Soap Socks

I cannot believe it has been over two months since I have posted. It has been a busy and interesting two months with the ending of one semester and the starting of another. I've finally completed grading for one semester and have started breathing life into my summer classes.

Earlier this spring I learned to make soap with my good friend Shannon from our good friend Jennifer (Thanks Jen!). It was a lovely basil and tea tree oil soap. I cannot wait to make several different batches of soap this summer. Hooray for soap making! Well, on the way back to Warrensburg this weekend I battled boredom by making a zillion dish rags. Then I started on soap socks. I made three this weekend. A large rectangular one for my friend Shan's giant bars of soap I gave her for her birthday, a medium oval shaped bag (pictured above), and a smaller version with a tighter stitch. The soap socks are now in beta testing.

Score!

Look what I found! Well, John found them... We stopped by my favorite antique shop in the 'Burg, Highway 13 Antiques, where I found my $25 china cabinet, on the way home today. I love looking at all their goodies: glassware, china, linens, and more. Well, John walked up and handed me a long, thin, leather wallet and to my suprise and delight, it contained 24 pairs of knitting needles ranging in size 3 to 15! The price was $20, but this package (Susan Bates Knitting Needles) retails for $59. That was less than $2.00 a pair!

Now I have just the right size to use on the gorgeous Burly Spun wool that I found earlier this summer! I can't wait!

Ravelry

My friend Jen (from Arkansas, not Missouri) came to visit last weekend and shared an awesome online community for knitters, crocheters, spinners, and weavers! It's awesome! And it's called Ravelry! Ravelry has just about everything a (wannabe) crafty Kat. Plenty of patterns and project ideas to keep me busy until 3069. I love that I can organize my knitting needles and crochet hooks, message my friends (both named Jennifer- I need some more friends!), share photos of my finished work, and so much more! You can find out more about Ravelry by clicking here. If you want to me my stitchin' buddy, you can find me as katmangione.

Y is for Yarn...

Not the icky, prickly kind of acrylic rug yarn that is abundant in my local Wal*Mart. But the cottons, bamboos, and wools- all soft to the touch, all begging to be bought and made into something nifty, all out of my price range.

Here’s to Yarn- all I need is more money and more time!