The soap conference was great. There was at least 60 soapers from around Michigan plus vendors. I bought some stuff to make liquid soaps, so that should be fun. I love trying new techniques.

5th 3rd Bank sucks. My bank was bought out by 5th 3rd last year and they sent me multiple batches of deposit slips. The last batch they sent had the wrong account number on them. So I made my deposit, but I noticed it hadn't shown up online. Much confusion ensued at my local branch but we finally figured out that the money had been deposited in someone else's account. Good thing I have online banking! And that I save my receipts. If I hadn't been keeping an eye on it, I could have bounced checks. At something like an $80 fee per incident, it's not something I want to or can afford to do. Hell, that's a lot of yarn!

I'm finally back to the T-shirt sweater. I got 2 rows past where I had been last week when I found out that I was using the wrong needle size.

Oh, one of the attendees to the soap conference as a young woman (late teens, very early 20s). She had on the most adorable deconstructed outfit and a neat fringy scarf that looked to be made of cotton chenille. She proudly announced to her mom and sister (who showed up separately) that she had made it her self the day before. The outfit consisted of a shirt and skirt. The top part of the shirt looked like a flowered tee and she had put elastic in the sleeves, and changed the neck line. The middle part (just below the bust) was some flannel cut on the bias and the bottom was a woven fabric ruffle. The skirt was fitted denim that flared out at the bottom, at about mid calf length. While it wasn't something I would wear, I was impressed that she was so crafty!

OK, it's Saturday, but I couldn't resist this one

1. What are your hobbies? Knitting, Cross-Stitch, making soap, making beer, canning in the fall (I don't know if that counts as a hobby, but I love to do it), reading.

2. Do you collect anything? Books & magazines about my hobbies.

3. Is there a hobby you're interested in, but just don't have the time/money to do? Quilting, spinning, raising animals fiber, i.e. sheep, goats, alpacas. Also, I haven't had much time to make beer lately.

4. Have you ever turned a hobby into a money making opportunity? I'm trying to turn my soap hobby into a money maker.

5. Besides web-related stuff, what clubs do you belong to? I go to my LYS occationally for knitting night. Not really a club, but fun! Also, I take Kuntaw (Philipino Martial Art) but I'm going to have to take the summer off because it conflicts with my class schedule.

The knitting class I went to was called Sew a Fine Seam and we learned how to do:

• Three-Needle Bind Off


• I-Cord 3 Needle Bind Off


• Weaving (two pieces vertically)


• Mattress Stitch


• Seaming a garter stitch


• Joining a sleeve to the body
  

Today we're going to the Michigan Soapers Conference. Should be fun except for the two hour drive to Saginaw.

Here are the swatches I did for my class today. They're finally done. I just calculated that 4500 stitches went into these swatches. Oh, wait, 4600 counting binding off 5 of them. That's a lot of stitches for some samples. Aah, well. At least by the time I'm done with this class I'll be able to put a project together decently.

We tried to go for a walk last night. The sun tricked us. It looked so nice out but by the time we were 5 minutes into the walk we were both freezing and the wind whipping into my face made my eyes stream tears, even with the protection of glasses. So we turned around and went home. This weather is an evil trick. Wednesday it was in the mid 60s. Yesterday it snowed. Up and down. Up and down. I'm sure this is wrecking havoc with the farmers. We've got a lot of cherry & apple orchards in this part of the state, as well as a bunch of vinyards.

We just got the lumber delivery! DH is building a room in our pole barn for storage & soaping. Yay. It's going to be 30' x 16' (roughly 1/3 of the pole barn) and it's going to have heat and air conditioning! We got a furnace from Bill's uncle a year or so ago when he replaced his. Nothing wrong with it and it will be perfect for a well insulated room. All the extra crap in our house (we're total pack rats) can go out there plus all my soaps & soap supplies. The soap & supplies don't actually take up that much space, but when you've got less than 900 sq ft, all space is valuable. We built the pole barn for this purpose a couple of years ago, but it's been pretty much empty. Not any more!

Dammit! There hasn't been a new Buffy on for like 3 or 4 weeks. Oh well. I've been consoling myself with the Gilmore Girls & Six Feet Under. But I would really like to see a new Buffy. What? This is give up TV Week? Ha. I knit when I'm watching TV. When would I have time to knit if I didn't watch TV?

I've got 6 of the 10 swatches I need for the seam class I'm taking Friday. I'm getting kind of excited! It should be fun. I tried to start on socks yesterday, but, wow, that yarn and those needles are tiny. I cast on and did 1/2 a row. Then common sense prevailed and I realized I really need to finish up the swatches. So after the swatches are done I will have decide what to work on next. There's that sweater I have to rip out because I had the wrong needle. I was making such good progress too. Ack. I'm realizing I now have yarn for 2 of the short sleeve sweaters and 3 pairs of socks. Good thing school is done for the semester in 2 weeks, so I can increase my knitting time. Too bad I'm just starting research for a paper that will be due the last day of my political science class.

I forgot to mention it started snowing last night. Hard to believe that it was 80+ last week. We started a little spring cleaning. Our house is way to small for the amount of stuff we have, so we moved some things out into the pole barn. I moved an unused, in the way bookcase into our bedroom and picked up the pile of books by my bed and loaded 'em in. Along with the programming books I've been carrying around in my car since I was laid off in November and the books I bought Saturday, I have it 1/3 filled. I'm sure the rest of the spring cleaning will unearth more books to fill it.

And talking about cold fronts, we bought an ice cream freezer Saturday (can you tell Saturday is our big day in town?). This thing is awesome. I made strawberry ice cream. mmmm. My excuse to DH was that the grocery stores hadn't had Ben & Jerry's Pistachio Pistachio for like 6 months. We could make him his very own pistachio ice cream. Yeah, that's it. I don't think he was buying it.

I'm not much for checking my phone messages. I kind of forget about it. We have voice mail from the phone company and our new phone doesn't tell us when we have messages like our old one. Anyways, the owner of my LYS called and left a message for me last Thursday. See, she had loaned me a needle to for my new sweater because she was out of 10 1/2 circulars. She ordered some while I was there and I could get mine this Friday when I attend the seam class I signed up for. Well, her message said that she gave me a size 10 on accident. No wonder I couldn't make gauge! So I guess I'm gonna rip out all my lovely progress :(

We went to the library's used book sale Saturday. What fun. We got 6 books for 2.25. They only had one knitting book, an old Family Circle book with super chunky patterns. Like using size 50 needles chunky. I forgot to check the copy right, but I'd say late 60s early 70s. Some of the stuff would be cool if it weren't so, well...chunky. But it was fun to look through for 25 cents.

I decided that I didn't want a sleeveless turtleneck. I realized that nothing I own is sleeveless and I wouldn't be likely to wear the finished product, so I'm making the original pattern, but a size larger. Instead of telling you how many rows to knit the pattern says to knit until so many inches, so it will be the right length when I'm done.

Here's my progress

I went to my LYS yesterday. I picked this sweater and this yarn. So, I cast on for the back last night and thought it didn't look like it would be wide enough, so I did a swatch and I'm about 1/2" off gauge. I checked Berroco's web site and found that the yarn called for has a slightly larger gauge, but I didn't really like the colors, so that's why I got the Brushstrokes Cotton. I quick found a yarn that would work and bid on it at Ebay and decided the Brushstrokes would be better as a sleeveless turtleneck.

So, I have to check tonight, but I think the sleeveless turtleneck in Knit It will work. I don't think the Homespun called for is the same gauge as the Brushstrokes, but it's only slightly smaller and I knit pretty tight, so we'll see how it goes.

Arg! Tuesday I was just about to bind off one of the slippers when I decided that I misread the pattern and needed to make them longer. So I frogged back to before the decreases and started knitting again. Took them with me to the shop and asked and I was right the first time. Silly me.

I also asked if I was purling correctly in my continental style and the owner said I was. She also remembered someone showing her another way to purl continentally and tried to do it but couldn't remember. It looked like the way shown in Knitting without Tears, so I'm going to try to work it out (I checked the book out from the library again)

I'm taking a class next week on small seam stitching and found out that Maggie of Maggies Rags will be teaching it. I don't know if she's famous or anything, but it seems like I've heard of her before.

I can hardly wait for the weekend. Because of the craft show last week, I didn't have any relaxation time and I'm at school Mon, Tues & Weds nights. I'm in serious need of some down time.

We went to Old Navy before Kuntaw class started...for the first time ever. Actually it was an Old Navy Outlet. I got 2 t-shirts and a pair of shorts and DH got 2 polos, a t-shirt, a pair of khakis and some flip-flops for $74. What a fricken bargin! The best thing? I'm not hugely fat or anything, but I'm certainly not teeny-tiny. They have clothes in a range of sizes, which I think is just great. Just because I'm not a skinny-minny doesn't mean I want to wear frumpy, lame looking shit.

I've made a consious decision to put the slippers on hold after I finish the first one. I really want to make myself something for the summer. I'm thinking some sort of short sleeve sweater in a nice light yarn, so it won't be hot. What's the best yarn for summer-weight things? I also want it to be something that will knit up quickly.

I finally got around to downloading the pics from my new camera. Here's a picture of the slippers I'm working on.

and links to two soaps, my craft show display, and a closer look at my display.

This is the scarf I finished. It still needs to be blocked and have the ends woven in, but being that it's now in the 70s, I think I have some time.

I just wanted to point out that Shetha has posted an excellent description on how to make soap. Well done!

Kate asked a great question about how well the soap and such will keep.
Not a silly question at all! The soap will keep well. In fact it gets milder the longer it sits (up to a certain point). The lotion bars and lip balms will be fine as well. I used an anti-oxidant in them to keep the oils from getting rancid. So the big bonus is that I don't have to do anything to get ready for the next show I choose to do.

I took my knitting with me to the show and got about 5 inches done on the foot of the slippers I'm making. At this rate I'll have them done by next winter just in time to use them now that spring seems to really have landed in Northern Michigan. It's hard to believe it snowed last Sunday and today it's in the 70s. I'm loving it!

The show was a disaster. I grossed $32 after the entry fee was covered. The promoters said there would be around 5000 people coming through. I don't think even 1000 people showed up. Actually more probably showed up, but left because there was an entrance fee. The entrance fee wasn't mentioned when I signed up. My husband went up to the entry for a few minutes and said like 4 people came and left when they found out they had to pay to get in.

I'm trying not to feel totally bad about this. I met a lot of great crafters and many of them told me not to get discouraged, that this was far and away the worst show they had ever participated in. Also, the promoter told me that I would be the only soaper and there were 2 others. One was actually the husband of the soaper and he was great. I met his wife this afternoon and she was very nice too. She was only there briefly as her hubby said she was not allowed to work at the shows any more because she was a "soap nazi". Her soaps were stunning! Absolutely beautiful. She does like I do, a mix of natural essential oils and fragrance oils and colorants like micas and oxides.

We talked about where to get supplies cheaper and he prompted up to go to the Michigan Soap Crafters Conference later this month. The guy I buy all my oils from will be there and I can get them with out paying freight. Woo Hoo! Freight is like 25% of my cost.

The other soaper was kind of a snot. She was really about aromatherapy and said her soaps didn't have any oxides or micas (colorants) in them, only natural colors and just generally tried to make it sound as if her soaps were better than mine. Well la-dee-da. I tried to explain I wasn't going for that market but she wasn't having any of that. I also thought her soaps were kinda ugly, but hey, everyone has their own thing. If she talked that way to me I wonder what she said to the people coming to her booth. I didn't say anything bad about the other soaps to the people walking through...just to the rest of the world here on the internet! Ha.

Well, I'm trying to find another show to do and this time I'm going to talk to crafters before signing up to see if a show is any good or not. I'm hoping to find one for Memorial Day Weekend.

Well, I got everything packaged last night. My bags arived in the nick of time. Then I found out there's a place I could buy them close to where I work. Well, at least I know now.

I'm making a few samples this morning...completely last minute, I know. I had some lotion bar stuff left over & I thought people might not be familliar with what a lotion bar is (kind of like lip balm, but used all over) so that would be a good an easy thing for a sample.

I was so busy yesterday. I spent the morning working on a software testing checklist for work and then the afternoon was spent making some extras for the craft show...24 Lotion Bars & 180 Lip Balms. Luckily, those are pretty easy to make.

I haven't had time to knit this week at all. I'm going to take the slippers with me to the craft show, but I'm not expecting to get a chance to work on them. I think I should be trying to talk to every one who glances in my direction to try and get them buy my stuff :-). I'm thinking talking to strangers will be the hardest thing for me. I'm not really shy, but am pretty introverted. It's amazing that I'm even doing this whole blog thing. I'm taking my hubby and MIL with me though, and they're both pretty good talkers.

I've been reading on the knitblog list about how purl stitches get twisted if not done properly when knitting continental style. Now I'm all paranoid that my purls are wrong. I'll have to hook up with the owner of the LYS and see if she can tell if I'm twisting. She knit English style, but knows both.

Ooo, Ooo, Ooo! I got a digital camera Wednesday! I've been too busy to play with it, but I'm gonna take some pitures of my booth after I get it all set up this afternoon.

Well, I've got most of my soap wrapped with bands and in bags, but that's only half the battle. I chose to band around the soap for the label, put each bar in a small plastic bag and tie with raffia. It's the tying that sucks. I've been doing it for 3 hours and I'm only half done. My arms, shoulders and forearms need a rest. I have to come up with a better way. Originally I just used twist ties, but I thought the raffia would look better. Maybe I can find some decorative twisties somewhere.

I also am about 70 bags short. F***! I could have swore that I had 300 bags, but I can't find the 3rd package. I ordered some more, but who knows if I'll get them by Friday. Preparing for a craft show is a LOT of work.

which children's storybook character are you?

this quiz was made by colleen

Thanks to Journey into the Real World for the link.

No knitting Sunday, but I did wrap 72 bars of soap.

How could it be sunny and in the 40-50s yesterday and today it's snowing so hard I can hardly see? Blech!

I finished turning the heel on the slipper last night. Now I have to do 14" on the foot. These things are gonna be freaking huge. But then they'll be felted. I started feeling a little nervous about them, like what if they don't shrink enough?

I hate the time change. I stayed up later than normal last night, so I slept in a little and losing an hour sucks. I have so much to do today...homework, making the curtains for my craft show booth and wrapping 250 bars of soap. Ack! I'd better get busy.

take free enneagram test

So, I found a new yarn shop just around the corner from me. Warning long winded story about how I should have known about this store to follow:

I worked for a small software company right downtown (in a ridiculously overpriced office) for almost 2 years. The ceo/founder was a violent misogynistic, egomaniac and ran the company in the ground by pissing off all customers, so it went out of business in November and I was unemployed. I now work part time for 2 guys he fired last year who were major stock holders, so they got some concessions, like starting their own company with some of the products. They're also downtown, but in a cheap, cheesy office (which is fine, because, hey, shouldn't you make money before getting flashy real estate?). Well, the yarn store is right next to my old office building and I never saw it. I guess because I always entered from the back and the town I work in isn't "my town". I live 50 miles away from where I work and do most of my shopping in the town closest to me.

I got some of that cool regia sock yarn that will make patterns and some circular needles so I can follow my new book "Socks soar on 2 circular needles". Buying new yarn (so far) seems to push me to work on UFOs. I started working on the slippers again so I can get those done and be able to start the socks.

I felt a little guilty buying from someone other than my LYS. Is that normal?

I finished turning the heal and started to do the gusset of the slippers before we went out last night (friday night socializing) and couldn't figure out how I was supposed to pick up 13 stitches. I called my LYS who runs the shop from her house and she made me realize I misread the directions. I was supposed to do 12 "ridges" which would be 24 rows and I mis-read it as 12 rows. So I ripped out the turned heal part and now I have it back on the needles, but I know I don't have it on like they where before. Oh well, I'll still be able to knit the rows even if I don't have the stitches properly distributed over the needles because by the time I'm done turning the heal I'll need to redistribute the stitches anyways. I hope it doesn't confuse me though.

I'm done with the scarf I've been making. I just need to weave the ends in and block it. Does anyone have any tips or links for weaving in ends? I don't want them to poke out.

I had this dream last night that the cows and pigs kept getting out, over and over again. I think because they did get out recently and then orangemami's cows got out twice in one day. I was very upset in the dream and felt like an irresponsible animal owner.

I'm working on the 10 swatches I have to have done for the small seam stitching class I'm taking at the end of April. I did get 2 1/2 done yesterday. I'm debating what I want my next project to be. I just got this chunky sweater book from Vogue and I love the turtleneck on the cover. It seems like it would be pretty easy and quick. And if this snow keeps up, I might even get to wear it this season.

Today is our 10th anniversary. Yay for us. We're going to go out to dinner tonight and hopefully in a couple of weeks we're going to go on some sort of mini-vacation. This weekend and next we have other things previously scheduled, so it will have to wait just a little. We can't decide what to do or where to go though.

Because we're going out tonight, I'll be missing knitting class. That's ok though. I'm pretty much set on going every other week anyways because Thursday is the first night I don't have school during the week and I just can't deal with going out.

Ivete, that wonderful woman who brought us together with the Knitting Bloggers web ring, has done it again. She created a Yahoo Group for Knitting Bloggers. You rock Ivete!

I think I'm done with the scarf I've been making. DH just needed to test the length and then I can bind it off.

I'm supposed to be writting a paper. Instead I'm going through the knitting bloggers web rind and making a list of all the links. But I'd really better get started soon on that paper.

It's freakin' snowing today. Yuck. After the beautiful weekend we had, I thought spring was sprung. I guess April is the cruelest month.

I've been on a knitting book buying spee. Last week I got The Knitting Goddess and Knitting in Plain English. Today I ordered Socks Soar on Two Circular Needles and Vogue Chunky Knits on the Go. I've only received The Knitting Godess so far.

Brief review of the Knitting Goddess: Each chapter starts with a myth related to fiber crafts in some way. The author makes frequent reference to her visions and I don't know if I just think she's silly or to be impressed with her spirituality. Mostly I guess I'm nuetral on the topic. The patterns are relatively simple; scarves, shawls, boxy sweaters. I'm haven't completely read each chapter, but it seems to take you to slightly more advanced techniques in each chapter. I particularly liked her alternatives for switching colors.

For various reasons, DH moved Natasha (the pig) into the cow barn last week. Well, on Saturday while doing the weekly things that have to be done in order to maintain the farm, she got out. Pigs don't like to be herded. CH spent hours trying to either get her back in the barn or into the piggy palace. It didn't work well. He got her into the cow pasture and connected the bottom wire of the fence (usually it's not hot) so she would at least be discouraged from trying to wander off. He did manage to lure Natasha back to the piggy palace on Sunday with stinky food and milk. Aahh, the farming life. Can you tell we're pretty new at this? We got the cows and chickens last summer and the pigs in the early fall. Nothing like jumping in with both feet.

I read this article on Crafty Gal. Makes me want to get sheep or goats or both. I have to idea how to spin though, or even if I would want to. What animal produces cashmere?

I got a ton done on the scarf I've been making, except it's now for DH so although it's long enough for me it's not for him. I started thinking it wasn't colorful enough for my tastes (it's just natural wool colored) and started thinking about ripping it all out and starting over with another yarn added for interest. So DH spoke up that he would like it. When complete it will be my first FO! Yay.