Wild Horses

This is the third quilt I have in progress. It is almost ready to go to be finished on the long-arm quilting machine. I've been waiting to finish this quilt for about 5 years. I say waiting and not working on as all I needed was just a bit of off-white bandanna fabric seen under the backing on the pieced front. I still have to sew on a strip to the backing as it has to be 6 inches longer than the front and it is a tad short. I'll get it back in about 4-6 weeks after I take it in then just have to hand finish the trim. Someday, I suppose I will hand-quilt my pieces but not until I have a lot more time! (Although, I am debating about hand tying yellow thread here and there on the front to look like grass.)

Saturday Still Life

Homemade soap

This is the second batch of homemade soap. The first batch turned out wonderfully but I gave most of it away in my excitement. I have the kind of skin that suffers from dermatitis if I buy the wrong kind of soap. I even buy baby soap and baby laundry soap to avoid it. No whiteners, brighteners, fabric softeners or spring time freshness for me. Right now my skin is wonderfully soft and supple and doesn't seem to require lotion to stay that way except for my hands because I am using up the last of the store-bought, liquid hand soap. I cannot believe what a difference there is even between the homemade soap and the Johnson's Baby Wash. We are still in the experimental stage of trying different recipes although, I definitely have at least one keeper, a complexion bar. The soaps are made with with a variety of oils including olive, palm, shea, macadamia and coconut oil.

This is the natural state of soap without colorants. I do put fragrance and essential oil in the soap because I think it is part of the soap experience and it hasn't bothered my skin.

I also love the different soap molds but they are a lot more work than a simple bar.

The only downside is that there is no instant gratification to soap making! After it's made, you have to wait for all the lye and oils to saponify and that can take at least 3 weeks. Hence, the soap supply. I don't want to run out because I can't go back.