stuff & things......

sitting pretty waiting to be cut......

close up!

New SoApS and some yarny goodness fun!

Here are the latest soaps from my previous post.  I always get such a different look on my Chocolate Mint even though I always make it the same.  Each one is different and unique...I guess that is what I like about making soap.  The thrill, the excitement when you cut into a batch.

AND now for the yarny goodness........

I've been experimenting with natural dyeing even after my last posting where I messed up and heated the black bean juice.  I still have to repeat that one and try for a blue!  But this time I used some dried herbs from my garden.  I had Lady's Mantle and Chamomile.  Here are the pics from my adventure.....

I got these huge cones from my local thrift store for $1.00 (not each, but total!)  I have no idea what type of wool it is or where it came from or even how old it is, but I thought it was perfect to use for learning how to natural dye.  I've been measuring off about 1.5oz of wool for each batch.

I wash it with my lanolin soap

Let the wool soak by itself, resist the urge to push it into the water.  Let it soak for at least 30 minutes (I soak much longer)

I used alum to mordant.  I found this in my grocery store.  Add fresh water and your mordant (this case alum) to a pot you no longer care to use for cooking and add your wet freshly washed wool.  I read somewhere online that for 4oz of wool use 1 tbls of alum...so figure out your amount.  Bring gently to a simmer..never boil...you will felt your wool.  Some people use a thermometer, I just simply place my hand on the side of the pot to feel if it is too hot (please don't burn yourself...my hands are my best thermometer...that is how I tell if my lye is too hot too when soaping..the feel test isn't accurate by any means, but do whatever works for you).  This picture shows my mordant wool that has the excess water squeezed from it.

Here are my dried herbs (I never did weigh them or the water so I'm not sure of my ratio)  Dried Chamomile and Lady's Mantle that I chopped roughly with a pair of scissors.  I placed the herbs into the pot and then filled with fresh water until they were covered and simmer like you would tea...the house smelled so good!  This would have probably been a delicious tea to drink.  I simmered for about 40 minutes, turned the heat off and allowed to cool.  

Once cool, I squeezed all of the water out of the herbs and added them to my compost bin.

Here is the tea.

and the yarn in it...again return to a simmer and let it go for about 30-40 minutes, turn off heat and allow to cool.  Rinse until your water runs clear....this took me awhile and I was nervous that I was rinsing all my color out of the yarn.

Here are my latest small skeins...only 1.5 oz each

Up next MARIGOLDS!  I plucked every flower off of my remaining plants and placed in the freezer for a later use.  I put them on cookie sheets until they were frozen and then put them into freezer bags.  I got two bags around 12 oz each.

What I did yesterday

Another four batch soap session!

from top to bottom I made:

Nettle & Red Moroccan Clay

Green Tea with Lemon Balm (from my garden)

Tomato & Sea Kelp

Chocolate Spearmint (also from my garden)

Can't wait to cut into these and see those colors!!  Totally natural, no dyes.

Then a bit of an error.  Lesson learned do your research before you turn on the heat.  So, I made a batch of black bean soup from scratch (meaning I soaked the beans overnight).  In the AM I looked at the water and thought what a cool color, I want to do something with that.  I thought about making soap with it, but figured it would turn nasty grey with the lye so I decided to dye some yarn.  I got everything ready and put it on the stove to simmer and THEN started reading about black beans and the natural dye process online.  There is a ton of info on it, just google it.  OOPS....everything states NOT TO HEAT IT!  Mine was simmering away by the time I read that bit of important info.  I guess if it gets hot, you get a murky grey/brownish color (see mine!).  If you let it be in a sealed glass jar for a few days you get BLUE!!  Seriously blue.  I can't wait to try it again.  I decided to let mine sit around for a few days longer and actually dumped in a strong brew of Chamomile tea to help with some sort of better color.  I think it will be fine in the long run and I'll still use it.

Oh shame on me...

I have neglected you blog!  I'm sorry please don't take it personally, I've been super busy!!!

I recently had TWO patterns on Ravelry's 'HOT RIGHT NOW' tab...yep, two!  I was freakin out with excitement....(perhaps you have to be a knitter to totally understand the joy).  I attached a snap of the screen shot just to prove it...not that I was thinking you had any doubts.

I was #5 and #8...out of 250,564!!!  

AND...I've been making SOAP!

I had two orders for Baby Showers and have been putting the finishing touches on the batches, labels, etc and making a bunch of other batches.....pictures always tell a better story than me trying to describe them...plus who doesn't like pictures of soap???

 Rose Clay & Charcoal (updated version)

Green Tea & Nettle (on left) Alkanet Root infused oil & Rose Clay (on right)

 Green Tea & Nettle 

Close up of Alkanet Root infused soap embedded in Nettle before the last pour

And the finished soap.... used alkanet root infused oil embeds in Nettle..yellow is turmeric infused oil

 

Soap patiently curing.....4-6 weeks 

I love all of the colors...all natural, nothing artificial, synthetic, dyes or otherwise harmful in anyway.  I think most of the colorants I used you could probably eat!  Most..not all, but please don't munch on the soap. 

Latest Batch....

I wasn't sure how the colors would come out with this one so I couldn't wait to cut into this batch.  I think it turned out pretty nice.  I thought the Green Tea would be a bit more green instead of brown but I'm happy with it.  I used the faux funnel pour method and didn't swirl just tapped out any air bubbles and let it alone.  The three colors are made by Green Tea, Red Rooibos Tea and a plain mix of water.

Un-cut Soap right out of the mold

First cut

You can see how different each piece is.  I love the colors so earthy...smells pretty darn good too!