January is well underway, and it is cold! When the temperature gets this low, our poor furnace struggles to keep up, which can make finding motivation to do more than cuddle under a blanket on the couch difficult. It is really hard some mornings to slip into those workout clothes and get started, but I'm keeping up with Hammer and Chisel* despite the chill. Into the third week now, I'm starting to see the progress and can feel it when I strap on my belt. Even better, I'm getting stronger!
This week, I set a new personal best for both pull-ups (overhand) and chin-ups (underhand) with eleven each. I do use an assist band, but it is still a huge improvement. The quick and measurable increases in strength, balance and flexibility with Hammer and Chisel are quite empowering and why I love the program so much. Darren had to spend a couple nights away from home due to road conditions, and he noticed a difference in just the three days he was gone.
Also seeing a lot of progress this week, the potential crochet skirt. Nearing the end of the yarn, it's becoming pretty evident that a cowl is more likely, but I do have some tricks up my sleeve. Skirt or cowl, I already love it and will be fine regardless of the outcome.
An interesting pattern came across my Facebook feed the other day for crochet socks. The last time I tried crochet socks was years ago, because they ended up being a flaming, inelastic disaster, but this pattern had potential, and I decided to use it for Oliver's socks. You know, the ones I was supposed to have done for New Years. With Darren gone, I put on a subtitled movie and was able to get half the length of the foot done.
The fabric is thick and feels very cozy. The yardage is more than I planned to expend, but Oliver is a boy who loves his handmade socks, so it will be worth it.
Progress on the sweater spin has been slow and steady. I'm into the hand carded fiber, which spins with much less effort. I'm hoping to see quicker progress on this project in the future.
I've been jotting ideas, which have been rolling around in my mind for a while, for a potential soap recipe. This week, the time was right to go for it. It will be a few weeks before I can really use it to see what needs tweaking, but right now, I am pleased with the result. My sister's idea of a craft show booth is always with me, and this soap has signature soap potential, so I want to get it perfect.
It's a double pour soap, which means it is made in two batches with the second batch being poured over the first to create one, two-part bar. It was really fun to cut the bars and see the result.
For the first pour, I used coffee as the liquid and added a tiny pinch of coffee grounds and some cedar oil at trace. The cedar scent is not very strong, so it is likely I will be adding more next time. On top of the first pour, I sprinkled coffee grounds. Next time, I will use more to better define the line between the two soaps.
The second pour was made with pine needle tea. The needles came from our Christmas tree, a balsam. It would be nice to have a variety of needles for subsequent batches, but that will have to wait until spring, when the needles are fresh. I felt comfortable using our Christmas tree, because it was still quite lively. I use 7 Up and bleach in the water, which the trees love. Last year, we had nearly two inches of new growth on our tree by the time we took it down. This year wasn't quite so dramatic, but buds were starting to open. Fresh needles or not, I wasn't sure if the balsam scent would be strong enough to survive the soap making process, but it comes through nicely. I'm looking forward to experimenting with other needles to add some complexity to the scent.
I didn't add any oils to the second soap, but at trace I added coffee grounds and chopped balsam needles. These were not the same needles used to make the tea, but fresh ones run through the coffee grinder. I poured the balsam soap over the coffee pour and wrapped it all in a towel. Normally, I de-pan and cut my soap after 24 hours, but this batch was larger than normal, so I let it sit overnight a second night. The soap was still soft when cut, so I'm glad to have allowed the extra time. Between the two batches, this soap used 3 pounds of fats and oils which filled a 9x9 glass pan, lined with freezer paper, to the very top.
My one regret with this soap was a result of my laziness. I got complacent while measuring ingredients, and a scale malfunction caused me to be unsure of how much lye is actually in the second pour. If there is too much, the soap could be rather harsh, which would be disappointing. Judging by the cutting scraps, which I've been using, I'm confident it will be usable but may not moisturize as well as I'd intended.
1 liter of 7 Up
1 tsp of bleach
In practice, it makes more sense to make this a gallon at a time using a whole 2 liter of 7 Up, I list it as above because a ratio of 1:1:1 is easy to remember. When mixing a gallon, I end up using slightly less bleach.
*I am an Independent Beachbody Coach, and this link is affiliated to me.
This week, I set a new personal best for both pull-ups (overhand) and chin-ups (underhand) with eleven each. I do use an assist band, but it is still a huge improvement. The quick and measurable increases in strength, balance and flexibility with Hammer and Chisel are quite empowering and why I love the program so much. Darren had to spend a couple nights away from home due to road conditions, and he noticed a difference in just the three days he was gone.
Also seeing a lot of progress this week, the potential crochet skirt. Nearing the end of the yarn, it's becoming pretty evident that a cowl is more likely, but I do have some tricks up my sleeve. Skirt or cowl, I already love it and will be fine regardless of the outcome.
An interesting pattern came across my Facebook feed the other day for crochet socks. The last time I tried crochet socks was years ago, because they ended up being a flaming, inelastic disaster, but this pattern had potential, and I decided to use it for Oliver's socks. You know, the ones I was supposed to have done for New Years. With Darren gone, I put on a subtitled movie and was able to get half the length of the foot done.
The fabric is thick and feels very cozy. The yardage is more than I planned to expend, but Oliver is a boy who loves his handmade socks, so it will be worth it.
Progress on the sweater spin has been slow and steady. I'm into the hand carded fiber, which spins with much less effort. I'm hoping to see quicker progress on this project in the future.
I've been jotting ideas, which have been rolling around in my mind for a while, for a potential soap recipe. This week, the time was right to go for it. It will be a few weeks before I can really use it to see what needs tweaking, but right now, I am pleased with the result. My sister's idea of a craft show booth is always with me, and this soap has signature soap potential, so I want to get it perfect.
 |
| Cabin in the Woods soap: first attempt |
It's a double pour soap, which means it is made in two batches with the second batch being poured over the first to create one, two-part bar. It was really fun to cut the bars and see the result.
For the first pour, I used coffee as the liquid and added a tiny pinch of coffee grounds and some cedar oil at trace. The cedar scent is not very strong, so it is likely I will be adding more next time. On top of the first pour, I sprinkled coffee grounds. Next time, I will use more to better define the line between the two soaps.
The second pour was made with pine needle tea. The needles came from our Christmas tree, a balsam. It would be nice to have a variety of needles for subsequent batches, but that will have to wait until spring, when the needles are fresh. I felt comfortable using our Christmas tree, because it was still quite lively. I use 7 Up and bleach in the water, which the trees love. Last year, we had nearly two inches of new growth on our tree by the time we took it down. This year wasn't quite so dramatic, but buds were starting to open. Fresh needles or not, I wasn't sure if the balsam scent would be strong enough to survive the soap making process, but it comes through nicely. I'm looking forward to experimenting with other needles to add some complexity to the scent.
 |
| Sniffing the soap |
I didn't add any oils to the second soap, but at trace I added coffee grounds and chopped balsam needles. These were not the same needles used to make the tea, but fresh ones run through the coffee grinder. I poured the balsam soap over the coffee pour and wrapped it all in a towel. Normally, I de-pan and cut my soap after 24 hours, but this batch was larger than normal, so I let it sit overnight a second night. The soap was still soft when cut, so I'm glad to have allowed the extra time. Between the two batches, this soap used 3 pounds of fats and oils which filled a 9x9 glass pan, lined with freezer paper, to the very top.
My one regret with this soap was a result of my laziness. I got complacent while measuring ingredients, and a scale malfunction caused me to be unsure of how much lye is actually in the second pour. If there is too much, the soap could be rather harsh, which would be disappointing. Judging by the cutting scraps, which I've been using, I'm confident it will be usable but may not moisturize as well as I'd intended.
 |
| Last year's tree growth |
Christmas tree water
1 liter of water1 liter of 7 Up
1 tsp of bleach
In practice, it makes more sense to make this a gallon at a time using a whole 2 liter of 7 Up, I list it as above because a ratio of 1:1:1 is easy to remember. When mixing a gallon, I end up using slightly less bleach.
*I am an Independent Beachbody Coach, and this link is affiliated to me.
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