That time of year

Yep, it's getting to be that time of year...when I begin obsessing over Christmas shamefully early, listening to Christmas music on Pandora, and trying to order my scattered thoughts into one comprehensive list. I adore Christmas. It makes me happy. The cold weather, snow, sparkling lights, adorable little ornaments, the family and friends, the repetitive music...eggnog! Christmas cookies! Stockings! Garland! Charlie Brown! The Nativity! I don't care how people commercialize Christmas, or what they do with it. To me, Christmas is magical and always will be. Soo...I've been really into crocheting lately, and there are a surprising number of free patterns on the web. I've been getting mine from the Lion Brand web site I shared last time, and altering them slightly to suit me. I made a whole little family of owls, that will soon be dispersed among my family members, a snowman for my Mom, and a tiger for my sister in law. I'm going to make another snowman for Dan's Mom, who thought the little face was adorable. I have to agree with her, as that part was one of my alterations. ;) I have started another project I'm really excited about, but I won't give away all the details until I'm ready to blog about it. I'll just give one little hint...it involves snowflakes!

Crocheting Dominates Sewing

There are several factors which prevent me from developing a sewing habit. The first of these is that I have no designated sewing space. I have a nice little Singer, but it languishes away in a box in my hobby closet (yes, I have a closet completely filled with various hobby related supplies. I liken it to Dan's closet filled with various computer related empty boxes.) The second factor is my intolerance of mess. I have a mania about cleaning. My house must be tidy. I've accepted it about myself. As you can imagine, dragging the sewing machine and it's accessories, thread, cloth, scissors, stitch rippers (my most important accessory) creates a huge mess, which cannot be neatly put away at the end of a day of crafting. I had a grand scheme to create a Christmas stocking for Dan, who is in need of one, by which I mean I need for him to have one, by which I mean I want for him to have one. I was going to quilt it. I cut out all the pieces, dragged out the sewing machine and appurtenances, wasn't pleased with the way it was going, and left it and its accompanying mess lurking in my office for several days before I gave up and put everything away. Perhaps I'll get it out again one day. But in the mean time, I crocheted some little owlies. Crocheting is such a nice, clean, portable hobby. Everything fits tucked away in a little bag. I did two, the pattern for which can be found here. I think they're adorable, easy, fun, and I'm going to collect owl ornaments from now on.

Another New Hobby!

I've started another new hobby. Making soy candles! (dum de de daaa!) It's not as difficult as I thought it might be. Probably because there's very little chemistry involved, unlike soap. Which, by the way, has cured and is in the process of being tested by friends and family members alike. My feedback is thus: nice, light clean fragrance, good lather, soft and creamy, but perhaps the lather could last longer. Any soap makers out there have any tips for a longer lasting lather? This is all after one or two uses, so I recommended using the little tester bars all up and getting back to me. Anywho, about candles. I purchased my materials from Candle Science, and it got to me the very next day! I was amazed, and gratified to be able to start my new adventure without delay. I should have delayed, however. I have a hot glue gun currently in residence at my mother's house, and the little video tutorial I watched suggested using it to glue the wicks down. Instead of waiting for the hot glue gun to arrive in the mail, I just used regular glue. Note to self: glue encased between two non-porous layers will not dry. Hot glue, of course, would not have had to dry. It would have hardened. So, I melted my wax, added the dye chips and fragrance, stirred thoroughly, and poured it into my prepared candle tins. Immediately, wicks started bobbing to the surface. So, I poured the wax back out, put it in a pan of hot water to stay melted, and held the wicks in place until the residue cooled and solidified and held them in place for me. Then I poured more wax in, and the residue melted, and the wicks once again popped up. Urghh!Eventually I got it to work, by pouring a little wax in at a time, but I haven't made any candles since. I am dutifully waiting for my hot glue gun to arrive in the mail, having learned my lesson about patience. At least for this project. Incidentally, I love soy candles because they are eco-friendly and burn clean! No sooty marks on the ceiling above the candles!