terrible at it. You have to be patient and be ready at exactly the time the batter turns into something that resembles frosting so you can get those luscious peeks and valleys.

You have to softly mound up the batter without overworking it. The more you play with it the thinner it gets. You'll have soup if you go too far. With the fall soaps I was hoping to practice this and get it right for a change but it's been hit or miss. I've still got more soap to make so I get at least one more try.  Fingers crossed.