Knitting and Soap Making

So I wrote this post over a week ago and saved it as a draft after I had trouble with the font on my schedule below. Now I've given up on straightening things out so here it is ... such as it is. =)

I have been working on knitted facecloths lately. For one design I'm using a very nice cotton yarn that is sooo soft! Knitting with double strands makes for a thick fabric with the feel of chenille. I plan to offer sets of a luxurious facecloth with a handmade soap at the markets and on Etsy too. I have already sold two, sets sight unseen. So yay! The second design is knitted in a cotton/linen yarn that while soft will soften more with use. These will also be offered as sets with a handmade soap.

Speaking of handmade soaps ... my soap making classes are coming up soon at the Old Jail Arts Center (link at sidebar). The class schedule is :

Thursday, February 26, 2009
6 p.m. - 8 p.m.
&
Saturday, February 28, 2009
1 p.m. - 3 p.m.

Learn to make Melt and Pour Soaps using glycerin, goat’s milk, honey (My personal favorite!) and other soap bases. A selection of fragrance oils and soap dyes will be available for the student’s use. Students will take home 3 soaps plus an information packet. Soap making has the potential to be messy so aprons, or similar cover-ups, are suggested.

I recently bought two tables that I plan to use to set up my dyeing, soap making, candle making, laundry room. What I really want is a base cabinet with shelves and drawers but until that happens the tables and a few totes will work nicely. The tables are large enough to hold the extra microwave and the crockpots I will be using. We may also hang a long shelf above one of the tables for added storage. The shelf can't be too high because at 5' 2" I am vertically challenged. =)

A New Year and a Fresh Start

It's been many months since I last posted. I ran into a few difficulties and got discouraged but I'm over that now and ready to begin again. So here is what's going on at The Black Sheep Cottage.

Beginning next week I will be teaching a few classes a month at the Old Jail Art Center. The Center is the old Lawrence County Jail that is being renovated to accommodate classrooms, a gallery and a residence. It's large building built of our native limestone and a fantastic resource for our community.

The classes will be : January/Make Your Own Soy Candles, February/Melt n' Pour Soap Making, March is one class each of the above. In May I will be adding Dyeing Wool Yarn with Kool Aide.

While I enjoy making candles and soaps it's the yarn dyeing that I love the most. It is so neat to start with a plain white yarn and watch it come alive with color! I get the "Mad Scientist" thing going on ... a little of this ... maybe some of that and poof colors appear.

I always try to dye two skeins at a time. I can never expect to do an exact repeat of a color scheme. Dyes sometimes split, I add more (or less) of the vinegar, I get sidetracked and leave the yarn in the dye pot longer than I planned ... you get the picture

Two skeins of fingering weight is enough to easily make a nice scarf or a pair of socks. Other weights can be used for a small project, combined to use as an accent, etc..

My lunch hour is almost over so I had better close.

P.S. Thank you Angela for tweaking my blog and kicking my backside to jump start me on blogging again!

Penny