Soap making (Part II)
In hindsight it would have been better to wait until the soap had hardened a bit more, before cutting and stamping.
We’ll need to wait 4 – 6 weeks before we try some; dd is working out which recipe to try in the meantime…
Small Steps to Sustainability @ stuck.id.au
Soap making!
Soap making attempt #1:
I’ve wanted to make cold pressed soap for ages, and decided to give it a go today.
The oil is a mix of olive oil and coconut oil.
Lye or caustic soda
This must be added to ice cold water – after reacting it got to 72 deg C…
Once both liquids have cooled to about 45 deg C, the mixture is stirred until trace is reached…
Recipes with a high olive oil content can take hours to get to trace.
Reaching trace…
In desperation I got out the stick blender, and the mixture reached trace within 3 minutes.
In the mold, until tomorrow.
Hopefully it will turn out OK!
Long time between blog updates…
… for which I must apologise. What with searching for a house, and then planning the interstate move, then moving, and unpacking, activities such as blog updates went by the wayside.
Life has just about returned to normal, and hopefully blogging will no longer be a low priority 
Another birthday present…
After several weeks of slackness on the sewing/craft front, I made a leather/fabric notebook cover for a birthday present this week:
There is no pencil/pen loop on this one. The fabric on the outside is also used for the lining and internal flaps.
I love this colour combination! Luckily the recipient did too 
Reusable veggie bags
One of our goals this year is to make simple changes in our lifestyle to make things more sustainable. I’ve been using these veggie bags for the past six months, and they’ve held up really well.
These were made using an overlocker (serger) and sewing machine. There is a small reinforced buttonhole to allow a ribbon to be threaded through so the bags have a draw string closure. Each bag weighs around 7 - 10g, which does affect the weight of your produce, but the extra cost is minimal.
Long time no post…
I have the very best intentions but somehow the busier life gets, the less crafty things get done.
Recently I’ve been knitting rather than sewing. The latest project was some fingerless gloves for myself:
I wanted to practise cables, and adapted a glove pattern from Ravelry. It wasn’t until I’d made the left one that I realised I’d misread some of the directions… so the cables are not interwoven.
The other challenge was reversing the cable pattern for the right glove. It took me ages to work out I could just look at the pattern in a mirror and then mark the cable sections that needed to be reversed *duh*
Still, they’re pretty, and they’re warm, and they’re mine!
A simple ribbed hat for beginner knitters
I’ve been collecting knitting yarn for a few years, but have not actually attempted to knit it up except for the odd child-size jumper, socks and slippers. This is a beautiful merino and silk mix, which feels very soft to the touch.
The pattern is a simple rib one, adapted from here. If you are looking for hat patterns, here is an extensive list.
Just in time for winter:- Felted Slippers
The 'before' shot
After felting in the washing machine
This is the fifth pair of felted slippers I have made with this pattern. It has taken five attempts to tweak the pattern to get it ‘just right’ for my very narrow foot. Different wools felt at different rates, and some felt more than others. Despite using test swatches I’ve found it to be an unexact process… but fun, all the same.
The beauty of this pattern is there is no heel to turn, which makes it a great project for someone learning to knit in the round.
Notebook cover v2.0
At the risk of appearing somewhat obsessed with notebook covers, I will post photos of today’s version, a hybrid between yesterday’s leather version and the original fabric version:
This one is has already been earmarked as a birthday present for a dear friend
Another notebook cover
I had some leather scraps and decided to make a leather/fabric cover for the small Moleskine Cahier blank journal. This turned out to be quite functional, but mark 2.0 will need some modifications. I’m enjoying the creative process, and there will be no shortage of handmade presents this year
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