Therapy Friday-ish

Whew, ok, I put my first pattern on Ravelry, and let me just say, I am surprised, humbled, delighted, and a little bit bubbly at the positive response so far.   Part of me says Oh, but it's just a little sheep... But it's a sheep I was able to make and then share with others.  How giddy!  Thank you. :)


It's been an exciting week(s) over all, I met my first Phatty, that I know of, at Mayday! Underground Indie Crafts + Arts Festival.  At first I was all angsty over the fact that a venue selling only handcrafted things was a silly thing to call indie (I suppose there are handcrafting franchises, but I don't think they are the norm) or underground (it wasn't really clandestine, that would be terrible for sales), but then it actually turned out to be in a (positively awesome warehouse) basement.  Truly, that is the best meaning of underground craft + art festival I can think of.


I was allowed to touch all sorts of fibers/yarns/soaps at the Fuzzy Bunny booth and I wasn't even chased off before I could buy several things.  As a bonus we got a quick spinning wheel demonstration, and met someone really pleasant. Plus, oh my gosh, the fibers. The fibers!


Plus, now we own a mini-lathe,  so I can do some really high speed spinning.    Har har.  (Seriously though, I've been going to bed thinking of making drop spindles and waking up thinking of making chip carved turning bowls for the supported spindles I'm saving up for.)


Anyway.


Fiber.


I left a bag of it on the couch and President Nixon was there in a flash, kneading away, with the biggest, happiest cat smile.  Truly, that must be the real way to make neps.


Ok, wait, back to fiber.   Honestly, that's where I've been trying to go this whole time!

I promised way back when I bought my first Phat Fiber box that I would write more about each little sample.  It's fun for me to flex my writing-about-things muscles, and maybe it will point one or two people towards shops with their dream fibers/stitch markers/patterns.   Win-win.

This is getting wordy, so I will keep it to the feeble amount I have spun so far.

Yeti Wears a Party Hat

Merino, faux angora, banana fiber, angelina, mohair, BL X, cashmere, nylon, sari silk, firestar 

This is a very funky batt!   It was a sample from Atomic Blue,  and when I first saw it I felt something similar to panic.   I barely know how to spin, and here was a batt that looked like it might fight back.   But in the end, it was very educational!   Some of the fibers I couldn't place, but the merino, angelina, and sari silk were all pretty easy to peg.   Now I'm not scared to spin the merino I've bought.   Or, less scared.  Yay! (Why would I be scared to spin merino but not alpaca? I don't know!)

Home grown Natural Colored Kid Mohair  locks from Farmgirl Chic

These are unbelievably soft.   I wasn't sure what to do with them, so I took just one (1!!) lock and spread it out over some (about 1/4 oz.) coopworth roving.  A little went a long way, and the yarn it made was, well, worth making!  I like that they were pretty long, which meant instead of just flopping out of the yarn, in little sections, I could easily, much more easily than I expected, incorporate it with the roving.

The end result.

"Spring Peepers" 100% alpaca fiber, locally raised, from FiberDiversions 

According to Lisa the way she prepares her fibers makes the small bits fall off.  Sadly, I don't have enough experience with alpaca (yet) to really vouch one way or another.  I will say that even though I'm a beginner, I was able to spin my finest yarn, yet:





Mmm...soft and silky 3 ply!

Therapy Friday: B.E. Dickens Soap

The power of a good scent. (And of having a husband take good pictures of President Nixon.)

Do you know what I love? I love when blogs have some sort of weekly treat, an ongoing theme that I can start to feel familiar with.

I think for this blog Shopping Therapy is a pretty good one, as I already chat about my acquisitions either for or while crafting. Etsy is a dangerous place! But I love it so!

So here goes...Therapy Friday!
Picking who to order soap from can be a little overwhelming! Just clicking on "soap" currently gives me 1315 pages of options. It makes me feel a little like I'm in National Treasure, hunting for a clue in a vast sea of artwork,

Or, I can go hunting for my favorite scent notes. Searching for "tea" gave me 53 pages, searching for "violet" gave me 8 pages, and searching for "iris" gave me...are you ready? One page. Several soaps shaped like an iris, a couple with iris extract for beauty benefits, and at the time just one that listed iris as a scent note. (On a side note: I have found almost all of my purchases via a tag search - those tags really matter! I appreciate sellers who take the time to write up accurate and thorough tags.)

I love iris/orris scents. It seems to be a growing trend in perfume, one which I approve of - a couple of my favorites are PG's Iris Taizo, or Le Labo's Iris 39. Another recent release was Prada Infusion d'Iris, though alas! despite high hopes it did not, shall we say, cooperate with my skin's chemistry. Just another case of me thinking I wanted something I didn't really want (in perfume! Or in life? Hmmm...)

So my soap craving self went ahead and purchased B.E. Dickens Fleur de Lis, a pretty pink bar with notes of iris and violet. Perfect!

And, because sample sized objects fill me with a sort of giddy glee, with their sweet miniature proportions, I went ahead and indulged in B. E. Dickens hunka soap package. I'm glad I did!

Between my selections, and hers, I ended up with 19 soaps to try. Oh, I can feel the therapy working already! The samples range in size from slim and flirty to hunka handsome.

When I opened the box I was walloped with an instant scent memory - turning 21. A combination of scents, I think Peach Puff and Azariah, smelled fruity, a little bitter, and distinctly fizzy. I don't usually like fruity scents, but it was a moment of nostalgic bliss.

The scents I remember ordering, because I was looking forward to them and convinced I would like them best, were:

Lavender Divinity, River Birch, Honey Pun, Goddess (amber and patch), Jonquil ("Luscious notes of iris, jasmine, balsam & lichen" - and I'm guessing jonquil), and Willy Street (clove, sandalwood and...are you ready for this? Tobacco!).

Will this be another case of my eyes being disconnected from my nose? Well, I still think I will love them, but maybe not as much as the rest of my treasure trove.

It will take me a bit to figure it out, because I certainly intend give each little bitty baby soap the full shower treatment. Plus, I can draw out my therapy over many Fridays this way. Mmm...anticipation!

The scents I either forgot I ordered, or that B. E. Dickens in her bubbly wisdom knew I'd love, were : b.e. naturals Kali (clay rich with notes of sage, rose, citrus - I'm drinking sage tea right now, must be soap psychic powers!), b.e. natural Cybele (clay infused with notes of neroli, jasmine and sandalwood), b.e. natural Danu (clay plus notes of lavender, eucalyptus, jasmine and other sweet flowers), Peach Puff, Eqyptian Sky (desert resins), Azariah (a musky unisex with bergamot and (gasp!) leather), I Wanda (lime and olive - or maybe tropical fish), Lanai (the artist's favorite - notes of Lemon Verbena and flowers), Grand Dame (floral), Grandmother's Lilac, Fruity Little Drink, and Atomic Pepper (citrus and chili pepper).

See? That's a lot of showers!

The full size is plenty large enough (haha), plus it was beautifully packaged.

The soap itself seems to be nicely scented, not overwhelming. Many of the lighter scents seem to, when dry, smell primarily of rich, creamy soap with a frisky streak of well balanced fragrance. Nice! Also, I can't get over how darned sweet the packaging was - next time I decide to buy nice soap as a gift this will probably be my destination. It looked pretty, simple, and elegant. The only cautionary detail was that it was wrapped with price tag, but I'm sure that could be removed by the seller! Plus, the little sample soap carry container included with the Hunka looks like it will be astoundingly useful. Taking a dash of sudsy scent with me as I travel? Oh yes, please!

Overall, without even stepping into a shower, it has already been a good value for money - nice scents, generous samples, packaged beautifully and professionally, plus a bonus dash of a happy scent memory.

My Latest Loot, October/November edition

One of the reasons that I loved Halloween as a child (and adult!) was the loot.

Ahh....loot.

New Ponyville ponies for me! Showing off some fall fashions...

I finally bought the Toys R' Us tube of Ponyville ponies. I tried to convince myself that I could just live with an itty bitty Triple Treat, but I was so wrong. I needed a Flippity Flop in my life. And a Breezie Dreams! Oh and a... well, you get the idea.

Now they can get together, have some fancy dress cocktail parties, and talk about how aggravating it is when President Nixon knocks them to the floor and chews their heads. I gotta say, it is more fun with (small, plastic, pony) company.

There's a lot of collectors out there who just don't like Ponyville ponies, and in some ways I can see why. Their hair doesn't move. They are mostly just repeats of big ponies, except with much better playsets. Lately, there doesn't seem to be much attention paid to decent NEW ponies...

But, look at how CUTE they are!

Kaylazilla demands cute!

Well, Kayla was more of a planned purchase. I have failed in Mission Convince-Hubby-That-Tiny-BJDs-Are-NOT-Creepy. However, for some reason he thinks Kelly dolls are cute. And I think spiders are cute. So, say 'hello' to Kayla! I can't wait to have time to crochet her some little outfits. And, as far as I know her dresses will fit Felix Brownies and Pukis, so maybe she will help spread the BJD love, after all. Er, to DOA and Etsy, if not to my hubby.


Speaking of crochet....

I am happy to be working on yet ANOTHER crochet project. I did finish the previous choker and it just didn't suit me as well as I hoped. So, try, try again.

I think this necklace will be more of a lariat...but I'm not sure.

But gosh darn it, it is soft and it has an itty bitty President Nixon-esque cat, so it's bound to be loved by my neck!

And yes, I'm pretty sure it counts as loot, even if it has taken many hours of work to crochet up that lacy pattern so far.

No, I don't think Collette hunted down any ostriches...it's the colorway!
Etsy: Epicurus

Speaking of soft... here's the heavenly extra fine lace weight yarn in question. If I wasn't already married, I'd give this yarn some serious consideration. It's creamy, but with still enough natural texture that it doesn't give me the heeby jeebies.

I fell in love with it as soon as I opened the envelope, because the colors were exactly what I was hoping for. And then of course immediately wrapped the silky, opulent hank into a ball, because I'm neurotic like that.

I still love cotton thread, but I gotta say... silk blends are looking (and feeling) like an excellent choice for jewelry...

Newton, Armando (who is actually blue gray), and Aleen
Etsy: TeriPersing

CATS! FatCats, to be exact.

Before Etsy, I had never heard of Lampwork beads, now I can't get enough of them. Oooohhh...Etsy, you frisky thing, you!

I just love these beads, they are so freakin' adorable in person. I would still have bought heaps and heaps of them except maaaaaaybe I should see if I can make nice jewelry with them.

I'm planning on keeping Armando, because President Nixon is a blue cat (though not at all fat) and using Newton for a gift. So that leaves Aleen for my Etsy shop. Unless I keep her, too.

And, finally, because all that looting and pillaging and purchasing can lead to the body stink...

The closest to "foody" I can get without fearing land sharks
Etsy shop: naturallyamy

Mmm...violet. One of my favorite scents. And soap that doesn't make my skin rashy? That is also high on the list of "Nice Things."

I'd never really tried hand crafted soap before, and I think I should have invested much much sooner! It's creamy, and of course it stinks real pretty.

I had expected a subtle woodsy anise and violet scent, but it's really Violet Mints and Allsorts. Which sounds like a blast to the face, and maybe it is, but it's still clean and refreshing. And nostalgic. So nostalgic, in fact, that I find I can't really use it every day.

Violet Mints and Allsorts were very much "special event" candies, and obviously I enjoyed them because I keep a small stash in the house for pick-me up emergencies.

I'm pretty sure I'm going to end up keeping a stash of this soap around, too!