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Spotted these in Waynesville today. Their owners / riders are from Missouri.
I'm thinking with gas at $3.95 a gallon, I might be riding one of these before too long, also. Talk about causing a traffic jam on Interstate 71. Bet me riding down the road on one of these would cause a whopper!
$3.95 a gallon. Oh, that's right! We're approaching a holiday weekend and Hurricane Isaac might be coming this way. Both 'good' excuses to jack up the price of gas.
We have two new members to our pond community. Two Grass Carp. They are supposed to eat twice their
weight in grass daily. The pond store said that when they get older, they get lazy and will slow down with their grass consumption and will start eating the fish food we throw in. I hope these two fishies are very young and very hungry because we have a lot of stuff for them to eat! Here they are waiting to be released into the pond. Go get 'em! Eat up!
Something else waiting - these three beers. More beer soap! When making beer soap, I have to wait until the beer goes completely flat. First, I pour the beer into a pan for several days. Next, I bring it to a boil and then simmer it. Finally, I pour the beer into ice cube trays and freeze it. Once frozen, I can make soap. When I add the lye to the frozen beer cubes, they melt from the heat. If I added lye to beer that wasn't flat, there would no doubtedly be a volcanic reaction. That would NOT be good!
So, next up in the soap pot -
Oatmeal Stout soap with Guinness Extra Stout, Pumpkin Lager with Samuel Adams Harvest Pumpkin Ale, and Honey Ale with Samuel Adams Pale Ale.
The Oatmeal Stout soap will have oatmeal throughout and on top. The Pumpkin Lager will include pureed pumpkin. The Honey Ale will have honey added to the soap.
Can hardly wait!!!
I moved to Ohio Saturday of Labor Day weekend 2009. I left Virginia kicking and screaming. Well, fuguratively
- not literally. I was born and raised in Virginia and had lived there for 51+ years. Just a couple of weeks after moving to Ohio, there was a fiber festival very near my new home. Of course, I prepared for my move and had GOOGLED everything fiber related within a 100 mile radius of my new address! I figured this fiber fair was Ohio's way of welcoming me to my new state.
So, just a couple of weekends after moving to Ohio, I programmed my GPS (how did / does anyone move without one?) and headed to A Wool Gathering at Young's Dairy. I took off by myself and had a blast! Here's the account of my trip to my first Ohio fiber event.
Young's Dairy, location of A Wool Gathering, is an experience in itself. Two great places to eat there and they make their own ice cream and cheese curds. They also have a miniature golf course named Udders and Putters. Quite fitting since they raise Jersey cows. And, to get to Young's Dairy, I have to go through Yellow Springs. I LOVE Yellow Springs. An artsy little eclectic town.
That trip was the first time I saw this field of sunflowers at Tecumseh Land Trust. What a sight! On my way back from A Wool Gathering, I spotted a fellow painting his heart out in the field of flowers. He was painting the sunflowers in oil and had canvases spread out all around him. I couldn't resist - I asked if he minded if I took his picture. He was Chinese and was a little difficult to
understand but I figured out that he didn't mind. He actually seemed thrilled. I got his email address and promised to email him the pictures. You can see him in the blog post of that trip (see "the account" link above). I have seen him now and again at art / craft shows and he so appreciated the emailed photos that he has gifted me with several of his sunflower prints over the years.
Back to the sunflowers. This field is HUGE! It is breathtakingly beautiful. I don't think I'd ever seen a field of sunflowers this large before. I look for them every year when I go to A Wool Gathering. One year, I don't think they planted them and I was so disappointed. I believe it was last year, when I went up for the fiber show, the flowers were kind of past their prime.
This past Monday, I had a work appointment in Springfield, OH and
had to drive right past the sunflower field. And, there they were!!!!!! Perfectly gorgeous! On my way back, I stopped and took these pictures.
Sunflowers can teach us a valuable lesson.
Always turn your face toward the sun.
I'm reminded when I see them that home is where you make it. I left Virginia kicking and screaming but I've learned to turn my face toward the sun. While Virginia will always be my home state, I've found lots and lots to enjoy here in Ohio.
22 more days until A Wool Gathering 2013!
I took pictures on Sunday at the show and haven't had a chance to share them with you.
I told you how nice the facility was but now you can see for yourselves. The fair was held in the Reese Center at the Ohio State University - Newark branch. Vendors were set up out in the lobby, as well as, in the main room. There were Sit & Knit areas in the main room and in a sitting area in one of the hallways. There was also the Cyber Cafe that offered coffee, drinks, smoothies, bagels, etc. There was another food source in a close building that offered more substantial food, such as, cheeseburgers. The light was great, the center was air-conditioned and carpeted, and the bathrooms were clean and always have toilet paper and paper towels.
Also, the people with the show, helped move us in and out using large trolleys. When we packed up, we made it out in one trip using that trolley. A great help!
The show asked that the vendors donate items for raffle baskets. Then, the baskets were raffled off with proceeds going to the local food bank.
There was a vendor swap where if you donated something and then all who participated drew numbers and you won that corresponding prize from another vendor.
Saturday night, they had a dinner at a local restaurant for vendors who wanted to go. It was held at Damon's this year and the food and friendship was good. It was fun talking "shop" with other vendors.
Martha (Cedar Grove Farms), from my spinning group and she also lives around the corner from us, was there with her fleeces for sale.
Kathy was there from Black Sheep Fiber Farm in Sardinia, OH.
Now to show my loot.
Dyeology was there and I couldn't resist purchasing a little roving and a Jenkins Osage Orange Turkish
Spindle. Also, a project bag to put everything in.
Louise and Bill, from Renaissance Farms, were there with their alpaca fiber and products. Louise also makes soap and I had a lot of fun meeting the two of them and talking soap. I purchased a bar of her Lemon Verbena Goat's Milk Soap and can hardly wait to try it out.
Cathy, from Straightfork Farm Alpacas, was in the booth space right next to me. I had to have a little of her roving - one color mix was purple, aqua, and white. The other was greens and turquoise. So pretty!
Sandy was there from West Virginia with her store, Yarn & Company. Her booth was across from me and she
definitely had a flare for display. I bought a couple of her kits - one for a
dynamite drop stitch scarf (red one to the right) that you knit in the round and then cut like a steek. I think a glass of wine will be involved! I also purchased a
kit for an alpaca felted pocketbook. The kit came complete with a great decorative button, the yarn, the leather handle, the buttons for reinforcement on the inside, and thread to sew the buttons on. The two skeins of yarn in the front in the stash shot came from her booth, as well. They are to make a one-skein cowl.
When I passed Cakewalk Yarns' booth, I literally gasped. I spied these gorgeous skeins of blues, deep reds, purples, oh my! I bought three skeins and will turn them into a shawl. Lusciously soft - I can't wait to cast on! (Skein pictured on the right in front of the stash shot.)
Lost City Knits was responsible for me coming home with a skein of silk in a beautiful aqua blue and a free-
with-purchase shawl pattern. Their booth was so pretty with shawls hanging from up above.
Last but not least - Susie and her mother, Sherry. Susie does such cute needle-felting. I got an adorable sunflower pin and a felted bottle cozy.
Part of the reason I enjoy vending at shows so much - I love the people. Love talking with everyone and finding out about what they enjoy doing. The other part - I love meeting vendors who are as passionate about their products as I am about mine.
Thanks to everyone who supported The Robin's Nest / Bird Bath Essentials. I hope you enjoy your soap and other goodies.
It was such a fun show and I hope to have my corner spot again in 2013!
Day 1 at the Mid-Ohio Fiber Fair was steadily busy. It is held at the Reese Center which is such a wonderful place to have the show. It's air-conditioned and carpeted and even has a cyber-cafe just off the lobby that sells drinks and light snacks.
Best seller of the day - hands-down Oatmeal Stout using Guinness Extra Stout. Sold all the half-size bars and only have one full-size bar left! Lost count of how many people bought it commenting that they had to have a bar for their son / husband who is into microbrewing. I told them, sent me some of their beer and I'll make soap out of it!
Another vendor's husband (the wife makes goat's milk soap) cheated on her and bought soap from me. It was great fun talking with him - and later with her - about packaging, molds, etc. His wife came by later to see my stuff and she makes about 25 lbs. at a time. He is making new block molds for her and a cutter to cut them first into logs and then bars. She only makes two fragrances. If I wasn't such a fragrance fanatic, I could do this, too. Sigh. I can't be loyal to just two fragrances.
In these pictures on the right, I have my display of Butter Bars and Cream Lotions. I have a few wooden crates filled with three bars of soap and a wooden soap deck each tied with ribbons then some empty crates for do-it-yourself. I also sell organza and muslin bags that are perfect for gifting a bar or more of soap. The Butter Bars and Cream Lotion were also big hits today.
Also in the booth - my father's beautiful baskets and yarn cone caddies, my beaded stitch markers and polymer clay buttons, wine glasses with knitting saying on them, and lots of literature free for the taking about my products and handcrafted soap.
The best part of the day was having people come looking for me and telling me how much they enjoyed what they bought from me last year. That makes all the busy nights and schlepping worthwhile. I LOVE it when I find out how much people enjoy what I make.
Now, to rest up for Day 2!
Going to bed - a happy and satisfied soapmaker!
Tonight is CRAZY busy!
The shelves are loaded with soap. Lots of different fragrances to choose from. Headed to the studio as soon as I post this to do butter bars, lotion, and whatever else that strikes me.
Again, if you can make it to the show, find my booth to say hello! Here's the info - Mid-Ohio Fiber Fair.
All my recent soapmaking activity has attracted the attention of Bramble Berry! Bramble Berry is a major soap supply company and I order quite a bit from them. Their products are top-notch and I love that they know and understand first-hand the soaping world. They test their products and can tell you how a certain fragrance or colorant behaves in a certain application. Anyhoo, they asked if I'm interested in taking some of their products or techniques for a test drive - new fragrances, a colorant that I've been wanting to try, etc. Then, I would blog about the experience and the result. Sounds like fun for me and for you, my readers! So, game on! Once this weekend is over, I'll be digging through the Bramble Berry web site to see what I can find. Maybe a tutorial on a new method, maybe a new swirl, maybe a new fragrance blend,.... There are so many possibilites! Stay tuned!
Our long-legged visitor was here again. Our pond is so low, it's easy pickin's for dinner. He just meanders along the edge of the water and wades through some, too. He's very serious and rarely takes his eyes off the water. It's something to see him land and take off. What a wingspan!
I haven't blogged about Earl Gray and the beastly stray cat lately. There was yet another fight two weeks ago which was just awful. Earl's face is so scarred from all the months (since early spring, I think) that we've been dealing with this stray cat. He has scratches all over - legs, face, ears, eyes, stomach, etc. We've had so many vet visits - and one emergency vet visit included - that I can't even remember how many. This last time resulted in his face and ear being absolutely mauled, an open wound to his right front leg where he'd had an abscess in June from this same cat and also a puncture to his right back foot. I pulled a cat's toenail out of the pad of his foot and applied Epsom salt compresses to it several times a day. He's better but still not quite back to his old self.
I tried before to catch the cat but only succeeded in catching a opossum and Earl. Well, after this last round of injuries, I tried again. Earl has been in the garage for two weeks - the first week recuperating, the second recuperating and staying in while I set the trap. This time, I baited it daily with a can of tuna fish in oil. Last night, I checked the trap and there he was. I know it was the same cat - white paws with scars on him. He was hissing, growling, and throwing himself around inside the trap.
The cat will not be bothering Earl anymore.
All soap is made and curing. Labels are almost finished. Boxes are ready.
Now, it's on to other things - cream lotion, body butter, and sugar polish. Advertising info needs to be done, too. It's going to be a busy weekend. Need to get my display stuff ready to go, also.
Here are a few soaps that you haven't seen.
First up, River Birch. Nice soft colors that reminded me of the peeling trunks of birch trees. This soap contain silk fiber and is so soft on the skin.
Next, Apple Jack. Sweet and spicy at the same time. A great pick-me-up soap. Reminds me that autumn is just around the corner. This soap is dusted with just a bit of cinnamon on top.
Lavender Mint is always a favorite. A bright combination of fragrances that makes for a wonderful wake-up shower. Such a fresh scent. I was so tempted to grind up mint and lavender to add to this soap but resisted the urge. So, this is a great soap for those who don't like a lot of scrubbies in their soap. I do like the crisp smooth look of this soap and the scrubbies would have made it much more rustic looking. This soap also contains silk fibers for a luxurious feel.
These three soaps were so pretty in the mold. Comparing the view of these soaps in the molds with the cut bars above - can you see why I am so impatient to unmold and cut the loaves of soap? I can hardly stand the wait to see what the inside looks like. Drives me nuts to wait. When it comes to waiting to cut the soap, I have the patience of a gnat!
Here are two more soaps cut and curing. I showed these two in the molds on August 7th.
Thanks to you who suggested names for the soap that had the mix of Lavender, Patchouli, Sandlewood, and Sweet Orange in it. Two of you mentioned names that included the word summer. So, I decided to name this soap Summer's Glow (soap on left with lavender buds and orange peel on top). The other soap is Ancient Sedona.
In digging through the stuff in the basement to locate everything having to do with soap, I located my box of soap stamps. Stamping the soap can add that special something to a bar. Stamping works best on bars of soap that don't have a wide variety of colors or design to it. Stamping was perfect for these Pearberry bars with their solid bottoms.
Here are the Pearberry bars all stamped with pears. Yes, a special touch. A little extra interest.
I've also been eyeing the Sea Salt & Lotus Blossom bars with a seashell stamp. Or, maybe a little fish stamp. No, I think I like the seashell better.
My soaps include all natural ingredients except when I use fragrance oils instead of essential oils. Fragrance oils are man-made scents. I like too many of them not to use them. Plus, some of the essential oils are ungodly expensive which makes using them totally prohibitive for my budget. For example, rose essential oil sells for $140.00 per 10 ml. at one supplier. Folks, 10 ml. = .33814 oz. Another supplier offers it in prices that range from $49.00 to $129.00 per 1/8 of an ounce. Considering I use approximately 1.5 to 2 oz. per batch of soap, this would end up having to be a VERY expensive bar of soap! So, what do I do if I want to make rose soap or some other fragrance where the essential oil is too costly? I look for a fragrance oil that pretty much replicates the fragrance. A lot of them are pretty spot-on.
When I add silk fibers to my soap, I put it in as I add my lye to the distilled water. The silk fibers dissolve
in the extreme heat produced as the lye dissolves in the water. What you're left with is silk protein in your soap. It doesn't take much to see a silky luxurious benefit from this addition.
Here you see five tiers of soap curing waiting to be boxed. I love making soap!
And, yes, I still knit! I finished the Clouds of Lace scarf for an upcoming class at Main Street Yarns.
The Garter Stitch Baby Jacket is coming along. The back and right sides are finished and the left side is
almost complete. I plan to cast on and knit the two sleeves at the same time. Then, sewing the pieces together and picking up and knitting the stitches for the collar will finish the jacket off. Oh, and sewing on the cute polymer clay buttons!! At first, I cast on for the 18 month size but it was too big. I ripped out and cast on for the 12 month size. It's still going to be too big so Miss B will wear it whenever!
I got a late start soaping tonight. It was for a good cause, though. Meg and Dennis invited me over for homemade pizza. It was so good!! This is Andy's week in Virginia, so he missed out.
I unmolded and cut the four batches of soap from yesterday. Everything turned out well except the gradient batch. It turned out very pretty but it's hard to detect distinct layers of color.
The Hot Chocolate turned out nice and dark. Just like a big piece of Hershey fudge.
The Pearberry is the one that was supposed to be from dark green on the bottom to white on the top. Oh well. I have a pear soap stamp and I think I might stamp the Pearberry bars. The stamp shows up better on a solid color surface so the green will be
perfect.
Lavender & Chamomile is such a sweet looking soap. Beautiful creamy white with pink and blue swirls and bits of color.
The Herbessence looks like a bouquet of flowers with all its colors - white, yellow, pink, and green.
Tonight, I made two batches and I'm tickled with both.
First, there is Ancient Sedona. This fragrance oil will turn the soap a light tan color so I chose colorants that would complement. I chose micas in Cappucino, Copper Sparkle, and Gold Sparkle. I used my 9-bar slab mold and can hardly wait to unmold this soap tomorrow.
The second bath for tonight is a fantastic mixture of fragrances. Bulgarian Lavender Essential Oil, Sandlewood Fragrance Oil, 10X Orange Essential Oil, and a bit of Patchouli Essential Oil. Ooooohweee! this combination smells exquisite! I ground lavender buds and added them to my soap mixture. Then, I decorated the top of the loaf with lavender buds and dried orange peel.
Many times, I name my soap after the fragrance I use. But this second batch of soap tonight -- I'm stuck. I don't think Lavender, Sandlewood, 10X Orange, & Patchouli has a ring to it.
I'm open to suggestions. Let's Name This Soap!
I have two weeks left before the show - well, actually just a couple days short of two weeks. So, all soaping needs to be finisheding up.
I made four more batches today but still have about four more that I really want to make for the show. Need more TIME!
I made Hot Chocolate first today and the whole basement smelled like chocolate the entire afternoon. Wonderful! This soap has cocoa butter, coconut milk, and cocoa powder in it. Absolutely decadent! I highly recommend this soap for children who are "allergic" to bathtime. I bet they'll race you to the bathroom if they have this to bathe with! Also great for an "adult" bathtime. Whipped cream not included!
Next batch was Pearberry. This is one of my most popular scents. I made it a little differently today. This soap is usually basically white with green swirls in it. Today, I tried a new technique. I sure hope it turns out - I won't know until I cut it. Don't let the pretty white top fool you - there's a lot of green lurking below! You'll have to check back to see the cut bars.
The final log soap I made today was Lavender & Chamomile. This clean soft scent reminds me a spanking clean baby all powdered up and ready for bed. So, I colored it with pink and blue.
I filled my 9-bar slab mold today, also. This is Herbessence. The soap will turn out fine but the color technique didn't work out as I planned. My soap got thick very fast and I didn't have time to play with the colors. Oh well, I'll have to try this one again.
Before I started this morning, I cut the soap from yesterday's orange soaping binge. Remember how they were kind of light - medium - dark orange? Well, the insides look so different. So, you can't judge a soap by it's exterior!
I am still smelling chocolate! Must be the Hot Chocolate soap!
Hmmmmm! Smells so good!
The Mid-Ohio Fiber Fair is getting closer! The dates are August 18th and 19th. The fair is in Newark, OH - not too far from Columbus. This is the second year for it. I really enjoyed it last year. The facility was wonderful and there were lots of good vendors. Can't wait to go back this year with even more soaps than last year.
I've been busy!
Newest batches are in the oven - Tropical Vacation With A Lime made with Shea and Coconut Butters and Coconut Milk, Carrot Cupcakes made with Coconut Butter and Carrot Juice, and Zanzibar Spice made with Shea Butter.
On the to-do list - Chocolate Drop, Pearberry, Lavender Chamomile, Applejack Peel, Citus Basil, Herbessence, and whatever strikes my fancy. I'll have to put the soaping to rest soon, though, so I can start making the wonderful cream lotion, butter bars, sugar polish, etc.
To the right is a picture of the third tier of my trying racks. This soap will be ready to box up just in time to leave for the show.
Yesterday, I unmolded and cut these soaps:
Fresh Laundry is a wonderful scent! Smells just like fresh clothes hot out of the dryer or off the line. A very clean strong scent.
Ah, here's the third of my beer soaps - Hazelnut Toffee made with Mt. Carmel's Nut Brown Ale. The beer and the fragrance oil makes a nice caramel brown bar. I topped this soap with a bit of ground hazelnuts and cocoa powder.
The third batch cut yesterday was Beach Breezes. This one is colored with a green oxide and an ultramarine blue. See that bit of gold on the top? It's Gold Sparkle Mica --- little bits of sunshine on the beach.
I'm having so much fun creating new soaps. But, I'm having even more fun using them! I have soap dishes at the kitchen sink, at every bathroom sink, and the soap rack in the shower is running over with bits of handmade soap.
I LOVE trying out the new soaps! I'm really liking the new the new soaps with coconut milk. I can hardly wait to try Carrot Cake with real carrot juice in it. I also have buttermilk freezing in ice cube trays as I type.
Seems there's another artist in the family - a budding finger paint artist. Rachael and Landen have been busy creating, too. After talking with Rachael last night, I think she's willing to try anything to distract him from the pain of cutting his molars.
What better distraction than a art project and who doesn't like to finger paint!??
Or, should we say body paint?
