Saturday night it was crisp and cold. Just perfect for waving at adoring crowds along the parade route. Last night it snowed.
It's a stay indoors as much as possible day. Toss another log on that wood burning stove would ya?
I made another batch of soap. This recipe is referred to as a "Julia Child" type of recipe. Not hard but with lots of little ingredients. I'm not sure that's fair to her memory. Her recipes work where others (martha, for instance) do not.
I tried something new this time. I used annato seeds to give the soap a deep, buttery color. I recently did an inventory of what I have in stash (so many stashes, so little time, such a bruised credit card) and found the little bag of seeds bought some years ago.
I very much like to make soap. It's simple chemistry and a lot like cooking but with sodium hydroxide. After trying out a few recipes you end up with a great product with quality ingredients that suit your type of skin.
The previous batch of soap was quite cantankerous, more so than any other that I've made and I ended up with two small chemical burns because I stopped paying attention. You must ALWAYS pay attention when using acids. This batch went together with less effort than making butter cookies.
I have a few gripes though. Recipes flip between asking for teaspoons, tablespoons, a half cup at one point along with the more common ounces and grams. Can you just pick one, puuleeeze???
I am making up my vintage apron at long last. I decided that it needed a nice contrast color for the tabs and pocket so off to equilters.com I went. Trying to pick a matching green (see that little bit of green on the pink squares?) at night under a yellowish light using my monitor, their website and whatever they used to photograph the fabric was fun. I finally just said, this one and that one too. Thankfully, one of the two greens I finally decided upon is a very good match. Oh, and I couldn't resist just a couple more yards of some of their gorgeous Day of the Dead fabric.
When you: knit, sew, make any sort of craft you just love seeing that UPS truck coming up your drive. It's Christmas!!!
My much waited for and needed skein of linen/cotton came over the weekend. Now I can finish the silk open cardi. I also bought a partial skein of Louets Gems on Ravelry. I needed a couple hundred yards but not a full skein. Thank you Veronica!
Taking a break from frogging back the pink Vine Lace Vest I started another Thorpe for my stepson. Seems that he is sensitive to wool so my first hat is itchy. This is Catalina baby alpaca and ever so soft. I went for the size large but it's too large. I tried it on hubby using the logic that father and son probably had similar sized heads. He'll be here for Christmas and this will make a lovely little present. I will have enough to make him a neck warmer too. Yes, the irony of starting a new project to avoid frogging then needing to frog is not lost on me.
posted by Earin Marybird @ 1:38 PM
2 Comments:
I have that DotD fabric too. I think it's going to be placemats! It's it just lovely!
Wow it must be a cold and snowy new year and xmas for you.
Happy new year! :)
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