12.24.08
Why LUSH bath bombs cost $6
I was not a bath person until I tried LUSH’s bath bombs. They’re awesome. They’re also a little spendy.
Having already made many batches of soap, I decided to try making bath bombs after finding Not Martha’s recipe.
I spent about $10 for a pound of citric acid at the local coop, and about $4 on baking soda and epsom salt. I already had a bunch of essential oils and almond oils on hand.
The first batch I made was rosemary mint. I apparently put way too much mint in, because no matter how hot I ran the water it still felt cold and minty-tingly. Not too pleasant.
The second batch turned out like this:
All mis-shapen, some crumbly and some so wet that they fizzed out of shape.
I still have enough citric acid left to make 2 more batches of bath bombs, so I’m not declaring failure yet. However, I’m starting to think that $6 is really not that much to pay for a perfectly shaped bath bomb that has just the right abount of fragrance.
12.23.08
Scarf pattern for download
Thrummed Mittens II
Shortly after I started the first thrummed mitten I decided I was going to make a pair for myself to match my foliage hat. Here are the ingredients:
Unfortunately I went shopping for these supplies before I realized exactly how much fiber it takes for the thrums, so I have one more trip to make to the Fiber Studio before I can start on this pair.
12.20.08
Thrummed mittens – complete!
I finished my last Christmas gift…
I’ll clean up the fuzzies before I wrap them, but I’m leaving the ends un-woven-in in case the size needs adjusting.
12.19.08
Aleita shell
I finally settled on a pattern for the 3 balls of Southwest Trading Company Oasis that I bought almost 2 years ago… the Aleita Shell from Interweave Knits.
To prevent pooling, I used all 3 balls of yarn for the stockinette stitch portion of the shell and alternated strands every row. I’m alternating between 2 balls every other row for the ribbed portion. I’m making this on US4 and US5 needles instead of US3 and US6 so that I get the correct gauge. I’ve heard that this yarn stretches a lot, so I’m making it with more negative ease than I usually do. I made a swatch and found that the yarn does indeed stretch after blocking. I tried it on last night and found that it is a bit small now, hopefully ::crosses fingers:: it will fit perfectly after blocking. I’m also making it 2 inches longer than what’s called for in the pattern.
12.18.08
More socks started
Yarn: Crystal Palace Maizy
Needles: Knitpicks US2
Pattern: Modified Knitty universal toe-up pattern
For: my husband
I used a figure 8 cast on for the toe and then increased on both sides every other row a few times. Then, to make the left and right socks different, I started increasing on only one side. So far it looks like this is going to lead to a really good fit.
12.16.08
Thrummed Mittens
I finished the first of a pair of thrummed mittens I’m making for a Christmas gift. This was a SUPER quick knit… I think it took 1.5 movies for me to finish the entire mitten. Only one more mitten to go!
Yarn: Cascade 220
Needles: US4 and US6
Pattern: combination of Yarn Harlot and Hello Yarn patterns
Fiber: Soysilk (grey) and Merino from the Fiber Studio. I used just over an ounce of fiber for one mitten.
12.15.08
Toe up socks completed!
Pattern: Knitty universal toe-up socks
Yarn: Crystal Palace Maizy, 2 skeins
Needles: Knitpicks US2 circular needles
The yarn is much stretchy-er than I thought it would be. They fit perfectly when I first put them on but stretched a LOT during the day. The next pair I make with this yarn will be have more negative ease, especially around the ankle. Not sure how the yarn holds up in the wash since I haven’t washed them yet. The yarn is “lay flat to dry”, so no dryer for these socks.
FLS – done!
I finished my February Lady Sweater last month. I REALLY like this pattern. I knit the sleeves on US 8 DPNs and the rest of the sweater on US 9 circular needles. The yarn is Knitpicks Wool of the Andes in black cherry. This was my first time doing afterthought buttonholes, they were not too tricky but I found it cumbersome to weave in 4 yarn ends for each buttonhole. The buttons are made from tagua nut (also called vegetable ivory).
12.14.08
It’s December already?
Where did the time go? It seems like we just got back from vacation. Which, by the way was fantastic 
We ended up taking two vacations this year, one to Canada and the other to Utah and Idaho.
First up, Canada:
We saw Niagara falls,
and a bunch of the wineries on the Niagara Peninsula. Ice wine is yummy. The best overall winery we visited was Coyote Run, every single wine we tried there was fantastic and really reasonably priced. We brought 5 bottles of wine home in one suitcase.
And then we spent a bunch of time in Toronto, including at the CN tower.
The view from the CN tower was terrifying. For me, anyways. I am more afraid of heights than I realized. The CN tower has the highest elevation glass floor in the world. I could not bring myself to walk on it, even knowing that the glass floor is stronger than the cement floor. I am a chicken.
Next up, Utah:
We visited Timpanogos Cave, which has really amazing crystal formations growing in every which direction.
We went on a great road trip from SLC to Idaho, stopping in Atomic City (bar pictured above) which is pretty much a ghost town now.
We found this great waitress in Blackfoot, ID, which is also the home to the World Potato Museum. Who knew?!?
We also stopped by balanced rock, which is in the middle of nowhere, ID. We found all these great attractions at Roadside America, a really good resource for planning road trips.
We concluded our Idaho road trip by going to the City of Rocks. Also in the middle of nowhere, ID. Seriously. There were only primitive roads coming into the park from one direction. Also, there was a cow in the road. This would be a great place to go rock climbing, it is filled with really bizarre rock formations. Unfortunately we did not come prepared to climb.
We spent an entire day at Arches National Park. It’s incredibly beautiful there.
We hiked up to Delicate Arch. It was super windy up there; we had to hold on to our hats the whole time. If the wind was any gustier I think we may have blown away.
Sandstone Arch, my personal favorite picture of the whole trip.
Sandstone formations we saw while on a long hike.
Landscape Arch, pretty famous.
Hole ‘n’ the Rock. Not so famous. The western US is filled with wacky roadside attractions! We didn’t stop at this one, but the minivan in the picture did.
We had such a great summer… it’s hard to believe that it’s over. Even harder to believe that it was over 2 months ago. Where did the time go?!
I have actually been doing a lot of crafty stuff lately… more posts to come in the near future.
