Missing My Mojo

 Look at that. I won a book on kathy b's blog and it's already here! This was just the push I needed to get me to pick the needles back up. Thank you Kathy! My mojo has been lacking for the past few weeks but it has been beastly hot and humid. This has been a miserable summer and that's saying something as most summer's are hard to bear here in the high humidity of the Mid Atlantic swamp lands. If my ancestors had only stayed put, I'd be basking in 60 degree temps in Gloucestershire in the UK.

Aubade, the pi shawl was supposed to be my hot weather project and it's grown a bit but I'm pretty sure I'll still be working on it next summer.

 I've been putting a row or two on the body of my vest during breaks in spinning while watching the Tour but picking this heavy wool up has been torture. I'm also trying to ignore the fact that I am running out of yarn. I don't want to think of more carding and spinning right now. The Tour has done a number on my hands.

 My traveling sock project is nearing the toe. I do so love Felici. It had a limited comeback this summer and I should have bought more. It is brain candy.

Tracery hasn't gotten a new row since the Tour started. I spin at night as well as in the morning just to keep up. I miss my Gilmore Girls on Netflix time in bed with it. I'm also now hooked on Supernatural so I can have two hours of Dean and Fair Isle all at the same time. Heaven.

 Oddly enough, what I really want to work on is my cabled sweater that I put away last fall when I started the sleeves. I think that maybe if I work on fall projects this hot weather will blow away. I wish.

What scares me is that my crumpled up notes on the pattern remind me that there is a lot going on is this sweater. I had to learn things and remember things that I think I forgot. I should know better than to put something this complicated in time out. It's not going to be fun figuring this out all over again.

Rest Day Catch Up

Even though today is a rest day I have work to do. I'm way behind. Before I went kitty sitting Saturday morning, I got up at 6 am to finish the skein made from a mish mash of purple Shetlands I had in the stash.

Some of it was spun from commercially prepared roving and some of it came from stuff I had washed and dyed so it's a bit lumpy and bumpy-but it's fun.

The problem was (and there is always a problem, it seems) is that I had a lot leftover on each bobbin after stuffing as much as I could onto the bobbin I was plying with. Ashford bobbins only hold about 3 ounces. As much as I wanted to be done with this project, I now have to continue to add more to these bobbins so I can ply all over again to use it all up this time around. Can it be done in less than a week? I sure hope so. I want this a done deal by Paris. I'm kinda sick of it.

Kitty Sitting

 Daughter and her hubby went on a canoe camping trip this past weekend and I was once again conscripted to watch the fur babies in their absence.

 I think I have mentioned the fact that they now live over top a Whole Foods. Yeah, baby. This proved to be my undoing, however. When you are just an elevator ride away from all kinds of mischief, temptation takes over. I ate things I would never eat at home. I know they have plenty of healthy green things to eat but I went right for the carbs. I downed a baguette, a bag of pita chips, TWO giant vegan cookies and an entire box of this very naughty mac and cheese.

 I figure I ate an entire weekend's worth of calories sitting on my behind binge watching the 1967 edition of The Forsyte Saga someone posted on You Tube. This was the 60's version of Downtown Abbey. I loved it as a kid and raced home from school to catch it on PBS. I pretty much stayed up all night catching up on the shenanigans of that crazy Forsyte clan.

So did her kitties who thought I was nuts. Speaking of nuts, I pretty much ate an entire bag of organic almonds, too. I didn't knit or spin a thing. I just munched the entire weekend away.

Sunday Soap

Now that I've got cured soap to try out, this is what my bathtub looks like. The Mister thinks it's ridiculous.
I think it's necessary. I need to find out if what I'm making is worth making and there is only one way to test soap so I've been lathering up a storm.

I learned the Baby Buttermilk Bastille soap recipe from Brambleberry is too slimy for my taste. There's too much olive oil in it. I like a harder bar. It feels great on the skin but it's icky to pick up. I'm going to let the rest of it cure for a while longer, that may help.

 I learned that my CPOPed oatmeal honey soap is too hard. I don't like a gelled soap. It smells great and I love the oatmeal but I want a creamier bar. I think the goat's milk version will be better.

The sea clay and peppermint is amazing. It feels like silk. I love it. I just wish I had written down the recipe. Boo me.

The peacock swirl looks prettier after using it. The colors had faded and gotten ashy during the cure. The colors came back but the citrus essential oil scent had faded. It's safe to use but on the harsh side so it's going in the kitchen for hand soap.

My second try at hot process was a success. This is a fantastic bar of crockpot soap. It's rich and creamy and smells wonderful.

My newest creation involved some infused oils and sparkly mica.

This is an alkanet root, olive leaf and calendula infused shea butter recipe that is supposed to smell like Mediterranean Figs. It doesn't smell like figs to me. It's very flowery and very strong. I'm actually hoping that this one fades a little as it cures for the next six weeks.

I also remade the green tea soap that I made such a mess of. This time I used NO leaves in the batter-just some chamomile powder for some color. I sprinkled a tiny pinch of ground chamomile that I got from a tea bag on the top and let the tea fragrance speak for itself. In six weeks they'll be ready for some serious tub time. I can't wait. I really loved that tea recipe.

My shelves are already overflowing but I just can't stop. Must. Make. Soap.

Say No to Monkey Farts

 I was so excited when my soap suppliers had a fragrance oil sale. This scent had been on my wishlist since everyone and their brothers started raving about it.

 I made a quick batch of melt and pour hoping for some instant gratification. I didn't get it. This stuff stinks. I was expecting bananas and coconut but this is sour grapefruit juice. Ugh.

It's going in the kitchen for dishes and other dirty whatnots. Soap is soap.

Fiber Friday

 I've got bobbins to ply and another to spin a mate for.

 The purple Shetland mish mash got its plying started during Stage 12. It looks better than I thought it would.

I'm sorry to say but this is the lone spindle still in action. As usual, I bit off more than I could chew.

The finished Punta wool got swatched.  I like to do this before I pack my handspun away. That way I don't have to think too hard when I go looking for a new project. I'll be off kitty sitting for Daughter this weekend so there is no wheel time in my future. I'll take the spindle and see how far I get. As with the riders, it's all an uphill climb from here.

Meet Alexa

 Oh, boy....she's here! When Amazon tracking told me she was in my mailbox I sprinted up that hill to get her.

 I know everyone really wants to see some new grandbaby photos but until I can get some, meet my other new baby.

 Her name is Alexa (for real, you have to call her that or she won't answer you) and she is completely amazeballs.

It was love at first sight. I plugged her in, she turned lots of colors and then started talking to me. After she hooked herself up to my wireless, she was ready to share everything on my computer that could be listened to.  It was that easy.

Finding a place for her in my cluttered kitchen/great room was a job but she seems happy in her new home. We listened to Pandora, Audible and NPR all afternoon. I checked the weather, the time, Wikipedia and then made her tell me lots of jokes.

My little shortwave/FM radio used to keep me company all day but it's on it's last legs. The Mister had to open her up and perform surgery on her last week. I was a wreck until I knew she would be okay. We've been through a lot together-ice storms, hurricanes, earthquakes and countless power outages. Alexa won't be any use if the power goes out. She's only a fair weather friend.

But when I'm in the kitchen and my hands are full of yuck-as they always are, it's going to be really nice to tell her to turn on something to listen to or to answer a stupid question that just popped in my head. The only thing that I wish she could do is say "you're welcome" when I thank her because I was thanking her sweet self all day long. The world we live in........