Soap Sacks and DRTY Soap products: a pattern and a review.

I havent kept my end of the bargin, I havent posted each week. but, I have been moving and working, so you should give me some slack.

In a plea of bloggy forgiveness, I present you a pattern... does that work for you?

I have a friend, her name is Mindy, and she owns her own Soap Company. I have a lot of friends who own soap companies, but lately, I have been LOVING Mindy's DRTY SOAP. She has a great selection, and great prices, and her soap is SO nice. Hubby wants me to get a whole loaf for his deployment kit if he ends up going National Guard.

Here is a look at some of her soaps:

This is my favorite!

MMM Pumpkin Vanilla!

These soaps hold up such WONDERFUL scents and lather so well. I had to make a soap sack just so I could use this soap instead of a body wash and a loofah in the shower.. I love this!

Are you getting my direction?

Here is the soap sack pattern I created. Really simple, SUPER quick, and a great gift... 

I'll post up some photos when I get home, posting now from campus. 

Starting with your favorite cotton in worsted weight and a size J hook

Foundation row: chain 11, sc in 2nd chain from hook, *skip 1 chain, dbl and sc in the next chain* to end, do not turn, round end of chain, and continue in same pattern between the ** up the other side. you do not have to mark the beginning of the round, just move straight to the top chain of the first sc, *dbl, and sc in the next ch, skip 1* and repeat continue this until you have a sack that will fit your soap. Put this aside.

Now, with another color, or the other end of your skein, chain about 30-35 stitches, connect the ends with whatever method you'd like, tie it, or slip stitch it, whatever you feel comfortable with and cut it off. You should have loop of chain stitch that is large enough to act as a drawstring on your soap sack.

Now, here is the tricky part, pick up the sack part and get ready to crochet, continuing the dbl, sc skip pattern, lay the loop of chains on top of the stitches you are working into, caging the yarn loop into the stitch. finish 1 round and ties off, weave in ends, there should be a loop of yarn that was too long for the sack itself, this is your hang space. You are finished, slide in your DRTY SOAP or other favorite brand and enjoy, when you run out of soap, toss this in the washing machine to wash out the scent, and refill it with a new scent!

So, new years resolutions already a bust...

One of my resolutions has already been slashed.. nope, make that 2.. but it is for a good reason!

I have gotten so much business in my baby shower boutique with custom orders, I have not had the chance to post a blog update, or to knit/crochet any charity hats.

Remember this?

I am making 2 of these sets for boys this week, is that a good reason to have NOT kept my end of the blogger resolutions?

Guess I'll need to do a few extras this week... or maybe next week, because.... drum-roll...............................



I am moving!

Again...

This time it is for the better, though I had to find homes for my feline friends and one of my super fluffy adorable puppies..... but it is for the best, and when I move again to a larger house, I can get them back, a very good friend from high school is fostering them until hubby gets into National Guard, and/or gets hired soon by ANY Oregon police department.

As for the crafty side... I love being able to multi-task.

Tonight, our Criminal Justice Club hosted a "Cop Movie Night" where we watched The Expendables.

Not as bad as I expected, in fact, much better than I expected. But seeing as I had budgeted for that time to be spent making a hat to match a blanket I have already finished, I still chose to crochet through the movie... while watching it most of the time. It is rather difficult to rip out a project with boucle yarn in the dark and pick back up to finish it......

That is a rant for another time though. Here is what I got finished at the movie:

Okay, so the blanket I finished while waiting for a yarn store to open up so I could get some yarn for a charity hat drive they were hosting... do those hats count toward my charity work?

Now, these are Sensations Boucle, and don't really follow ANY sort of official pattern. The blanket is crocheted with a J hook, in a basic granny square, the tonal yarn self stripes, and the hat closest to the blanket is made the same way, it is a 3 round granny square, then I started doing the rounds without the increases at the corners. So rather than "3dbl, ch 1, 3 dbl in corner space", it is just a "3 dbl in corner space."

The second hat, which is still a work in progress, is just a plain circle, worked in dbl then once I got to 4 rounds, I stopped increasing. This is a basic bucket hat but because of the drape of the hat, it will form better to the baby head.

Tomorrow I am doing feather hair extensions at the local Indoor Market, and then the rest of the weekend and into the week I am packing for the big move. While we may need to commute 4 days a week, the money we are saving in rent and laundry will MORE than pay for cost of gas.

I am also working through my scraps to get a decent stock of baby goods to toss up on my Etsy.. I have neglected it so much... whoops.

Do you ever get so bogged down that you have to prioritize your obligations?

School starts tomorrow, so the only thing to do is cookies!

The title says a lot...

The picture says more!

Couldn't find a recipe that did what I wanted, so I combined 2 ideas.

 Shortbread cookie press cookies: Found here at All Recipes

And these:

Thumbprint Shortbread cookies: also found at All Recipes!


Since neither did what I wanted, I went with the first shortbread recipe, but instead of using my cookie press (I can't find the tips) I used a decorating bag and tip (large star tip) and then filled the indents made from the tip with jellies (like in the second recipe).

I did half the batch in Orange Danish Spread, and the other half in Berry Jalapeno Jelly made by Justy's Jellies here in the local area. 

Will let you know what the world (my hubby and friends from school) think of the hybridization of 2 untested recipes!

A New Year with New Goals

I haven't been the best blogger this year, and I want to change that. Even if I don't have many readers, I want to chronicle my creative and crafty ideas, projects, and completions.

I figure if I put my goals up here, then I will be able to better account for my actions towards my goals. Now, I have plenty of non-tangible goals: removing neagtive energy from my life, going after more healthy habits and lifestyle choices, etc., but I do have plenty of tangible goals too.

Last week, I miscalculated my bank account, and didnt have enough on my card to get gas. the employee had already pumped the gas, and I was starting to panic! The lady in front of my in line offered to pay for my gas as well as her own. She asked only that I pay it forward when I could.


Now, paying it forward is usually thought of as a monetary thing, you are given a bit of money or something is bought for you, so you buy a cup of coffee for the next guy in the diner, or you leave $5.00 with the teller at the grocery store to pay for part of the next guys groceries...but what about paying it forward with your skills, rather than your wallet.

I have set for myself a goal, or a few goals, rather. a few goals.

In light of the loss of a friend from our local knitting group, I have started to look into donating to charities that accept handmade creations, hats, scarves, blankets, etc.

I want to make at least 1 hat every week until December 1, 2011 when I will donate them all to the regional FAN (Family Access Network) office to be distributed to students who need warm clothes from our local school districts.

I also want to make at least 1 baby blanket each month to donate to Grandma's House of Bend, a non-profit organization in my local area that works to shelter and educate teen parents and their children who have been made homeless by their situation.

I am also planning on getting a clientele set up for my baby shower boutique business, and lining up vendor accounts at local baby stores.

On the blog front, I want to make at least 1 post per week, even if it is just a picture, and a hello.

I am in my final year of school before I graduate, so I want to make certain that I stay on track. Last term I made Dean's List, which is an honor awarded only to those who take more than 12 credits per term and maintain a steady 3.60 or above GPA. I want to keep that up.